On the 18th June, five Grateley House School young people and staff embarked on the challenge of cycling from London to Brighton along the British Heart Foundation route.
The day began with a very early wake up call with some much needed bacon sarnies. After the drive up to London, everybody gathered in front of the start line ready to ride 56 miles.
The plan was for all the cyclists to meet after 10 miles for a quick refreshment break and an update on how everybody’s legs were feeling! At this point all students were still feeling perfectly fine and carried on with the journey.
Through the next section, the sun was getting hotter and legs were tiring. Luckily, local residents were sat in their driveways by the side of the route with hoses and water guns keeping everybody cool and happy; and it definitely helped boost the morale! At the lunch stop, everybody sat for about an hour to get some fuel on board and to refill water bottles.
Looming in the distance was the massive challenge of Ditchling Beacon which is the big uphill climb at the end of the race. All the students were motivated to give it their best try, as once they would get to the top of the hill, there is a 7 mile downhill glide into the centre of Brighton for the final stretch. All of the students made it to the top (with some walking involved) and very excitedly began their descent into Brighton.
There were hundreds of people cheering along the last straight by the side of Brighton beach as the students cruised home to complete the 56 mile ride. There were many sore legs and some quite embarrassing sun tan lines, however they made it back to the buses after congratulations from some parents. Once back on the buses, everybody scouted out some food before heading back to GHS for some well-earned rest.
The total amount of money raised combined was over £1000! A really massive achievement for all the students involved.
Well done everybody!