Breakfast in The Grand Hotel this morning over-looking a calm blue English Channel was a perfect way to start the day after the frustrations of the 52-mile slog from the Capital yesterday by bicycle. I was really looking forward to breaking four hours yesterday and for managing to scale the Beacon without my feet touching the ground.
Frustratingly, I managed neither thanks to lousy organisation. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong but there were simply too many riders (27,000) on the route and the congestion at every pinch-point and hill meant forced stops, long waits and frustrating walks up every incline, including Ditchling Beacon. If the British Heart Foundation want to continue to ensure the event remains popular, they will need to do much better next year because none of the six of us will be doing it again until we know it's been better organised. As it was I finished in just under five hours but I was lucky as my mates were all caught up in bigger delays behind me due to a number of serious accidents, caused no doubt, by the volume of riders.
I passed a stricken rider on Ditchling Beacon who looked in a bad way and was being given oxygen. I am sorry to say that I believe the poor soul died of heart attack in hospital having been resuscitated on the hill by paramedics. The news of that put a dampner on proceedings and the disappointments of the day into perspective.
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That is a real shame and a terrible tragedy that someone died doing their bit for charity.
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