ASCND Sussex

Contributors Edition

Faces from the journal. Myself, Sam Slatter, India Landy, Peter Clarkson and Jonnie Bloor all got together for a 100 km loop around Sussex. This is it, this is what ASCND is all about, we rode, we chatted and we laughed. I’ve been talking to these people for a while now but in the case of Jonnie and India it’s the first time we’ve met, but it was if we’d known each other for ages.

I guess the bike united us but it was more than that. The conversations we shared on that day were more personal, we shared how we’d been feeling more than “nerding out” about bikes and equipment and definitely no talk of watts or data. This year I’ve not really been enjoying my riding. The bike’s only been used as a form of transport. I can probably count the number of 100 km rides this year on one hand (maybe not quite true). The weather and inability to travel has hit me hard. Travel, seeing people and those long days in the mountains is why I ride and what I live for. I can cope if I have that to work towards and look forward to, but I’m struggling not knowing when I might escape. My five year plan to get back to guiding is rapidly turning into a knee jerk how fast can I make that happen plan.

I guess this was the first ASCND ride out. An early train for me down to Haywards Heath and my old stomping ground, some of the best lanes around, a cheeky coffee at Lindfield Coffee works and we set off on a stunning 100 km loop. The route was a mix of Jonnie’s pre planned and my on the fly knowledge, you can find it here on my Strava page. Next time I’ll aim to ride back, and make a bigger day of it, 200 km back through Surrey. One for the diary.

Thanks to everyone for making it happen Jonnie

We might try and do a few more of these, especially with the new jerseys so keep an eye on the socials and newsletter for more info.

You can also read the contributions from these folks over on the Journal along with some of the others, Emily, Caspar, Sveta and Ketil

Nick Frendo.