For as long as I can remember the London to Brighton Bike Ride has been on end of June, but what is its history? Records show that the first ever London to Brighton Bike Ride took place on 1 May 1976, with 60 riders and a 95 mile route. The event was a low key affair arranged in part by local branch of Friends of the Earth. Paul Bonett of Bonett’s Estate Agents, took part in the first ride, and he writes:
“We went up to London and stayed in a squat in Kentish Town the night before. The ride started from Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park with 60 riders.
Once the ride was underway we split into two groups: a few mad ones like me, going via Underhill Lane and Ditchling Beacon, the others along to Lewes and the Old Lewes Road, and onto the seafront at the Palace Pier. It took most of the day!”
37 people completed the race (compare to around 27,000 today!).
The following year, it went from the same spot but took the more direct route similar to today, including the infamous Ditchling Beacon – and so it continued and in 1980 with the support of the BHF.
It is now Europe’s largest cycle event and since 1980 more than £35 million has been raised for the BHF, and more than 650,000 cyclists have taken part.
For more information go to the British Heart Foundation website
Thanks to Danny Fitzpatrick from the British Heart Foundation for the photos.