Am thinking of doing it in a day early next week as forecast looks pretty dry and I’m hoping the wind will have helped.
Has anyone been up there lately? Last time I was there was in Feb and the mud was just too sticky for words. Any local advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Around Brighton it seems to turn back to sticky clag at the slightest provocation at the moment. It’s so wet underneath that when it does rain it just sits on the surface.

Having said that, a few dry days a breeze and it’ll generally be fine.

Rode the short stretch between amberly mount to washington last night. Puddles in places, but minimal mud stuck to tyres.

However, Wwaswas is right, and the SDW can turn quicker than a turny thing on turn-day….

DrP

Over the western end of it it’s claggy, limey, and crumbly. The waters gotten into the clay/limestone and making it sticky. In the covered areas under trees it’s squishy/squelchy mess. Some parts are dry enough, some of the areas over the top of Beacon Hill through QEP are fast and dry, but the rutted tracks are puddles.
It is drying out mind so maybe by next week it’ll be flowing nicely.
Have fun but be prepared for a little extra time on the bike.

Thanks very much for the info guys – appreciated. I’ve decided to have a crack at it on Tuesday riding from Winchester. Wind looks like it will be light SW’ly and I’m hoping that it will continue to dry out between now and then. If anyone is up there this weekend and would like to share any last minute intel it would always be appreciated. Will stick a trip report on a blog when I’ve finished for anyone as sad as me that likes reading about other peoples rides! http://www.mamilontour.wordpress.com Cheers!

Did the ride on Tuesday on what tuned out to be a pretty warm day. There is a page on the above mentioned blog with a ride report if anyone is interested but in summary I would say that the route was 99% dry – not totally dry but almost everywhere it was possible to pick a dry line through the very rare damp spots under trees etc. Ride went ok except for losing the trail 6 miles from Alfriston – not sure if it’s just me but the route seems to be harder and harder to follow once you’ve passed Ditchling Beacon – just so many crossing paths and routes and the SDW is anything but straight!

Super dry last night around QE.

There was rain earlier today but it’s been so dry here recently it’ll soak in quickly and the now the sun’s back out 8)

I liked the ride report 🙂

Thanks wwaswas – glad someone read it!! I think it will be most useful for myself when someone starts to talk me into doing it again and I need to remind myself how I felt last time round!

I liked it too 🙂 And congratulations on getting out and doing it rather than waiting for ideal conditions.

It’s certainly easy to “hit the wall” around the 60-70 mile mark when heading east. What earlier seemed like consistent good progress suddenly turns into a crawl over a never-ending series of steep climbs, with the clock spinning crazily while the mileage barely ticks over. Especially as there are quite a few cafe stops and you can convince yourself you’ve earned them all!

Last time I rode the SDW I started at Eastbourne, and the time-trap effect didn’t happen. Getting the worst of the climbing out of the way and ignoring all the tempting cafes, while still relatively fresh, made a big difference to the overall time.