October 13, 2022
Day 37: Littlehampton to Newhaven
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We appeared at the door of the Dutch Bike Shop well before their opening time, because we were anxious to get the bike problem sorted and of course being there when the shop is closed can't hurt! (By the way, that use of the word "sorted" shows we have been in England too long. On the trains they are always making an announcement that encourages people to be alert for anything amiss going on. Their slogan is "See it, say it, sorted!"
I had watched some Youtubes about torque sensing bottom brackets in the night, and it seemed like a standard splined bottom bracket tool should work, but there were warnings that each model had its own specific installation instructions. Anyway it was fine, and Paul the mechanic had no trouble putting things right.
While we were at the shop, Dodie had the chance to have her front brake looked at. One caliper was not retracting, and she felt this was creating drag. She also felt the other half of our team was not responding to this adequately. Dodie was gratified to learn from Paul that her brakes are known to create this problem, once the wear adjuster in the lever had been fully screwed in. Again, Paul put this right, installing new pads and making sure the cylinders were balanced and retracting.
The labour charge for these services, which including having to chat with us ate up an hour and a half, was zero. Paul and his partner Brian are cycle tourists too, and say they enjoy helping out fellow travelers. Well, at least we contributed to the shop by having bought two complete sets of brake pads!
From Littlehampton we went off on the traditional diddling through suburbs and fighting traffic, until we arrived at a glorious promenade by the sea, near Goring. There would be a lot more traffic fighting in the day, but the parts to remember are the bits on the smooth pavement of the promenades.
Some walkers, seeing our Canadian flags , alerted us to an upcoming Canadian memorial. Yes, in 1942 5,000 Canadians, 1,000 British, and 47 Americans staged a raid at Dieppe. 3,621 of these were killed, wounded, or captured. In the years since there has been much debate about why the raid was done and why it appeared to have been such a failure. The most common claim is that with the raid the allies learned what not to do, and they completely changed tactics for D-day two years later as a result.
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There are naturally other war time memorials along this critical coast. The one shown below was very touching, as it describes a young pilot who stayed with his failing plane and died crashing it into the beach, rather than hitting the town of Worthing.
A different face of this coast is the prevalence of seaside amusements, amusement piers, and foods, such as ice cream and fish and chips.
Another big aspect of the sea side is the houses and hotels, which have a style that somehow seems to say sea side. There were so many of them! Here is a selection.
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There was a little more to the coast than just amusements and hotels. During the sections where we were headed inland a bit, we did see some harbour activity and also some pleasant bakery (yes, bakery!) and outdoor cafe scenes in streets perpendicular to the sea side.
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At the Brighton Pier we thought we would walk on and have a little look, but we were kicked out because of our bikes. Bikes were forbidden, even if walked. We took this as part of British anti-bike attitude. However, we had to admit that for some certain distance Brighton offered the nice bikeway shown below.
We had had some optimistic ideas about zooming to Newhaven, incorporating them into schemes to get on the ferry and out of England really fast. But England was not done with us yet. It turns out that from Brighton to Newhaven it is a picture of (sure, lovely) white cliffs to climb and descend and climb. With no e-assist and a heavy load, this was a matter of crank crank in lowest gear for me, much of the time. England also provided a background of heavy traffic, to give us a headache and prevent crossing the road when needed as sidewalks disappeared.
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We chose a place in Newhaven that would give good access to the ferry in the morning. Although found on Booking, it was a B&B type arrangement, being a cottage behind a house. Aside from the bedroom and bathroom, there was a very large kitchen/sitting room, with waterproof laminate flooring. This became significant, as we carried our (dry) bikes in. But later the landlady came along, and totally freaked to see the bikes. She demanded that they be booted out of the place immediately. I pointed out that the bikes had been carefully carried and placed, and that since there would be no further movement of them until morning, it made no difference if they would leave then, or go out now, into the newly started rain. The lady wasn't having it, and loudly insisted. "Fine then, I'll dump my (possibly dirty) luggage off the bikes and roll, not carry, them to your door, if you want to insist", said I. She did want to insist. So the bikes are now out in the rain, and I am gearing up to give a review to this disagreeable woman on Booking.
One thing about this place, depending on how the judges might rule, we could win the prize for most pillows found on a bed in England. Our number here is twelve. The only thing, they are on a hide-a-bed not the regular bed, so we did not have to toss them (though the nasty landlord deserves a bit of a pillow toss session, or should I stack them in the shower?). Dodie is in the background saying, Steve, no fighting!
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Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,504 km (934 miles)
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It was lovely to meet you in our bike shop in Littlehampton, pleased we could help you out. You're both an absolute inspiration and we wish you every success for safe and more enjoyable travels in France.
Sorry to read the account your stay at the Newhaven B&B. I experienced similar elsewhere in England with pettyminded B&B owners, which is why we now only stay either in hotels, pubs with rooms above or campsites, which seem to be far more accommodating to cyclists.
We'll keep reading your blog and details of your travels. We love the pictures and details of your routes. So helpful to others planning similar visits.
With every best wish from us both - by now hopefully, you're both safely across the channel and in France. As we said, Diepee is lovely and the Avenue Verte, a real pleasure to ride.
Paul and Brian (aka Richard!!)
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Paul
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