, with handlebars that touch your knees when you turn 
, my left and right brakes were the wrong way around 
, and they weigh a tonne. Saying that, I became quite attached to mine, and was almost reluctant to stop. I could have kept on going.
We left at 0930 as one person got stuck on the tube. We didn't bother going through the official start as there were too many people, so we sneaked around the side and joined in. Sneaked around the corner, all eight of us, on butchers bikes, with bells and horns.
The going was slow ar first, leaving London, we stopped here and there, handed out leaflets about vegetarianism from viva and peta, and the british heartless foundation leaflet from peta. We picked it up a bit later on, overtaking others on many geared bikes with some ease. We only had the one gear. Saying that, as heavy as they are, the bikes flew down hills. I gave me great pleasure to overtake the normal bikes, vegan power and all that.
We wore meat is murder t-shirts yet I didn't get one snide remark all day, though I did hear others get the occasion "i'm off for a hamburger" when offered a leaflet, or "what if plants feel pain" but the cyclist didn't stop for a chat
. Some people didn't know how to take us, many entered into the spirit of the ride, hopefullly some will question their eating habits, and I'm sure some didn't really realise why they were cycling. There were many burger bars along the ride, all got the bells and horns and meat is murder treatment.
It rained and hell stoned quite hard for a bit, but thats not a problem, the sun was out in Brighton at the end, so all was ok.
If anyone knows the route, there is Ditchling Beacon at the end, a ridiculously steep hill, tour de france type, a hill you would not usually drive up, and if you did, it would be in first gear. Anyway, very few would have got up the hill without pushing, even though most on sensible bikes had 24+ gears, yet two of our all vegan group got up as they have done previously. Some of you may have met them at the manchester fayre, and they may well be joining here.
Once over the monster hill, down hill to brigthon, where one of the top hill climbers managed to get a speed camera to flash. At the end we spread across the road so nobody could pass to cross the finish line, with the guy on the tanoy welcoming us with a " and here come the greengrocers" annoucement, and then saying " here comes a political group".
Top day out, a must do again
