Few people will find a silver lining when they suffer an injury. But a hernia in March 2023 turned out to be a pivotal moment in my cycling journey.
As you know, I’ve been training towards the 3,000mi solo Race Across America (RAAM). I deferred my initial entry in 2022, about 6 weeks before the race start due to ongoing issues with my IBS, and since then, I’ve been on a charge to get back to fitness.
Juggling full-time work, the arrival of our fourth child, and the training load for one of the toughest endurance events in the world has taken its toll. A hernia, courtesy of a long, hard effort up The Tumble, delivered a moment of clarity—a chance to stop, think, and remember why I began cycling in the first place.
If you read my previous blog Finding Ultra Again, then you’ll know I was really struggling for motivation. It’s challenging when you’re not enjoying riding your bike, and you have to go out and do 12 or more hours on a weekend. So, really, the hernia came at a good time. If I’d carried on bashing my head against the wall, I might have stopped riding altogether.
In my recovery following the operation, I got on the Cycle2Work scheme and got myself a gravel bike. It’s a basic, entry-level setup, but I thought this would be a great way to get back to why I started riding a bike—for the adventure, exploring new places, and doing new things. I have a busy life, and when you’re training for something like RAAM, there is very little downtime. Training became a chore, and I just lost the love for it.
So, how to put the gravel bike to use? I’ve always enjoyed doing things other people haven’t. I came across the Halnaker tree tunnel on a Google image and thought that would be a cool place to ride. So I let my brain run with it—”okay, where is it? Stane Street. What’s Stane Street?” and it just evolved from there. I looked for people who had ridden this route, and I could only find one blog, so I thought I’ll go and see what it was like.
What is Stane Street?
So, I’m going to ride one of the UK’s oldest Roman roads, which links Londinium (London) to Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester). Stane Street is the modern name for this 57-mile (91km) route, which takes in the Surrey Hills, including Coldharbour Lane, which features among the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, as well as Bignor Hill on the South Downs and Halnaker. The Ride Much of the route is followed by the A3, A24, A29, and A285, although most of the course through the modern county of Surrey has either been completely abandoned or is followed only by bridlepaths.
Stane Street – Guy x dhb
dhb, a long time sponsor and incredible tri-sports clothing brand, were kind enough to come along and capture the ride. Phil Hill, as you will see, is an incredible photographer.
Starting at London Bridge, the first 15 or so miles of Stane Street take you out from central London, not the most exciting part, I’ll be honest, and out to Surrey. Through Epsom, you hit the first off-road section that takes you underneath Box Hill and back on the road. Keen Zwifters will recognize the blue cycle superhighways of London and later, as the route passes the start of the climb up Box Hill.
Surrey hosts a few bigger hitter climbs—the first at Coldharbour, a near 2mi – 4.5% climb (in the 100 greatest cycling climbs)
Just after Okewood Hill, I found one of two parts of the off-road sections that were completely overgrown. Riding becomes slow, but for large sections, I simply had to walk, particularly when I nearly rode straight into a fallen tree. This required me to climb through the gap underneath and reach back to drag the bike through behind me. These sections took their toll – The LAB socks (and my legs) received some abuse with the brambles, trees, and nettles.
After Billingshurst, it was on to Bignor. I’ll confess, Bignor Hill broke me—lack of ride fitness post-hernia and the average 9% over 2mi was a killer. The road surface was really broken up—which made the gravel bike a plus, albeit the weight of it (compared to my road bike) was not so much—and some of the holes had been filled a few hours before I climbed up. I think that was genuinely one of the hardest climbs I’ve ridden; it’s hard from the start and just doesn’t let up. The road very quickly steepens to 20%+. However, once you turn the sharp right-hand bend, you are onto the final 100m of steep stuff, the gradient eases off, and it becomes a steady climb through the trees, before opening out to the public car park at the top—the views are absolutely worth the brutality of the climb. Phil, the photographer for the ride, met me at the top and offered me some much-needed snacks—while basic, nothing beats a packet of ready salted crisps in these situations.
From the top of Bignor, and the Insta-must Roman signpost, the next section through sheep fields and pasture gives you a sense of what the road would have been like for the Romans. A raised embankment on which the upper road surface was laid, with ditches on either side. This was a joy to ride, smooth grassy fields—with wide-open views—back down to the main road. It was by far the best part of the ride for me.
The last off-road section passes just under Halnaker windmill through the tree-lined tunnel—the bit I was most looking forward to—before the final few KMs into a busy Chichester town center. The tree tunnel was great, a solid path down to the main road—short-lived but absolutely worth a revisit at some point.
https://strava-embeds.com/embed.jsConclusion
Have I found ultra? No, but I’ve definitely found my sense of adventure and wanting to ride again—so that’s a start, right?
I did find a great adventure in Stane Street – an achievable distance for most, not too technical and a start and finish easily reached by public transport. Will you be giving it a go?
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Guy Stapleford Ultra 