An excellent ride indeed, but for one thing...
Was it just me, or were those the most poorly surfaced roads going? I had to stop after 19k (SO X with A25) to re-fit the spacebar to the handlebars with better rubber padding, as it was pointing down after every descent.
I had to stop later to tape the route sheet into the maptrap (first time ever!) as it shook out on every downhill if I went over 25mph. I really had to hold my speed down*, and so finished at 19:00, whereas I was expecting 18:00 as usual for a 200.
By the end of the ride the maptrap had half destructed (photos to follow) but I should be able to fettle it back to shape.
I couldn't hear the scenery over the noise of rattling bars, mudguards, spacebar, rack-pack, etc etc etc.
It seems that many of the roads have been sprayed with tar & chippings, which have now half vanished to leave the old surface in random lumpy patches; or the stone chippings used to make the road are huge and without any tar padding. On top of that the roads seemed full of potholes, or patched trenches from cable/pipeline laying. Oh, and all manholes seemed fitted 2 inches below the road surface.
The ride itself was excellent, but I'm considering taking the 200k gpx file and submitting it to CTC's fill-that-hole site
I'll ride this one again
* although I did notice the computer showing 40mph in Groomsbridge, as a 30mph speed limit sign went past