Well, seeing as I can't make the event itself next weekend, Tom let me tag along on his routecheck ride yesterday. Bright sunshine through most of the day meant we had superb views: across the Ashdown Forest; first glimpses of the sea near Battle; white cliffs and Dover Castle's imposing bulk; looking behind us over a surprisingly attractive Folkestone and Dover harbours; a beautifully limpid light from the North Kent coast as the sun fell below the horizon.
The climbing is there, for sure, but never felt gratuitous: if there's a westerly next weekend, you'll even get a glorious balancing payback as it pushes you across the marshes and along the coast.
We, of course, had an easterly - worse, just north of easterly. From Uckfield to, I guess, more or less Rye we were reasonably sheltered from it: from there until, well, Sandwich, we weren't. That's the thick end of 100km into a punishing headwind: with any luck, we did it so you don't have to ... On the brighter side, it changed into a pretty flattering tailwind as soon as we turned the corner, crossing to Birchington and following the coast west. Chilly, mind ...
Anyway, the Rye-Brenzett stretch citoyen dislikes so much wasn't too bad (certainly the drivers were less of an issue than the wind) though there were a few close passes on other parts of the route, and the cafe in Hythe - now apparently under the railway's ownership - seemed somehow brighter and fresher than last time I was there. Inevitably there are a few bits of road surface to watch out for, and a few minor amendments to last year's routesheet (which I believe Tom will be finalising in the next day or three), but I really enjoyed the day out and I'm very pleased to have got round this year without remodelling my frame geometry.