CYCLING from London to Brighton as a NEWBIE! | Zwift to Reality 

You keep saying supertuck when you just bend your elbows 😂 makes me giggle every time

Enjoyed watching that mate. Your sheer excitement of being out there and living in the moment really shone through. Congrats on a great event. How were the fish and chips?

You conquered Alpe Du Ditchling - well done brother 💪

I’m doing this ride in September and this is by FAR the most useful video documenting the route and challenges. Thank you!

Super Tuck, those are the rules! Congrats Ryan!! Welcome to Zwift and Cycling!

I just started the video but I am amazed that you caught yourself mid-sentence being "too aggressive". Honestly man I do hope they are watching and I am hoping to see you crush this thing, as I finish up the video.

For anyone looking to try cleats, mtb cleats could be a good intro. I find they're easier to clip in and out and if you don't clip in it's easier to pedal anyway. Plus you can get some with a flat pedal on one side and the spd/clear on the other. You also don't have to walk round like a clown in mtb shoes like road shoes 🤣 When I first started using cleats it wasn't until I got confident that I actually toppled over 😂 Great video, nicely done!

Well done, I love your commentary it makes your videos.

Looks like a very fun ride. There is a ride just as busy as this one that happens in the central USA every July. Only it is 7 consecutive days. There is no structured start and the only cutoff is sundown. You should check it out some time. The ride is called RAGBRAI and it crosses the state of Iowa approximately 400-500 miles each year depending on the route.

Somebody had a fantastic day! Lots of those riders you past are on full gas road bikes but don’t have your motor😂 Your welcome to ride in Leicestershire with me anytime, think you are now a bit lighter than me too

Finally getting round to watching, as been off cycling in Ireland. That's a great time and what a fun ride! 😎. I agree you can learn a lot by just getting on with it. Chapeau 👊👏

Been waiting for this one, well done on completing it. You hit How Lane (the first hill where you passed a lot of walkers) like a boss, that’s local to me and a favourite training road of mine. I very much enjoyed your ‘ooh this is pretty’ reaction to Carshalton Ponds 😂 I can’t believe you did 50 odd km in the big ring! 😂

Ryan, fantastic job and great video. Everyone falls when starting with cleats, but once you get used to them you'll never look back. Love how you acknowledge the support staff who are just there to help. Keep up the good work and awesome vids. Chapeau

Congratulations Ryan, very well done!

So envious. I need this in my life. Congrats on your efford mate. You made it look so easy :)

Great 1st event, hope you do more IRL riding, Zwift is good but meeting real peeps and sharing that passion and enthusiasm, nothing beats it. You even met some followers. Cleats are a personal choice, they are more efficient otherwise the pros would be on flats. I think the MTB cleats are a bit better to learn as double sided and the shoes are normally easier to walk in. If your happy that's all that matters. Excellent video and nice to see the sheer enjoyment of it.

Well you MotherFer I was in the middle explaining how amazing a bikefit was, and how it totally saved my enjoyment on the bike .. But I guess ones in a blue moon you can get lucky and just be comfi on the bike from the start =) .. From someone that have been riding bikes my whole life, and have been on Zwift for 5-6 years now . I have really enjoyed following you going from totally Noob to a bit less of a Noob .=) Just keep going enjoy life and keep learning and getting fitter on the bike .=)

Never in doubt my friend , I can see you doing Lands End to John I Groats within the next 18months definitely 💪😎

Well done Ryan. Nice one for your first real bike ride 👊

Well done Ryan, great effort. Enjoyed watching this & seeing all your hard work paying off. 💯 cleats are the way to go 👍

Brilliant video as per usual and I'm very impressed with how well you dealt with that very hilly ride.

Way to go Ryan! Great ride!

Ryan, loving your videos. You're doing amazingly and it's great to see your confidence imcreasing. Your love for cycling is so infectious. If ever you're in North Wales (where the hills are really big) look me up.

Great vid again Ryan! I was one of the people suggesting you ride flats, hope you weren’t annoyed by my comment. Clearly cleats are working for you like they do for loads of others, so keep on going! Looking forward to your next challenge! Maybe we’re going to see you climb the real Alpe??

I used to drive up and down Ditchling Beacon every day going to work and home,and on a Saturday afternoon coming home from work there was always cyclists in all the gear walking up the Beacon.. this is very impressive ride.. great vlog.

Falling is a right of passage! Well done mate!

You should be really proud of yourself in doing this ride - let alone taking into account as you said that 5 years ago you couldn't have even ridden downhill. Entertaining video too - and I'm still an advocate of flat pedals!

What a great vid, Ryan. You have come such.a long way, and you're continuing to get stronger. You seemed to pass about a million people. With the exception of 'Rapha 1', you looked like you were among the strongest riders out there. Next year, you'll sail up that last climb! Love the scenes with your family at the end. 😄

Belter of a video, Ryan! It looks like you really enjoyed it, which is brilliant to see. And so cool to see your fitness and riding techniques from Zwift translate to IRL riding. Hope there are many more of these events in your future.👊💪👌

That was brilliant Ryan. Well done 👏 👏

Well done Ryan by far and away the best L2B vid I have seen showing what it is actually like. Congrats

Amazing! What a great achievement, and so cool to see just how much your Zwifting contributed to your ability on those climbs. I’m still on Zwift - heading out in real life still seems a bit too scary for me (even without cleats!), but seeing someone else just getting out there and giving it a go (you figuring out the gears mid ride was brilliant!) it such an inspiration. Maybe that’ll be my goal for next summer…

Idk what the big deal of the cleats are. You did great. Everyone falls coming to a stop at least once when first learning. It just takes practice! I would not want to ride my road bike without cleats!

Excellent video and ride Ryan.

Warts and all. Well done.

Amazing job Ryan, I have like many been waiting for you to smash it. Cleats aside you did your self proud and loving your video work keeping it very entertaining, funny and interesting with your casual chat and laughs and fears. The fear is real. It was like a round of applause at every traffic lights with peeps clipping in and out when I did it. Unfortunately I had a 6 o'clock start on my 2nd L2B ride. I wanted to get a pic with the fearless legend. I agree with you you could have done it alot quicker and next time Ditchling will not defeat you. I failed last year with 2 corners to go and this year because I knew how to pace myself and did not burn all my matches before I got there so I took it in my stride and made it to the top. On to bigger and better things. My goal this year is 100 miler and Get the Tron (3000ft to go). Got my first Cat D podium this week. cheers Russ. Eye, eye, eye. Love it when you say that lol

I've completed 2 L2Bs (2022 and 2023) and the main thing that annoys me is that the whole thing isn't on closed roads. For such a large event that only happens annually this could easily be done. It's just one day folks! CLOSE THE ROADS. It's a SUNDAY. Oh, the other thing that annoys me is that it coincides with father's day most years (it did for both my rides). Move it one weekend forward or back so father's can have that day with their families. Kudos to you for completing the ride. I hope you raised a nice wad for the your chosen charity!

Great ride🚴🚴Well done! Nice to meet you in the London Ultra👍 cheers Ken

Well done Ryan smashed it 💪🏼🙌🏼

Well done, mate. Looks like a fab ride and day out. Hopefully see you there next year #teamcleats

Good freakin job dude!! You smashed it. I can't believe you did over half that ride and didn't know about the front chain ring 😄 You really ought to think about setting up strava to track these outdoor rides. You'd get a follower from me!

I think you’ve done amazing. Should be super proud of your efforts. Have you loosed the spring in your cleats. Make the foot able to move their own position on the pedals and makes unclipping easier. If you have a look on the pedals there an arrow plus and minus undo it think it’s a size 4 Allen key. it’s trick that no one tells you. Try it it may be a lot of help. Anyway keep going you’re super inspiring

Amazing job! You and your family must be thrilled. What a journey.

😂😂😂😂 “Left gear ⚙️ is for uphill. “ OMG no wonder your cadence was so low on the hills. This makes this even more impressive.

Cleats are not an issue and will just take a little bit of getting used to. It’ll become automatic soon so don’t listen to the negative comments about them

Great ride & vid, one of the things that i carried through from Zwift to IRL, was learning what my point of failure on steep hills was and practicing pushing the steeper climbs in the safety of Zwift meant i could get up 20+% climbs IRL without feeling like i was gonna stall. If you know when you're about to stall out, you know when to unclip! Might help you for the steeper climbs, they can take you by surprise!

Great video, appreciate your sense of humour and humbleness, great motivation to try outdoors riding again

Fantastic effort Ryan. Found myself clapping as you went over the finish line 👏👏

Great video! Love when folks get the cycling bug.

Brilliant video, Great effort Ryan, you smashed it, I was wondering when you were going to drop it on to the granny ring (small ring)for the hills, not realising you had no idea it was there🤣 More cycling videos please there are plenty of sportives you can do.

Beasted it Ryan. Well done man

Love your work Ryan, keep it up. Remember, there are no rules, just ride your bike however you feel.

Falling in cleats! every new cleat user does it at least "once" (probably more) Great job on the ride and hopefully many more to come!

„ Dressed to impressed“ 😂😂😂 Ride on 🍀👍

Cracking vid. We've all been there at the start of learning the art of road cycling when you change gear but the pedals aren't moving.

Probably the best London to Brgihton video so far. I too just got myself a secondhand Ribble, yes it's fast and my clickless pedals arrive next week.

I’ve been looking forward to this one, after a pretty shitty week at work I needed this on my Friday

What an amazing celebration of cycling, all abilities out just enjoying bikes 👍. And you flying up the hills, even better when you found more gears 👌 well done 💪👍

Great video Ryan. Cleats are great. Just a learning curve like everything. If I had to guess your chain froze causing the fall because you might of been shifting under excessive load. It's a good rule of thumb to shift when your pedals are in the 12 o clock 6 o clock position as this is when the load is less. Just a thought. Loved the video and look forward to more. ❤

Traditional to say “on your right” or “on your left” as you pass cyclist and runners

Got a sub from me, hope you do more outside cycling stuff was fun to watch.

Brilliant effort, watched the whole video. cleats are the only way to go. Once you get very used to them, even when you have a dropped chain or stuck gear, it'd become second nature to unclip in time before falling. Keep at it, mate, eventually it's just like breathing, you won't even notice it anymore. congratulations, mate.

Will sit down with a brew later for this one. Already excited 😂

Awesome! Ride vlog Ryan! Very entertaining from the start to the finish! You put this video together masterfully! I can’t believe how well you did for your 3rd RL ride especially the hills! You must how some power in those legs still passing everyone on the wrong ring 😅😂 and I’m not surprised you got the bug, nearly the whole time watching I was thinking, “I wonder if I could do that in a year from now” 😃 great stuff!!

I did a body fit instead of a bike fit. Lost weight and did stretches. Now I fit the bike. It’s also free.

Great Video. Failing at the beginning of Beacon Hill because of a gear change was quite funny, given how the rest of the bike ride went.

Great video, and saw so many thoughts on deacon I had myself too. I think there were 7 checkpoints total. Might not all be from the organisation but there were a lot where you could get water and other refreshments. We did it in 4h2m by the way.

Inspiring

Great video and achievement.

Great video. I laughed when you said you discovered your easy gear. I was saying to myself “ I bet he’s in the big chain ring up front.” Now that you’ve graduated to cat c I’d love to ride with you.

That's what it's all about! Cycling with like minded people, keeping fit and having fun...... A bit like running events but more fun 😜😂 Well done you smashed it 💪🏼💪🏼

Congrats for completing Ryan! I briefly chatted to you on Ditchling Beacon, mad to have seen you when I was watching one of your videos just the day before! 100 miles next up?

Don't worry about falling with cleats. Happens to everyone. Anyone who says they've never fallen with cleats is either lying or has never used cleats outside of indoor cycling.

You absolute "Stallion Baby" mate thats such a feat you absolutely smashed that time. You're such an inspiration your journey is incredible to watch. Not the man i worked for but the legend to be inspired by, as always!! 💪

Well done that hill is a bit of a killer. If you plan on doing more outdoor riding i'd look at buying a GPS head unit. They are great to pace climbs as well as you can see distance/gradient so sort of know what to expect....although that sometimes is not a good thing :D Did well with the cleats as well stick with them.

Your enthusiasm for real World riding is infectious, here's to many more Ryan, Ditchling Beacon is a bitch and there are many more out there just like it, well done

Have you had a look at loosening your tension spring on the cleats clip in? Could be a hip life saver for you lol

Great video. Coz of you I keep shouting super tuck when I go down hill . I might do this next year , and the chase the sun ride

yeah, happened to me. The change to the smaller chain freezes the chain when you pedal in the wrong moment somehow. and THAT happened gladly not when I was on a high traffic Truck road with no safety shoulder. Glad that one happened before.

Well done Ryan 👍🏼 I was the one who sounded inaudible because I’d just left my dad and brother to chase after you 😂 Another great video 👏🏼 hopefully catch you on another event sometime! Ford Ride London next year maybe? 👀🤣

Its who dares wins in the city. Classic Mike Skinner line for me. Great to here it some more! Gosh i do miss the UK at times

Ahh, this reminds me of cycling in london...I do miss the silly commuter races :)

I appreciate you wanting to get aero when you’re going downhill but if you insist on ‘super tucking’ can you google what it is then actually super tuck 👍😊

Well done Ryan, such a great real video. How about doing the Ride To The Sun next year - Carlisle to Crammond (Edinburgh), 100 miles but done overnight, to get to Crammond for the Sun rise. It’s open roads, but very quiet ones.

I had to watch this one as when i attempted this route in the past I snapped my chain 20 Kms in. So when Ryan eventually gets to the top of the hill and raves about the view, I'm looking forward to the Go Pro money shot I never got to see... That never comes.... Arrgh! 😢. You tease!

Mate I'm looking Forward to seeing your name and the following video posted when you do the UK Hill climb champs( well it sounds like a great idea while I'm sitting on my couch in the middle of winter here in the South Island of New Zealand) .I wish we had what you Brits have!!

Never a doubt you'd finish. Im a cat d/ low cat c 90kg+ zwifter and finished chase the sun the other day so you'd def be able to do that one as well. Keep smashing it.

Well done great effort you 🔨 it 👏👏, State the obvious if Zwift you become stronger and better Cyclist

Another great video🤩Need some editing tips to help with my upload for this ride! I've got 58, 3min vids and feel swamped!! Slowly getting there though some shape hope to be done next week 🤞. Sadly missed you as my set off was 07:00, so on a mission now to catch you on Zwift 😄Also found that Zwift helped massively on the climbs allowing me to smash them. New to bloody clips too - but they are a necessity, so also persevering! Managed to be fall free until the day after riding home from Victoria! Thankfully didn't break anything, but it makes me prefer indoor at the moment! Keep up the great work ✊

Cycling rule 101…. It’s always a race even if the other person don’t know 👀👀😂😂 Dragon devil ride next year? 😉😉🚴🚴

Good on you mate!!! Hope you enjoyed those well earned chips and ice cream.

One of the downsides of these mass start events is the less experienced riders not knowing what to do when riding in a group. There's so much weaving across the road, undertaking, not giving shout outs, blocking the route, it's actually more dangerous riding in the slower start waves than faster ones.

Would love if you got a garmin so we could see more data as you ride along. Cheers mate ❤

Well done Ryan, 👏 the Fred Whitton challenge awaits you next year... good luck in advance.🎉

Ryan How about a chilled night ride next ? Check out Dunwich Dynamo on 20th July , would love to see one of your videos on it.

Sub 4 hours next year Ryan? Its been 16 years since i did it on an MTB, its an event I've always wanted to go and have another stab at to see how well I could do.

great video

Great ride Ryan. Looks like you’ve got the bug. Fred next?

I've never had a bike fit, always did it myself. Seems ok if you know what you're doing, you can probably always get in the right ballpark without professional help even if you don't get it exactly right. But then maybe I'd be a pro rider if I actually had a bike fit.

Love your journey, would love to participate in a race with you IRL. Also now that we are same Cat in Zwift this winter.