Horsham man completes 100 mile bike ride around pop up cycleway

Phil Davison said he came up with the challenge while enjoying some beers over Zoom with his friends.

He added: “I thought I’ll go out and see if I can get 100 miles done in the day.”

The project manager said he worked out a loop which started at the Sainsbury’s roundabout, followed the cycle way up to the Albion Way roundabout before circling back on the road to Sainsbury’s.

But Phil said he worked out traffic lights and junctions would force him to stop up to 11 times per lap, a potential 1100 times in total during his epic ride.

The 48-year-old added: “It was really boring. I have done lots of challenges before. I have even done an Ironman.”

Phil said he set himself the challenge of completing his ride in daylight, setting off around 7.10am on Saturday, November 7.

He finished his cycle some nine hours later at 4.35pm.

Phil added: “I did meet quite a lot of cyclists and had chats with them. I told a few of them what I’m doing – I don’t think they quite believed me.”

Boredom was the most challenging factor, aside from saddle sores, Phil told the County Times.

He added: “It did make it interesting because I saw lots of people I knew. I even bumped into my best mate and his wife. It was quite a sociable thing to do really.”

Phil said he was pleasantly surprised by how drivers treated him on his 100 mile ride.

He added: “There was no road rage. The drivers were really courteous. The amount of cars that let me go. I was really surprised.”

Phil spent three hours stuck at traffic lights and junctions during his nine hour cycle.

He said: “I was definitely saddle sore. It wasn’t too bad to be honest. I have had a lot worse.”