Search31 May: Ultreia et Suseia: Day 1 (Reading to Portsmouth)
Sunday 31 May 2026
Alex writes: So begins the pilgrimage proper, but after the journey to the start these pilgrims already feel they have endured plenty of mortification of the flesh. We gingerly headed out of town and soon met up with Simon, an old friend of Bill's, for breakfast.
Then we rode on together for lunch at Alton. With temperatures much lower than yesterday and with only gently rolling countryside going was comparatively easy.
After lunch, however, we faced the much choppier terrain of the South Downs, and a sequence of testing climbs, some quite sharp. Eventually, we found ourselves on a cycle path parallel to the A3. At the famous chalk cutting enjoyed by the road at Butser Hill, the cyclepath heads up and over, but thereafter it seemed like we had a continual smooth descent to the unlovely outskirts of Portsmouth.
Boarding the ferry was straightforward except we found ourselves among many other cyclists and the MO for storing them seem to be to stack them all together and lash them with a rope. John was visibly twitchy about weather this was an appropriate way to treat his lovely new bike.
A word about the bikes
John's aforementioned lovely new bike is Fairlight Strael 4.0, gazelle-like British steel. I am on a Mason Exposure, rather more butch British (/Italian) steel. In contrast, Bill is riding a Trek Émonda, a balls-out carbon racing bike. Tyre-wise, John is on Continental GP 5000 AS (clincher) 32mm, I am on Continental GP 5000 S (tubeless) 32mm, and Bill has different tubless Vittoria tyres on each wheel. For gearing, John has 1x 12-speed Shimano GRX (22-115 gear inches), I have a hybrid 1x setup (20.5-105 gear inches), Bill has a compact double with a 11-36 cassette (25-125 gear inches). For luggage, John has opted for traditional rear panniers while Bill and I have a front bag/rear bag combo. We all have mechanical gears and hydraulic disc brakes.
We set sail
A disadvantage of being early on was that our cabin was not ready. But in compensation we headed to the restaurant and found it was open allowing us to beat the queue. We ate well and the champagne did flow (for me anyway).