Croydon is where the South Downs ride comes home to London, and it is honest about it: a big, busy town of glass office towers, flyovers, trams and shopping centres, sitting at the southern edge of the capital where the chalk hills of the North Downs fade into suburbs. It has a population larger than many British cities and its own strong identity, and for a rider it is the last stretch before the metropolis takes over.
It has a surprising history. Croydon Airport, a few kilometres south-west on the Purley Way, was London's main airport between the wars, the first in the world with a proper air-traffic control tower, and the departure point for many early flights to Europe and the Empire. Amy Johnson took off from here in 1930 on her solo flight to Australia. The old terminal building still stands, with a small museum, and it is a nice detour if you are interested in aviation. Croydon was also an ancient market town and the home of the Archbishops of Canterbury for centuries, whose old palace survives in the old town.
Getting here from the south means one of a few corridors. The A23 runs up through Coulsdon and Purley, and the A22 brings you in through Caterham and Whyteleafe, and both drop off the North Downs in a series of bends before turning into long suburban roads lined with shops and traffic lights. The downs themselves, just south of here, are still lovely, with steep lanes around Woldingham and Chaldon and views back over the Weald, so if time allows, a last loop up there before descending is a good farewell.
Urban riding is the end of the story. Expect buses, trams, busy junctions and drivers in a hurry, and the area is covered by the London Ultra Low Emission Zone, which applies to older motorcycles, so check your bike's status. Speed cameras are common on the main roads.
Everything practical is here: fuel, food from every cuisine, bike shops and dealers, and fast trains into central London. It is not a place to linger in your gear, but it is a perfectly good place to put the bike down, take a deep breath and remember that only a couple of hours ago you were looking at the sea from Beachy Head.