England : London Sunday London ride

[Sittingduck]

Roger that - I shall do my best to be there

 

[BentMikey]

Hope to see you guys there....

 

[topcat1]

just poppin out to get a paper (NOT THAT PAPER)

 

[Andrij]

just poppin out to get a paper (NOT THAT PAPER)

What a relief! For a brief moment I feared you might be a Grauniadista.

 

[Becs]

Have fun guys! Just woke up, perhaps still a little tipsy and can't walk v well cos my feet are unimpressed by 5 hours of bouncing about to indie tunes! Will have to spend all afternoon on the bike!

 

[Andrij]

That was a lovely day out. I'm home early as I bailed at the ferry. Not that I'm scared of going south of the river (I manage it every FNRtBrighton, and today's ride started on the South Bank), but having cycled back to within 10 minutes of home the temptation was too strong.


I believe we may have found a final destination for the ride on 31 July: Festival of the Bicycle (on FaceAche).

This 31st July come to Mabley Common, E9, Hackney - at the heart of the Lea Valley cycle development and home to the award winning London Olympic 2012 velodrome - to experience a Festival of the Bicycle!

BICYCLE *SPECTACLE*ENGAGEMENT*CULT​URE *PRIZES

Celebrating the weird and wonderful in cycling, bicycle arts and culture, and experiencing cycling!

This grass-roots event has been developed in collaboration with the Mabley Common Users' Group, MUF, Hackney Council, BikeWorks, The Kenton, Cycling Club Hackney, Hackney Youth Services and many more!

Expect

Celebrity bicycle guest celebrity opening speech!

Try a Tandem – come along and try riding with two!

Grass Track Racing & Cycling Competitions! - do you have an unusual bicycle?, bring it along! It might win a prize.

Weird and wonderful in cycling! – tandems, penny farthings, tall-bikes!

Bike workshop – free maintenance and advice for your bike and on cycling!

Bicycle Art and Culture – Bicycle art, films, music, and drinks!

The festival will be the best of summer fete feel, with a bicycle twist!

During the same weekend as Hackney Wicked Arts festival and just across the road, so something for everyone.

Bicycle film after party back at The Kenton, E9 7AB

 

[Mice]

What a great day!


A special guest from the other side of the pond moved the start of the ride to Gabriels Wharf on the South Bank. Dellzeqq, Martin235, arallsopp, Sitting Duck, Ianrauk, Topcat1, Bentmikey and 'Teef arrived followed by our special guest Threefingersjoe who hired his bike and off we went to Hyde Park Corner via Buckingham Palace to join up with the rest of the ride.

Brilliant group - Markgrant, Andrij, Fly, ttcycle, User13710 and William to name a few - I counted 17 of us in total but what do I know! Topcat1 was in charge and did a mighty fine job - excellent route, (I didn't notice any road closures other than one on Westminster bridge where a band was setting up) and excellent lunch stop and great tourist views and sights. After a lap of Hyde Park we went through Grosvenor Square via the new statue of Ronald Reagan, down Brook Street, round Hanover Square and Cavendish Square, down Regents Street, Piccadilly, Shaftsbury Avenue and Eastwards. On we went, via Victoria Park (where Arallsopp waved goodbye and shot off to a ferry ride home) to the Olympic Stadium - and User10571!

Tea, cake and bacon butties along with a range of snacks and sarnies (although Topcat1's nearly didnt arrive until teatime) then we made our way along Greenway which is traffic free but, well, pongs! (Greenwiff perhaps?) Down to the ferry, then along the south side of the river all the way back to Gabriels Wharf.

I didn't quite count the number of Sunday London Guides - Andrij was explaining all sorts of interesting things about Spittalfields, User10571 told us all sorts of things we didnt know particularly when we were south of the river and especially when we went over the meridian line 0 (I've just made that up but I have a photo!!) and Dellzeqq told us about two halves of a bazaar boat, amongst other things on the way.

As well as planning and leading the ride, Topcat1 really set a standard and bought us all ice creams! Sunday London Tourists! Fantastic. Thank you TC1. Looking forward to the next one. Cycling and chatting. What better way is there to spend a day? Photos here

Thank you everyone!

M

 

[Aperitif]

Agreed. Dave (with an 'Andrij alteration' and a special User10571 interlude) - take a bow! OK, we were there, but all of your local knowledge, and history pooled together made for a very interesting ride. Couple that with Chris' / the deptfordmarmoset and his quality info, there was too much to absorb for this modest brain cell.
Also Dave, thanks for your generosity in getting the ices and my coffee - IOU. You can be proud of yourself - it was a winner. Joe got the 'round London tour par excellence.
The only drawback is that the ride has brought into being a cough and sore chest. Well, it may be sore but not as sore as Joe's ar$e will be tomorrow!

Thanks all. 10/10

 

[Andrij]

... then we made our way along Greenway which is traffic free but, well, pongs! (Greenwiff perhaps?)

Yes, the Greenway does sometimes have a noticeable aroma.

 

[Aperitif]

Good photos too, Miranda. I forgot my camera so can't contribute what I was noticing!

 

[ttcycle]

It was a great ride! Fantastic to see you all on such a lovely day. Nice to meet some new faces.

 

[User10571]

A grand day out (OK - so I was late getting out from under my duvet... )

But I hope Joe (and others) enjoyed it...

If so - Mission accomplished.

J

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

So, not being used to cycling in groups, I went over a big bump and found myself wondering what I should say to warn the riders behind. Luckily the rider behind shouted out ''Bump!'' Ah yes, that's the word! It's not really that difficult when you get the hang of it....

Lovely to meet you all. I hope to join up with you again soon.

 

[dellzeqq]

Well, thanks, once again to Topcat, Andrij and User10571 for a splendid tour. I think we did Joe proud.

 

[arallsopp]

Great riding with you all again. Sorry to play Cinderella on you. My 'bent turns back into a pumpkin around 1300, so I had to make a quick split home. Opted for Rotherhithe instead of the ferry, managed to miss both, clambered across Tower Bridge and got home within the hour. Phew.

Here's some vids from the phone. Sorry about the quality. Chain lube makes a bent much quieter, but does nothing for camera lenses at all.

Andy.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzD8-hRAuvY[/media]


[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUSBOZklleI[/media]


One more to follow.