England : London Sunday London ride

[topcat1]

I'll be at HPC 9.45-10

 

[Aperitif]

Will you be coming by donkey today, Dave? I'll bring my cloak and some palm leaves if so.

 

[martint235]

I'll be at HPC by 9.30 so pedal a bit faster on that battery assisted bike Topcat!!!

 

[Aperitif]

Simon's fish?

Yeh - the doodle made real - years before Damien Hirst made a fortune from doing the same thing...

 

[Sig SilverPrinter]

Sigs blown me out, Simon's fish?

Are the Allstops hitting brighton today?

Sorry Dave I need a better alarm clock
Did part of the loop but turned left at pi$$ bridge and back into Upminster so only 20 miles

 

[martint235]

Well that was a fine day out in great company. Love AJ's bike although not sure I could get on with downtube shifters!

Out to the Olympic Village and on the ferry. 35 miles for me at a pootle pace

 

[Aperitif]

'Nice out!'
We did a lot of odd things today - as usual.
One of them was paying a visit to the Public Pump..."The Boris Pump" It's actually more of a 'Ken Pump' as it doesn't do much but sure looks good standing there.
Our resident airhead took the opportunity to pile on the pressure, while Doctor Roadkildare looked on...

Today's ride featured:
Dave Tomcat, Minnie and Mickey, Adrian 'AJ-47' 'The nearly Kalashnikov Cyclist' and a pair of out of the house Martins. Dave stopped for so many 'p's there were none left for his forum name, and he took the Mickey out of Mice and she is now known as Mouse, the time passed quickly and we stopped here and there. Olympicville is looking good, but my goodness It. Is. Going. To. Be. A. Massive. Clog. Up.
Just think of the 'legacy' though...Hyde Park was rammed with folk too. Nice day thank you. Pics later.

 

[Sittingduck]

Love it! Looks like you lot had a nice ride.

 

[Speicher]

Oi what's this right 'ere?


He appears to have inflated his left ear.

 

[her_welshness]

You didn't mention seeing me and, ahem, our snog, Aperitif It was great bumping into you chaps, all 17 of us were on Bermondsey Bill's Lost rivers of London ride. Glad you all had a great ride today

 

[Mice]

The first official Cycle Chat Sunday London Ride 2012 that I have joined. Great way to start - blue sky, sunshine and excellent company. We were missing a few degrees as the air was definitely chillier than it looked.

By 9.45 'Teef (Hoorayyyyy Teef was on the ride - long time no see!), Martin235, AJS (not seen for a while either), TC1 and I were keeping the April Fool Jokes to a minimum. Once the Horse Guards had been to say hello, we made our way to the obligatory P Stop before heading down Constitution Hill, Parliament Square over Westminster Bridge and down to Origamist Territory where we found a state of the art Bicycle Pump. It looked really good but sadly unless you are over 5'10 tall you will spend the week there trying to inflate your tyres! Alternatively carry a fruit crate in your saddle bag which you can then use again at Speakers Corner...! (But remember to remove it before an FNRttC!)

As we turned onto the main road heading south we were greeted by a group of cyclists with Clarion at the helm! There was a lot of waving, Teef went to say hello to Her Welshness (Hello Her Welshness!) and we all felt very happy that we were all out on our bikes.

Eastwards we headed, The Cat was in charge and it was a great route - it didnt feel like we were going to the Olympic Stadium at all. Over Tower Bridge and northwards. As we scooped past the City there was an enormous firecracker of a noise. I genuinely thought it was gunfire but then realised it must be a lorry back firing. However, TC1 was crouched over his front wheel - from which the noise had been produced. The P"£$!"£!" Fairy had really gone for it - the hole in the tube was at least 2" (that's 5cm in new money) long. Teef and TC1 filled the place with CO2, repaired the patch and we went on our way. The sunshine was lovely, none of us was in any particular hurry which was just as well when Teef remarked we had covered 5.2 miles in one hour!!

On through Victoria Park and up to The Olympic Stadium. Not much has changed from the outside - but the catering kiosks are visible, the Swimming Pool building is finished and the red mesh of money now has a viewing platform at the top of it. Inaccessible I am sure but there you have it. We created a far more beautiful piece of artwork by draping our bicycles over the railings. It was so lovely that my camera took the pic and then collapsed in excitement of it all (apparently they need to be charged from time to time).

We went back through a park, over a canal a few times and over the A13 to Woolwich. The river trip was lovely (because the sky was so blue not because it was the QE2), Martin235 shot up a hill and the rest of us made our way back to Hyde Park Corner for a P Stop and a cuppa. Lovely! Thanks Teef! AJS and Teef headed north, TC1 and I south. 43 miles of funtime in the sunshine. I am busy learning about my lovely Garmin - I dont think I set it properly as its combining my ride totals so further studying required.

Sunday London Rides are a great way to spend a Sunday and I think encapulates "Cycle Chatting in 3D"! I took some pics https://picasaweb.google.com/108733...&authkey=Gv1sRgCO7-wfSdi7DKdg&feat=directlink

Thank you Peeps. That was fun!

M

 

[topcat1]

I love AJ's bike


so i met up with Teef Mice Martin and Aj and we went to play with THAT PUMP and just around the corner was ^^Katy and her thugs we then took the zig zag route to tower bridge

so we're in the city and there's the loudest "BANG" that's right me tyre blew

onto the Olympic park nice coffee and roll thanks Mice we then visit the Mile End millenium park




then it was onto the greenway and the ferry


a quick stop the pick up some tubes and back to hpc


thanks guys + Mice

 

[clarion]

Great to see you all!

But I can't claim to have been at the helm of that motley crew of Riverhunters. I was merely an able seaman.

 

[ajstephens]

66 thoroughly enjoyable miles for me and a bonce sunburnt to the hilt. Great to see everyone today, thanks to Martin for the brief guided tour up north - didn't get a nosebleed this time. And thanks for all the nice comments about my new (30 year old) bike.

Hope to see you soon, A.

 

[Aperitif]

You didn't mention seeing me and, ahem, our snog, Aperitif It was great bumping into you chaps, all 17 of us were on Bermondsey Bill's Lost rivers of London ride. Glad you all had a great ride today

Shhhhh! Walls have ears lovely Katie (although BigMart has one that could knock them into a cocked hat).
Forgive me for not administering to this thread; I got in, swapped bikes and went out to do a little work (on my work bike - natch) - the fixed wheel one. I have just got back indoors.
Silly me, having spent the day getting used to freewheeling on the gears, I thought it would be dandy to 'freewheel' just as a red car was turning in front of me...to let it go. Guess where I was two seconds later? I can vouch for the durability of the long sleeved Fridays jersey - no damage to the fabric but elbow skin gone awol. The biblongs, changed because I suspected it might be a bit chilly tonight - not so good. Shredded, in fact, with my knee coming second. I was working on the knee and elbow tan this year too, and had given them the best start.
That pump - Dave could only find compliments tumbling from his mouth when trying to get some air. I think you are all being decent about something that didn't work for him.
Avanti man's bike is below - just in case AndyilB is watching.