England : London Sunday London ride

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Nick Saddlesore

Über Member
Location
London
Re Brooklands, I'd avoid Richmond Park. Too many cyclists on a Sunday. From Barnes, I usually turn onto Upper Richmond Rd, Richmond Bridge, Richmond Rd to Twickenham, A316/Strawberry Vale to Teddington, Broom Rd to Kingston.
Roughly
 
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rb58

Enigma
Location
Bexley, Kent
DATES for your diary.

The early part of the season is looking much like this:

10 March: Treasure hunt

24 March: Ride for food to Leigh-on-Sea

7 April: The Death of the Sunday London Ride

28 April: Ride for food to Brooklands [London Marathon date]

5 May: Sunday London Ride Goes Ghost Hunting

19 May: Ride for food to Burnham-on-Crouch

Individual threads for each of the rides will be posted as we get nearer - there's already one for the treasure hunt). The themed rides are short (typically 15-20 miles) leisurely, conversational and hopefully interesting. The 'rides for food' will be longer, faster and an opportunity to stretch your legs. Stick 'em in your diary.
 

rb58

Enigma
Location
Bexley, Kent
Ta

Sorry to be a bore, is this the ghost signs ride:?

Sunday London Ride Goes Ghost Hunting, may 5
That's it. Preliminary recce done. It's going to be a ride that builds to a fabulous conclusion. Stick it in your diary.
 

AlexB

Guru
I did a recce of the route out to Brookwood on Sunday morning.
The Museum itself is easy enough to get to, but the bike parking consists of four bike hoops out the front of the shop (i.e. before you get inside the Museum). I think we might be able to ask them for a better parking place if we approach them politely.
There is a group discount for 15 or more people, but you have to buy the tickets in advance. I'm not sure how we can manage this and they don't give the amount of discount, so I'm not sure if it's worth going down this route.

A few observations; the first is that if we follow this route: https://cycle.travel/map/journey/89691 it's a very urban ride along quite busy roads. We won't have any opportunity to talk to each other and we'll basically be "in traffic" for almost the whole route.
The road conditions were good and the junctions are reasonably straightforward. I only got lost twice!
There are some temporary roadworks just near to the Museum, but they may well be gone by the time we get there.

I took a different route back, following the Thames path from Hampton Court to Kingston before turning onto back roads. This was a lot better, but I still didn't really enjoy the back roads, although there was next to no traffic.

Even at lunchtime on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the route along the river was glorious, I could relax and look at the view. I suspect that in the opposite direction and much earlier it would be even less busy. I might try the alternate route this weekend.

So, what do the panel think?
Should we take the urban route there and the pootling country route back?
Or the country route in both directions, go a bit slower and have the opportunity to talk to each other?

It's really about what type of ride we are trying to have.
 
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lilolee

Guru
Location
Maidenhead
I've kind of done this route from central London. Out to Putney isn't that nice, but is OK that time of day. Then go through Richmond Park, down to Teddington Lock, Bushy Park, Hampton Court, Thames Path to Walton and then cut down to Brooklands.

This route https://tinyurl.com/yxk7jx5e
 
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rb58

Enigma
Location
Bexley, Kent
A ride round some of the space invader wall art would be a good idea one week....

9833BC36-5179-430B-BE12-B86C0A7F6B03.jpeg
 

ianmac62

Guru
Location
Northampton
In Muswell Hill we have a man to ride your bike up for you.
If an interloper may comment ... Lenin (who was a keen London cyclist) also rode his bike in Switzerland during his period of exile there. He particularly admired British cyclists in Switzerland because they rode the steep roads. French and German cyclists, he noted with derision, were pulled up such roads by horses!
 
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