lazybloke
Priest of the cult of Chris Rea
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
Have been doing a weekly weekend ride into London, leaving circa dawn to avoid the traffic. Lots of sights to see, and it's a good way to rack up the miles in practice for RideLondon (next week).
My ride last weekend was shall we say , subdued.
A 17 yr old at my children's school had died in a car accident the night before. He was driving, no other cars involved. It had been the last day of school before exams. Such a tragic loss...
Then on my Saturday morning ride I was going through Chelsea and happened across the scene of the dogwalker and her animals, who had been mown down.
And finally, in an unrelated incident 50 yards further along, a pedestrian had keeled over on a crossing. A police officer was attempting resuscitation whilst cars were driving past.
All very unsettling; these are not thoughts or images that will fade quickly.
Thankfully, this weekend has been free of any such incidents.
My route this morning took my past Sandown Park into Bushy Park, Richmond Park, Hyde Park and Battersea Park. I also did some of the RideLondon route east from near Parliament Square. Not sure exactly where the route goes, but I headed east past Tower Bridge on Cable Street and kept going until I hit the east side of the Isle of Dogs.
Had racked up enough miles by now, so turned and made my way back, hugging the Thames until I reached Vauxhall, then crossing over and wiggling through residential streets to Clapham. And home along the A24.
I had stopped at the north end of Chiswick bridge to see the TaskMaster house, but the gate was so high and well screened I couldn't see anything. There was a slight consolation prize on the road that hugs the banks - I came across a dilapidated bandstand that I recognised as a filming location from Series 2.
Battersea park was lovely, cool and leafy; plus it has the peace pagoda.
73 miles done.
Will be back on that RideLondon route next Sunday at 6:55am - slightly later than usual!
My ride last weekend was shall we say , subdued.
A 17 yr old at my children's school had died in a car accident the night before. He was driving, no other cars involved. It had been the last day of school before exams. Such a tragic loss...
Then on my Saturday morning ride I was going through Chelsea and happened across the scene of the dogwalker and her animals, who had been mown down.
And finally, in an unrelated incident 50 yards further along, a pedestrian had keeled over on a crossing. A police officer was attempting resuscitation whilst cars were driving past.
All very unsettling; these are not thoughts or images that will fade quickly.
Thankfully, this weekend has been free of any such incidents.
My route this morning took my past Sandown Park into Bushy Park, Richmond Park, Hyde Park and Battersea Park. I also did some of the RideLondon route east from near Parliament Square. Not sure exactly where the route goes, but I headed east past Tower Bridge on Cable Street and kept going until I hit the east side of the Isle of Dogs.
Had racked up enough miles by now, so turned and made my way back, hugging the Thames until I reached Vauxhall, then crossing over and wiggling through residential streets to Clapham. And home along the A24.
I had stopped at the north end of Chiswick bridge to see the TaskMaster house, but the gate was so high and well screened I couldn't see anything. There was a slight consolation prize on the road that hugs the banks - I came across a dilapidated bandstand that I recognised as a filming location from Series 2.
Battersea park was lovely, cool and leafy; plus it has the peace pagoda.
73 miles done.
Will be back on that RideLondon route next Sunday at 6:55am - slightly later than usual!
) then along the road to Ploxgreen. I had been a little undecided about which side of the valley to climb up this time and finding the road to Snailbeach closed it helped with the decision to take Drury Lane head up the hill to Ladyoak, Hopesgate and Bentlawnt. With a lot of climbing to be done on this ride I took it steady in a lowish gear and enjoyed the scenery.
A pause at the foot of the climb gave the chance to have a good drink and stow the fleece I'd put on for the descent from the Stiperstones. As I set off a passing walker simply said "Enjoy!"
