• Ride 1. Hills of Lewisham
• Ride 2. North London Parks

Ride 1. Hills of Lewisham

Report from Ride Leader Dave P. who was on his first time leading for us.

We had 8 plus Jamie as marshal, it was great having him to support me.  Pace was reasonable, probably a bit of a push for one of the group (literally at times).  I ended the ride at the Rye a little before 1, as people went their own way.  Jamie went with a couple who were heading towards the Queens Road

The group kept reasonably together and Jamie had his whistle for the odd occasion.  We managed the busy roads fine, although had to go past a line of stationary traffic after Deptford Creek towards the lights. Probably spent a little to long on the stop in Manopr House Gardens. Weather was phenomenal. Millwall were at home and crowds were arriving early, no bother there and a steward kindly pointed us to Ilderton Road so I could get on Surrey Canal Road to rejoin the cycleway.

There were no issues or incidents.  I let all know that we would have some tricky traffic. 

Once I got into my stride enjoyed it. One bit of feedback was that we needed more downhills, and less uphills. Perhaps some ski lifts or funiculars would help!!

Ride 2. North London Parks

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Ride 2 Report from Ride Leader John S.

We set off across London Bridge a few minutes after 10am, with sixteen riders, all set to detour round the closed off streets on the day of the Lady Mayor’s Show. Rejoining our originally planned route at Moorgate, we headed up to Lever Street and crossed over to Amwell Street, heading north to Mackenzie Road for Drayton Park. There we slowed up: as we approached Arsenal stadium, we inched our way against the flow of supporters into Gillespie Road, and entered the quiet stillness of Avenell Road, bringing us up to Finsbury Park. Coffee at last!

Our break over, we continued around the park perimeter, coming down the long straight tree-lined avenue to the park gate, and made our way via Queen’s Drive to Clissold Park. From there we followed a quiet route to Hackney Downs, from where we made our way via Churchwell Path onto Morning Lane. This brought us to Well Street Common, and so to Victoria Park, where we stopped for our group photo.

From Victoria Park, we followed the Regent’s canal path to Mile End Park, where we swung round by the lake to pick up the CS2 for a speedy return trip. As we turned down Philpot Lane the sun burst forth, and we sailed across London Bridge in style, our ride completed.

Our thanks are due to Barbara for acting as backrider, and to Jean for marshalling.

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