Report from Werner (Ride Leader).   After the dynamic forecasts of the last few days it was difficult to predict how many would show up for today’s healthy ride.  However, there was a good turnout and 15 set off from Canada Water and the sun decided to join us.

Via an already busy Southwark Park and after two cautious crossings of Hawkstone and Rotherhithe New Road all riders managed the first mountain stage, the zigzag from Oldsfield Grove over the London Overground line. Then a string of quietly connected parks (Folkestone Gardens, Fordham Park and Margaret McMillan Park) to a serious but overlooked obstacle: Deptford Market’s spread into Douglas Way. Thanks to Lewisham for the contra-flow from Comet Street to Reginald Street, that let us join route 21 at the Birdsnest roundabout. Then the shared pavement/segregated lanes got us over the A2 and into a lovely and still very empty Brookmill Park. Some more zig-zagging to get above the DLR at Elverson Road and some more complex geometric activity to get down on the other side. I assume the planner had decided the length first and then had to fold it up to fit into the space. But both railway crossings were a pleasure to ride, there are barriers but they aren’t chicanes.

We then (more or less) followed route 17 into Greenwich Park and “because it’s there” some of us decided to race to the top. Bromptons did very well in both categories, they should offer a polka-dot version.  After negotiating half the blight on Greenwich’s town-centre we were welcomed by Community Liaison Officers who told us that we were expected to do the whole gyratory, strictly verboten to ride the 50m past the Cutty Sark before joining NCR 4.  Continued along the river, noticed that the bridge over Deptford Creek isn’t yet there and took a very long but nice detour over the Ha’penny Hatch bridge just to avoid the nasty right turn off the main road (and to take a long rest while waiting for the least helpful crossing-light on the route to favour us). The canonical riverside route with a bit of extra through Russia Dock Woodlands and around Stave Hill got us back to Canada Water bang on time.

If anybody wants to know where they were this morning and which direction they were going around the Laban Centre: http://taffimai.w2.org.uk/healthy-rides/Brookmill-20140712.html