• Ride 1. Trinity Buoy Wharf and Barrier Park
  • Ride 2. Stirling Prize Finalists

Ride 1. Trinity Buoy Wharf and Barrier Park

Trinity Buoy Wharf

Note from Bruce. Amanda tested Covid+ on the Thursday before the ride. Discussed options and decided we must try to find a replacement. I sent out a message to the pool of ride leaders and within minutes had a response from Philippa. Better still, Philippa was pretty familiar with the planned route. Next problem was the weather forecast. This was for steady rain all Saturday morning. Between Friday morning and the start the 16 riders registered diminished to 8 as people cancelled. Saturday morning and just light rain early on that had petered out, bar the occaiosnal short shower, by 10.30. By 11.30 the sun was out. From organising rides I have learned (1) do always look at the forecast and plan appropriately but (2) remember forecasters often err in the dierection of pessimism. So if you are fit and have some reasonable waterproofs, wait for ride day before makng a final decision.

Lots of messages and photos on WhatsApp (The Vulnerables). Here is Philippa’s brief account on WhatsApp of the action.:

Thanks to all who came on my version of Amanda’s ride with some adjustmants for the weather – including an extra stop at the Yurt Cafe just as it decided to chuck it down! Good also to introduce a couple of people to the Healthy Rides.

We had an eventful ride packed with roadowrks/road closures/cycle lane closures – grr. But we made it. albeit covering more distance than Amanda had lanned! A bit late back as a result, one minor spill and one mechanical at the end, Finished in lovely weather.

Photos from Philippa (mostly) and Owen

Ride 2. Stirling Prize Finalists

Stratford Station
Lee Navigation towpath
Chowdhury Walk
National Portrait Gallery
We made it to all 4 sites!

Report from Ride Leader Bruce

BBC London News had been highlighting the 4 sites in London that had been shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for best new building projects. This inspired me to design a route that would allow us to visit each one.  The locations were Chowdhury Walk in Hackney, Kings Cross Masterplan, National Portrait Gallery and The Elizabeth Line.  More info on the RIBA web site. Ended up with a 16 mile loop with a short Elizabeth Line trip inserted near the start.

10am there were 9 of us at the Southwark Needle, London Bridge. Very light rain – much better than the forecast. Across the bridge and up to Liverpool St Station using Old Broad St to avoid traffic on Bishopsgate. Entered the Elizabeth Line stattion and took the neat mini-funiculars and an old-style lift down to the Elizabeth Line platforms. Managed 3 at a time in the lifts and just spread across 2 trains, Two stops to Stratford and exit on to Gt Eastern Way next to the bus station. Stratford station complex plus the Straford Centre possess a bewilering array of lifts and pedestrian tunnels. On our route we needed lift E from the Eliz line platform then a right turn on exit from the lift that took us quickly to the bus station. Or so it did tor 8 of us. Tony was backmarking and was delayed at the platform lift so used the adjacent stairs. But the stairs do not emerge on the same pedestrian tunnel as the lift. After a significant delay we were all re-united.

In the meantime we had been joined by Andrew who had aranged to nnet us at Stratford, Off we headed across the Olympic Park ro the River Lee and rode 1mile up the towpath to the new (for me) pedestrian bridge at Daubeney Rd. 200m along Daubeney Rd and we were at Chowdhury Walk, site 2 (remember the E line was site 1). Chowdhury Walk is a neat brick terrace (see photo). Chatted briefly to a resident who declared her new home excellent. Next we rode 5 miles across North London passing Homerton Hospital and crossing London Fields to Kings Cross. Took a 20 minute break here for refreshment and/or looking around. Sun was out, the fountains were on, lots of people enjoying themsleves. The Master Palan was up for the prize, and certanily appeared to have produced a great outcome. From Kings Cross down through Bloomsbury and the West End to the Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square. We had visited all 4 sites. An extremely varied selection. Riders generally rated the Elizabeth Line the best – which agreed with the Stirling Prize judges. After final photos headed to the Embankment and Cycleway 3 back to London Bridge. Total of around 15 miles of cycling. The route from Stratford to the Portrait Gallery is here: https://www.komoot.com/tour/1905996562.

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