• Ride 1. Dulwich to the Frieze Sculptures in Regents Park
• Ride 2. Five Upstream Bridges 

Weather forecast was for 50 mph gusts. There were many cancellations in the 48 hours precedng the ride. As happens quite often, forecasters were erring on the pessimistic side. It was certainly breezy but even over the bridges not dagerously so.

Ride 1. Dulwich to the Frieze Sculptures in Regents Park

Despite dire warnings about storm Amy, Saturday was blue sky and dry. Despite a few cancellations and no-shows, we had 10 riders leaving Dulwich Park at 10.06 heading towards the Frieze sculptures in Regents Park. It was a bit gusty as we approached Vauxhall Bridge but actually crossing it was quite mild and not windy. We made our way up the backstreets towards Buckingham Gate to the front of the Palace. Busy as usual with Tourists but no evidence at that stage that St James Park was shut- which in fact it was – as we discovered later 8 of the Royal Parks had been shut due to adverse weather conditions …in line with their  ” tree safety policy and emergency plan relating to high winds.”

We reached Hyde Park to discover the gates shut  but made our way along Park Lane which in fact has a cycle path for most of its length. We resumed our intended route from Stanhope Gate although it began to dawn on us that if Hyde Park was shut, perhaps Regents Park would be too. Making our way North and East via Marylebone High Street to cross over Marylebone Road we continued around the Outer Circle to the English Gardens where the exhibition was. Sadly, all gates were locked as we suspected they might be but the riders were agreed that they were glad they had come out in spite of weather warnings as the day was so bright and fine. Having checked that our destination Park Cafe was also closed off, we agreed to make our way back and find a coffee stop en route. 

We stopped at a lovely Greek Deli & Cafe (Fratelli Greci) with some tables outside, just on the corner of Seymour Place and upper Berkley St on our way back towards Hyde Park. Having sampled some lovely pastries we cycled West along Bayswater Road since all gates to Hyde Park ( which we had intended to cross) were shut. There were hoardes of tourists outside each gate, forlornly looking at their phones, trying to work out how they could get to their destinations without crossing the park as they clearly had planned. I was glad to be on a bike and not having to make a large diversion on foot. We finally crossed to Kensington High Street via Palace Gardens Tce and turned back to Exhibition Road to head south towards the river and Albert Bridge. Battersea Park was open and so we crossed over towards Clapham Common, and our usual route back to Herne Hill and Dulwich Park- arriving on schedule at 13.59.

Certainly there had been some windy moments and occasional random gusts too, but nothing too challenging and despite the disappointment of seeing just 2 sculptures through the gates, it was a sociable and enjoyable ride.

Report from Ride Leader Jean.

Jean also says on WhatsApp:”Thanks very much to Eva and Jackie for backmarking and to Jamie for marshalling.” Also on WhatsApp lots of nice posts Some examples. From Mike,”Thnks very much Jean for ..findng routes around the closed parks. We caught a glimpse of some friezes..”. Jamie: “Many thanks Jean for our exciting and windy ride…always a pleasure to have beaten inclement weather.”. Liz:”Thank you Jean, lovely ride today!”. Paula:”Thank you all for a fab ride today. Thanks to Jean for leading us safely in the wind.”.

Ride 2. Five Upstream Bridges 

Just 3 of us at the start. Revised the route to avoid wind on narrow bridges blowing us in the directon of the traffic. With a westerly wind meant crossing Albert Bridge southwards, not as planned northwards. Started by crossing Vauxhall Bridge as this has wide, safe segregated cycle track and so would allow us to assess the wind strength over the bridges. Found wind strong, but not enough to blow you off your bike.

Continued along Embankment to Albert Bridge. Passed the newly created Chelsea Quay. this is the old Tideway Site now retained as a small public space. All hard surfaces – needs some planters. Really very small compared to the hype in some of the plans.

Cossed Albert Bridge without problems and did a circuit of Battersea Park. Next across Chelsea Bridge. Decided not to backtrack and do Battersea Bridge. Instead rode to Lambeth Bridge. The road works are nearly finished. Traffic was light so we were able to make the right turn on to the new cycle lane.

Finished the ride at the south end of Lambeth Brdige. David had already depparted and Sophie opted for a direct route home rather than returning to Waterloo. In the end 4 bridges on a shortened ride. But still a good workout and nice to defy forecasters and get a ride in.

Planned route at https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14RgZ0zoVie6bUSZmAGJ9Qk6TJWTeUf0&usp=sharing

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