• Ride 1. Trinity Buoy Wharf
  • Ride 2. Cycleway 4

Ride 1. Trinity Buoy Wharf

Group photo from Amanda

Amanda leading, 18 riders. Amanda posted on WhatsApp: Thank you all for your great company today. Simon for back-marking all the way, Eva and Jamie for Marshalling and everyone else for the chilled and happy vibe we had. Can’t believe how glorious the sunshine was and the warmth of it… Great ride. Nice to finally see King Edward’s Park in Shadwell completed at very long last.

Canary Wharf
Royal Dock?
TBW
TBW
TBW

Lots of comments on WhatsApp:

  • David: Thanks Amanda for lovely, enjoyable ride to Trinity Buoy and back. Train home “cancelled due to gazebo on the track…” ?
  • Louise: Thanks for a fab ride Amanda
  • ?Shelagh: Great ride thank you ?
  • Paula: Thank you Amanda, fantastic ride and great to see you ???
  • Jamie: Many thanks Amanda for such an awesome ride today. Hugely enjoyable route with the Sun shining all the way. ?
  • Anne: Thanks ? Amanda..
  • Simon: Many thanks Amanda, terrific ride, still light when I got home, and thanks to Jamie for keeping us in apple pie order.  ?
  • John: Thanks Amanda for leading. And thanks to everyone for great company.

Ride 2. Cycleway 4 – Rotherhithe to Charlton

Greenwich Royal Naval College
Thames path
Across Thames ot Trinity BW

Cycleway 4 was started over 10 years ago as Cycle Superhighway 4, planned as a direct route along the Thames on the south side.  Most has been completed over the decade since and it now runs from London Bridge to close to Woolwich. We were interested to see the different styles of cycle lane along the way and to consider if this type of cycleway is likely to encourage more cycling, especially by women and children.

Six riders started at 10am from Canada Water and joined the Cycleway on Lower Road just west of the Surrey Quays gyratory. We almost immediately reached the pair of junctions from Hawkstone Rd to Redriff Rd, the second combining a crossover to the north side of the road. The design here is under review, and with good reason. Long nearly straight stretch to Greenwich mostly decent width and good junction treatments. At Greenwich the segregated cycle way stops just after Norway St and follows back streets and Thames path to Cutty Sark. We chose to stay on the A206 using the bus lane and then the gyratory before turning off into the Royal Naval College. we rejoined the A206 at Park Row. This is still not cycleway whose route is on back streets. There is some unsegregated cycle way and some bus lane. Would not be hard to do a seg. lane for most of this route. Bidirectional segregated lane restarts at Christchurch Way and continues across the wide Blackwall Lane junction. This can be slow but we sailed though on a single phase. Next the Angerstein Junction under the A102 approach road to the tunnel. The cycle route here is complicated but fairly clearly signed and safe, although slow. Bidirectional path continues along Woolwich Road. This stretch is not very wide and in places just wands. Just after the shops at Charlton is a newer section built to a higher standard. There is a new crossover using a parallel ped-cyclist arrangement and the cycleway continues on a very nice new bidirectional segregated lane to Charlton Lane where it comes to an abrupt halt. We could see the nearly finished continuation that goes close to the big junction at the Woolwich Ferry. Will be good then this section is opened.

We turned at the end of the finished section and returned to the shops at Charlton for a coffee. There was a view that we had had enough of rather unscenic A roads and headed to the Thames path and rode that all the way back to Greenwich. In the bright sunshine this was great. After Cutty Sark we rejoined the cycleway to speed things up and did the final stretch through back streets and the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre to avoid the crossover junction at Redriff Rd.

This Cycleway has a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately until the Surrey Quays 2 junctions and the crossover are improved you cannot see this route getting many children being allowed to use it. A chain is as strong as is weakest link and a cycleway is rendered less usable by its worst junction.

Many thanks to Nicholas for back marking.

Comments on WhatsApp:

  • Nicolas: Much quieter ride with Bruce lovely along the river
  • Laura: Thank you Bruce for the much quieter ride. And, you Trinity Docks folks, we were looking to wave to you from across the Thames. Ha!

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