Ride Report – Annual London Ride – Saturday 27th September

Wow! What can I say and keep this brief?

Nine of us met at Euston at 10.00 a.m. for a brilliant day led by Alex and Miriam.

Starting to gather at Euston

We went through the City and stopped at some unusual sights. Bow Bells aren’t in the East End; they’re in the centre of the Cordwainers Ward. Cordwainers = Shoemakers – a Northampton connection. And John Smith, who married Pocohontas, was a shoemaker!

At St Mary-le-Bow

We crossed over Southwark Bridge to look at the Cross Bones Cemetery and the Redcross Gardens. (Maybe my non-bike-related favourite for being so surprising! And I now know the meaning of “Winchester geese”.)

Outside Cross Bones Cemetery where prostitutes licensed by the Bishop of Winchester were buried

Redcross Garden, an oasis near The Shard

We enjoyed a pint in The George Inn and fish & chips in Long Lane. We went to Alaska and saw a Banksy. We saw street markets and the river in Bermondsey; and then a statue of Tsar Peter the Great in Deptford. We passed (we didn’t use) the worst cycle lane in Britain to get to the Cutty Sark and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel (we’d been invited into the original Brunel tunnel), sampling the products of the Meantime brewery on the way.

A cycle lane? Really??

North of the river again, we paused to admire Millwall Dock (not many people can say that) and reached the Ragged School in Mile End. And then my cycle-related favourite: the Bamboo Bicycle Club in Stratford where we had the opportunity to ride bamboo bikes.

The Bamboo Bicycle Club

We rode down Columbia Street, famous for its flower market and paused outside Lululemon who sponsored a team in this year’s Tour of Britain Women’s Race. We enjoyed another pint in The Albion in Islington before stopping at The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Mural in Copenhagen Street.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs Mural

And we were back at Euston before 6.00 p.m. as promised so that everyone could catch their trains.

All the photographs I took are here on Flickr.

And … above all … huge thanks to Alex and Miriam who led us well, kept us informed and entertained, and left us wanting more!

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Army Cyclist Corps

A Great War Cyclist is buried in Kingsthorpe cemetery

Army Cyclist Corps.

Cycle4Cynthia – Sunday 21st September

We’re not planning our own ride this weekend as many members will be taking part in the annual Cycle4Cynthia Ride.  This year’s event starts at Lamport Hall and you can read all about registration and sponsorship here.

Our programme for October and November has been finalised!  If you’d like a copy in advance of publication on our website, e-mail iain.d@ctc-northampton.org.uk.

Our last ride in September is our annual “London Special” on Saturday 27th September.  Led by Alex this year, we’ll be starting at 9.55 a.m. for 10.00 a.m. from Euston Station.  We’ll be back at Euston for 6.00 p.m. approximately (and will pass King’s Cross and St Pancras on the way).  So … those are the timings; we’re promised “sub-zero” “unique” and “guarantee”; it’s going to be interesting.  If you are thinking of coming, Alex would be please to hear from you so he can gauge numbers, although everyone is, of course, welcome to just turn up on the day.  Alex is on 07710 911158.

A few more London ride details next week!

Ride Report – Saturday 13th September

Iain D, our Rides Secretary, went on this ride and writes:

Milton promised us:

• an on-time departure
• a brisk ride
• a choice of coffee stop.

I arrived at Moulton bang on 9.30 a.m., just in time to take part in the where-shall-we-stop vote (Olney 4, Salcey 0, abstentions 2), and then we were rolling. Milton set a brisk, but not unmanageable, pace over the lumpy bits to Bozeat before leading us through Harrold and out on a road I don’t think I’ve ever ridden before, which took us smoothly into Olney where we scared a group of cyclists from MK into leaving town. Not quite sure how we managed that, but perhaps it wasn’t us after all, perhaps it was the traffic. Not a problem on a bike though, since it wasn’t even moving.

After a sit down and a brew, Milton led us out of Olney “the flat way”, passing the highest point of the ride in Salcey Forest before cutting back through Preston Deanery and Great Houghton.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable morning (we were back well before 1.00 p.m., as promised) with some new tarmac and a decent pace, and it’s safe to say that Milton delivered on all three promises.

It was also good to see Ken back with us for the morning.

GPS track here: https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/407515962/5180977