Some of us rode out from London to join others who trained it out to Otford for our Cheese Run Ride to Winterdale Shaw Farm yesterday. A mix of sunshine and showers, beautiful bluebells, some hills, some great descents, and one wild, wonderful glide along the Knatts valley before heading back to Otford and thence to town. Thanks to Andrew for leading this one. Great route.
Through the tunnel to Greenwich, up that hill in the park, across Blackheath where we almost joined a solitary kite in the clouds, as the wind whipped over and around us. Then down across the DLR bridge and onto the Waterlink Way for a bit to begin a little tour of some of Lewisham and Southwark’s best quiet cycling infrastructure. Finally we had a peek at the new cycling and pedestrian bridge over Rotherhithe New Rd. Nice bridge, shame it goes nowhere much at the moment, even though sorting this is easy, obvious and cheap. Lewisham and Southwark Cyclists trying to sort this as we speak.
Then some squirrelling through Rotherhithe and finally to the Angel. We found a cosy corner in the upstairs lounge, which must have some of the best views of the Thames in London, al beautiful and sparkly in the dark, and enjoyed a quiet drink before taking our separate ways home, myself and one other blown dramatically down Jamaica Rd at speed. Then, I had to turn off and head westwards into the wind. The last two miles felt like riding through treacle.
So glad two turned up to join me, I may well have just gone straight home otherwise. Loved it.
I’ll be at the Southwark Needle again, this Thursday 9th May, at 6.30pm. South end of London Bridge outside Evans. This time, I’ll head to the northside of the river and ride eastwards to Island Gardens, stroll through the tunnel to Greenwich, pedal up through the park, across Blackheath and down to the Waterlink Way, which I’ll follow for a bit. It connects with a few good cyclepaths that allow pleasant, traffic free pootling through Deptford and New Cross to South Bermondsey, where we will take a look at the recently opened Sustrans/Southwark bridge and then head back to the river to pick up the riverside route westwards. This time we may stop at a pub just before London Bridge (maybe the Angel or Old Justice, depending on the weather) for a quick drink before heading home.
Join me for as much, or as little of this 20 mile or so trip as you like. Jane 07826559603- NB: Some ride leaders prefer you to phone with any queries. However, not me because I can’t answer calls during the working day and don’t always hear my mobile if I am on the bike or busy. You will definitely get a reply if you text the number above.
As the warm weather arrives, be sure to check our rides on our Rides and Events page. We run rides every weekend throughout the year, regardless of the weather (unless health and safety concerns are too great, which is rare). However, we know that some of you prefer to ride when the weather’s better, so don’t forget to check out what we are doing now the weather is improving.
Some delights coming up include a trip to this lovely old pub down on Faversham Creek:
quite a few jaunts out into Kent, so near to our big, bustling city yet so peaceful and beautiful 
and, of course, local rides to our favourite parks, canals, coffee shops and cultural delights.
Looking forward to meeting lots more of you this summer. Look out for our summer programme of afterworker rides, short, London based rides, starting from Southwark Needle. First one next Thursday 2nd May, 6.30pm, along and across the river, ending near Tower Bridge, probably at a pub!
Just a quick update for tomorrow-meeting around 9am at London Bridge for the 9.24 to E. Grinstead. Lunch probably in Hartfield about halfway or so on this 40 mile ride.
Link to route here http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=buluqhkruconauuc
Leader contact: Jane on 07826559603 (phone now working fine)
What’s going on in Lewisham, that is, as regards the council actively implementing measures to improve cycling for those of us already out there, and, arguably, even more importantly, to get new cyclists making the choice to leave their bikes at home and walk or ride on their daily journeys. Well, Lewisham Cyclists is about to find out the answer to that question.
Last year, we put together what we called a wish list. We asked for your ideas about what was needed in your borough if cycling was to become a more popular, safer choice of travel for a much more diverse and greater number of us. Some of us rode round the borough, checking it out, finding the places we thought needed the council’s attention. Then we put together this document. We got a letter back. And that, it seems anyway, was it. We learned, later the same year, that TfL thought it was too difficult to run a CSH, that met their new standards, through our borough. We have struggled to get Lewisham Council to take us seriously over the Trundleys Rd junction, despite the fact that it is a key junction in a network of otherwise great little safe cycle routes in the borough. I, personally, cannot see much eveidence that they have taken on board the concept of permeability which councils like Hackney have used to such good effect in their borough.
So, it’s time to review our wish list, and ask them what they think they have done to increase cycling’s modal share over the last year, and what they intend to do this year.
And here is where you come in. Please take the time to look at the wish list- I don’t think it’s too long or too dry a document. Then, two requests of your time:
1. If you know any of the locations in the document and think the council have done something to improve it for cyclists, tell us here, as a comment on this post.
2. If you know of something/somewhere else that you believe the council could do either to make cycling safer and a more pleasant experience for you, as an existing cyclist, something we haven’t already included, tell us about that too. Talk to the non cyclists you know, at work, amongst your neighbours, at school, in your family. Would they like to ride a bike in Lewisham? What’s stopping them? What would make it easier.
We are not solely concerned with on road solutions, training issues, parking, storage, they are all relevant.
Here is the link to the document, and the council’s original reply.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Lewisham Cyclists proposals to council-2
I rode out to the meetpoint at Cutty Sark Gardens, not really expecting anyone to turn up for this ride. It was bitterly cold, with a freezing easterly blowing up the river and flakes of snow were falling. I had already received three messages from people who had thought earlier in the week, they would come, saying they had thought better of it. However, London cyclists are obviously pretty tough as 7 hardy souls arrived, looking keen and eager to get started. So we headed off on familiar ground along the river, thankfully heading west so the bitter wind was at our backs. And once moving, the blood flows and the body warms up. I was toasty warm the whole ride- thanks to several layers, my heatholder socks I got for Christmas and my walking gloves with merino liners. 
Coming off the river, we walked a bit of Tooley St which is in various changing stages of being dug up at the moment, then headed over London Bridge into a massive jam due to the closure of Cannon St. But once past this, the City was its usual calm, peaceful weekend self. Very little traffic. We made our way over Old St and into Islington, up long elegant Georgian terraces, then down onto the westerly section of the Regent Canal. The cold weather had deterred many of the usual folk from venturing out on their usual Sunday stroll along the towpath and into Camden Lock. So it was pleasant to ride along with much less need to tingle bells and squeeze and squash. 
Through the zoo, where the noise from the aviary was particularly loud and hyenas skulked on the other side, eyeing us suspiciously as we passed. Some of the birds come down quite close to the towpath. 
You have to leave the canal after walking through a particularly crowded mooring and cross Lisson Grove, before rejoining a few minutes later on the other side of Edgware Road. Most of the canal boats have at least one brightly coloured bike somewhere on deck. 
Then it’s a short jaunt to Paddington and then into the park.
We did not spend long in the park, leaving it at the Brook St crossing to head through Mayfair, Soho and Covent Garden, where we decided to stop for lunch, earlier in the route then planned, but a bit later in the day. Food is even more necessary and appreciated in this cold weather. Then back on the bikes through Bloomsbury and along the great little Tavistock Rd bike path. Our plan had been to take a swift tour of Clerkenwell and the City on the way back, but one of us had a flat, and it was beginning to get really cold. Above us, the sky looked ominously full of snow, or something else extremely cold and wet, so we headed down to Farringdon Rd and Blackfriars Bridge instead.
From there we joined up various cycle paths to take a very quiet and pleasant route through parks and estates through New Cross, Deptford and back to Greenwich, including the new Bridgehouse Meadows path, complete with underpasses beneath the railway, which links up other paths to create some very useful routes that criss cross Lewisham safely.
I really enjoyed the day, having set out thinking it might be too cold a day to have fun. I was proved wrong- thanks to everyone who came.
My next ride will be a Kent country ride- probably train assisted. March 9th
Just a quick reminder-our meeting tonight at the Dog and Bell in Deptford, 6.30pm. All welcome. And here is a link to a route for our ride on Saturday. London based, 30 miles, easy, although some busy sections so not suitable for young children. Meeting Greenwich, Cutty Sark Gardens by the foot tunnel entrance 10am. read our ride info page if you have never ridden with us before. If you still have questions that need answering, contact ride leader, Jane on 07826559603
The picture above captures the spirit of the ride, despite the cold, ice and snow, absolutely. Great fun. And how I appreciated that hot, ht bath when I got home.New Meetpoint and meet time. Now train assisted for all.
Meetpoint: New Cross Gate Station 8.45am for 9.08am train to South Coulsdon. Train is 9.03am from London Bridge if you prefer to pick it up there.
OK. Here’s the thing. I rode out to check next week’s route today. It was a lovely ride, if a hilly one. Except for the first ten miles or so. When I’ve done this ride before, I don’t really think about them much, just ride them as quickly as I can as a way out to the pretty. Today, I had my ride leader recceing hat on and was trying to see all the ride as others might see it. And there is no getting away from it, the first ten miles or so to Coulsdon are mean. Not pleasant. Lots of fast nasty roads, horrid junctions, everything we want to get away from at the weekends.
I can make the first 5 or so better. Quieter, residential roads. But the bit from Croydon is difficult to avoid, unless you add quite a few more miles, which makes the ride too long for a February, still short on daylight hours, especially as we may be slow due to hills.
So here’s the deal. There is a train at 9.03 am from London Bridge, the Horsham train, which stops at South Coulsdon. It also stops at New Cross Gate, Norwood Junction, East Croydon and Purley. It gets to Coulsdon South at about 9.30 am. I propose we take this train, to avoid the bits that spoil this lovely ride. I will be at New Cross Gate at 8.45am to meet anyone who wants to join me next Saturday 9th February for this rather lovely ride.
So, Meetpoint: New Cross Gate Station 8.45am for 9.08am train to South Coulsdon. Train is 9.03am from London Bridge if you prefer to pick it up there.
