I can't tell you how much I enjoy speaking to Chris at the Rose Restaurant. There's something about the man that says 'Seaside Starts Here'. As in Proper Seaside, with arcades, ice cream and a Palais de Dance.
And Southend has so much more than that! A pier! An Esplanade! Make that Two Esplanades! Adventure Island! As good a view of the Isle of Grain that one could wish for! And Cutting Edge Contemporary Architecture!
This, for those of you who don't know, is our shortest ride. Not quite as short as it used to be, but at 57 miles, and little by way of hills, it's no bother to get in to the Rose Restaurant bang on seven o'clock. We'll be paying our respects to The Magnificent Tully Family at Stock Village Hall, having surveyed the Olympics, seen the nightlife in Ilford, Romford and Brentwood and splashed out way across the ford at Buttsbury.
After that...... we slide down Old Stock Lane, a honey of a road, then roll down the old turnpike to Battlesbridge, before going past the smallest council house in the country and on to our favourite viewing point above Hadleigh.
If you're wondering if this night ride nonsense is for you, then this is the gentlest of introductions. There's not going to be much by way of darkness - we'll be in streetlights until Mountnessing, and the sun will be up by the time we leave Stock, and there's not much by way of hills. That's not to say the ride is devoid of romance - the road from Mountnessing to Stock is as lovely an eight miles as we see all year, and, light or dark, the last two miles are full to bursting with seasideness. Proper Seasideness.
It's the usual deal - you can find out about 'the basics' and registration from the link below.
And Southend has so much more than that! A pier! An Esplanade! Make that Two Esplanades! Adventure Island! As good a view of the Isle of Grain that one could wish for! And Cutting Edge Contemporary Architecture!
This, for those of you who don't know, is our shortest ride. Not quite as short as it used to be, but at 57 miles, and little by way of hills, it's no bother to get in to the Rose Restaurant bang on seven o'clock. We'll be paying our respects to The Magnificent Tully Family at Stock Village Hall, having surveyed the Olympics, seen the nightlife in Ilford, Romford and Brentwood and splashed out way across the ford at Buttsbury.
After that...... we slide down Old Stock Lane, a honey of a road, then roll down the old turnpike to Battlesbridge, before going past the smallest council house in the country and on to our favourite viewing point above Hadleigh.
If you're wondering if this night ride nonsense is for you, then this is the gentlest of introductions. There's not going to be much by way of darkness - we'll be in streetlights until Mountnessing, and the sun will be up by the time we leave Stock, and there's not much by way of hills. That's not to say the ride is devoid of romance - the road from Mountnessing to Stock is as lovely an eight miles as we see all year, and, light or dark, the last two miles are full to bursting with seasideness. Proper Seasideness.
It's the usual deal - you can find out about 'the basics' and registration from the link below.
