London Lockdown 2026

[lazybloke]

Event title: London Lockdown
Event date/s: 10PM on Fri 27th March 2026
Event location: Victoria Station carpark
Event organiser: Mark Kowalski
Your relationship: previous participant
Cost of entry: Charitable donation
Minimum sponsorship: £10
Beneficiary: Lewisham Bank of Things
Event link: https://bit.ly/m/LondonLockdown

Mark Kowalski created this route in 2020 during Lockdown, and opened it to the public in 2022 as a social ride with a fundraising objective.
Just 6 riders in '22, but more each subsequent year as a result of social media campaigning and word of mouth.

I rode for the first time in 2025; 150 of us enjoying a surprisingly warm night on 21st March. The route is all about the Strava art, carefully etching out the shape of a coronavirus superimposed on London, but it's a route with great sights and experiences; the Greenwich peninsular & foot tunnel, the Olympic park, The Mall, and much more.

Awesome - hoping to ride again 2026.

 

[ianrauk]

Yep, am planning on signing up for that.

 

[Shadow]

There is another thread somewhere about this.

I did not realise it was a night ride. You should have told us last year! Could be really good fun. FNRttC-ers would no doubt enjoy.

 

[mustang1]

Which way round does this route go: clockwise or anti? I might consider doing half of it.

 

[Oldhippy]

I quite fancy that.

 

[lazybloke]

Which way round does this route go: clockwise or anti? I might consider doing half of it.

It's anticlockwise.
If doing just the first half, i remember some sharp but fairly short climbs. Eg Crystal Palace, but the maximum elevation appears to be only 90 metres. I've added an elevation plot below.

There's a halfway stop at Bow McDonalds, but maybe Greenwich would be a better stopping point for those not going all the way.

My biggest worries of the night were:
A) high traffic levels - nope it was pretty good; you're quickly away from the centre, onto the Thames path, then quiet residential streets; also towpaths, parks, and cyclepaths.
B) Navigation. This route is VERY twisty, and in a few places the GPS reception is a challenge. You can easily lose your sense of direction, and i was particularly annoyed to discover my Garmin Explorer 2 only derives direction of travel, rather than direct measurement by digital compass. This caused some confusion, as the moment i stopped it would update to show where i was pointing. You need to keep an eye on the GPS!
C) Traffic lights. Lots of these at the start, which made progress a little bit staccato, but you soon get further out where progress is much more steady.
A similar picture on the approach back into central london in the morning.
D) Weather. Night riding in March might have given some challenging cold/wet weather but the 2025 was almost perfect. Maybe a little cool after stopping at Bow and chatting to the organiser for too long, so i had to go FAST afterwards (which no doubt contributed to my bonk later on). If the forecast was bad, i'd wrap up very well.

 

[StuAff]

In, as are quite a few Fridays already. Registered numbers already past the 150 total Mark had last year.

 

[StuAff]

Over 200 now registered....

 

[lazybloke]

Over 200 now registered....

I knew there was something I'd forgotten to do...



Now registered!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Over 200 now registered....

Going to be some group outing. One year I’ll be free to make it.

 

[lazybloke]

Going to be some group outing.

And a fair chunk only signed up in the last few days last year, so final numbers for 2026 could a fair bit north of the current level. 300? 500?

Not sure what the worst congestion will be on the night; everyone simultaneously navigating the aggressive traffic light at the exit of Victoria Station, or the middle-of-night MaccyDs queue?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

And a fair chunk only signed up in the last few days last year, so final numbers for 2026 could a fair bit north of the current level. 300? 500?

Not sure what the worst congestion will be on the night; everyone simultaneously navigating the aggressive traffic light at the exit of Victoria Station, or the middle-of-night MaccyDs queue?

Mark will possibly have to plan some staggered starts.

 

[lazybloke]

Mark just confirmed my registration. Over 225 230 now.