London Lockdown 2026

[StuAff]

Wow. Gonna be a busy one. Even in the windey London streets. You doing it Stu?

Yes indeed

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Blimey, that is going to need staggering

 

[ianrauk]

Yes indeed

Ross is doing it I think

 

[StuAff]

Ross is doing it I think

Yup, and quite a few other Fridays....

 

[StuAff]

Blimey, that is going to need staggering

Mark's now thinking of doing that, with starts from 9.30.

 

[rb58]

Ross is doing it I think

Indeed I am. Better get my *rse into gear and register.

 

[lazybloke]

Indeed I am. Better get my *rse into gear and register.

Thought i read something from Mark about maybe halting further entries if it got too large? Suppose staggering the start would address that concern... although i think the traffic lights out of the start would do a good job of staggering everyone into waves anyway.

 

[OneCogDown]

Its looking cold and possibly wet for the '26 ride, with just over 6km routed on the canal and river paths of East and North London how churned up are the paths likely to get with 300+ riders? Would urban tread tyres be sensible or normal road slicks fine?

 

[lazybloke]

Its looking cold and possibly wet for the '26 ride, with just over 6km routed on the canal and river paths of East and North London how churned up are the paths likely to get with 300+ riders? Would urban tread tyres be sensible or normal road slicks fine?

I've done several night rides, some wet, some cold, occasionally really dire weather. The forecast for Friday doesn't worry me too much, but I will be dressed quite warm (long Hummvees with bibshorts under, 3 or 4 layers on my torso, ski gloves, and at least one buff to keep my neck/head warm).

Surfaces didn't worry me much last year. The Thames path, Blackheath paths, various canalside bits - all really good surfaces. A short section from near Holloway to near Highgate had a loose surface, but nothing challenging.


My biggest concerns are health/fitness.
Health - I have a dodgy knee, hoping I don't need arthroscopy.
Fitness - My last big ride was nearly 5 months ago. Since then I've cycled a TOTAL of only about 60 miles.

I figure I'll just plod along slowly and see how I get on.

 

[OneCogDown]

Fab ride and recommended. Weather stayed dry and what a combo at the start with the CM escort out of Victoria, unforgettable. The Sunrise heading up and over Hampsted was very special as London started to wakeup. Hope your safely round Lazybloke it certainly got busy on some of those looser sections.

 

[lazybloke]

Hope your safely round Lazybloke it certainly got busy on some of those looser sections

Mixed experiences for me, OneCog.
I'd barely touched my bike in 5 months, so I had little endurance. I was totally unprepared for 100 mile ride, but how bad could it be? Ho ho.

I've also been under a lot of stress at work and home (an in-law reaching end-of-life), so I was DETERMINED to enjoy this one night out on my bike. Made it to the start where 375 registered Lockdown riders were boosted to a total of circa 700 by the Critical Mass crowd. I quickly bumped into some familiar faces (don't know all the cyclechat names, but they included @StuAff and @tdk27). I lost sight of them as soon as we started - the streets were RAMMED with bikes.

The CM procession through Belgravia was amazing, complete with lights and music, but my best enjoyment of night cycling comes from the peace and quiet, so I was just as happy when the lockdown riders turned back and went over the river and onto the peaceful south bank Thames path. Now the only sounds were the gentle whir of tyres, a click of gears, murmurs of conversation, and some Critical Mass bass woofers somewhere off in the distance, blasting out a Bronski Beat sample!

[you have to imagine the noise!]


And so the miles began to tick off through south London, but my lack of fitness start to make itself known after about 25 miles. I was still confident - I wasn't burning matches, my speed was low; I could keep going for ages. It seemed to take an age to hit Blackheath, but then it was a quick descent back onto the Thames path around the amazing Greenwich peninsular : the lights of Canary Wharf over the water, the millennium dome, the flags/lights outside the Trafalgar Tavern, the Old Royal Naval college, Cutty Sark, and then the Greenwich foot tunnel; it's an awesome part of the ride.

[Cutty Sark]

[Southern portal to the foot tunnel]

[no comment]


I bumped into tdk27 again at the top of the steps on the north side of the foot tunnel, and we rode together for the next 15 minutes until he called it a night. I had no intention giving up at this stage, so went on another 25 minutes to the Bow Golden Arches. A Hot Apple Pie and coffee were Ambrosia & Nectar!

Had a very brief chat with Mark K when he arrived, but I wanted to get on, and blimey - it was cold out - donned a 4th layer on my torso and pulled a buff over my chin and ears; but my sit-bones felt horribly bruised already (after only 50 miles!) and for the first time I wondered if I would be able to complete this ride. It didn't help that no other riders were in sight, and there was some dodgy streets and footpaths in this section; in my head I was plotting routes back to Waterloo and an early train home!


I worked on the Olympic park in preparation for the 2012 games, so seeing the venues again was a boost to my spirit , and it was soon afterwards that I stopped to help someone who had a rear brake block rubbing. The only help needed was for me to point my torch (shame it was only a dynamo stand-light), but I loosely joined her peloton of friends for the next hour or two.

[Spring was showing everywhere]


I next stopped on the Parkland Trail, and had a beer with Gav from Butternut Bikes; his popup bar was there again; so I spent a few minutes relaxing, but not feeling quite right. It was well past dawn now - I was much later than in 2025. But despite my earlier doubts, I now had only 30 miles to go, so was confident of finishing.

Back on the bike - OUCH - and then I carried on until hunger forced me into a Tesco. Why the hell I bought two chocolate eclairs I'll never know. I stuffed them down, immediately felt bloated and unwell, and spent the next 10 minute thinking I might be sick! Also had horrendous navigational problems in the Fulham area, but eventually reached "escape velocity" into Knightsbridge, and went past the last few landmarks of Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, then back along the Mall and down Buckingham Palace road to the finish line.
Holy cow, I'd done it!!!

[Mark K stopping for a beer]

[Lahhndon innit]

[Nearly dead people, finished!]





Very sore. Very tired. And the next day I had a rotten fever, plus headaches every day since... but I loved it!!!!

 

[tdk27]

Congratulations on making it round!

I have been dealing with some knee pain this winter, and lived about halfway on the route, so decided to ride the first half and see how it was going. I could feel the twinge coming on that suggests overuse, and so stopped off for bed. The first half of the route was fiddly but a very cool little slice of London - I might take another crack at it later in the year when the nights are slightly warmer.