England : London Sunday London Ride - It’s a bit of an animal. 13 May.

[rb58]

That’s some menu...

London, innit.

 

[Salty seadog]

cooee.

And Reg will get to see his old bike.

 

[redflightuk]

Just looked at the long range forecast and if it stays the same and I can get out of bed early enough I'll be there.

 

[CharlieB]

Me too, please.

 

[ianrauk]

Count me in.

 

[Tim Hall]

Just giving this a little bump. The route has been finalised and we have 18 miles with 19 stops. Leaving HPC soon after 9.30am we'll end up at a cafe in the heart of Bloomsbury at around 1pm. There are mules, dolphins, a Bison, dogs a plenty, goats, bears, lions, seals, horses, two cats and a swan.

Expressions of interests so far from:

@sagefly (plus mates)
@Tim Hall
@User

Anyone else?

Unlikely now, sorry.

 

[rb58]

Weather forecast is looking pretty good.

So far, I think we have:

@sagefly & friends
@User
@Salty seadog
@redflightuk if out of bed in time!
@CharlieB
User
Martin

 

[topcat1]

Add me too

 

[rb58]

I’ve done a final recce of the route this morning and now I’m sat outside the cafe in Russell Square demolishing a bacon baguette and sipping a cappuccino.

There seemed to be a lot of activity in Hyde Park today and a steward told me it was because there’s a big demonstration tomorrow. However, the internet tells me it’s a TUC demonstration today, not tomorrow. Either way, we’re only in the park briefly, so it’s unlikely to affect us. The rest of the ride is well away from the West End.

As a quick reminder, if you’re not coming there’s no need to let me know as we will leave at 09:45 with whoever is there. However, if you are coming and get delayed give me a call and we’ll either wait or rendevous somewhere along the route. PM me if you don’t already have my number.

See you tomorrow.

 

[rb58]

Thanks to those who turned up for today's ride. A nice size group, excellent weather and decent traffic made for a lovely morning. For those that are interested, this was our route, and we stopped at:

Animals at War memorial, Park Lane
The Hyde Park pet cemetery
The Albert memorial
The Dolphin and Boy statue, Cheyenne Walk
The Little Brown Dog in Battersea Park
Battersea Dogs and Cats home
Vauxhall City Farm where the donkeys (Bert and Ernie) had a little fight just for us
South Bank Lion, Westminster Bridge
Bear Gardens, Southwark
The Alaska factory, Bermondsey
Dr Salter's Daydream, Bermondsey
Jacob the dray horse, Bermondsey (don't forget to check out Jacob's island from the river end)
We skipped the Tower of London animal sculptures, but here are more details
Fish Street Hill, The City
The fur trade, The City
The Barge Master and swan, The City
Hodge - Dr Johnson's cat, Holborn
Francis Russell's farm animals, Bloomsbury

And I think that cafe in Russell Square is worth a return visit at some point.

The next theme ride is on 3 June - the Quite Interesting Sunday London Ride - which has its own thread.

Hopefully see you there.

 

[Salty seadog]

Another good ride. Good weather, Good company, good cafe stop. Cheers all, thanks for the planning @rb58

 

[topcat1]

Thanks Ross, a lovely little ride around town.

Looks like we've been doing it wrong

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmbHtBN3

 

[rb58]

Some great pics there Dave. Thanks.

Did anyone spot the young couple coming out of Battersea Dogs home carrying a puppy?

 

[Pale Rider]

Some great pics there Dave. Thanks.

Did anyone spot the young couple coming out of Battersea Dogs home carrying a puppy?

And the unusual Vanhulsteijn bike in a couple of the pics?

https://www.blessthisstuff.com/stuff/vehicles/cycles/vanhulsteijn-bikes/

 

[Blue Hills]

I'll bow to your expertise on the mysteries of frame geometry raleighnut as to whether that makes any sense or is a nice piece of sculpture.