England : London Thames Path Meander, Mk VI: 06 August 2016

[Andrij]

It’s baaaack!

The details ...

The route is roughly 50-60km, mostly off-road (not of the COR variety), exploring along the Thames. We start from the Southwark Needle (south end of London Bridge, junction with Duke St Hill) at 10:00, then head east to Woolwich, stopping for a pub lunch along the way. After a ferry crossing we return to the City, following the north bank, including a tea stop. Along the route I’ll bore regale you with loads of facts historical and trivial. Due to a combination of the never-ending development of London and my continued exploring there will be bits never before seen on one of these rides.

The route can be done on skinny tyres. We've had all sort of bicycles on the ride, but tandems and trikes (of both varieties) may have some difficulties. If a trike or tandem is your only option then please let me know when you confirm your participation. There are diversions which can be used, but I'd like to know in advance so I can make suitable arrangements.

I don't want to scare folk away, but it is only fair that I am completely honest about the route. There will be:
* gates
* bollards
* steps (not full flights)
* kerbs (up and down, not many)
* cobbles (lots)
* uneven paving stones
* busy roads (less than 1km in total)
* NCN paths
* points of interest (many)
* photo opportunities (lots)

You can read about the previous versions of the ride here and here. (Threads at the other place here, here, here, and here.)

Who's in?


= = = = =

I intend to run the silly version again this year, but I’ll start a separate thread for it. ETA: silly version thread.

= = = = =

Riders
orienteer
cycleman
matthew
TimO
JenM
Wowbagger
SteveF +1
Flatbar Steve
nikki
User

 

[SteveF]

Am very interested...

 

[wanda2010]

I'd like this but will be Manc/Morecambing that weekend. Hope the silly version is on a date I can do.

 

[Nigel182]

Can wholeheartedly recommend this ride but working that weekend as above if the Silly Version is doable i'll be up for that.

 

[Andrij]

*bump*

I'm hoping some of you who have expressed an interest can make firm commitments soon, as I'll need to book a table for lunch and that can't be left too late.

 

[Nigel182]

tried to book that weekend off but no such luck so it'll be fingers crossed for the Silly Version.
Have a great Ride on the 6th will look forward to ride reports and Pics.

 

[SteveF]

Am planning to be there and will be bringing a mate as well...☺

 

[Andrij]

I M P O R T A N T

Our lunch stop now requires large groups (e.g. us) to pre-order meals. Please review the menus and let me have your choice no later than Wednesday, 3 August.

Also, I like to have the mobile numbers of everyone on the ride. Please send me a PM with your number and I'll reply with mine.

See you Saturday!

 

[Andrij]

I’ve done a final route check and confirmed all necessary diversions. Unfortunately, there are two Thames Path closures we need to work around, but it won’t be a problem. The London Triathlon is also running this weekend but it should not have an impact on our ride, though we will be running parallel to them in places.

The weather is looking pretty nice. The day should definitely be warm and dry; the sun-cloud mix varies depending when/where you check.
Low tide: 09:51
High tide: 15:45
(Silvertown - east end of the route)

If you have any problems the morning of the ride please ring the number I’ve sent you. I am unlikely to be online so will not see posts to this thread or PMs.

See you Saturday!

 

[SteveF]

Andrij,

Thanks for leading this great little ride, I really enjoyed it. For my fellow riders, thanks for the company!

Here are a couple of photos:

The obligatory Tower Bridge shot

The Shard backlit:

The meeting point:

Taking centre stage:

That there London:

Some wharehouses, Greenwich and well, some goats!

Sustenance:

The Thames Barrier:

 

[User10571]

Some iconic images there!

 

[Brains]

Looks like a good ride.
It's my daily commute,
Sometimes I use one side of the river, sometimes the other, so I recognise all the pictures, including one of my office (foreground, 'that there London')

 

[TimO]

If anyone wondered exactly where we went, I've put the GPS track up on GPSies, where you can view it, and download it in a number of different formats, should you wish to repeat it.

​

I edited out some of the stopping points, which would otherwise just be a big blob of random points. I also had to fairly extensively edit the path adjacent to very tall buildings or in narrow roads, where obscuration and reflection of the satellite signals made the track points erroneous. The first section had to be done entirely from memory, since three different GPS's all failed to provide any useful data!

 

[User10571]

Good Route!
Textbook Barry Mason stuff. He would've been proud.
I'm curious as to what the diversion east along Cable Street was to see.
St George's in The East?
I know, I know - I should've been on the ride....

 

[TimO]

...

I'm curious as to what the diversion east along Cable Street was to see. ...

Not entirely surprisingly, the mural of the Battle of Cable Street.

(Not my image, there was a dirty great big shadow halfway across the mural yesterday).