England : London The Quite Interesting Sunday London Ride: 3 June

[Lavender Rose]

The law of the sod has struck. Chatting after the ride with @rb58 @sagefly @topcat1 @wanda2010 @Mice et al, broken spokes cropped up, I said I had never had one go in all my life. I touched wood twice AND had a bacon sandwich but I've just done my first on the single speed. Good job it's got 32 spokes so got back alright. 15 miles at over 15mph avg.

Will you potentially be using this bike on Sunday? We will all have to pray it doesn't happen again. x

 

[Salty seadog]

Will you potentially be using this bike on Sunday? We will all have to pray it doesn't happen again. x

nope, if I can get out of bed it'll be a bike with gears......and spokes.

 

[Lavender Rose]

nope, if I can get out of bed it'll be a bike with gears......and spokes.

YAY

 

[rb58]

The law of the sod has struck. Chatting after the ride with @rb58 @sagefly @topcat1 @wanda2010 @Mice et al, broken spokes cropped up, I said I had never had one go in all my life. I touched wood twice AND had a bacon sandwich but I've just done my first on the single speed. Good job it's got 32 spokes so got back alright. 15 miles at over 15mph avg.

That’ll teach you to eat bacon....

 

[Mice]

The law of the sod has struck. Chatting after the ride with @rb58 @sagefly @topcat1 @wanda2010 @Mice et al, broken spokes cropped up, I said I had never had one go in all my life. I touched wood twice AND had a bacon sandwich but I've just done my first on the single speed. Good job it's got 32 spokes so got back alright. 15 miles at over 15mph avg.

 

[Blue Hills]

Postcript.

Some of you folks on the ride may remember the long term touring cyclist we bumped into near Tate modern. Spent equal amounts of time slagging off london* and ridgebacks.

Well who should I pull up alongside at the lights at westminster bridge/square a couple of days ago but the same chap. Still not left london. This time he was in addition slagging off taxi drivers.

Damn small world.
* Can understand to a certain extent but he was an extreme case, probably slags off everywhere/thing and everyone.

 

[Salty seadog]

Postcript.

Some of you folks on the ride may remember the long term touring cyclist we bumped into near Tate modern. Spent equal amounts of time slagging off london* and ridgebacks.

Well who should I pull up alongside at the lights at westiminster bridge/square a couple of days ago but the same chap. Still not left london. This time he was in addition slagging off taxi drivers.

Damn small world.
* Can understand to a certain extent but he was an extreme case, probably slags off everywhere/thing and everyone.

Was he still pushing his bike.

 

[Blue Hills]

No - he was on it - I would have talked to him more about just what he was up to still being here/asked him where he was staying but I was rushing to something or other. I seem to recall that he says he's been on the road for five years. He was fully loaded.

When these freaky London meets amongst 10 million plus happen (they do now and again) I often wonder why I never bump into folk from the past I'd like to accidentally encounter - some to kiss/some to biff on the nose.

 

[rb58]

I was reading something earlier abut Wapping Old Stairs, which we stopped at on this ride, which I thought was Quite Interesting and made it stand out from some of the other river stairs.

In 1671, a certain Colonel Thomas Blood was caught at Wapping Old Stairs trying to escape with Charles II's crown jewels. He and his companions had thieved them after gaining the trust of the Keeper of the Crown Jewels, before eventually bashing him over the head and making off with the treasure in a sack. Blood only made it to Wapping before he was apprehended.

What makes the story interesting is that, after spending some time in the Tower, Blood was given a full pardon and a pension. By Charles II. The conspiracy theorists suggest this was because Charles himself had arranged the heist as he was so cash strapped and could sell the jewels off for ready money. I guess we'll never know.