Surprisingly, a full complement of 24 stir-crazy Wayfarers signed up for the ride, despite a near certainty of downpours and a crack-of-dawn start in the far north (for some) at Bushy Park, before following the late great Frank Cubis’ route to the Ace Cafe for elevenses.
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| Aces |
In some ways, we were lucky. Most of the water we encountered (AFTER the ride to Bushy Park) was already on the ground, in lakes, brooks, and a few damp sections on the route. We had a lot of sunshine, which brought great views and warmth. But there must have been many flints washed onto the route by previous rain, as we had four punctures between us. First off was Ged’s group:
Was it a 'first' to have two couples on a Wayfarers A ride - particularly in a small group? If so, it worked very well - at least up to the Welsh Harp. Then Jennie joined Dave backtracking to Wembley after a Stans Dart failed to stem air escaping from a tubeless slash. (We'd lost our bearings here, Dave Ward's group overtaking us and showing us the way). It wasn't the first time we got lost! Exiting Hampstead Heath proved tricky, as did finding the exit from Brompton Cemetery later. And there were other wrong turns - too many to mention. More twists and turns than a boy-scouts's knot!
Was it a 'first' to have two couples on a Wayfarers A ride - particularly in a small group? If so, it worked very well - at least up to the Welsh Harp. Then Jennie joined Dave backtracking to Wembley after a Stans Dart failed to stem air escaping from a tubeless slash. (We'd lost our bearings here, Dave Ward's group overtaking us and showing us the way). It wasn't the first time we got lost! Exiting Hampstead Heath proved tricky, as did finding the exit from Brompton Cemetery later. And there were other wrong turns - too many to mention. More twists and turns than a boy-scouts's knot!
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| Deflated |
Thanks to Simon for a fascinating - but often fiendishly difficult route to follow! And to Fiona and Trevor, Jenny and Dave, and Pete for their patience putting-up with my errant navigation. It was such a relief to arrive for tea at the Vine Rec. just after 4pm, physically fine, but mentally fragile. Roll-on next year's London ride!"
Followed in close succession by David Ward’s group:
Followed in close succession by David Ward’s group:
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| Contenders |
"Janice, Sue Foster, Christina, Geoff and I were the second group to set off and we left Bushy Park spot on time. Without intending to, we caught sight of the tail end of Ged's group, the first away, as we were approaching Ealing. We tried in vain to hold back (honestly!) but they just kept heaving into view! We gave them a good gap before setting off from elevenses (where Mark joined us), so imagine our surprise when we rounded a corner at the Welsh Harp only to find them huddled around a puncture! We did pass them that time, and, fortuitously untroubled by 'mechanicals', stayed ahead then until tea. For us it was a great ride with a great group and nothing grated!
Many thanks to Simon for an ingenious route which was a cross-section right across London, a kaleidoscope of contrasting and unfamiliar sights, sounds, and even smells! The Ace Cafe and the lunch and tea stops all worked well for us, and we only saw a few drops of rain just before tea (well, all except poor Geoff who left us at Putney to try and dodge the downpour, only to get caught in it)! A fine reward indeed for Geoff who had ably back-marked all day! Thanks to him and to Janice and Mark for assistance with navigation as today wasn't Garmin's finest hour - I don't know whether it was 'atmospherics', or the high altitude of North London, but funny things were happening with sat navs at times on this ride!"
My group, with Jacqui, Tony Hooker, Alan, Dave ‘Fixie’, and Mike Barrett were next. We met Ged’s group wrestling with David J’s puncture at the Welsh Harp reservoir, and carried on to the mighty Dollis Brook, surrounded by woodland, allotments and meadows. As we climbed out of the Dollis valley at Barnet, Jacqui’s chain came off, and Ged’s group passed us as we fixed it. Alexandra Palace’s TV antenna appeared in the distance, and then closer, up a large and unwelcome hill. As we were leaving from lunch, I too was visited by the puncture fairy, but we were soon under way for the final climb to Highgate. A bit of sightseeing and then Hampstead Heath, Regents Park, Hyde Park rolled past easily under our tyres. At Exhibition Road we joined Quietway 15, which wasn’t that quiet but it was mostly OK, taking us to Putney Bridge and on to our tea stop, named in honour of our chairman, Vine Road Popup Cafe. It was a delight to have such great company in my group. Thanks to all and especially to Tony for back marking.
My group, with Jacqui, Tony Hooker, Alan, Dave ‘Fixie’, and Mike Barrett were next. We met Ged’s group wrestling with David J’s puncture at the Welsh Harp reservoir, and carried on to the mighty Dollis Brook, surrounded by woodland, allotments and meadows. As we climbed out of the Dollis valley at Barnet, Jacqui’s chain came off, and Ged’s group passed us as we fixed it. Alexandra Palace’s TV antenna appeared in the distance, and then closer, up a large and unwelcome hill. As we were leaving from lunch, I too was visited by the puncture fairy, but we were soon under way for the final climb to Highgate. A bit of sightseeing and then Hampstead Heath, Regents Park, Hyde Park rolled past easily under our tyres. At Exhibition Road we joined Quietway 15, which wasn’t that quiet but it was mostly OK, taking us to Putney Bridge and on to our tea stop, named in honour of our chairman, Vine Road Popup Cafe. It was a delight to have such great company in my group. Thanks to all and especially to Tony for back marking.
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| Admiring the view |
Dave Vine led the final group:
Firstly many thanks for organising a most original, and quite challenging, ride today. Also thanks for the weather, while keeping us all dry, the damp surfaces gave us plenty of opportunity to exchange views on puncture prevention & cure.
Everyone was in very bright mood at Bushy Park, the ability at last to meet in groups of more than 6 was clearly welcome. Our group, last off at 9.50 was always going to be a bit challenged by the clock, even more so as we discovered our first puncture before setting off.
We were a well matched group and set a reasonably brisk pace hoping to make up time. We skipped the scenic attractions of the Thames towpath past the Barmy Arms and glanced only briefly at the Brentford Lock swan's nest. Despite this we arrived at the Ace about 10 minutes after your schedule said we should be leaving. However the temptations of the bacon sandwiches were too great, not to mention my warnings of the energy required to conquer the Northern Heights before lunch. Steve Wiltshire, who had already been waiting about an hour for us, patiently sat with us for another half hour.
I think everyone was impressed by the green corridors you have discovered, but all were relieved when, with the dreaming spires of Cambridge almost in sight, we finally turned south.
The north face of Aly Paly is no Whitedown, but comes as a bit of a shock. But it was nice to meet up with the just departing Groups 1 and 2, while Group 3 were still at lunch. The sun was out, food came briskly and we were away in 55 minutes, with a brief pause for photos on a day with a clear view to Crystal Palace to the south.
Firstly many thanks for organising a most original, and quite challenging, ride today. Also thanks for the weather, while keeping us all dry, the damp surfaces gave us plenty of opportunity to exchange views on puncture prevention & cure.
Everyone was in very bright mood at Bushy Park, the ability at last to meet in groups of more than 6 was clearly welcome. Our group, last off at 9.50 was always going to be a bit challenged by the clock, even more so as we discovered our first puncture before setting off.
We were a well matched group and set a reasonably brisk pace hoping to make up time. We skipped the scenic attractions of the Thames towpath past the Barmy Arms and glanced only briefly at the Brentford Lock swan's nest. Despite this we arrived at the Ace about 10 minutes after your schedule said we should be leaving. However the temptations of the bacon sandwiches were too great, not to mention my warnings of the energy required to conquer the Northern Heights before lunch. Steve Wiltshire, who had already been waiting about an hour for us, patiently sat with us for another half hour.
I think everyone was impressed by the green corridors you have discovered, but all were relieved when, with the dreaming spires of Cambridge almost in sight, we finally turned south.
The north face of Aly Paly is no Whitedown, but comes as a bit of a shock. But it was nice to meet up with the just departing Groups 1 and 2, while Group 3 were still at lunch. The sun was out, food came briskly and we were away in 55 minutes, with a brief pause for photos on a day with a clear view to Crystal Palace to the south.
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| Serene as swans at lunch |
But by now the prospect of tea at the cafe in Barnes was receding, so Coleridge and George Michael's houses were only viewed in passing. I was in optimistic mood until our second puncture. My only contributon to the puncture debate is that Schwalbe G-One's on Kinlin Rims are much easier to deal with than Conti 4-Season on Mavic's.
Brian decided to miss the delights of Regent's and Hyde Parks, not to mention Brompton Cemetery and leave us to seek his own way home with SW Trains. The rest of us pressed on, glancing briefly at Chalcot Crescent, and making reasonable speed to Putney Bridge where Sue and Jackie opted for the direct route home up Putney Hill. Now down to 3, we decided we were unlikely to get to the Vine Road cafe before closing, and unwilling to risk spending the evening trapped between the level crossings, so we headed direct to Richmond Park via the Marc Bolan memorial route.
Nice to finish a ride in traditional CTC fashion with a tea stop, today sitting in the sunshine outside the Roehampton Gate cafe.
Many thanks to my group for their support, especially as maintaining a reasonable pace in London traffic sometimes requires a determined riding style, and in particular to Steve Duffin for back marking.
As all the leaders mentioned(!), the ride was quite a challenge in several ways. It was a long ride for a London ride, and as a consequence we had to start early and reduce the gap between groups. This worked ok on this ride but would not have been so good if there had been queues at the cafe. It was a huge reassurance to me to have three extremely experienced co-leaders who took on a considerable task of leading groups through the twists and turns of a London ride and coping with whatever might happen - in this case mostly punctures but also the risk of awful weather. My huge thanks to David, Ged and Dave for their support. Many thanks too for Ged, Janice, David W, Steve D and Steve W for lovely photos - too many to publish all of them.
Brian decided to miss the delights of Regent's and Hyde Parks, not to mention Brompton Cemetery and leave us to seek his own way home with SW Trains. The rest of us pressed on, glancing briefly at Chalcot Crescent, and making reasonable speed to Putney Bridge where Sue and Jackie opted for the direct route home up Putney Hill. Now down to 3, we decided we were unlikely to get to the Vine Road cafe before closing, and unwilling to risk spending the evening trapped between the level crossings, so we headed direct to Richmond Park via the Marc Bolan memorial route.
Nice to finish a ride in traditional CTC fashion with a tea stop, today sitting in the sunshine outside the Roehampton Gate cafe.
Many thanks to my group for their support, especially as maintaining a reasonable pace in London traffic sometimes requires a determined riding style, and in particular to Steve Duffin for back marking.
As all the leaders mentioned(!), the ride was quite a challenge in several ways. It was a long ride for a London ride, and as a consequence we had to start early and reduce the gap between groups. This worked ok on this ride but would not have been so good if there had been queues at the cafe. It was a huge reassurance to me to have three extremely experienced co-leaders who took on a considerable task of leading groups through the twists and turns of a London ride and coping with whatever might happen - in this case mostly punctures but also the risk of awful weather. My huge thanks to David, Ged and Dave for their support. Many thanks too for Ged, Janice, David W, Steve D and Steve W for lovely photos - too many to publish all of them.
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| Elevenses in sight |
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| Ace mode of transport |
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| Alexandra Palace |
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| Crossing Regent's Canal |
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| The End. |
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