During Lockdown, when you could only go out alone or in pairs, Dave Vine invited me to join him on a ride through London and up to Alexandra Palace, so when Clive asked me to do the London Ride again and I wanted to make it a bit different, I dug up the route we'd taken, took advice from the club legends about whether Ally Pally was a tad ambitious, and we started from there.
That Lockdown ride was a bit like Neville Shute's On the Beach, London eerily deserted. We could have done a few circuits of the Hyde Park Corner roundabout, just for fun. Thus the initial recce, which followed much of that route, was the start of a steep learning curve. Post Covid London, I discovered, needed a bit more planning if we were to give forty-odd As, Bs and Cs a safe and enjoyable experience; and thanks to Dave and Simon, we ended up with a route we felt would do this.
We persuaded London drivers to stay at home but the most difficult part of the planning was the weather. The recces were generally in the perishing wind, so for once paying careful attention to what Elizabeth Rizzini on the BBC News was actually saying, we selected the perfect day. We even remembered to postpone the high pollution until the following day.
A garrulous bunch in Richmond Park
Much as I like my regular friends in B Group, I think it's great once or twice a year to have the whole club socialising before a ride, and as much as possible riding together. Pace is not a serious issue in a stop-start urban ride but this year completely random mixing was not possible as we had to ensure that the groups were unlikely to catch each other in the Big Smoke and that those not used to challenges like Swain's Lane would be well cared for.
On the day itself, I thought it almost a pity to leave such a happy, garrulous bunch at elevenses in Richmond Park but there was riding to do. The river was at very low tide and Battersea Park first time around was pleasantly sparsely populated. Once or twice in Belgravia we had to persuade the lights to change and there was a silly impasse between thoughtless drivers near Eaton Square but Hyde Park did not offer too many pedestrians blinded by their telephones. Regents Park proved a surprise, because on Monday there had been no warning that they would take the road up by Wednesday. But the ostriches and the zebras and the giraffes all came out to watch us pass so that made up for it.
Chalcot Crescent
Primrose Hill and Chalcot Crescent were at their cutest and Parliament Hill Fields was pleasant, even if the youngsters training on the athletics track were running clockwise just to discombobulate us. Swain's Lane is always exaggerated by North Londoners who don't have the Surrey Hills to ride in every week and the final climb up to Ally Pally itself was a traffic-free doddle.
Madeleine's group the only ones who took a photo at the top of Swain's Lane
Paul's group at Ally Pally
Clive's small but perfectly formed group at the height
Dave's the only group who thought to take a picture of the view!
We had thought of including fire on the risk analysis, since the ugly palace had managed to get itself burned down three times but what we had not bargained for was for the pub there to run out of food. I have children and grandchildren who have passed through adolescence and should have read the "So what is that to do with me" manner of the young man and woman I told, on two separate occasions, we would be bringing forty guests. John took his group off to Wetherspoons on top of Muswell Hill but those of us who stuck with what they had left at The Phoenix were rewarded with some truly delicious freshly prepared food.
The well-fed tease the hungry
John's group about to revolt
patience is a virtue
And, bar a few bumps, the afternoon is all downhill. We passed the Arsenal stadia as quickly as we could but stopped to stroke Doctor Johnson's cat and we were back in Battersea Park, this time with a high Spring tide, almost before we knew it.
Clive's group at Westminster Pally
"A man who is tired of cycling is tired of life". attributed to Bob Pannell
The man in the coffee stall there had given Simon, Clive and me a free cake each when I told him on Monday that we were bringing forty customers on Wednesday, but he was not there in person so I did not have to feel sheepish that half of us had set off home without partaking!
Thank you everyone for taking part in exactly the right spirit.
Paul
Simon's report
My lovely group left Richmond Park in the cool air but by the time we had enjoyed the riverside ride to Battersea Park we were having to shed a layer.
Simon's group crossing Regent's Canal
A bit of innovative riding was needed to avoid various unexpected hazards in central London; permanently red traffic lights, bin lorries blocking the road, a pop-up road closure and so on. Soon we were in the rarefied atmosphere of north London, enjoying the sights of Primrose Hill, Hampstead and Highgate and collecting perhaps a dozen blue plaques. Some even enjoyed Swains Lane.
We were lucky to arrive early enough for lunch before the paninis ran out, and sat in the sun with a spectacular view of London laid out in front of us.
For dessert, Paul had found us not one but two green routes which zigzagged their way along old railway tracks; the Parkland Walk. Back into town past a football stadium which cannot be mentioned, and alongside the sparkling Thames to Battersea Park. Wonderful.
Dave’s Report
This was our most ambitious London Ride ever, a combination
of distance and climbing Swain’s Lane. So I was a little nervous starting with
the first group out on Wednesday. How would it all go?
I should not have worried. Meticulous planning by Paul,
checking every road junction for safety of passage, every stop, and every
viewpoint, meant that the main unknown was the weather. And thankfully the
weather entered into the spirit of the occasion.
My group (Sue C, Dave W, Gina, Alan C, and Guy plus diligent
back-marker Steve D - thanks Steve) were highly disciplined, leaving on time
and remaining in a tight group almost throughout.
Not only the weather, but also traffic was generally light,
and most traffic lights seemed to turn green as we approached. We arrived at
the Ally Pally viewpoint 15 minutes earlier than I had anticipated, and after
the obligatory photo-stop, found the lunch at the Phoenix speedily served on the
terrace.
Dave's group reach the zenith first
Two of the later groups arrived while we were eating, so we
could swap stories, and Paul’s group arrived as we were preparing to depart,
which gave me the comfort that all was going well.
After lunch the gradient was helpfully downhill, Parklands
Walk was a pleasant surprise to some, Leather lane was still serving food, and
Dr Johnson’s house (he of the dictionary and many other achievements) enabled a
brief intellectual pause before the dash to Battersea Park, where we arrived
just after 3pm.
Dave's group at Dr Johnson's house
For some reason nobody was interested in tea, and everyone
focused on their various ways home, doubtless to avoid the worst of the
traffic.
A memorable day out, thanks everyone for making it so
special.
Madeleine's report
The 10.40 group thoroughly enjoyed Paul’s superb route through London to Ally Pally. Marvellously led, we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. We stopped for a zen moment at a pagoda, nearly recruited two extra members to the Sou-westers and tried out some fun bikes - and that was just in Battersea Park!
There's always two or three who won't do what they're told
Pushed on by the press of the last group at our heels, we timed things to witness horses with grand-uniformed soldiers atop, giraffes (reticulated) , zebras (grevy’s) and ostriches (at the zoo) and many magnificent magnolias along the way.
We all enjoyed Swain’s Lane, especially when it was finished and lunch was on the horizon (almost literally).
The leader’s concentration meant that we also had experiences other groups sadly missed - extra stairs and ramps, one very charming dead end, crying children and irritated lorry drivers, included.
All members offered great facts and half baked truths as we went along - all much appreciated. Top history lesson came from Frank C - himself, like many of us, living remnant from early last century. He had been to the racecourse at Alexandra Palace - to watch a horse he part-owned limp around the track. He even bought the programme from 1969! Many had been to Arsenal where we stopped to reminisce with season ticket holder John and Sandy and regular attender Anne, who had swelled our ranks after lunch.
The 1969 runners and riders
lanesrA fans
It was a poignant moment, then, back at Battersea Park where the ways had to part. All those ups and downs we had been through. And so many ups!
John’s group finally caught up with us there. Anne and I tried Paul’s exciting addendum route back to Richmond Park, while Julie boldly lead most of the rest down the Wandle Trail towards their kith and kin. All slept well, with smiles on their faces and dreamt of next year’s London Mystery Tour.
Post script
I can't thank the leaders enough. They all rode at least one full recce with me and contributed ideas. Clive rode a recce the day after the Gently Bentley and two days before the ride proper. Dave and Simon rode their own recces in addition to rides with me and came up with really useful route ideas to smooth out the rough edges.
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