Bike Life: May 2011

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Ride across London after work via Canal & Thames - 27th May 2011

Ealing Broadway - Olympic Stadium (Stratford) along Grand Union/Regents Canal and back to Richmond Lock mainly following the Thames. 37.4 Miles tm 3hr 16 mins

Amazing ride along the tow path of the Grand Union/Regents Canal....and back to Richmond along the Thames. So much to see along the canal stretch and yet you'd never believe you were passing beneath or alongside busy London streets. A couple of places where the canal goes into tunnels so you have to come up to 'ground leveI' and do bits of the road but not too difficult getting back on track. Oh, and getting around Camden Lock and the canal side of the Market was interesting at 6.15 on a Friday evening!
The only disappointment was that the roads directly leading to the Olympic site where closed off so I couldn't get a close up view. A fellow cyclist told me the intention was to make the area really accessible for bike users in time for the big event. Look forward to it.

I wonder how many cyclists use this route to get across London?!

Ex Virgin Records abode

Little Venice

Regents Park

Camden Lock

Weird homes - Camden

Heading East

Olympic Stadium

No through Road

Towers old & new - near Mile End Park

Limehouse Basin

Oldest pub on the river - Wapping

Looking west from Wapping Rose Garden

I'm such a tourist!

The Shard from Southwark Bridge

New Blue Cycle Lanes - Millbank. I'm impressed...and what's more I feel safer!

Route

Basingstoke Canal - Wey Navigation & River Thames ride - 22nd May 2011

Long planned ride on the MTB.
Train to Woking then rode Woking - West Byfleet (on the Basingstoke Canal) - Weybridge (on the Wey Navigation) - Hammersmith (n the Thames) and back the same route. Dist 77.67 Miles Tm 7 hours

Great off road route to London. Very windy today from a Southwesterly direction which made the journey to London a 'breeze' (!). Coming back was a harder, especially in the more open areas. However, the Canal Tow paths often offer protection from the wind as stretches can be sunken or densely tree-lined. Despite the wind, a wonderful route and an interesting ride.

Cycled the mile to Winchfield Station and got the train to Woking. Another half mile down to the canal to start and I was on my way. Stopped to talk to people and take pictures. Beyond Kingston things got a bit busy as it was the day of the National Stroke Associations 'Five Bridges' ride.

The recently re-furbished MTB ('The Tank') ran well with only one unavoidable set back, a puncture at Teddington. A huge thorn had gone into the more vulnerable side wall of the back tyre. After a quick tube change, onward to Hammersmith for Lunch at the Old Ship Inn on the Thames.

Whilst there e huge squall came in lasting only about two minutes but the gusts removed almost everything from the outside tables and the driving rain came in horizontally! Within minutes the Sun was out again and after a re-fuel I was on the return run.

I was a bit nervous of leaving myself without a spare Inner Tube so far from home on a Sunday so I needed to get to a bike shop for a spare but without deviating from my course too much. Came off the river at Kew Bridge and down Brentford Hight street hoping something might be open there and Bingo....there was a branch of Evans open. Phew. Back to the task of getting back.

Rejoined the river and basically didn't stop for any length of time until just west of Brookwood.

Had planned to meet my friend Karen H at Frimley Lodge, with the idea of her joining me for a few miles as I headed all the way back along the canal to home. Karen & Husband Colin rode all the way to Fleet with me and then back to Frimley completing their own twenty mile round trip. Well done to them.

Once back at Fleet on the Canal, I decided to cut my losses and (rather than do the long loop round to Winchfield on the canal to home) took the road back to Phoenix Green.

I'll do this again one day. Maybe in fine Autumn weather.

The 'Tank'

Start of the Canal route at Woking

Canal Colours - West Byfleet

Lock Keepers

House Boats - West Byfleet

Joining the Wey Navigation

Cox's Mill (Old Iron Foundry) near Addlestone

Weybridge

Sunbury Lock

Hampton

Approaching Kingston Bridge

Kingston

Kew Bridge

View of Hammersmith Bridge from the Old Ship Inn

The Reward

Old Ship Inn

Thames Lock

The Wey Navigation joins the Thames - Weybridge

Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Mobile Insect Mesh! Sunday morning ride 8th May 2011

Down Grange (Basingstoke), Oakley, Deane, Popham, Micheldever, West Stratton, East Stratton, Woodmancot, The Candovers, Axeford, Nutley, Farleigh Wallop, Kempshott
28.27 miles 02:03 tm 13.8mph pace

Sunday morning's ride was all about enjoying a scenic route and getting some miles in, not about keeping up the pace. Don't think I couldn't have done that anyway as there was still a strong South Westerly and the countryside south west of Basingstoke is quite hilly. Lovely ride though.
Afterwards I popped into PC World and realised I had a lovely spread of Aphids I had collided with stuck to my shirt!