Meet: Brookmill Park 08:40 map and Cutty Sark Gardens 09:00 map

Distance: 65 miles

Phone: Ian - 07986 872 205

A ride up and down the Lee Valley as far as navigable Hertford and then return, also by the canal. Dinner at a pub in Hertford. Anyone wanting to cut the ride short can return from Hertford to central London on the train.

A medium paced ride suitable for mountain, hybrid and tourers with the will. Lots of tow path.

Report 

There were 8 of us at Cutty Sark Gardens, Ray met us at Springfield Marina and Andy and Shelley with a tandem met us at Pickett’s Lock. A total of eleven then.

Ian, Dave, Kelvin, Jen, Shirley, Terry and friend (sorry I didn’t get your name), Bill, Ray, Andy and Shelley.

We were too early for the lifts so we had to legit up and down the stairs of the foot tunnel. We took the Regent Canal arm of the Grand Union out of Limehouse Basin. This is my preferred option for rides up the Lee at the moment because it helps the ride flow. The Limehouse Cut has the floating pontoon path but it needs another one at the very nasty Bow Interchange for it to win out as a route over the Regent Canal.

Terry and friend left us at Victoria Park to do some shopping.

Just before Lea Bridge the path has been dug up for a stretch of about 50 yards and we had a very muddy hike over this section.

We stopped at Springfield Marina – met Ray – and had a coffee.

Another 5 miles up and we met Andy and Shelley who had made their way over from Wanstead on a tandem. As we were about to leave Dave had another puncture, he was mending one when I arrived at CSG. A team effort changed the tube, found the metal shaving that was causing the problem and patched the tubes.

As soon as we set off the rain started - only gentle rain but the puddles that were accumulating on the tow path made things worse. Those with mudguards faired better than those without. The rain didn’t stop and when we reached Hertford at 13:00 the mudguardless looked like Hackney Marsh Mud Monsters. The puddles that had made us so dirty were now used to wash the worst of the dirt off before we settled in the pub for dinner.

Chilli and Chips £5

Cannelloni and Garlic Bread £8.25

Shirley, Dave and Jen opted for the train back to central London.

That left 6 of us to take on the head wind and worsening rain for the journey back.

There were a couple of crashes on the way back. Andy and Shelley lost the front wheel of the tandem on some slippery grass resulting in a cut hand and jammed gear shifter. They managed the rest of the journey stuck in top gear. Kelvin came off when he hit a submerged kerb in a big puddle. No damage to him or his bike.

Andy and Shelley left us at Tottenham Hale.

We diverted over Hackney Marshes to avoid the section of path that’s been dug up. Ray left us at Carpenters Road and we took the Regent Canal arm again back to Limehouse Basin. Another puncture, this one for Bill, mended in ten minutes under a bridge for shelter from the rain. After the puncture Bill went his own way towards Regents Park.

Kelvin an me arrived back in Greenwich at 18:00 – in sunshine.

65 miles, 3 punctures, 2 crashes involving 3 riders, 5 cuckoos (Ray’s count, I only heard 2) and 5 hours of rain.

Not many photos from this ride – it was too wet and my hands too dirty to get the camera out. The ones I did take should be on the website on Wednesday.

Ian Pendleton

Lewisham Cyclists