Needed to get some proper training miles in so got up very early sunday morning and set off in the dark and the cold to take in some hills. 65 miles later arrived at the Alma pub in Crystal palace, signed in and off I went.
First thing, I was reminded of quite how frustrating cycling in central London is with all the traffic lights. A steady route north through Dulwich, Brixton, Kennington, over Waterloo bridge and we were into the cobbles. Pretty tame at first, then we wound out way east and started hitting some much tougher stretches in Bethnal Green and Wapping. The ride felt a bit like a treasure hunt or something with all the constant turning and so on. It was pretty well sign posted but with the turns coming up so quickly I still missed a couple.
After finishing the cobbles in Wapping it was a long drag into the wind towards the ferry. Not the nicest part of the ride although it was livened up by going past an illegal rave still in full flow.
Got to the ferry to find about 30-40 riders waiting for it and met up with a couple of other friends. The ferry had broken down so we used the foot tunnel instead. Then it was about 10 miles back over some sharp hills to the finish. Then it was pasta and beer in the pub watching Paris-Roubaix.
All in all a really fun ride and good to do something different for once. I would certainly recommend it for next year.
Reply
Back to top
Report
