Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Cyclosportives and commercial or charity rides => Topic started by: toontra on 10 November, 2021, 10:03:22 am
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Entries have just opened. I've entered - will be my first time. I was tempted by the closed roads and the fact it's going through Essex where I do most of my riding.
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Have ridden it five times in the past on the old course and couldnt resist entering it again for next year. Looking forward to seeing where it goes exactly and the start/finish points although I am assuming it will start again from the Olympic Park. Where else can they start with so many riders.
Should be a brilliant day out though on closed roads and loads of people out to cheer everyone on. Very much looking forward to it.
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The route has just been published. 80% of it is my regular training ride which I've done literally hundreds of times (including the bleedin' Epping Road which they murdered when resurfacing a few years back ::-) )
Going to be a bit weird doing it with thousands of others. Closed roads will be interesting - my only experience of that was the short roll-out on PBP.
No hills - I'd wondered where they would find any in a 100m Essex route from central London (on wide roads anyway).
Looking forward to it :thumbsup:
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It is being routed right passed my front door. The roads aren’t inspiring. If I wanted to show off the best this area of Essex has to offer, then I wouldn’t have cgone near 90% of them but I guess they didn’t have much choice due to the need to cater for 25000 participants.
Now all I need to do is to work out how to get my bike and myself out of the closed area given almost all the local feeder roads are shut all day.
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Do all the locals know about it? If so, I suppose it won't be long before the complaints start
coming in regarding the inconvenience they will have to endure.
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It is being routed right passed my front door. The roads aren’t inspiring. If I wanted to show off the best this area of Essex has to offer, then I wouldn’t have cgone near 90% of them but I guess they didn’t have much choice due to the need to cater for 25000 participants.
Now all I need to do is to work out how to get my bike and myself out of the closed area given almost all the local feeder roads are shut all day.
Looks like same issue for me. Not going to be able to get out of our cul-de-sac. Can’t wait to see the village Facebook group.
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It is being routed right passed my front door. The roads aren’t inspiring. If I wanted to show off the best this area of Essex has to offer, then I wouldn’t have cgone near 90% of them but I guess they didn’t have much choice due to the need to cater for 25000 participants.
The Dull Roads of Essex? Wouldn't be good Audax route! (Shhh we do have some little hills and lovely lanes ... best kept secret. ;)) It's Mrs Tomsk's birthday weekend, so we may miss it anyway - at least we can escape from Dunmow in most directions!
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Checked my Audax calendar. That’s AAA Milne day, so I’ll be well clear of the area.
Can’t wait to see the village Facebook group.
I hope you’ll light the fuse by suggesting they stand roadside and cheer the riders on …
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Can’t wait to see the village Facebook group.
I hope you’ll light the fuse by suggesting they stand roadside and cheer the riders on …
Go on, I dare you. :-D
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It is being routed right passed my front door. The roads aren’t inspiring. If I wanted to show off the best this area of Essex has to offer, then I wouldn’t have cgone near 90% of them but I guess they didn’t have much choice due to the need to cater for 25000 participants.
The Dull Roads of Essex? Wouldn't be good Audax route! (Shhh we do have some little hills and lovely lanes ... best kept secret. ;)) It's Mrs Tomsk's birthday weekend, so we may miss it anyway - at least we can escape from Dunmow in most directions!
Well indeed, they aren't the nicest roads Essex has to offer, but all the great wee lanes wouldn't accommodate the volume of riders, unfortunately. However those can be (and are) ridden with little traffic at any time.
I suspect this will turn into a moan-fest for those who are inconvenienced for a few hours, which is a bit sad.
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Do all the locals know about it? If so, I suppose it won't be long before the complaints start
coming in regarding the inconvenience they will have to endure.
To be honest, I have some sympathy. There are a number of big 24/7 employers within 10 miles of me that will still require their employees to be in work. Some of them now face interesting commutes to work when they live on long stretches of closed roads or in villages inside the closed loops. The ride is clearly trying to use parts of the 2014 TdF route but in joining snippets of a one way route to make a loop, it is going to significantly inconvenience some people, so yes I expect a moan and no doubt as a local cyclist I will experience the verbal backlash from some in months to come.
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Can’t wait to see the village Facebook group.
I hope you’ll light the fuse by suggesting they stand roadside and cheer the riders on …
Go on, I dare you. :-D
I’m not actually a direct member. I do get told what is going on and there’s definitely been some anti-cyclist ranting. That said, many residents still talk (positively) about when the Tour came through.
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We had a mail shot about a week ago. I am at home that weekend so may stick a deckchair outside. The route runs 50yds from my house.
I could be persuaded to provide refreshment/bottle refills/tools/loo, but we’d need some sort of code word so as not to attract everyone. My location is in my user name.
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We had a mail shot about a week ago. I am at home that weekend so may stick a deckchair outside. The route runs 50yds from my house.
I could be persuaded to provide refreshment/bottle refills/tools/loo, but we’d need some sort of code word so as not to attract everyone. My location is in my user name.
;D :thumbsup:
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Village Facebook group has woken up. I am banned from responding as I might upset people.
If I needed to head off anywhere I can stick the car 500 yards down the road which is off the route. Bloody cyclists.
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Sound like village pitch forks group
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Sound like village pitch forks group
It was running about 50:50 last night. 'Road Tax' was comment number 3.
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I have charity fundraising places still available for RideLondon - Essex 100 if you missed out on a ballot place. DM me or:
https://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/what-you-can-do/current-events/
email:
fundraising@lymediseaseaction.org.uk
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It looks like I could be riding. Never done a sportive before and don't tend to do charity events because I ride those distances for pleasure. But a local charity that we and many good friends support asked if I'd consider taking up one of their places.
Just got to work out accommodation now. For choice I'd just go in on the train, but they don't run that early, it seems >:(
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Every pothole within a few miles now has red paint around it. I’m wondering if everything is going to be patched. If so that’s a pretty decent benefit.
There’s been temporary lights on a bridge near me for over a month since someone hit a wall. Not sure what they’ll do about that on the day.
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Deadline to register for RideLondon-Essex 100 has been extended and will now close on Wednesday 4 May at 16:00.
Extremely limited places for the event still available.
Email:
fundraising@lymediseaseaction.org.uk
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Every pothole within a few miles now has red paint around it. I’m wondering if everything is going to be patched. If so that’s a pretty decent benefit.
I'm doing the route today. Will be interested to see if they've earmarked the drain-covers north of North Weald Bassett - some of those are wheel-breakers and have been like that for many years.
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Every pothole within a few miles now has red paint around it. I’m wondering if everything is going to be patched. If so that’s a pretty decent benefit.
There’s been temporary lights on a bridge near me for over a month since someone hit a wall. Not sure what they’ll do about that on the day.
It seems the whole of Essex has been marked up.
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I'm doing the route today. Will be interested to see if they've earmarked the drain-covers north of North Weald Bassett - some of those are wheel-breakers and have been like that for many years.
Just realised the route doesn't go that way - it goes to Ongar via the main road. Oh well - will have to wait another few years!
Essex was looking at it's prettiest in the sun today. Folks who haven't ridden there before are going to get a pleasant surprise come the event.
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Whereas those of us who've done the ACME events are going to feel we're going back home, even those of us who aren't ;D
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I checked the route again after reading the Comic article and realised it comes into the village from the East rather than the West which I had missed, not that I'm riding. The drain covers either side of where the road crosses the A120 have all been nicely smoothed over.
There's a dirty great big hole in the middle of the village by The Swan which looks like it will be sorted out. Similarly some pretty big holes as you descend past the old Ridleys brewery at Hartford End. There is a cafe in the village that opens Sunday but I'm not sure it will handle the numbers. The Chequers has just re-opened with a new manager but I've not been in to see what it's like.
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After saying I wouldn't ride this route as it was dull and worse, looks like I will be.... riding the route! A very good friend of mine has an unused charity place and has twisted my arm firmly up my back. Next issue is to work out how to get to the start. Riding in from somewhere in suburbia is looking a distinct possibility.
At least the foodstops won't be an issue, the route passes right by my house and my parents in law's house at nicely spaced intervals.
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A very good friend of mine has an unused charity place and has twisted my arm firmly up my back. Next issue is to work out how to get to the start.
Same thing happened to me ;DI checked the route again after reading the Comic article and realised it comes into the village from the East rather than the West which I had missed, not that I'm riding.
If you mean at Felsted, it's using the Tour de France route in that part, isn't it? My wife and I, and loads of others, enjoyed great hospitality from the village for that event. We sat just south of the turning.
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I checked the route again after reading the Comic article and realised it comes into the village from the East rather than the West which I had missed, not that I'm riding.
If you mean at Felsted, it's using the Tour de France route in that part, isn't it? My wife and I, and loads of others, enjoyed great hospitality from the village for that event. We sat just south of the turning.
We didn't move to the village until 2020 but that sounds about right.
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The drain covers either side of where the road crosses the A120 have all been nicely smoothed over.
Yes, there's been some good work done on sunken drain covers over the northern stretch.
A lot of potholes remain and the red spray is wearing off - hope it's still visible when the repair team drive past.
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Well wouldn't you just know it. Did the route again today and they've only just gone and tar "n chipped the Chelmsford Road into High Ongar. This will be a bloody nightmare - drifts of loose gravel could see riders sliding and falling left right and centre (of the road). I nearly came off twice and I was crawling along.
I've spoken to Essex council about their shitty road resurfacing before - notably the Epping Road around 8 years ago. It was dangerous for months and it's still a painful riding experience to this day. Being as they are a co-sponsors of RideLondon you'd think someone would have half an ounce of common sense and delay the works for a few weeks ::-)
Felsted hasn't had it's potholes fixed yet. Time's running out! Mind you, just down the road Hartford End is much worse - some real stinkers right in the centre.
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There’s been an intermittent leak at Hartford End since we moved here in 2020. It keeps being patched but they don’t fix the underlying problem.
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Well - today I rang Essex Highways and suggested they have a bloody good sweep-up of loose gravel on the A414 before the 28th. We'll see...
I also reported a burst water pipe on the Braintree Road just east of Great Dunmow (to Affinity Water) which is flooding in a dip and could also be dangerous if approached at speed. They say it will be fixed in time.
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I also reported a burst water pipe on the Braintree Road just east of Great Dunmow (to Affinity Water) which is flooding in a dip and could also be dangerous if approached at speed. They say it will be fixed in time.
There was a van there this evening looking at it.
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I also reported a burst water pipe on the Braintree Road just east of Great Dunmow (to Affinity Water) which is flooding in a dip and could also be dangerous if approached at speed. They say it will be fixed in time.
There was a van there this evening looking at it.
:thumbsup:
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Loads of cones in the middle of the village so it looks like they might be filling the potholes. I'll have another look this evening.
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I would expect different "standards" of inspection and repairs for the pro ride routes compared to the amateur routes.
Half the peleton going down due to a pothole live on telly won't look good.
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I think the pro ride route is the same as the 100, so hopefully we get the same benefit of road assessment and repair.
The organisers emailed me back today and said they have been assured by Essex council that all loose gravel will be swept up on the resurfaced A414. Even so, if it's a hot day and the tar melts then gravel is going to stick to tyres and, in my case, may get jammed between the back wheel and the cut-away on the seat tube - only a few mm clearance.
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Stage two of the three stage UCI RideLondon Classique uses parts of the 100 mile loop around Felsted, Dunmow and down to Epping but big sections are totally different roads.
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Stage two of the three stage UCI RideLondon Classique uses parts of the 100 mile loop around Felsted, Dunmow and down to Epping but big sections are totally different roads.
Ah - OK
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The ride London closures have finally filtered in to the local community arse-ache pages - queue all sorts of anti-cyclist nonsense and outrage at a 45min road closure on the outskirts of Chelmsford on Saturday. WhErE WaS ThE CoNsUlTaTiOn!1111111
ETYMOLOGY:- Witness here the creation of a new Collective Noun:- "IMPEDELMENT" = a bunch of lycra clad cyclists!
I hope they all crash and bend their bikes. Bloody cheek closing our roads!
I cycle to & from work every workday & even I think it is daft, keep seeing signs, this road will be closed & that road will be closed etc... utter madness
It's almost a full house on the bingo card!
I personally will be avoiding the areas around there as I expect it will be punishment pass central.
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The ride London closures have finally filtered in to the local community arse-ache pages - queue all sorts of anti-cyclist nonsense and outrage at a 45min road closure on the outskirts of Chelmsford on Saturday. WhErE WaS ThE CoNsUlTaTiOn!1111111
ETYMOLOGY:- Witness here the creation of a new Collective Noun:- "IMPEDELMENT" = a bunch of lycra clad cyclists!
I hope they all crash and bend their bikes. Bloody cheek closing our roads!
I cycle to & from work every workday & even I think it is daft, keep seeing signs, this road will be closed & that road will be closed etc... utter madness
It's almost a full house on the bingo card!
I personally will be avoiding the areas around there as I expect it will be punishment pass central.
That took a while. The village group kicked off about a month ago. The again we are pretty shut in for the day.
I think we're now going up North as it's, ironically, my only non-cycling weekend for a while.
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Well - today I rang Essex Highways and suggested they have a bloody good sweep-up of loose gravel on the A414 before the 28th. We'll see...
No sweeping done as yet. Still easily enough loose chips in evidence to see me and the bike comprehensively pebble-dashed by a passing 4x4 ( not their fault - it was a beautiful, wide, slow pass) and I only rode 100m of this delightful stretch tonight.
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Is it the Ride London 100m? ;D
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It defies belief. Essex council are sponsoring this event. Their highways dept is presumably in charge of closing those specific roads. Why the **** didn't someone/anyone put 2 and 2 together. Personally I find new tar & chip one of the most unpleasant surfaces to ride on and I will go a long way to avoid it given the choice.
Even if they do a sweep, I have absolutely no confidence it will be any more thorough than it usually is (i.e. largely ineffective). The only plus is there won't be vehicles totally ignoring the 20mph limits and gravel-blasting the legs as they speed past.
If there are accidents then at least I have it on record that both the organisers and EC highways dept were warned well in advance of the potential safety issue.
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Apparently the safety car at the front is going 22mph.
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I'm doing the route today. Will be interested to see if they've earmarked the drain-covers north of North Weald Bassett - some of those are wheel-breakers and have been like that for many years.
Just realised the route doesn't go that way - it goes to Ongar via the main road. Oh well - will have to wait another few years!
Did these lanes today and although the 100 isn't going that way one of the shorter rides must be because there are warning signs for road closures and, lo... the pentagonal manhole covers which have been a real danger for more than a decade have been repaired, plus a lot of other potholes that have been there just as long. Result! This is my default training route and will be more pleasant in future.
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I think that’s the route of the UCI Classique Stage 2 which I believe follows the TdF route from Fyfield via Moreton and North Weald to Epping before doing several loops down to Stanford Rivers and back to decide the “Queen of the Mountains” 😂. Good to see the roads have had a bit of TLC though.
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“Queen of the Mountains” 😂.
Indeed. I'd wondered where they were going to find the hills in that part of Essex and sure enough - they haven't. The good news for the amateur event is there shouldn't be the kind of bunching that can happen on steeper climbs, which in turn will hopefully mean fewer "incidents".
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As this is the weekend between 2 lumpy 600s, we’re taking the opportunity to go away so will miss the fun.
Hope you have a good ride toontra.
Rob
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Thanks Rob. At least you and your neighbours will have slightly improved roads to compensate for the inconvenience next weekend.
I have to say I'm slightly more nervous about doing this than I would be a hilly 600. Fear of the unknown I suppose.
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Toontra, I am a fellow resident of North East London and Essex and regularly ride the roads being used by Ride London.
At the moment , the awareness of the event in Waltham Forest and Redbridge seems low, and I've heard that it's much the same in Epping. So Sunday could be an interesting day.
The Epping New Road remains its usual lumpy self and might be a challenge to some riders. Though if they are returning to London via that route then some parts of it are dangerous, especially the stretch south of Epping Town before the Miller and Carter roundabout.
I hope the day goes well.
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At the moment , the awareness of the event in Waltham Forest and Redbridge seems low, and I've heard that it's much the same in Epping. So Sunday could be an interesting day.
Indeed. Epping main road is always very busy with shoppers and cars on a Sunday so this will come as a bit of a shock if they aren't aware in advance. Mind you my wave should be getting through before 8am so before the crowds.
Ironically I was made aware of the problem last Sunday when I tried to get out to Essex from home in Islington. Due to the Hackney 1/2 marathon large swathes of my normal route were closed, and I then realised it's not even possible to cross the road from one side to the other in these circumstances as there is a constant stream of thousands of runners. After trying various side roads (all blocked) I ended up doing a 3-mile detour which added an hour (mostly walking or puzzling over maps) to my ride.
So in Epping for example people presumably won't be able to cross the road, let alone drive along them.
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There's dedicated vehicle and ped crossing points all along the route, these are detailed in the community access plans
https://www.ridelondon.co.uk/road-closures/road-closure-information
Epping has 2 VCP, westbound only at M&C RBT and both directions Robin Hood Thai RBT.
A 3rd VCP is North of Epping but closed in the morning till 12:30.
With a bit of forward planning people can get around but it is quite a detour for some. Perhaps they should just take advantage of being able to have a nice sleep in till lunchtime or explore their neighborhoods more :)
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There's dedicated vehicle and ped crossing points all along the route, these are detailed in the community access plans
https://www.ridelondon.co.uk/road-closures/road-closure-information
Ah OK - makes sense.
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Looks better than I thought, though Epping will also have the Womens UCI race going through on the Saturday. Lets see what happens.
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Stay away from the edges on the section between Ongar and Leaden Roding because as off this morning there were a couple of missing drain covers / collapsed edges on what will be fast downhill sections tomorrow. Didn’t come back the same way so they may have made emergency repairs but then again I won’t be chancing it.
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Thanks JL - will keep an eye out.
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Well that was fun! Good weather - not too hot so kept the same clothing for the whole ride. The main difference between this and any other ride I've done was, because of the closed roads and a flat route, you are pedalling all the time - no micro-rests stopping for lights, junctions or coasting downhill. You're literally at it constantly ;) I felt a bit of cramp in the thighs towards the end but nothing to slow me down.
The only negative was some teams thinking they were pros and overtaking much too close, even when there was a spare lane or 2 available and empty. Twats! And there was a potentially serious accident which completely blocked the route at about the 40 mile mark. Hope it wasn't too serious. Luckilly someone next to me was local and knew a detour which re-joined the route half a mile up so I followed him :thumbsup:
Official time was 5.13 but the delay and detour cost approx 18 minutes as best I can tell from the gpx file, so under 5 hours or evens. I'll take that!
BTW all the potholes were fixed on the entire route. Riding in Essex will be more pleasant for years to come ;D
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At the moment , the awareness of the event in Waltham Forest and Redbridge seems low, and I've heard that it's much the same in Epping. So Sunday could be an interesting day.
Indeed. Epping main road is always very busy with shoppers and cars on a Sunday so this will come as a bit of a shock if they aren't aware in advance. Mind you my wave should be getting through before 8am so before the crowds.
Ironically I was made aware of the problem last Sunday when I tried to get out to Essex from home in Islington. Due to the Hackney 1/2 marathon large swathes of my normal route were closed, and I then realised it's not even possible to cross the road from one side to the other in these circumstances as there is a constant stream of thousands of runners. After trying various side roads (all blocked) I ended up doing a 3-mile detour which added an hour (mostly walking or puzzling over maps) to my ride.
So in Epping for example people presumably won't be able to cross the road, let alone drive along them.
By chance I was riding around that area last Sunday - started from Marylebone - out through Islington to Hackney - got caught up in the run on Hackney Marshes (had to make a large detour around the end of the course on the football fields) - stayed overnight in Chingford and then via Buckhurst Hill and Loughton, High Beech and then the "old A11" from the Wake Arms PH* rbt to Epping - not a pleasant stretch, just blasted along as fast as possible to the turn for Epping Green and back on quieter lanes. Loads of warning signs for the road closures.
*that's what is was when I lived around there in the 60s and 70s - not sure what the pub's called nowadays.
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@toontra That’s a seriously impressive time. And there was me, well chuffed with 6:23. Like you my hold ups, for a medical emergency that shut the road in Fyfield and a very nasty looking crash at the bottom of the hill through Woodford Bridge, cost me something like 15 mins so it may have been nearer 6:10. I don’t know exactly as my phone decided to turn off gps while at Tower Bridge outbound so I have no track to check.
It was a decent day out. A good atmosphere all along the route and the riding in a group made up for anything the route lacked. I burned a few matches early on trying to stick with a chain gang that were just too quick and paid for it in a few places on the way back into town, having to take a short break on the exit to the Limehouse Tunnel to massage a thigh and prevent a cramp. The best bit was avoiding the torrential rain showers that hit those both in front and behind me. I hope those involved in the crashes / medical incidents weren’t anywhere near as serious as they looked.
Robgul - it has been City Limits, Miller and Carter and several more names since then, but it’s still the Wakes Arms roundabout to me!
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I really enjoyed it, as a first experience of a sportive (done plenty of Audaxes of comparable length, as I think I mentioned before). 06:31 official time, which I'm happy enough with. My son-in-law was almost an hour quicker.
Rolling rapidly along relatively wide and easy roads was a different experience. I was going well (for me) and didn't bother stopping till Felsted, and then not again. Got a bit harder on the rolling roads in the last 25 miles, but then the mostly downhill last ten miles helped. Same hold ups with accidents as JellyLegs mentioned.
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I can however confirm that all participants were well-behaved at the start, and without exception obeyed every instruction given:
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/2j46ewbd8egezij/RideLondon-obey-instructions.jpg?raw=1)
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@toontra That’s a seriously impressive time. And there was me, well chuffed with 6:23. Like you my hold ups, for a medical emergency that shut the road in Fyfield and a very nasty looking crash at the bottom of the hill through Woodford Bridge, cost me something like 15 mins so it may have been nearer 6:10. I don’t know exactly as my phone decided to turn off gps while at Tower Bridge outbound so I have no track to check.
It was a decent day out. A good atmosphere all along the route and the riding in a group made up for anything the route lacked. I burned a few matches early on trying to stick with a chain gang that were just too quick and paid for it in a few places on the way back into town, having to take a short break on the exit to the Limehouse Tunnel to massage a thigh and prevent a cramp. The best bit was avoiding the torrential rain showers that hit those both in front and behind me. I hope those involved in the crashes / medical incidents weren’t anywhere near as serious as they looked.
Robgul - it has been City Limits, Miller and Carter and several more names since then, but it’s still the Wakes Arms roundabout to me!
Ah, thanks - I vaguely recall it being some sort of US diner when I rode the Dun Run in 2003?
I was on a "nostalgia ride" - I lived at Buckhurst Hill from 1953-71 and then from 75-78 - quite a bit had changed, especially pubs! Whatever happened to the Reindeer, Roebuck and Duke of Edinburgh in BH? - and as it was a Monday the market was in Epping (after I turned off the main road I went round the back way to come out by the tower) . . . I can remember when there were pens and sheep in the market on Mondays!
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To their credit Essex highways dept had done a really good job of sweeping up loose gravel from the newly resurfaced stretch of the A414 into Ongar :thumbsup:
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Just rode into the City along some of the route. It's almost as if it never happened.
I spotted the odd bidon and gel wrapper in the grass. The locals are still rebelling but it looks like it's a 5 year agreement to send it our way.
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I notice a good write-up in the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/bike-blog/2022/may/30/ridelondon-its-all-change-as-cycling-festival-on-closed-roads-returns) (I'm not a regular reader). Interesting points about the flexibility of cyclists as a road-user group, and the benefits of cycling for health.
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Just got back home from riding this event yesterday and have to say I was a little disappointed compared to other years previously.
No Expo or bag drops this year. New route was not as good (in my opinion) as doing the climbs of Leith Hill and Box Hill.
The mass start was not good and had to wait nearly I hour to get across the start line. What was wrong with the start from the Olympic Park and being funnelled in to the start.
Would have preferred to finish on The Mall as in previous years but I suppose the Jubilee celebrations have ruled that option out this year.
One good point was my time was almost an hour quicker (5-51) than all the other 5- times in this event.
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Indeed nice write up by Pete.
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Ah, thanks - I vaguely recall it being some sort of US diner when I rode the Dun Run in 2003?
I was on a "nostalgia ride" - I lived at Buckhurst Hill from 1953-71 and then from 75-78 - quite a bit had changed, especially pubs! Whatever happened to the Reindeer, Roebuck and Duke of Edinburgh in BH? - and as it was a Monday the market was in Epping (after I turned off the main road I went round the back way to come out by the tower) . . . I can remember when there were pens and sheep in the market on Mondays!
Drifting off topic for a bit of nostalgia….. I am a Woodford Bridge lad by birth but moved to Epping in the early 90’s. You are right, Buckhurst Hill, like Loughton and Woodford, has changed massively from the places I remember in my childhood of the 1970s and not for the better in my view. Many of the pubs are long gone, often to be replaced by soul-less blocks of flats which was exactly the fate of The Roebuck. Most of those that remain are chain pubs, little individuality or character. No room for the horse-drawn brewers drey that used to deliver the beer to a number of local pubs. Same goes for most of the shops in the High Street. No room seemingly for the quirky places like Batchelors, the sports / equestrian shop in Epping High Street that used to have the stuffed horse inside or the specialist like Mrs Gunton’s cycle shop at the top end of Woodford Bridge or the Bankhills hardware shop at the bottom end of the same parade of shops. You could always rely on both of them to have that part that no one else stocked. The market in Epping is a shadow of its former self, even from my first memories of it in the late 80’s. It hasn’t had a livestock element to it for many decades now. They call it progress but I am yet to be convinced.
The Wakes Arms PH, probably whilst known as City Limits, suffered a serious fire and lay empty for at least a year. That must have been around 2003. Weirdly it had, or may even still have, an Ordnance Survey trig point in the middle of its car park. That’s my useless bit of knowledge for the day!
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Sad news today that the RideLondon participant who suffered the cardiac arrest at the 49 mile mark unfortunately passed away earlier this week without regaining consciousness. Forty one years old is absolutely no age. Condolences to family and friends.