Author Topic: Thames Path Meander (London) (Read 13003 times)

Andrij · « **on:** 28 June, 2009, 08:42:16 pm »

This ride will be repeated on Sunday, 16^th August.

Meet at the Monument for a 10:30 departure. Easily reachable from London Bridge, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street and Canon Street Stations, as well as the District/Circle lines on the Underground (which permit bikes).

We'll cross London Bridge then head east, sticking as close to the river as possible, heading all the way out to Woolwich with a detour to the Greenwich Observatory for views across London. There will be at least one pub stop along the way.

We'll cross back to the north bank on the Woolwich ~~Fairy~~ Ferry and turn back west, taking in a Teleport, an American style diner, pirate ships (kinda) and a hidden canal. There is an option of a detour to the Bow Creek Ecology Park. More food & drink can be had at St. Katherine Dock — the end of the ride.

This will be a slow, gentle day out with plenty of surprises along the way. The surfaces vary so you may want to leave the super skinny tyred bike at at home. Saying that, I've done the route on my Ribble (running 25s) without any problem. There will be gates and might be the odd stair or three. Total distance will be around 50km with plenty of stops to view all sorts of interesting sights.

This ride will be repeated on Sunday, 16^th August.

Auntie Helen · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 June, 2009, 09:10:56 pm »

18th July is the date of my ride in the Manningtree/Colchester direction which may also be doing duty as a WARTY (to be confirmed). That's not to say that your ride can't take place on the same day, of course, but worth bearing in mind!

Andrij · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 June, 2009, 12:20:36 am »

Ta. Forgot to check the WARTY schedule.

I'm not tied to any particular dates, but I'll say now that my next available dates would be in August.

cpjmathieson · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 June, 2009, 06:53:16 am »

why are these things on when I have to work ??

.....I've got to work The Dagenham Town all weekend...still never mind...have fun people

spen666 · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 June, 2009, 07:12:24 am »

19th July is the date of the London - Southend BHF ride

Andrij · « **Reply #5 on:** 02 July, 2009, 12:39:57 pm »

I've added two more potential dates in August.

So far, three people (not including me) have voted, but I have no idea who.

Fi · « **Reply #6 on:** 02 July, 2009, 03:49:09 pm »

'Fesses up to one vote, as a possible.

Andrij · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 July, 2009, 09:16:51 am »

*bump*

It's looking like 19 July at the moment. But as there are people elsewhere who are interested in this but prefer an August date I'll probably take another group around on 16 August as well.

I'll ride the route again this weekend, measuring distance and time to get around.

Andrij · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 July, 2009, 09:55:21 am »

I reconnoitred the route yesterday. Unfortunately I couldn’t get my computer to work so I’ve done a rough estimate of the distance with some online mapping. The route itself is no more than 40km (25mi). I tried to stick to an easy pace and did it in just over 3 hours, with a group I figure we’re looking at 3.5 hours, plus stopping time for food, drink, reading historical plaques, etc.

Speaking of sustenance, there will be plenty of opportunities for pub/cafe stops, though on the north side my preference is for the American style diner.

If you plan on coming this weekend please confirm either by posting or sending me a PM.

Gattopardo · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 July, 2009, 04:46:38 pm »

Can I be a maybe, depending on weather and whaat I do on friday night.

Andrij · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 July, 2009, 07:26:18 pm »

Quote from: Lynx on 13 July, 2009, 04:46:38 pm

Can I be a maybe, depending on weather and whaat I do on friday night.

Must be one hell of a party you have planned for Friday night if you may still be recovering on Sunday.

Hope to see you there.

TimO · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 July, 2009, 07:37:06 pm »

Just noticed this, and it looks like a suitable wind-down ride after the WARTY. It's short enough that it won't be too much of a strain, although it'll require the traditional getting up earlier than I would mid-week.

Andrij · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 July, 2009, 07:40:10 pm »

Must be tough, getting up at crack of noon.

TimO · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 July, 2009, 07:51:40 pm »

Quote from: Andrij on 13 July, 2009, 07:40:10 pm

Must be tough, getting up at crack of noon.

Yeah, but on the other hand, I'm still at work!

Andrij · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 July, 2009, 09:18:29 am »

Other than the possibility of a drop or two of the wet stuff it looks like Sunday should be quite nice.

See you at the Monument!

TimO · « **Reply #15 on:** 18 July, 2009, 05:56:00 am »

So, is this just going to be me and Andrij, or is anyone else definitely going to do this?

delthebike · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 July, 2009, 10:07:53 pm »

I was a last minute attendee and a jolly nice ride, with pubs, it was too. We left Monument a little later than planned as we waited for a shower to pass by. Big mistake, as we crossed the Thames on

Bridge it hammered it down and with a strong westish wind the rain almost drew blood. I was glad I was wearing a hat!

Lots of odd bits of art along the path and lots of odd places to look into, walking fish was one.

Thanks to Andrij for the tour and good old TimO who took one on the chin for us.

I'll have pics later.

TimO · « **Reply #17 on:** 19 July, 2009, 10:13:29 pm »

Yes, it was an exceptionally good meander, lots of bits and pieces, as promised by Andrij, including the Teleport and Diner as promised. I'm not so sure where the Pirate ship was, but I may have buggered that up by prematurely ending the ride. As Del said, pics later, along with the GPS track, although I suspect overlayed on roads it won't be much use, since we used an awful lot of little out of the way routes, you'll have to look at it with Google Satellite View!

...and I got to go on the Woolwich ferry for the first time, which was a novelty!

Andrij · « **Reply #18 on:** 19 July, 2009, 10:19:40 pm »

Thanks Tim and Del for coming along.

It's not the smoothest route or easiest navigation, but it's well worth it for all the surprises along the way. Yes Tim, we missed the pirate ships due to our NHS detours.

Mark your diaries - Thames Path Meander Redux is on 16 August.

delthebike · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 July, 2009, 06:57:52 am »

Pictures are now on Picasa, Clicky.

delthebike · « **Reply #20 on:** 20 July, 2009, 07:33:07 am »

Quote from: Andrij on 19 July, 2009, 10:19:40 pm

Mark your diaries - Thames Path Meander Redux is on 16 August.

It would be a good gesture, when we get to The bollard, to have a minutes ~~stifled giggling~~ silence for the fallen.

Andrij · « **Reply #21 on:** 20 July, 2009, 09:06:43 am »

Although there's plenty to photograph along this route, I didn't take many pictures.

In front of City Hall

Well worth the climb

On the ferry

Container City

Fatboy's

Boat on a boat on a boat. This may belong to Valiant...

Umm...

TimO · « **Reply #22 on:** 20 July, 2009, 11:08:16 am »

Quote from: delthebike on 20 July, 2009, 07:33:07 am

It would be a good gesture, when we get to The bollard, to have a minutes ~~stifled giggling~~ silence for the fallen.

I can probably arrange to do a recreation. Should I bring my own ketchup?

delthebike · « **Reply #23 on:** 20 July, 2009, 11:34:11 am »

Quote from: TimO on 20 July, 2009, 11:08:16 am

I can probably arrange to do a recreation. Should I bring my own ketchup?

Your still alive, that's a good sign of recovery.

How are you feeling now? Are you having a day off?

Edit: no need to answer, just seen bollard fail.

TimO · « **Reply #24 on:** 20 July, 2009, 01:00:48 pm »

The GPS track from the Active 10 (top and tailed, reduced to 2000 points, and then edited to remove the stopping points) is on Bikely.

I'm surprised at how close to the Thames we managed to stick, some bits of the track are a bit off, but that's caused by the proximity of tall buildings, and towards the end of the ride, because the GPS was in the bottom of my pannier randomly pointing not very well upwards. Since that bit mostly involved getting to A&E and London Bridge, it can more or less be ignored anyway.

Poll

Which date do you prefer

Author Topic: Thames Path Meander (London) (Read 13003 times)

cpjmathieson

spen666