All proceeds from tickets sales go to AAA – and a portion goes to the Cycle Club that we support.

Supporting cycling in Newham
All proceeds from tickets sales go to AAA – and a portion goes to the Cycle Club that we support.
A goodly crew of 15 gathered in Durning Hall, Forest Gate on 28 January for our first meeting of 2019 and the first for a couple of months. There were a number of interesting developments.
Arnold
It was a beautiful, bright and cold winter morning as we gathered outside the Parisienne cafe at Leytonstone station for our first ride of 2019. We took the tube to Epping and set off towards Toot Hill and Greensted. This section is known as the “rollercoaster”, as the road rises and falls in a similar fashion, a great way to get warmed up. St Andrews church provided an interesting stop and they also have a range of preserves for sale using an honesty box, which provided a shopping opportunity for some.
Unfortunately at the Mill lane turnoff some of the group were separated. Thanks to GPS and mobile phones we were easily able to identify a rendezvous point, the Top Oak pub, in Stapleford Abbots and this also became the lunch stop. Refreshed and sated we continued to Lambourne End then down the hill to Abridge, the intended lunch stop, over the river Roding at Passingford bridge and on to Theydon Bois. From here we had to carry our bikes over the footbridge to take the train back to Leytonstone.
It was a great ride with a good turnout, sixteen riders of different ages and abilities riding the scenic, mostly traffic free, Essex lanes under the bright winter sun.
Here is a letter Newham Cyclists have sent to Councillors Tripp and Ali – Cabinet members for Environment and Sustainable Transport respectively on 4 January:
The prompt reply from Councillor Ali is as follows:
Dear Arnold, many thanks for your email and attachments covering your concerns regarding the above.
In addition LCC and ourselves we have raised concerns in respect of hte major Stratford Waterfront Development – largely on the grounds that this development should be an opportunity to correct some of the major defects in the cycling facilities in these areas.
Those wishing to see the submission should get in touch with me.
Arnold
The latest version of the note outlining the main cycling issues in Newham following our meeting with the Council’s Sustainable Transport office at the end of October is here:
There will be a Newham Ride, with a heritage theme on 11 November 2018, starting from the View Tube Cafe at 10.30 am. A leisurely and quiet jaunt around some sites in the borough (or immediately adjacent) with a story to tell. At least one refreshment stop.
Here is some historical information and photographs that will be drawn upon:
For map of the start see our events section.
A packed agenda stimulated some lively discussion.
Steve is working on next year’s ride calendar. The starting point will be this year’s rides, which have been successful in particular in attracting participants from outside Newham. We are looking for a broad range of ride leaders and can arrange training through LCC. If you have a ride you would be able to lead get in touch.
Arnold
This is the letter that we have sent to Cllr Tripp, having discussed and agreed at our September meeting.
Essex lanes ride 7th October
Bright sunshine greeted us as we met at Leytonstone station to gather for a group photo before setting off into the wilds of Essex.
We were sixteen strong setting off from Epping station finding the quiet ways through the splendid countryside on a glorious autumnal day. After crossing the busy A414 we followed well maintained and quiet roads.
We saw the house that Steve Marriott, lead singer of the Small Faces, lived and died in and with now has a blue plaque.
The curious story of the two churches of Willingale was another interesting stop en route. Why does this tiny village have two churches to serve the congregation?
We passed the pretty village of Blackmore, a very popular stopping point for cyclists. The lunch stop was the Bricklayers Arms, Stonton Massey, a nice pub although they were overwhelmed to the point that they ran out of baguettes feeding hungry cyclists
On the way back we stopped at Greensted Church which provided another opportunity to share historical stories about this oldest of places, lepers, crusaders, Tollpuddle martyrs and others all feature
The route included the Toot Hill rollercoaster on the way back and the steep, if short, climb up to Epping station
Below is the route and statistics for this ride.
The next ride is the Newham Ride on 11th November, put it in your diary