Author: Kerena Fussell

Greensted Ride Report

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.

WI Suffragette Ride

A group from Newham Cyclists and the Forest Gate WI set off from Forest Gate to Tower Hamlets library to visit an exhibition on the East London Suffragettes.

Our route took us through the Olympic Park, Victoria Park and Mile End Park. We discovered that the East London suffragettes not only campaigned for votes for women (and men who did not have the vote) but also provided support for those in need via their campaigns against food poverty and also via their ‘pay-what-you-can’ restaurants’, one of which was recreated at the exhibition:

We returned home after lunch and a leisurely 12 mile ride.

Canterbury to Ramsgate Ride Report

A mixture of Newham Cyclists and friends from E20 Cycle Club set off from Canterbury West, heading through Canterbury University and up a hill to join the Crab & Winkle Way (some ‘Paris Roubaix’ surfaces here!)

 

 

 

 

At St Cosmos & St Damian Church, Blean, we met Jane from Southwark Cyclists, who joined us for the ride.  Then it was on to the coastal path – aka the Viking Trail.

 

 

 

 

 

A cheeky climb up to Reculver Towers…

Stopping for lunch (and a few ice creams) at the West Bay Cafe, we were joined by Newham Cyclist Anna, who was off for a swim at Broadstairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On around the coast to Margate and then finally to Ramsgate station for the train home, after 33.4 miles and 350m of climb (not pancake flat as previous advised by Robin!*)

More photos here.

Ride map here.

*Editor’s note – anyone spot a recurring theme with our ride leaders?!?

Apologies about the odd formatting – lost the will to live trying to get it to look right!

Call the Midwife Ride Report

After the inclement weather of the previous day, it was great to see 15 ladies gather at the View Tube (8 of us having ridden together from Forest Gate at the WI ‘collection point’).  Our glamorous ride leader Anita briefed us on the route before we set out along the Greenway & down the Lee Navigation, leaving at Bow to cross the A12 via the underpass and head into the streets of Poplar.

 

Of course, it also featured a tea stop by the Museum of Docklands and a lunch stop on Pepper Street!

Like all good tour guides, Anita saved the gem of the tour until last.  The real ‘Nonnatus House’ – actually St Frideswide Mission House on Lodore Street (sadly now flats), where we could peer down a gated alley to see where the midwives bicycles would have been stored!