Thanks for coming to the Christmas Lights Ride! It was very busy but we managed to see all the best displays. Kudos to Robin for a quick puncture repair and photos, to Steve for leading, to Anita and Ken for marshalling, and to all for completing the ride. More photos available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rsstephenson/albums/72177720313311169/
Although 16 places were booked on the ride were were but six on the day. The weather was damp and cold but the ride covered some beautiful and interesting spots in the borough For those that wish to investigate themselves here is the link to download the GPX file:
We were only five on this beautiful ride in the September sunshine. The ride was medium difficulty with some steep but not long hills on mostly quiet country lanes Thanks to Robin for the photos
Sadly the Brewery ride scheduled for July 1 has had to be postponed for a no. of reasons -look forward to it running later in year -probably mid September -sorry for any inconvenience! Bill
Huge thanks to everyone who came along (all 53 of you!) to our annual feeder ride to RideLondon Freecycle on Saturday 28th May. Thanks also to our marshals (including Robin Stephenson for his photos, as always) and to Steve, our Ride Leader, who kept everyone safe on our gentle pootle from Stratford to the Bank (via Vicky Park, London Fields, and Shoreditch.) Thanks are also due to our friends from Waltham Forest and from JoyRiders who joined us for part of the journey there and back again en-route to Leyton!!
If you came along for the ride, and if you’d like cycling to be safe, easy, convenient, and fun every day of the year—why not join the London Cycling Campaign? Members get loads of benefits. Liability insurance and legal advice if you’re ever in a crash. Discounts for bike shops and insurance. A quarterly magazine. You can join as an individual or for everyone in your household, and over-60s, under-25s, and unwaged people get a discount. And right now (as of May 2023) you’ll also get a FREE bike pump if you join by direct debit!
Joining the London Cycling Campaign helps us in our campaign for safer streets for everyone. If you join LCC and you live in Newham, you automatically become a member of Newham Cyclists too.
LCC and Newham Cyclists exist to break down barriers and help people of all ages, all races, all genders, all abilities, and all backgrounds benefit from cycling as cheap and convenient transport. Unlike some other organisations, we aren’t bankrolled by fossil fuel firms; we don’t insist on fancy helmets or branded lycra or put people into categories. We believe cycling should be for everyone, not just the fast and the brave.
The weather forecast was rainy although the morning started bright as we met at Leytonstone station to catch a train to Epping to start the ride
We were six setting off from Epping station finding the quiet ways through the spring green countryside. The route tracked north east to Toot Hill taking in a few hills to warm up. After crossing the A414 at Bobbingworth the roads grew quieter with fewer hills. We went through Moreton, (1st stop on the DunRun), towards Matching Green.
Given the weather I took a detour, via Little Laver, to avoid the Ford which can become impassable in the wet. Ironically Robin and Jonathan took a chance on the Ford and it turned out to be drier than the detour….So we rendezvoused at Matching Green, some of us with wet feet. Turning left off Downhall Road led us past the pretty church of St Mary’s where we stopped for a photo
We continued on the bridleway past Matching Hall and to our lunch stop at the Fox in Matching Tye. Refreshed we took the lovely Faggoters lane south towards High Laver and back across the A414 at Tyler’s Green, avoiding the busy roundabout
Taking the back route into North Weald we detoured to the old railway station to see how public transport used to look
The route back to Epping was a reminder of how many B roads are less pleasant for cycling, we we even close passed by a police car.
Below is the route and statistics for this ride. The next ride is the Newham Nature Reserve Ride on 14 May, put it in your diary
It was a beautiful, if cold, spring day for this ride. We took the central line to Epping and rode north east in and anticlockwise loop as far as the village of Matching. The historic church of St Mary the Virgin between Matching green and Matching Tye provided and interesting stop. We had a refreshment break at the Fox at Matching Tye before following the quiet lanes back to North Weald and reentering the flow of traffic into Epping.
Rather better weather than for our first Discover Newham Ride permitted us to catch Thameside at low tide following a cut through Beckton Park to Royal Albert Dock. Route map above. By the time we got to Cody Dock for coffee it was a great day for sitting outdoors. Exciting looking works are going on there. The other main interest on the ride was the sheer scale of the development currently going on in Newham. Hopefully this will include opening in up the route over the entrances to Royal Albert Dock, where the dock gates look like they are being worked upon; and further extension of the Thames path.
Our first ride of the season kicked off with unfavourable looking weather. However, hard core of 6 did a short tour of the Greenway, the Royal Docks and the lea Valley. We avoided the rain and had plenty of fresh air. In the teeth of a stiff headwind along the Docks we reached the dizzy heights of 5 mph but were rewarded with the discovery of local chocolatier. Our next local ride is planned for 20 March