A ride into London 22nd July 2011

A last minute decision saw me riding into London for a look about. I rode via Dagenham,Barking where I got onto the Super Highway C3....(super bah... I lost the route twice due to poor sign-age and a few sections closed due to roadworks!!)
Anyway along the C3 past Beckton,Canning Town and then lost it  past Canary Wharf no signs saying where to follow the route.I rode along Aspen way by passed the Limehouse link tunnel and popped back up on The highway which I followed up to St Katherines Dock and Tower Bridge.

This Pub was over flowing, was tempted for a drink myself but didn't want to leave the bike and probably way too pricey round these parts anyway lol.

And the out of the dock to Tower Bridge;

Cycling a bit further I passed the Tower Of London;

Then onto Lower Thames Street and across Southwark Bridge onto the South bank (present theme is the seaside)

One of the many street Entertainers

This was some weird arty type show, I didn't understand a bit off!!

#

Then further along to where the kids hang out skateboarding and BMX ing... my camera on the phone wasn't fast enough to catch them in action.

Then up to the London eye and the views across to Westminster;

 And back down the river looking towards St Pauls Catherdral;

 Onto Westminster Bridge where I got myself a pot of sugar coated peanuts at Local price and not Tourist prices:)...however the eastern European seller was very interested in how much my bike cost saying it looks expensive !!

Then a Eastern European woman tried the old I've lost my oyster card have you any money please...you can guess my answer lol.

I then cycled back along the embankment,Whitechapel,Bow etc to Stratford where I got the train back to Romford. 28 miles for the day

Romford to Brighton Ride 2nd June 2011

I left Home at 0510 hours to cycle my way to Brighton. I made my way through Chadwell Heath,Dagenham and onto the cycle route and cycle superhighway alongside the A13 until Beckton and made my way down to the Woolwich Ferry. Once at the Ferry I had to wait about 10 minutes as the ferry doesn't start until 6am.
Once off the ferry I made my way up the Grand Depot Road(A205), This may become sketchy as I really don't know where I am in the maze of SOUTH London lol. Anyway up the A205 crossed Shooters Hill under the A2,up as far as Catford where I turned onto the A21, along as far as The Croydon Rd (A232) ,Any further on the A21 and I'd be heading towards Hastings! Still playing this by ear, I followed the A232 to Shirley and onto Croydon. What's with the trams in Croydon?? They take up whole stretches of road that nothing else can use, I was afraid when crossing the tracks the bike wheels would get stuck in the grooves!!
Anyway got on the A23 to Brighton from Croydon which took me through Coulsdon,Reigate and Banstead,Redhill Horley and then past Gatwick Airport.

I continued on the A23 through Crawley, The A23 then became more like a motorway wirh three lanes and I needed to get off. I came off at Handcross through Cuckfield where I saw a sign for Turners Hill in the opposite direction. That's one big hill from the BHF London to Brighton bike ride I've missed out :).
I got onto the NCN route 20 that follows the A23 and went through a few pretty villages Sayers Common was nice.

Further along the NCN 20 I saw Ditchling beacon to my left ( The monster from the BHF L2B ride);

and to my right the huge Devils Dyke,

The NCN 20 seems to go through the two missing out 2 huge hills, I wanted another go at the beacon, but after 60 miles at this point I was knackered anyway lol.

I eventually was on the home straight into Brighton, that was heaving with traffic with queues miles long trying to get in. Negotiating through this was a nightmare, eventually I made to the beach after 6 hours and 20 minutes of cycling, where I had a small lie down by the pier followed by chips and and a drink :) before a grand tour of Brighton trying to find the train station and the journey home.

75 miles to Brighton and a total of 80 miles for the day and a total ascent of 3105 ft for those of you that think I did no hills because I missed the Beacon and Devils Dyke.

Short Trip to Greenwich 8th February 2011

As the weather has finally approved after months of snow,rain and winds, today the sun was shining and the wind dropped. I thought I'd get a short bike ride (26 miles) in to Greenwich before work I set off from Romford via Dagenham,Barking onto the new cycle highway from Barking as far as Beckton where I made my way down to the Woolwich ferry to cross the Thames.
(Black writing are links to web pages)

I then made my way along through Woolwich,Charlton under the A102  and onto Greenwich.Where I had a very quick look around the National Maritime Museum.  
 Sorry about the photos, poor camera on my mobile phone and direct sunlight :(.

.

The miss Britain III powerboat.

The Prince Frederick Barge.

After a whistle stop tour of the museum , due to lack of time and needing to get to work on time, I rushed up the hill ( a very steep hill) in Greenwich park to the Greenwich Observatory. Here there are fantastic views across London.

 I made my back back along the same route as far as Barking and into work :(
(felt a little tired, lack of cycling through the winter other than the daily commute to work )
Will have to come back with the kids some day :)

Ride to Final Stage of Tour Of Britain TFL Stage- The Docklands Newham 18th September 2010

I rode to and from the race with a total of 25 miles cycling. I got to ride a small section of the actual circuit before a marshall pointed us off into the arena where there were stalls and the race teams were getting ready. Got to meet a few :).
Unbelievable day out, free too lol..........These riders were reaching speeds of up to 30mph and did 7 laps of 12km per lap. Team HTC Columbia celebrated winning in style as Andre Griepel took third stage win of the tour  while Michael Albasini sealed the yellow jersey with an overall victory.

By Connaught Bridge

Tour of Britain 2010
Stage 8 Summary
The TfL London Stage 18 Sep 2010

Stage
1	Andre Greipel	Team HTC-Columbia
2	Lucas Sebastien Haedo	Team Saxo Bank
3	Roger Hammond	Cervelo Test Team
Overall
1	Michael Albasini	Team HTC-Columbia
2	Borut Bozic	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling
3	Greg Henderson	Sky Pro Cycling Team
Points
1	Greg Henderson	Sky Pro Cycling Team
2	Borut Bozic	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling
3	Koen De Kort	Skil-Shimano
Mountains
1	Johnny Hoogerland	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling
2	Richie Porte	Team Saxo Bank
3	Wout Poels	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling
Sprints
1	Michael Golas	Vacansoleil Pro Cycling
2	Richie Porte	Team Saxo Bank
3	Greg Henderson	Sky Pro Cycling Team