Great Ride to London

So far, it’s not been a great summer weather-wise, but all that was forgotten as it turned out at its best for the annual London ride. With six members still in France, a small but select band; Kieth, Paul, Roger, Brian, Deborah, Gareth, Simon and Maurice prepared for the trip by assembling at the National Water-sports Center and heading off down the Lee Valley led by Maurice.

This route follows the canals to the center of London with hardly a moment on the roads. This seems like a miracle.

Being a warm day we were ready for a drink when we arrived at the base of the IFS Cloud Cable Car. Kieth ordered his can of drink, which he put down only for it to be swept up by a hyper-efficient street cleaner, who emptied it, retaining the can for recycling.

The trip in the cable car, views as great as ever, soon deposited us on the South Bank of the Thames

New was Damien Hirst’s ‘Demon with a bowl’ statue. At 18 meters tall this is an impressive piece of public art and a fine addition to London’s many sights.

Lunch was, as usual, at the Trafalgar Inn. With good beer, food and most importantly really rapid service, which makes it a great stop.

By this point everyone was enjoying their ride. The pub is something of a celebration of England’s past and of Nelson in particular.

During his career Nelson fought; the Americans, Italians, Indians, Russians, Prussians, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish and most famously the French. He seems to have lacked the instinct for self-preservation, which is so well developed in most of us. Early in his career he was reprimanded for chasing a polar bear, putting crew members at risk. He lost his right eye during the battle of Corsica and his right arm in the battle of Tenerife. I particularly enjoyed the description of his efforts during the battle of Egypt,

“a piece of French shot struck him in the forehead. He fell to the deck, with a flap of torn skin obscuring his good eye. Blinded and half-stunned, he felt sure he would die and cried out, “I am killed. Remember me to my wife.” He was taken below to be seen by the surgeon. After examining Nelson, the surgeon pronounced the wound non-threatening and applied a temporary bandage.”

It wasn’t healthy even to be stood near Nelson. So, during the battle of Trafalgar,

“Victory came under fire. A cannonball struck and killed Nelson’s secretary, John Scott, nearly cutting him in two. Hardy’s clerk then took over, but he too, was almost immediately killed. Victory’s wheel was shot away; another cannonball cut down eight marines. Standing next to Nelson on the quarterdeck, Hardy’s shoe buckle was suddenly dented by a splinter”

Well, you know, the more risks you take, the more likely you are to cop it in the end, and moreover it can all be ruinous for your favourite footwear.

Still all this has sea-faring stuff has left us with some fine buildings including the Admiralty, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, where officers of the Royal Navy received their training. These days they do it near the sea, at Portsmouth, not as grand but I suppose makes more sense.

The club has certain hallowed traditions. One of these is Brian lying down to take groups photos at the Cutty Sark. This was duly done.

Unfortunately a mile before Tower Bridge disaster struck and Roger found that one side of his crank had bent! I’ve never seen this before and it reminded me of a ride a few years ago when a member’s pedal sheared off.

There are some things that happen that are just not roadside fixes, though we can handle most things. Roger was forced to drop out and make it back to the water-sports center by train; address Station Rd, Waltham Cross. Clue how to get back is in the name, which Roger did very successfully.

After the hustle and bustle of Tower Bridge it is always a relief to drop down to Limehouse Basin and dream of owning a boat docked in this very desirable bit of town. We found one on sale for £200K at 70ft with two double beds and a residential mooring. Seems like a good buy, but only Maurice can get away with buying accommodation in picturesque locations when out for a wander, so we cycled on.

I think this photo sums it all up. Great weather, great trip, led and navigated by Maurice in grand style. One of our longer rides but with much to see and do. A vintage trip.

Thanks to Maurice from the lot of us.