100k around London
Sep. 10th, 2007 12:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julietAnother audax yesterday, with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
uon - the London Sightseer, which starts out in West London, meanders into town & across to the Isle of Dogs & Greenwich, and then meanders back again. In practice it's not so much an audax in the normal sense as it is an extended bike adventuring in London.
Woken up at 5am bydogrando coming back from Jeff Mills; returned the favour at 6.45am. doop & I made it to Waterloo in plenty of time to acquire train tickets and Very Large Coffee. I was on Bucephalus-the-fixie, having made a last-minute decision to this effect (given that I knew the route to be non-scenic and I am used to riding fixed in London) despite never having gone more than 20mi in one go on fixed before.
Bike-fettling at the start, I was surprised to seedamerell appear, so wound up riding with him, & a couple of people from my bike forum, for the first 50k or so. Off down to the river at a reasonably decent pace (see above re coffee...), & rapidly caught up with a conglomerate of Hampstead Wheelers all in club kit.
Sun was out, river was pretty... although it is quite a bitty ride, with lots of offroad bits which can be a slight nuisance, and lots of meandering. On getting to the Shepherds Bush area, we crossed Holland Park Ave, and spent 10 min wandering around lots of side-streets along to Portabello Rd, before popping out again on the Bayswater Road by Ken Gardens. I muttered that this was an unusual way to get from Point A to Point B, but of course getting from A to B is hardly the aim here. And the side-streets were interesting, with some lovely churches looking especially pretty in the morning sunshine.
We were doing pretty well for time, and the next bit, along to Tower Bridge - featuring part of my morning commute, through Hyde Park! - was also fast. A bit odd being reminded that my daily 6 mi each way covers prime London Sight country... Caught at the lights at the bottom of Fleet St (Andrij & I agreed that neither of us have ever managed to get through those), up past St Pauls & to Tower Bridge. The next bit (to Wapping High St) was Very Cobbly, & unfortunately we didn't take Alex's proposed detour (due to my being impatient, oops). Not nice at all on fixed, & then my pannier rack snapped where it bolts on to the dropouts. I concluded that it wasn't going to go anywhere immediately & soldiered on with Bloody Annoying Rattling Noise.
Avoided the "lift bike up stairs" bit by Royal China at Canary Wharf courtesy a slight detour (doop's route to work!) & a zoom up the ramp to Westferry Circus. Off out east of the Wharf to parts of London I've not been to before, which was interesting, until cycle-route related confusion caused us to get off & cross the road so Andrij could apply Local Knowledge. Whereupon my front wheel fell off. Thankfully whilst walking, not whilst on bike, or it would have been highly unpleasant. I think the cobbles loosened the QR skewer.
Made it to Island Gardens with no more bike-falling-apart incidents, & the lovely Alex was able to provide giant cable ties to put the rack back together. We wasted some time waiting for a jacket potato for me, but eventually gave up & cancelled it, & I soldiered on on a packet of ready salted & some Coke.
Down in the lift to the foot tunnel, then UP the stairs as no lift that end. Urgh. V strenuous. Followed by UP to the Royal Observatory.damerell rode alongside me briefly & enquired what my current opinion on my lack-of-gear situation was; a little out of breath, I responded only by gesture :-) But I made it up & am pleased! In fact, going down (1:17 ?) later was more worrying, esp as there was an RH turn on the hill...
North Greenwich, the Millenium Dome, fun sandpit action on the Thames Path (advantage to being on fixed here...), the Gormley Man, and then doop & I peeled off for a detour via my house for FOOD. Offered tea & biscuits to the others but they preferred to crack on. Pete & Marna provided pasta & coffee, & we set off again to HMS Belfast, & then onwards for the last 40k.
I bitched mightily as we were forced to walk the bikes past Parliament where there's all those bloody stupid barriers; after that it was a ride of river & parks. Battersea Park, Battersea Bridge (something really needs to be done about the traffic there), Chelsea Harbour (v interesting architecturally/socially just past there - Victorian terraces on one side, warehouse conversions & riverside new build on the other), Putney, and along to Richmond Park. Where they have deer! UP the hill & then DOWN the hill to Ham Gate. (I am getting better at spinning downhill, though still only doing about 25mph. Mind you the limit is 20mph in there...)
Nearly got lost on the way to Teddington due to confusing route sheet, & walking over the lock was a bit of a trial as it was very busy. Should have stopped for a beer... Quite a nice bike path from there to Hampton Court Palace - we were making good time but I decided that it was too lovely a day not to stop & spend 20 min lying on the riverbank in the sun, anduon agreed.
From there through Bushey Park - which I found v exciting because it is *huge* & I didn't know it existed! A lovely spin through there, featuring further deer, then the last couple of km to the Arrivee & a nice cup of tea.
Very pleased with my first audax & first 100k on fixed, although I have concluded that bullhorn bars don't cut it for distance, as I started getting hand twinges towards the end which isn't usually a problem for me.
uon - the London Sightseer, which starts out in West London, meanders into town & across to the Isle of Dogs & Greenwich, and then meanders back again. In practice it's not so much an audax in the normal sense as it is an extended bike adventuring in London.Woken up at 5am by
dogrando coming back from Jeff Mills; returned the favour at 6.45am. doop & I made it to Waterloo in plenty of time to acquire train tickets and Very Large Coffee. I was on Bucephalus-the-fixie, having made a last-minute decision to this effect (given that I knew the route to be non-scenic and I am used to riding fixed in London) despite never having gone more than 20mi in one go on fixed before. Bike-fettling at the start, I was surprised to see
damerell appear, so wound up riding with him, & a couple of people from my bike forum, for the first 50k or so. Off down to the river at a reasonably decent pace (see above re coffee...), & rapidly caught up with a conglomerate of Hampstead Wheelers all in club kit. Sun was out, river was pretty... although it is quite a bitty ride, with lots of offroad bits which can be a slight nuisance, and lots of meandering. On getting to the Shepherds Bush area, we crossed Holland Park Ave, and spent 10 min wandering around lots of side-streets along to Portabello Rd, before popping out again on the Bayswater Road by Ken Gardens. I muttered that this was an unusual way to get from Point A to Point B, but of course getting from A to B is hardly the aim here. And the side-streets were interesting, with some lovely churches looking especially pretty in the morning sunshine.
We were doing pretty well for time, and the next bit, along to Tower Bridge - featuring part of my morning commute, through Hyde Park! - was also fast. A bit odd being reminded that my daily 6 mi each way covers prime London Sight country... Caught at the lights at the bottom of Fleet St (Andrij & I agreed that neither of us have ever managed to get through those), up past St Pauls & to Tower Bridge. The next bit (to Wapping High St) was Very Cobbly, & unfortunately we didn't take Alex's proposed detour (due to my being impatient, oops). Not nice at all on fixed, & then my pannier rack snapped where it bolts on to the dropouts. I concluded that it wasn't going to go anywhere immediately & soldiered on with Bloody Annoying Rattling Noise.
Avoided the "lift bike up stairs" bit by Royal China at Canary Wharf courtesy a slight detour (doop's route to work!) & a zoom up the ramp to Westferry Circus. Off out east of the Wharf to parts of London I've not been to before, which was interesting, until cycle-route related confusion caused us to get off & cross the road so Andrij could apply Local Knowledge. Whereupon my front wheel fell off. Thankfully whilst walking, not whilst on bike, or it would have been highly unpleasant. I think the cobbles loosened the QR skewer.
Made it to Island Gardens with no more bike-falling-apart incidents, & the lovely Alex was able to provide giant cable ties to put the rack back together. We wasted some time waiting for a jacket potato for me, but eventually gave up & cancelled it, & I soldiered on on a packet of ready salted & some Coke.
Down in the lift to the foot tunnel, then UP the stairs as no lift that end. Urgh. V strenuous. Followed by UP to the Royal Observatory.
damerell rode alongside me briefly & enquired what my current opinion on my lack-of-gear situation was; a little out of breath, I responded only by gesture :-) But I made it up & am pleased! In fact, going down (1:17 ?) later was more worrying, esp as there was an RH turn on the hill...North Greenwich, the Millenium Dome, fun sandpit action on the Thames Path (advantage to being on fixed here...), the Gormley Man, and then doop & I peeled off for a detour via my house for FOOD. Offered tea & biscuits to the others but they preferred to crack on. Pete & Marna provided pasta & coffee, & we set off again to HMS Belfast, & then onwards for the last 40k.
I bitched mightily as we were forced to walk the bikes past Parliament where there's all those bloody stupid barriers; after that it was a ride of river & parks. Battersea Park, Battersea Bridge (something really needs to be done about the traffic there), Chelsea Harbour (v interesting architecturally/socially just past there - Victorian terraces on one side, warehouse conversions & riverside new build on the other), Putney, and along to Richmond Park. Where they have deer! UP the hill & then DOWN the hill to Ham Gate. (I am getting better at spinning downhill, though still only doing about 25mph. Mind you the limit is 20mph in there...)
Nearly got lost on the way to Teddington due to confusing route sheet, & walking over the lock was a bit of a trial as it was very busy. Should have stopped for a beer... Quite a nice bike path from there to Hampton Court Palace - we were making good time but I decided that it was too lovely a day not to stop & spend 20 min lying on the riverbank in the sun, and
uon agreed. From there through Bushey Park - which I found v exciting because it is *huge* & I didn't know it existed! A lovely spin through there, featuring further deer, then the last couple of km to the Arrivee & a nice cup of tea.
Very pleased with my first audax & first 100k on fixed, although I have concluded that bullhorn bars don't cut it for distance, as I started getting hand twinges towards the end which isn't usually a problem for me.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:13 pm (UTC)I'm still having trouble getting past this bit :)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:18 pm (UTC)Bloody QR skewers. When I build my shiny! new! dynamo wheel, it is going to have normal skewer. Grumble.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:28 pm (UTC)Sore knees, though - sorer than twice the distance on the tandem. I might fiddle with the saddle position on that bike. I should have a writeup at some point but writing them up is always harder than doing them - I _still_ haven't written up the E2E from 200_4_.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 12:47 pm (UTC)BTW: http://www.anothercyclingforum.com/index.php?topic=22551.new#new has photos from Iddu (chap with bright red hair), inc one of you beaming cheerfully :-)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-10 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 01:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 01:40 pm (UTC)And, guess what, it's not a 20-year-old bike with 26" mountain bike wheels. It's the old roadster 26" which is a completely different size, has no decent tyres made in it, and is about midway between MTB 26" and 700C such that neither will possibly fit the frame. I get to join the 650B resurgence...
no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 02:46 pm (UTC)Good luck with the conversion! Sounds like an interesting bike, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-11 03:04 am (UTC)I wonder if I can ask you to estimate how far you can lean yours on level ground before pedal strike intervenes?
I completely neglected this issue (and put slightly smaller wheels on to boot). It's a puny 10" BB height, but 165mm cranks with a very narrow profile.
I may be out tomorrow on the freewheel side trying to bang the pedals on the ground.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-09 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-09 03:42 pm (UTC)