Weather not as glorious as the last two years but decent in what’s been a rather damp Bike Week. It kept dry for us and the views were clear. A good bunch at Cutty Sark Gardens was mostly made up of newbies which was nice, including one who’d come all the way from Brighton. Along the way, we picked up two folk hanging around for the evening on top of two separate hills, so we hit 20 or 21 at one time. Actually bigger than last year. So ya boo to the wind-up merchant who implied that I’d committed the cardinal sin of publicising the thing 🙂
Pace maybe slightly faster than previous years though the ride was – as billed and as always – a tootle. This may have frustrated a small group of racers who seemed to disappear just before our walk up One Tree Hill – a new sight to quite a few. General agreement I think that south London has the best views of the capital. Canonbie Road tested the field as usual, particularly two (?) on singlespeeds – one of them seemed to be adopting a sailing/tacking technique to force the pedals to the peak.
As in previous years, a very special thanks to our hosts at the secret view. Maybe it’s the thin Lewisham air but you really do get the feeling up there that you can see the curvature of the earth on the flat horizon. Well, maybe. We left the dodo and then split as usual – some to head home, others to head to the pub in Crystal Palace.
Usual aimless nattering including tales of sleepless cycling despair. At one point, in a conversation I locked onto a bit late, the magic word “Mercian” was mentioned, which produced a look on one of our party I think I last saw on a hungry cat trying to affect a merely passing interest in a just-out-of-reach small bird. Alas said Mercian not really available I think.
I think everyone enjoyed the evening, including the fox which at one point wandered between the tables in the pub garden. Thanks to all for coming and for getting into the relaxed pootling swing of the thing.