Pedal Power 28

Bike Week 2003 –The Highlights

Monday 16 June: The To-worker: a ride along the Thames Path into centralLondon.5 of us did this one and there were three new faces including two women who had always wanted to ride up to work in the City but only knew the main road route in. We hugged the Thames all the way to Tower Bridge and delivered them to Leadenhall Street in a leisurely 40 minutes. They were amazed and delighted to suddenly see the closeness of Tower Bridge from the Rotherhithe riverside. It was like being on holiday in the sun.

Monday 16 June: Dulwich Park picnic. 12 cyclists joined for this ride to the Southwark Cyclists picnic. We had a great time chatting and making new friends in the Park and left at 9pm.

Tuesday 17 June: Afterworker: The Lea Valley. 16 of us completed this ride. The huge 7pm downpour lasted 5 minutes, dried fast and smelt wonderful. We did 10 miles north before turning round and coming back via the Hertford Union Canal to Greenwich just as lights were needed.

Wednesday 18 June: Afterworker: The Dome. East down the Thames Path to the Greenwich Peninsula. 7 of us cycled East along the path until we reached the Thames Barrier where we turned around and headed back towards the sunset.

Thursday 19 June: Afterworker: The Waterlink Way. An almost all off-road ride down the Sustrans path. 15 miles. 14 of us met 8 from Lewisham at 7.30pm for a ride down the Waterlink Way which is a mainly off road ride. We turned around at Beckenham.

Friday 20 June: Afterworker: The Sunset Ride. East down the Thames Path, and back into the sunset. 16 people. A gentle saunter down the Thames to Crossness and back into a fine cloudless sunset.

Saturday 21 June: The Midsummer Madness Ride: the ride through deserted London to see sunrise from the top of Primrose Hill, on the summer solstice. The big one. Precisely 83 of us were at the start on a warm clear night. The roads were very quiet then turned onto London Bridge to cheers from about the same number already there. Fleet Street and the Strand were quieter but we got good support from pedestrians. Frith Street was a busy array of motorbikes, cars and dust-carts. Then to Regents Park, which was just quietness and birdsong. There were probably 250 bikes on Primrose Hill and the sunrise was clear. The view was stunning. We rode south down the completely deserted Broad Walk of Regent’s Park onto trafficless Portland Place, down Fleet Street, past St Pauls and over the Millennium Bridge and onto breakfast at the specially opened Island Café on Southwark Bridge Road. Around 100 of us breakfasted there and then went in our own direction.

Sunday 22 June: A gentle 10 mile Treasure Hunt geared for familiesand children.12 of us had fun cracking clues during an afternoon's cycle treasure hunt along the Thames path hunting down important dates, names of ferries and sewage processing rates, as well as other topical facts.

Schools Success Project

£22,000 schools cycling project success.

As Pedal Power went to press, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced an £11,200 grant for our plan to promote cycling in a local school this autumn.

The DfT will fund our bid for a pilot scheme to assess the extent to which Cycling can be encouraged through intensive work in one school. The project aims to provide lesson time cycle training to all year 7 pupils and to provide a range of supporting activities to capture the children's imagination and involve their families and other children.

As well as maintenance training and support, the project suggests promoting cycle sport through trips to the Herne Hill Velodrome and other cycling events.

The bid was supported by Greenwich Council's Home and Road Safety Team, and the South Greenwich Regeneration Agency, to whom we are indebted. The success of the venture is to be monitored and evaluated by the local environmental consultancy, GEMS and may be rolled out to other schools. Full details in the next edition of Pedal Power.

Rumble Strip Row

Although the Plumstead Road cycle lane is still not yet complete, a number of regular users have already expressed concerns about how practical it will be to cross the raised brickwork if the lane is blocked by parked cars though it is intended to protect cyclists by deterring car drivers from crossing into the cycle lane but the raised brick rumble strip may in fact trap cyclists or worse. Clearly the quality of the finishing and the final height of the strip above the tarmac are critical issues.

Greenwich Cyclists have expressed our initial concerns to the Council and we have been told that the new cycle lane is not funded from any mainstream cycle expenditure. We are anxious that this is not a model for the future! We would like your views on the scheme. Email your comments to bikepest@hotmail.com.

July Rides

Sunday 6 July: Sustrans Ranger Ride. Meet 10am Cutty Sark Gardens and cover the Thames Path to the
Woolwich Flood Barrier. Adrian
07941 462 082

Saturday 12 July: The legend goes on. Dunwich Dynamo. Number eleven. Not a Greenwich ride as such. It is an unsupported ride. There's no formal entry procedure and it's free It's an unsupported overnight ride to Dunwich Beach in Suffolk along, once out of London, on surprisingly deserted lanes. 120 miles. The route has several short sharp hills but mostly, it is pretty flat. If you can do 60 to 80 hilly miles, you should’t have any problems with 120 relatively flat miles There’s a great sence of acheivement once there and the sea is most refreshing! Coach back tickets on sale now. See FAQs on the website. Meet 7pm Cutty Sark Gardens for the 4 mile ride to the start or at The Pub on the Park, Martello Street, Hackney, London E8. Barry: 07905 889 005

Saturday 19 July/Sunday 20 July: Isle of Wight camping weekend. Details to follow.
Lewisham Cyclists. Roger. 07956 254836

Sunday 20 July: Sustrans Ranger Ride. Meet 10am atWoolwich Thames.

Want to borrow a bike?

We have a large child’s / small adult’s bike and two ladies bikes. If you would like to borrow them for a ride please contact Hilary on 07929 722 973 with at least 2 day’s notice.

Greenwich Cyclist’s AGM was held on 4th June 2003. The new elected management committee are as follows:
Co-ordinator: Hilary Samuels
Secretary: Karen Servadei
Treasurer: Karen Marks
Planning: Nick Williams
Press Officer: Liz Delap
Editor: Pete Millbrook

Maintenance Classes

The West Greenwich Arts Centre has been booked for the Thursday 24th July.

The second class will be learning about brakes and basic bike checks, 7pm-9pm. For further details, contact Julian Dobson (07941 462082)

Pick up your Pedal Power from:

• Greenwich Tourist Office
• Greenwich Forum
• Harry Perry Cycles,Woolwich
• Halfords Bike Hut, Charlton
• Our e-group

The Website Pedal Power is published every month. Send your articles, pictures and tips etc by Wednesday 16th July to Pete.