Saturday's warm sunshine brought 11 of us to CSG for the Easy-Going monumental ride including four who had never been on a Greenwich Cyclists ride before, two of whom were quite new to cycling.
The lifts were working so we made our way easily through the foot tunnel where we'd said we'd meet people in Island Gardens. Nobody there so we made our way along the usual docklands, Wapping, Shadwell Basin route to Tower Hill, making use of the excellent cycle path along Cable Street. Despite the big roads and one-way systems provision for cyclists is not bad in this area and we were able to make our way quite safely and easily across the city to the Monument.
Most of us climbed the monument, built to commemorate the Great Fire of London which devastated the City of London in 1666. Small entrance fee (but you get a certificate at the end!) and 311 steps up a continuous spiral staircase, it's not for the faint-hearted but the climb up is really worth it (particularly when the sun's shining) and it provides a great view of London. It's interesting to see famous landmarks such as tower bridge from another perspective (Big Ben almost hidden by clusters of tall buildings in front). Apparently if the Monument were laid down in an easterly direction from it's current position it's tip would rest at the site of the old bakery on Pudding Lane where the fire first started!
Back to earth and some of us then left to go our separate ways, the rest of us made an impromptu visit to Borough Market to buy lunch which we ate sitting outside Southwark Cathedral. A couple of us then rushed off, Charlton Athletic calling, leaving 4 of us to meander slowly back down to Greenwich, stopping to mend a couple of punctures en route!
All in all a great day and good to learn a bit more about the history of London!
Join us for the next Easy Going ride on Saturday 7th June when we'll be cycling up to Camden Market.
HS.