George has put the GPS track of the ride on the web. Click on the GPSies image to find it.
Sunday 10th April started out as a bright, cool day and by lunchtime was warm and sunny. James assembled the riders at the Interchange Centre Haverstock Hill and we soon set off via an alley behind the centre on to a south westerly route via Eton Avenue, Marlborough Road and Elgin Avenue, over the canal and under the A40, past Portobello Road market and then through the Shepherds Bush area to Hammersmith bridge. We rode over the bridge and took to the towpath.
We rode westwards along the curve of the river, eventually stopping for lunch at the White Hart, Barnes.
After a long lunch break we set off again, but had to stop by Barnes bridge while George replaced a broken brake cable.
We crossed the Thames over Chiswick Bridge (you can ride on the footway, to avoid the fast traffic). We then joined the towpath on the north side of the river, riding east as far a Chiswick House, where we rode through the gardens. After crossing Acton Green we stopped for coffee or ice cream at Trinity’s Coffee shop.
We followed yet another of James’ repertory of quiet back street routes, under the A40 and across Wormwood Scrubbs. Soon after that we joined the Grand Union Canal at Kensal Green and rode down to Little Venice and then into Paddington Basin where we took the new foobridge across the basin and then ducked under the A40. As you’ll see in the canal pictures, we gained an extra rider for this part of the route.
Eventually we got back onto the Regents Canal towpath and rode past the Zoo, emerging at St Marks Crescent where we each went our separate ways. A very enjoyable day and a useful introduction to many useful routes.
See some more photos on our Flickr site
