2 posts were split to a new topic: SE23.life Strava Group for Cyclists
This all sounds great. I’ve joined the Strava group. Anyone that knows any good routes that end up with some tasty treats (cake!) at the end, let me know!
@anon64893700 Richmond sounds great. Can’t wait to get out on my new bike. Thanks for all of your help! 
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My pleasure @Liz_Hall so happy it worked out well for you. And based on RRP you got a BOGOF . Love a bargain!
As for routes with treats, it is what you make it. Let me know how many miles you think you and Chris have in your legs and I can suggest something.
As for Richmond, there are a couple of lovely eateries to stop in on the way around, makes for a nice morning / afternoon of it.
And plenty of opportunity to go along the river too for more sweet treats.
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Back in the day I used to enjoy riding down to Westerham (for cake) via Bromley and Knockholt, and a small part of the Pilgrims Way then back via Croydon. A couple of nice climbs and descents and about 65km so not so much as to kill you for the day. These days is more like a trip to Greenwich via waterlink way and Deptford along the cycle route 21. A little more sedate but fun for different reasons.
oh, and @anon64893700 : #1 bike is a specialized allez
Sounds like a nice little ride @comoed . I like heading out to Biggin Hill, Westerham etc at times. Nothing like a few hills to get the heart going and the legs working.
Aaah I have an Allez too (Allen to his friends lol)
I live in Honor Oak and am the coordinator of Lewisham Cyclists…the Lewisham section of the London Cycling Campaign. We are a pretty active group. Some of you may know us. Personally, I have always ridden a bike, never owned a car, never saw the point living in London. Always commuted to work, since the 70’s in fact, when I might pass maybe two or three other folk riding bikes on my journey. Then that was a journey from Clapham to Walthamstow, through the city and Hackney. Do that now and you are one of thousands! Also always ridden for fun and leisure (our ride this weekend was a 70 miler out to the Surrey Hills, one of our regular routes) and even as a job on occasion, and every holiday I pack up the bikes with camping kit and off I go. Love the freedom and the economy (a cheap holiday when you are hard up with kids, as I was once and helps ensure they grow up fit and healthy). Anyway, now I work on my bike as well, having trained as a cycle instructor. So, bikes are very much part of my life. If you don’t know Lewisham Cyclists, it’s worth checking the group out…we run rides, a drop in maintenance workshop, regular Dr Bikes. If you have a question about any kind of cycling, if we don’t know the answer ourselves, we will know someone who does.
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Fantastic information, thank you for your input @Taoschno . Information well worth knowing for sure.
Does anyone have a bike shed in their front garden? Officially we’re supposed to get planning permission so I’m wondering if it’s easy to get or if people don’t bother?
Well, I have accepted that I’m never going to be as fit and fast as I was in my twenties! My short term goal is to ride as many of the roads in the Orkneys and Shetlands as I can in June (heading up that way on June 7th for a couple of weeks) and also, sometime this year, possibly at the end of my Orkney trip if I can manage to get across to the other side of the Scottish mainland to see if I can get up the Bealach na Ba, without walking one last time before I finally get too old. (Scotland has always been my favourite place for cycling). If I can do that this year, I’ll be happy.
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I believe the people who did it in my road, didn’t bother…it’s a very small shed though, not full height. I think there is a height limit below which you can put something up without planning permission.
Sounds like a good plan to me there @Taoschno I wish you the best of luck with that. I’m hoping to get to Wales in the next month or two and get some miles in there. A personal favourite of mine.
In my 40’s now I am fitter than I have been for many years, and have to say the little gold trophies and medals on Strava really push me along.
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If anyone fancies it, Lewisham Cyclists will be doing a short Afterworker ride tonight. (31st May) We leave at 6.30pm from the centre of Ladywell opposite Le Delice cafe. Then pootle about through local parks and sometimes down to the river, for about 10 miles or so, then finish at a pub somewhere. This week it will be the Rye on Peckham Rye…not quite in Lewisham, but nearly! Anyone is welcome to join us, either for the ride alone or the pub meet or both. It’s suitable for all ages, abilities. Even if there’s a hill, you can walk it if need be. I ride these on my singlespeed so if there is a steep hill I have to get off and walk myself!
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Probably a little early for me tonight but I hope I can catch you all on another ride soon. 
hope the weather cheers up for you a bit
Stay safe and warm.
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Since moving to FH I (try to) cycle every day to Victoria. On the whole its an enjoyable cycle through Dulwich, Camberwell and Oval - although if you leave it too late the roads can get very busy! The best thing about FH is that you’re about 30 minutes from the city and 30 minutes from the countryside!
I also recently went on a ride with the Dulwich Paragons and can thoroughly recommend them as a very friendly bunch- they have a lot of members (including a growing contingent of women riders) and organise rides every weekend as well as some more serious rides throughout the week.
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Great info there @Nomis46 I have been considering joining a club for a while now, but still thrive on solo rides. Still not out of the question though.
Indeed the SE23 location is great for a bit of anything you want. I do love a ride out towards Biggin Hill, Downe etc.
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Thanks, I haven’t cycled it for a while, before we moved offices, it was 9.5 miles. I used to have the official Hackney Cycle app on my phone. google one looks ok, might try it.
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If you’re looking for a bit of company on your ride, or to get introduced to new and interesting routes, look up the Southwark/Lewisham cyclists bike train (southwarkcyclists.org.uk). It runs every Wednesday from Ladywell and Peckham Rye and takes a nice quiet route down to Blackfriars.
An excellent alternative to the usual packed Overground lines.
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Joined the Strava group
I cycle up to Canary Wharf every day. I used to go through the Greenwich tunnel although I got bored with the lifts and walking so now I go over one of the bridges although apparently you can cycle through the tunnel now - they have a traffic light system which detects pedestrians and asks you to walk if it’s busy. Can anyone confirm that?
Sometimes I go up through Brockley (to avoid Horniman - fixed gear) and up the Old Kent Road. My current favourite route is through Brixton and up to Westminster, then along the new cycle superhighway by the Thames. Sight seeing is so much more fun than the Overground.
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