Tour of Britain
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Ride out into north London to see the Tour hill section and the finish too

Tour of Britain

An amazing 20 of us took off with the intention of seeing the hill climb section of the Tour of Britain and also watch the finish in the Mall. Martin's swan song ride before he leaves for pastures new was as usual well planned and took in some completely unknown sections of London.

We rode out to join the Grand Union canal just past Hanger Lane and had an uneventful trip all the way to Regent's Park apart from one puncture that was soon repaired. We went through Chalk Farm and around Camden before passing over the Caledonian Road heading towards Finsbury Park. We made it to the park with promises of a brand new café for lunch, spirits were dashed when the café resembled a building site and was obviously closed, however two of the group wandered around the front to discover the café in full swing serving an extensive menu of food and drink - certainly worth bearing in mind for future

After a pleasant stop we found the Parkland Walk - a disused railway track converted into part of the Capital Ring - a real gem of a find, more details here. We came out at Highgate hill where 3 interlopers from Hackney LCC latched onto us to find the climb section of Tour of Britain. With a few climbs behind us we found a suitable spot to wait for the riders, though this mainly consisted of an endless stream of police motor bikes and being given some rather fetching orange hats. The riders passed in a flash, almost to quickly and given their number - perhaps only 50, it was not quite the spectacle some people had expected. But we had a superb vantage point never-the-less and it was a joy to see.

We then headed away from Highgate and through Hampstead Heath, passing the swimming ponds which may have inspired a further ride in future. Back into Belsize Park and crossing our inbound route we made our way into central London. Some riders decided to peel off at this point but the bulk continued south, picking up an escort of bicycle mounted police, passing the American Embassy before hitting the Mall with perfect timing to see the finish. Who won? Who cares?

After a vital round of hot and cold drinks we threaded our way through the debris to find the trade stands at the Palace end of the Mall where we found the LCC stand amongst others before plotting a route home. Again some riders choose quicker ways home but most of us found our way to Hammersmith and followed the river back to Kew and the welcome borders of Ealing with thoughts of the Tour next year.

Thanks to Martin for leading not just this ride but many others previously. Thanks to David for the lentils.

35 miles.