Central London CTC blog

Frustrated by the weather for weeks, this Sunday was the first opportunity for many to ride for some time and hence a large turnout for the January ‘Little Green’ was to be expected. Even so the group of 18 that assembled was probably a record for the month. Those Londoners who left the train at Knebworth were joined by several local riders and we climbed up Swengleys Lane under blue skies and helped by a useful tailwind. Large patches of snow were still lying in fields on the higher ground but thankfully even the smallest lanes were now free of ice. more »

“I counted them out, and I counted them in again…”

It could all have been so different if we had got unlucky.

A surprising nine of us took the train to Twyford for another of Keith’s South Chilterns routes hinging around the marvellous Reformation pub in Gallowstree Common, Oxon. Most of the lying snow had gone but it was very frosty, so we rode gingerly on some of the bigger lanes. The pace was pretty slow as we kept a sharp eye out for patches of frost, but though freezing, the weather was glorious, banishing that frowsty feeling of the too-many days of Christmas. more »

Colin Wing’s ride was most erudite. It was a series of stops at statues and buildings in Central London that were based on the architecture of antiquity or in a couple of cases were the real thing. In most cases he had in his folder a picture of the classical original it was based on. The tour included the statue of ‘Achilles’, actually Castor or Pollux, commemorating The Duke for Wellington, the screen by Apsley House, The Duke of York’s column, Cleopatra’s Needle [in reality much older than Cleopatra], the remains of the Temple of Mithras discovered in 1954 and parts of the old Roman and medieval wall near The Museum of London where we had a welcome break for warm drinks. After thawing out we went on to St Pancras Parish Church and, a real curiosity this, an interwar office block in Egyptian style designed shortly after the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Thanks Colin for such an interesting and well researched ride.