Just Capital

Just capital

London comes alive in the summer; there is so much to see and do.  However if you’re lacking the imagination to find something to keep you entertained, fret no longer, as BrakeAway Bike Tours have come up with some suggestions to see you through the vicious winter months…

Get into shape
Wheely great
We all love the feel of warm sunshine beating down on our backs…unfortunately glorious weather signals seriously skimpy clothing displaying acres of flesh. If you’re feeling the flab but doing little to fight it – the dreaded treadmill failing to inspire you– then ditch the gym and try cycling instead. Not only is cycling surprisingly cheap, but it is a healthy and social summer activity, burning approximately 350 calories per hour. BrakeAway Bike Tours have daily tours to spin you around the capital, helping you to take in the sights, whilst getting into shape. Find out more at www.biketouroflondon.com

Go salsa! 
Blame Enrique Inglesas and J Lo if you will, but there’s no escaping salsa dancing – and for good reason. Excluding your intake of sumptuous Latin cocktails, a night spent salsa dancing will build up your stamina no end. With its wacky wall paintings and zany zebra print couches, Fiesta Havana offers a different Latin dance night every day. (www.fiestahavana.com)

Take up a new sport
Bling swing
Dismiss the notion of golf as a pringle wearer’s game. Golf has shaken off its staid image thanks to hip swingers such as Catherine Zeta Jones, George Clooney, Samuel L Jackson and JT. The Capital is home to several public courses which are not only relatively cheap but offer a way to have fun and get fit – all in the great outdoors. Try these on for size:
Dukes Meadow Golf Club, W4
Dulwich and Sydenham Hill, SE21
Central London Golf Centre, SW17
Trent Park Public Golf Course, N14

At the races
Gambling is in our genes; few can resist parting with a pound in the hope that they’ll hit the jackpot. There are plenty of race courses within easy reach of the capital – although for people watching the fashion circus of Royal Ascot is a must.

Go to the dogs!
Greyhound racing – once associated with old men – has undergone something of a renaissance. Such is greyhound racing’s newfound popularity that it’s now Britain’s second most popular spectator sport; guaranteeing a great group night out. Fast and furious races regularly take place at Wimbledon Stadium. Check out: www.lovethdogs.co.uk/wimbledon

Park life
Country aficionados may moan about the lack of green space, yet 30 per cent of the capital is given over to green space. So wherever you find yourself in the city, a park is never far away. Hyde Park on a Sunday is a CD Traveller favourite; this is when the legendary Sunday soapbox orators spout forth at the famous speaker’s Corner. Other parks worth a visit include Regents Park with its secret nooks and crannies, Primrose Hill and Greenwich. London is also a nation of gardeners, meaning there is no shortage of stunning gardens to enjoy. The most famous is of course, the Royal Botanical Gardens located at Kew.

Boating
When the sun has got his hat on, nothing beats whiling away a summer’s day boating on the Thames. Salubrious Richmond is the ideal place for such an excursion. Day boats boasting a cabin, sunshade and out boat motor can be hired from Hampton Court. For the low-down visit www.hamptonferryboathouse.co.uk

Sky high
Suspended in an enclosed space age glass pod over the Thames, a ride in the London Eye cannot be beaten. It’s no roller coaster, but the 30-minute wheel provides you with a stunning view of one of the world’s most famous panoramas – from the ill-fated Dome to the splendour of Buckingham Palace. Couples wanting privacy can ascend on a Cupid’s capsule for a more intimate ride. 

Take a tour
“But I have lived here all my life,” we hear you cry. That may be, but it can take a lifetime to get to grips with London. So grab yourself a bike with BrakeAway Bike Tours and explore every postcard sight imaginable to mankind: www.biketouroflondon.com

Movie mania
Of course being Britain, summer does not necessarily equal sunshine. On a gloomy summer’s day nothing beats catching a quality flick on the big screen. However don’t just visit any old cinema; multiplexes are making way for quirky, independent film houses. Visit the Electric in the achingly fashionable Notting Hill, with its luxurious leather armchairs and sofas and well stocked bar serving champagne and cocktails (www.theelectric.co.uk.) Or make it an IMAX experience by heading to Waterloo; home to the UK’s biggest screen. Stock up the popcorn supply, kick back and enjoy.

Become a culture vulture
London is a cultural treasure trove – whatever your interests chances are the Capital caters for them. Take in the latest art collection at the Tate Modern or catch an outdoor opera performance in Holland Park. (www.operahollandpark.com) The ultimate highlight? To attend an outdoor concert in the beautiful grounds of Hampstead’s Kenwood House for proms on the heath.

On the theatre front, feel good musicals – the perfect antidote to the credit –
to catch include Hairspray and The Jersey Boys. Meanwhile if children are in tow, then a performance of the Lion King or new show Sister Act will go down a treat.

Shop till you drop!
If you’ve money to burn (lucky you – we are in recession after all), head for Harvey Nichols or the shopping mecca that is Selfridges. Those conscious of the credit crunch can pick up some bargains at the world famous Harrods sale. Spoil yourself and round off a spot of shopping with cocktails at smart, hotel bars like the Library Bar at The Lanesborough or The Blue Bar at The Berkeley – both of which are within easy walking distance.

When searching for interesting accessories, fashionistas make for one of London’s many markets. Portobello showcases up and coming designers while the stalls at Spitalfield have gone from strength to strength stocking a wide range of quirky individual accessories. Other markets worth a look include Bermondsey, Berwick, Camden and Covent Garden.

So there you have it; the definitive list to see you through the summer. Rise up off the sofa: London’s delights are on your doorstep.

Allemagne dix points

Was there ever a Nelson Mandela House where Only Fools and Horses was filmed?  It seems that all along Del Boy was selling us some dodgy gear!

Indeed, the British comedy show Only Fools And Horses has a small secret to tell. All the time that Del Boy, Rodders and Uncle Albert were parking up the Reliant outside Nelson Mandela House in Peckham…they were in fact somewhere else!  The exterior shots of the Lambeth tower block had a stunt double in West London - Harlech Tower in South Acton; and if you fancy taking in this construction steeped in fame, jump on the E3 bus from Acton Town.

A folly good ball!

There are a few sham castles that are just fronts. I know of ones in Derbyshire and Bath..but this is a sham/folly in London.

London’s first tube line was Paddington to Farringdon in 1863.  Demand soon grew so new lines had to be made and houses brought up.  These houses would be demolished, the tube dug, and then covered again.
Some property agents wanted a high price, most notably in Leinster Terrace, Bayswater.  So as well as paying to knock down two beautiful houses, the train company reconstructed the fronts only, making them look like real houses.
Today thousands go past with out ever noticing that 22-23 are just flat fronts with nothing behind.
A famous hoax in the 1930s saw an amusing con man make a small fortune by selling 10 guinea tickets for a charity ball here.  It was only when the excited guests - in full evening dress - knocked on the fake door they realised their folly!

Get on your bike: http://www.biketouroflondon.com

Fear of collisions with cars, lorries and buses may put some people off the idea of cycling as a form of exercise, particularly those travelling on busy city roads. But collision statistics issued by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in 2001 show that there is less than one cycling death in the UK for every 18 million miles cycled. A serious injury occurs less than once in every 900,000 miles cycled.


Both doctors and government health experts concluded that the risk of injury was outweighed by the benefits of cycling in ‘Cycling: Towards Health and Safety’, a report issued by the British Medical Association in 1992.

Ten reasons to take up cycling

If your reading this, chances are you already cycle or have an interest in cycling. But, nevertheless, here are ten powerful reasons to take up cycling.


1. Freedom.
Cycling gives a sense of freedom that sitting in a car can never give. Descending a hill on a bike is exhilarating, something you never feel in a car. Cycling also gives greater freedom about where to go. Many towns are encouraging pedestrian only areas. With a bike you can go down narrow lanes, on canal paths and often cut corners that you cannot do in a car.

2. Quicker Travelling.
In many congested towns, a bike can offer the quickest method of transport. For example, in London average speeds on roads amounts to a paltry 9mph (this is actually lower than 100 years ago!) Even a moderately fit cyclist will have no trouble in beating cars, buses and the underground. Also with a bike, you don’t have to spend time driving around looking for parking. You can park usually exactly where you want to end up.

3. Saves Money.
A good bike costs £200; a reasonable car will cost £5,000. With oil prices rising through the roof, cycling can also save significantly on petrol costs. The majority of car journeys are for distances less than 5 miles. These distances are easily cycleable. These short journeys also have the relatively highest petrol costs because cars are most inefficient at low speeds. It is estimated that leaving the car in the garage for the average commuter could save an estimate £74.14 ($150) per week (source: Cycling Weekly June 19th)

4. Lose Weight
Cycling is a low impact aerobic exercise and is an excellent way of losing weight. Cycling can also be combined with shopping and commuting therefore, enabling very busy people to find time for exercise. It is also a lot cheaper than gaining membership to the gym. With obesity becoming an endemic problem in western society, cycling can play a key role in helping to keep the population in shape.

5. Health Benefits.
Cycling is good for the heart and can help reduce incidence of heart disease, one of the biggest killers amongst developed countries. Sedentary lifestyles also contribute to other ‘silent killers’ such as diabetes and high blood pressure. see: Health benefits of Cycling at Bupa

6. Relieve Stress.
If you work in an office or have a stressful job, exercise such as cycling can be a powerful way to help reduce stress and take your mind off many problems. Exercise releases chemicals such as serontin. Serontin is known to promote a feeling of well being. But, also vigorous exercise is an effective way to take your mind off trifling problems. Often coming back from a bike ride, you can see problems in a new perspective

7. It’s Egalitarian
Everyone cycles, it is the great social leveller. Rich or poor, Oxford don or little kid, everyone can enjoy cycling.

8. Reduce Global Warming
Cycling creates no pollution or Carbon dioxide emission. It provides a powerful way to help make a meaningful contribution to reducing pollution and preventing future global warming.

9. Less Accidents.
Unlike Cars, bikes are not lethal machines. In the UK, over 3,000 people a year die on the roads due to car accidents. An accident involving bikes may cause injury, but, very rarely will a bike be the cause of a fatal accident. If more people cycled it would definitely help reduce the death rate on our roads.

10. It’s Fun.
The bike has repeatedly been voted the most popular invention of the past 200 years. Cycling is simply great fun.

Raven Mad

Some political wag has said the reason the country is currently going to the dogs is that there is only one raven left in the Tower.


The legend is of course that if the ravens leave the tower then the country will fall.

Well:
The Raven Cemetary can be found in the drained moat close to the Watergate and St Thomas’s Tower. There’s a special Raven Memorial Headstone that lists all the ravens buried there since 1956.

It has been observed that when a member of the flock perishes, the birds will hold what could be called a “raven funeral” – a 24-hour event marked by raucous outcries. The Ravenmaster buries the dead bird in the Raven Cemetery located in the drained moat close to the Watergate and the St Thomas Tower. (St Thomas is the patron saint of clergy.) (Incidentally, in England, tombstones are sometimes referred to as “ravenstones”.)

The St Thomas Tower is also known as Traitors’ Gate because it was through this Tower that condemned prisoners accused of treason arrived from Westminster.

Bethlehem

If you were looking for something a little different to do with the family on a wet Sunday afternoon in the 1700's, you could do worse than take a trip to Bethlehem hospital, known as 'Bedlam' (located on the site where the Imperial War Museum now stands), a huge and well-known lunatic asylum.  On arrival you would enter the vast entrance hall to be confronted by Cibber's huge statues of two loonies, Melancholy and Madness, reputedly modelled on two of the inmates.  From there you would progress to the main gallery, where all the most seriously disturbed residents would be chained to the walls, or in barred cells, for you to gawp and laugh at.

Any inmates that got a little out of hand would be whipped like animals.  In 1770 the authorities seemed to notice that the inmates didn't like this treatment so much, but they didn't stop it as they were making too much dosh through contributions.  Instead they decided to make it a ticket only affair.  It makes our current behaviour concerning the mentally ill seem almost rather humane!

More tales, tips and trivia like this on a fabulous bike tour of london: http://www.biketouroflondon.com/

Dog & Duck - 18, Bateman Street, Soho

The Dog and Duck pub was built in 1718 and so little changed since the 19th century that the Victorian Society have applauded it as a rare if not unique survival of a small Victorian town pub. It’s now a Grade II listed building.  The pub’s name recalls the rather cruel sport of duck hunting, which had been popular when this was a far more rural area.

The front bar is tiled to dado level with plain and ornamental tiles, some depicting a dog holding a duck in its mouth. Above this, large mirrors in mahogany frames, advertise mineral water and cigarettes. These are separated by columns of decorative tiles.

Author George Orwell came to the Dog and Dick to celebrate the fact that the American Book-of-the-Month Club had selected his latest novel Animal Farm.  In fact pop upstairs to the George Orwell room (he used to drink here). One of the better places in Soho for a pint.

Listening in?

The Hoop & Grapes on Aldgate High Street is one of those strange old pubs that one would have expected to have vanished from London years ago.  Records suggest that it is the oldest licensed premises in the City of London.  Certainly its foundations, well beneath the modern road level, date from the 12th or 13th century, and the rest of the buiding is clearly ancient, leaning in that way that timber-framed buildings tend to with age.  Experts tell us, though, that the buidling dates back to just after the Great Fire of 1666.

What makes the pub unique is that it still has a listening tube that runs from the cellars to the bars.  This was installed so that the landlord could listen for seditious or malicious gossip - which, presumably, was more likely to occur while he was out of sight in the cellar.

There is also some evidence that somewhere in the cellars there is a blocked entrance to tunnel that runs from the pub to the nearby Tower of London.  No doubt excavations at some time in the future will reveal whether there is any truth in this story.

Take a London bike tour and hear other fascinating legends of London past and present: http://www.biketouroflondon.com/

London Cycle Cafes - a velorution?

Lately London Cycle Cafes have been getting a lot of exposure. Whether that be the Evening Standard, Time Magazine, Timeout, Bike Hugger or the Financial Times. Therefore, I thought now may be a good time to actually take a better look at some of them.


Look Mum No Hands Cycle Cafe

Where? 49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX www.lookmumnohands.com
Quickly becoming London’s most popular meeting point for cyclists this great cafe provides a workshop where you can work on your bike yourself or hand it over to a mechanic, delicious meals and a great place to relax with a coffee. Closes at 10pm.

MiCycle

Where? 47 Barnsbury Street, N1 1TP www.micycle.org.uk
MiCycle is a very recent addition to London and it provides far more than a bike shop. It is also a place to borrow tools to work on your bike, grab a coffee and take part in cycling classes.

CycleLab Juice Bar

Where? 18A Pitfield Street, N1 6EY www.cyclelab.co.uk
London Cycle Chic recently highly recommended the service she had on her bike at CycleLab. The juice bar is a great addition.

Ralpha Cycle Club

Where? 146 Clerkenwell Road, EC1 5DG www.rapha.cc/london
Only open until the 31st of July the Ralpha Cycle Club provides a gallery, shop and cafe.

Lock 7 Cycle Cafe

Where? 129 Pritchards Road, E2 9AP
Perhaps London’s oldest “cycle cafe” Lock 7 provides everything you would expect from a cycle cafe. It is a great place to get your bike tuned up, find a second hand bike and rent a bike or a tandem.

FullCity Cycle Cafe

Where? 72 Leather Lane, E1
Petite cycle cafe and workshop down Leather Lane. Serves up £1 cups of Monmouth coffee!

Ten cycle tour events not to miss

Skyride

Part of central London is closed off as 65,000 cyclists decent on the capital. The effect is like an endless sea of cyclists wearing fluorescent jackets. The event is very well publicised and incredibly popular. It is free to attend.  The event is held around September time.

Rollapaluza
Two fixed gears bikes are placed on rollers and you race each other to 500 metres. After an adrenaline pumped 20-30 seconds you may emerge victorious. Even if you don’t you’ll be instantly addicted. I’ve previously written about my Rollapaluza experience.

Critical Mass
Critical Mass meets every last Friday of the month beneath Waterloo Bridge. After listening to some music, chatting and having a few beers the group sets off around London. The event is open for anyone to attend and doesn’t tend to be organised by any particular group or person. There is a website with some background info.

Dunwich Dynamo
This is a challenging ride through the night from Hackney to Dunwich covering a distance of around 120 miles. It is completely free to attend and you just show up on the day. The cycling event provides a good chance to meet fellow like-minded individuals. It tends to be held in July.
Tweed Run
This event sells out extremely quickly so you need to get in there early. Dressing up in the finest Tweed you join 400 fellow cyclists and set off around the streets of London on a short cycle. See the official Tweed website for full details.

London Naked Bike Ride
This London cycling event involves plenty of nakedness and body paints. It is usually held in June. The congregation sets off on a short bike tour around 6 miles long around central London.
London to Paris
One of London’s biggest charity cycling events. It covers 325 miles and is organised by a number of charities. You can usually choose to complete it in either 3 or 4 days. There is also a 24 hour challenge for the more hardcore cyclists. Of course London to Paris isn’t the only option. There are also other bicycle tour such as the London to Brighton which is extremely popular.

Bike Polo
You can either spectate or if you are good enough take part in Bike Polo events. You can find out details on the bike polo page.

Bicycle Film Festival
The London Bicycle Film festival is held in October. It is a celebration of cycling featuring events and short cycling films. The events are open to anyone and tickets usually go on a sale a few weeks before.

Nightrider
300 cyclists tour around London in this unique cycling event. It starts off at Crystal Palace and covers 100km around London. After visiting famous London sights the ride ends with a well deserved breakfast. The money raised from the event goes to charity. You tend to have to register early as it sells out.

Naked in London: barefaced cheek!

“Blessed are the peacemakers” the Bible tells us, but it forgets to add the obvious corollary “and awesome are those who strip naked and cycle the streets of central London in the name of peace and the environment”. Thousands of revellers – displaying not a shred of inhibition and not the slightest consideration for the very real possibility of genital chafing – shed their fabric shackles for the Naked London Bike Ride and embraced the freedom of the summer air, the fervour of the two-wheeled carnival, and the inevitability of bemused passers-by taking photos of their funbits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxZa2ANHXYc

Such frivolity! Such bare-cheeked, multicoloured pastiche! Whistles, glowsticks, bodypaint – all were in abundance as the happy crowd rolled down Fleet Street.  Their noble cause?  To protest against oil dependency.  A flyer explained what this gallant act of exhibitionism was all about: “The World Naked Bike Ride”, it elucidated, “draws attention to the absurdity of oil dependency and celebrates the potential of cycling and the human body”. Obviously. “Riding naked emphasises the vulnerability of cyclists on the road, at the same time as celebrating humanity in the face of mechanisation”.

Vulnerability, however, was not something that these postmodern Luddites displayed as they rolled gloriously through the streets of the capital. Bicycles, tricycles, even unicycles were ridden by these devastatingly exposed libertines – some completely naked, some in their pants, some painted head-to-toe in bodypaint and anti-mechanic slogans, but all grinning from ear to ear. Hail these celebrators of the human form, these most honest and pure of protesters! Just make sure you cover your children’s eyes.

Sour-faced policemen and women coasted along beside their churlish charges, not bothering (or daring) to arrest anyone but looking decidedly embarrassed about the whole affair.  Cheer up plod; I expect half of them were envious of the protesters’ nudist whimsy.  Perennial nudity is something to which we should all aspire. Undoubtedly the world would be a better place – would the Cuban missile crisis really have been so dire if Kennedy and Khrushchev had just decided to chill out naked by the pool?  I think not.  So, naked bike riders of London, I want to thank you for two reasons; firstly, for braving sunburn and awkwardly-positioned blisters to encourage us to cease our unwavering commitment to corporal modesty; and secondly, for granting me the opportunity to see more nipples in a ten minute period than I am ever likely to see again.

Delays to the cycle hire scheme!

Along with the recent Cycle Superhighway launch, Boris Johnson has pointed out to everyone that from the 23 of July you’ll be able to register for membership of the cycle hire scheme from: www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire
The bad news is that unless you register you won’t be able to use the bikes for another month. The reason given is that “This will enable TfL and its contractor, Serco, to understand and learn from how pioneer members engage with the scheme, including patterns of bicycle usage.”

In order to use the scheme when it launches on the 30th of July, you’ll have to have a Cycle Hire Key and it will need to be activated.   TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, David Brown said: “Barclays Cycle Hire will revolutionise how we get around central London. Building on the experience of other cities who have launched similar schemes, we and Serco will use the first month of operation to learn more about how Londoners engage with the scheme, including patterns of use, how we can best support customers and to enable the scheme to bed down."

A membership key costs £3 with membership costs at £1 for a 24 hour membership, £5 for seven days and £45 for an annual membership. The first 30 minutes of any journey will be free, but prices rise to a very steep £15 for three hours - making a 3 and a half hour bicycle tour for £18 seem like great value: http://www.biketouroflondon.com/

This means an unexpected (or expected, depending on your viewpoint) delay for the scheme and will mean a lot of people that have been eagerly waiting to try it out will have to wait another month.  It’s not very impressive to hear about this so late and it’s also a bit of a dubious reason that has been given.
 

Is there anything super about the cycle superhighways?

The first two of the cycle superhighways are on track for their completion date of the 19th of July. After this we will see an incremental increase in cycle lanes with two more superhighways being added every year. These two cycle superhighway routes are pilot routes and while a lot of criticism has been coming in it’s important to note that up until the 19th of July they are still not officially finished. In fact the final thing we will see is the signage being added and the last road markings going in on busy junctions.

Smurf lanes

The main criticism of the cycle superhighways is also the most obvious: “It’s just a lick of blue paint”. This is justified as large parts of the first two routes already existed as the more traditional green cycle lanes. However, TfL were keen to stress that a lot has gone into it that we don’t see. For example, the road surface has been re-done in many areas that were suffering from potholes. There’s also been a lot of behind the scenes engineering work, planning and testing. The blue paint has been running through light box tests where they run a tyre over it many times to test it doesn’t fade. A couple of previous revisions of the paint used have been scrapped as they were found to fade far too easily.

Why not segregate?

Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Rio De Janeiro, Barcelona are all places that have segregated cycling infrastructure working well.  It’s one of the main things cyclists request to feel safer: a small barrier between drivers and cyclists would surely make this more of a cycle “super” highway.

Segregation however, is not something that is being considered for the cycle superhighways. TfL said the routes are simply not being used frequently enough to warrant separation of traffic. It is only during peak hours that you will see many cyclists in the lanes. TfL claim that segregating the lanes would create many problems for loading vehicles. They also claim that cyclists don’t want to be treated differently to other vehicles.

TfL are more keen to address the problem of motorists in cycle lanes through police enforcement, branding and working with companies to ensure their drivers are not blocking the lanes during peak hours. The experience of cyclists will tell if this approach will have the desired effect.

Direct and continuous cycle superhighways

Cyclists have also been raising concern about how continuous the cycle lanes are. Around 80% of the route is covered by the blue lanes. The other 20% involves blue boxes with CS markings in them and crossings at junctions. The break in the continuity is meant to inform cyclists that they need to pay extra attention. It is used when a continues blue lane was deemed inappropriate.

A super experience

A cycle superhighway should surely be designed to give beginners that confidence they need to tackle London’s roads. It should be a pleasure to ride along without any fear.  This is noted as being an experience of the equivalent of superhighways in other countries and unfortunately it is not the same in London.

In the end the superhighways are a compromise. On one side you have organisations such as the LCC and bicycle activists calling for more to be done. On the other you have motorists, TfL and the Mayor having to try to decide how the two sides can work together. There has been a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to complete the first two routes. Whilst it remains hard to discover the “super” in the cycle superhighways they are a positive step forward in the vision to make London a cyclist friendly city.

Worth a visit?

Should you happen to be in the Macdonald's at Marble Arch, you will be sitting in the equivalent of the back row of the executions a Tyburn.  If that doesn't put you off your burger, nothing will!

Back to biking

You’ve probably seen David Cameron or Boris Johnson doing it – but don’t let that put you off! Cycling is increasingly becoming the most fashionable way of getting around London.  It’s not quite reached Amsterdam or Copenhagen levels, where every other person seems to be riding a bike, but cyclists are becoming more and more ubiquitous on the streets of London.  Whilst the Underground is arguably the most efficient and practical way of navigating the city, there is definitely something to say for enjoying the scenic delights of London while in transit.  Buses serve this purpose reasonably well – particularly if you seat yourself on the top deck. But for a more visceral, at-one-with-nature experience, you simply cannot beat a bicycle.

Of course, the growth in popularity of the humble bike is unlikely to be down to the sight of our esteemed new Primer Minister regularly cycling to work, or indeed the surreal and ungainly image of Boris’ haystack of blonde hair swirling in the wind as he makes his way across the Big Smoke.  More likely factors are a heighted awareness of environmental issues, a tightening of purse strings amid the recession, and a greater interest in health and fitness.  The authorities have certainly taken notice of this spike in cycling. Two cycle superhighways are due to open this summer – corridors of cycle lanes that will lead from south Wimbledon to Bank and Barking to Tower Hill – adding to what is already one of the largest urban cycle networks in Europe.  On top of that, there is the recent introduction of a cycle hire scheme in the Capital, which should make cycling an ever more visible activity over the coming months.  

The sheer size of London may scare off many would-be cyclists, but any proficient biker should experience few problems. The city’s motorists may not be the most considerate in the world, but they are used to sharing their roads with cyclists, and will generally be tolerant of them.  If you’re not confident enough to confront the city on your own, or with a partner, there are a number of expert tour companies that provide group trips, as well as route suggestions and other useful tips.  These tours are also good for ensuring you experience some of the city’s major historical and contemporary attractions.

BrakeAway Bike Tours operate daily London bike tours.  The chief tour guide, Chris Abbott, is London born and raised; yet spent five years living and working in San Francisco, spending some of that time employed as a walking tour guide. Now back on home territory, Chris’ knowledge and experience makes him possibly one of the best bicycle tours guide in London, largely because he is actually from here – a surprisingly rare commodity in the bicycle tour business!

JFK says

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride, according to Big John, so let's all get on our bikes and take the freedom road to progress.

Our friendly bobbies

Organized policing dates back less than 200 years. Until the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s brought thousands flocking into cities, most crime was combated by the local constabulary with the help of the occasional citizen patrol. As the cities became more crowded, individual companies organized police forces to protect their interests. In England, one of the most prominent was the Thames River Police, created by the powerful West India Trading Company in 1798 to deter thefts along the London wharves.


The Thames River Police, numbering about 80 full-time men, policed by establishing a patrol presence in the London port. The private police force was so effective that Parliament authorized money to add the men to the public payroll. But for the most part the public was suspicious of waves of permanent police roaming the streets. But the plagues of urban ills brought on by surging immigration and mounting poverty began to weigh on Londoners.


If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, here's the film report of the Climate Camp protest:

blue skies ahead

The next couple of days promise some great cycling weather, including some seriously hot days, so get your shorts and sandals out and have some two wheeled fun.  Just make sure you watch out for taxi drivers: http://lydall.standard.co.uk/2010/06/cyclist-strangled-unconscious-in-oxford-street-by-taxi-driver-appeals-for-help.html

A Hanging Sunday Lunch

First double-tour day on Monday, just about recovering now.

Here's a link to my favourite pub of the week: http://www.whatsinwapping.co.uk/2010/05/31/prospect-of-whitby/

Unfortunately, you can't watch the hangings at Execution Dock whilst having your Sunday Lunch anymore; however, it still does good ale, food and has marvellous views over the Thames from both of their decks. 

Better Bike Tours underway

Hi guys,

We've been in the saddle for a short while now. Come and join us for a great day out, see the sights, hear the tales and have lots of fun. Check us out at: www.biketouroflondon.com

Hope to be hearing from you all very soon