Bridge to Bridge - dodging the showers

Mr. G

B2B used to be a very popular ride "back in the day" when Rod, one of our founders organised them. I can recall starting at St Pauls and making our way back to Marlow in the course of the day. Much of it used the Thames Pathway but I took a different view when planning my recent ride.  The Thames Path tends to have walkers, dogs off lead and not all paved - too many obstacles for me. 

With the opening of the Elizabeth Line it is now much easier to get a large group up to Paddington to start the ride. Sadly Mr Blue Sky seems to have taken an extended break these past few weeks and this Saturday was no different but we were hopeful it wouldn’t be a long grim ride back to Marlow.  We assembled at Paddington to start the  - we were nearly joined by a cyclist who wanted to know "were we the group cycling to Brighton" - think not! Seemed he was on some sort of blind date for cycling not knowing who the other party was.

We delayed our departure by a few minutes as a massive downpour ensued. It passed and soon we were heading towards Hyde Park (setting up for Steveie Nicks) past the French embassy in Knightsbridge and joining Sloane Street. Alot of road works going on here so virtually no traffic - looked like they were making a cycle superhighway. Sloane Sq safely negotiated and we were then heading down Kings Road to our first coffee stop in Fulham.

At this point there was a large downpour just before arrival at coffee/crepes in Fulham Rd. Next stop was going to be Hammersmith Bridge. This for many years has been closed to traffic but recently has opened to pedestrians - you can't cycle but you can walk across. As with these routes there was a Strava file and we had to do a couple of midcourse adjustments - that's part of the fun.

Safely over Hammersmith Bridge - patches of blue skies started to appear but the strong headwinds from the west started to become more apparent. Into Barnes and a brief stop to look at Olympic Studio - It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Ella Fitzgerald, Queen, Ray Charles, the Who, B.B King, Traffic, Prince, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, Madonna.

Sightseeing over we headed to Mortlake and then into Sheen going along the Upper Richmond Road. There was another stop here to gaze on Dafina's old flat from way back!

Soon we were cutting across Richmond Park - sadly not a closed car day but not many. Lots of cyclists on fancy bikes whizzing around. We were heading to Park Brew & Kitchen. I have taken groups to Park Brewery in Kingston in the past but they have now opened a tap room and cafe just outside the park. All along it had been drizzling interspersed with watery sunshine. Nice lunch and while inside it tipped down - dodged a shower.

Back on the road we now had to negotiate the Kingston one way system and get over the bridge before turning to Hampton Court, carrying on towards Staines. Went past the new Shepperton Studios - impressive. Sadly this leg of the journey was traffic heavy with a few bike lanes. By now the headwinds were very strong so it was a long afternoon push towards our next stop in Laleham. Dramatize Tea Room is a small cafe tucked away off the main drag. They employ adults with learning disabilities. Excellent value for money and a great choice on the cakes!

Soon back on the road we were now entering familiar roads as we went through Staines but still in the grip of a headwind. Soon we were in Windsor and on our way home to Marlow arriving around 1630.