Supporting cycling in Newham
A Newham Ride will take place on Sunday 29 September -starting from the View Tube Cafe at 10.00am.
Our regular monthly meetings resume on 30 September at 7.30pm at Beckton Community Centre, 14 East Ham Manor Way, E6 5NG. Lots of interesting matters to discuss including significant political and infrastructure developments and our role in the Climate Change movement.
Arnold
It has been a busy time for Newham cyclists and our infrastructure team. We have had a number of recent meetings with Council Officials and responded to a number of consultations.
This document provides a summary of major issues in the borough with which we are currently actively concerned. It was updated following a regular catch up meeting with Newham Council a month ago. Items in red have arisen since. Of particular interest are:
If you would like further details of any of the matters addressed in this document or about other matters not addressed in it please e-mail me on newham@lcc.org.uk
Arnold
Sunday’s Essex Lane’s ride followed the route from Epping station north east towards Morton, Fyfield and Willingale, before going south towards Blackmore and then west to Stondon Massey.
We had lunch at the Bricklayers, before heading to Ongar then Greensted, Toot Hill and the rollercoaster back towards Epping.
The weather was amazing, warm and sunny, and the countryside still had the lush feel of summer. Leaving Epping we saw the Routemaster buses running the shuttle service to NorthWeald so we decided to make a short detour to see the spectacle which is the preserved station, vintage trains and busses recreating the transport infrastructure of the past.
The next stop was the small village of Willingale with two churches next to each other…
There are numerous stories regarding how this came about and if you are interested you will have to wait until the next Essex lanes ride to find out.
After lunch we couldn’t resist a stop at Greensted church as we were passing and there was a demand for local honey. Unfortunately there was none but there were lots more local history stories.
The photos only show the start and finish of the ride, but can you spot the ebike?
Four of us (7 wheels in total) made our way to Greenwich Park using paths, back streets and the cable car. There Harry Clarke, Bexley’s Healthy Rides Coordinator, had arranged a cycle fun day. The picture shows Mike adding to the jollity in the track stand competition.
Arnold
This is always the biggest family ride of the year with many people coming from outside London to take advantage of the freecycle cycling carnival in Central London, with no traffic. It was our task to ensure that the participants were guided safely through the streets leading to the Freecycle and bring them back after the event
This year we changed the route to include the Olympic Park, Victoria Park, a short section of the regents canal and quiet way 13, from Broadway Market to Shoreditch and on to Moorgate and Bank. Families gathered, their bikes were checked, tyres pumped, emergency contact forms filled and everyone was made to feel welcome. As usual we saw some interesting vehicles, including a scooter, a child trailer and a rider with a large sound system on his back. There were a number of children on their first or longest road ride, who were asked to ride at the front to set the pace, the youngest was just four years old.
The weather was fine and the ride passed very smoothly, apart from coming across a seemingly continuous running race in Victoria Park. Our excellent team of marshals worked hard to ensure that the riders were safe, had fun and arrived at the Bank to join the thousands of people on bikes enjoying a traffic free London, perhaps this is how London will look in future.
More photos here – thanks as always to Robin Stephenson.
We started with an evening ride from Forest Gate around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. We saw the newly opened section of the Greenway before moving on to Crate for refreshment and a short discussion.
Our next meeting will be 30 September – details to be confirmed.
Arnold
Many of you will have seen on Social Media that LBN have backtracked on the Browning Road Bridge experimental scheme that was due to start last week, after a protest took place by drivers who use the area.
We have written to the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for Highways and Sustainable Transport to express our concerns.
Despite rain the children of the saturday cycle club run by hte charity Ambition, Aspire, Achieve, were keen togo out for a ride. They (and we) were rewarded by the rain stopping. We used the Greenway, including the newly opened section north of Stratford High Street, and the Olympic Park for an enjoyable (mostly off-road) ride.
We will be looking at running another round of fixing /ride on consecutive Saturdays in the autumn.
Arnold
We got the train from Stratford International and did this circular tour in Kent in two legs:
The first ride on Sunday 7th July took us out from Canterbury up the hill to the university, and then some very fashionable gravel riding on the Crab and Winkle Way to Whitstable. From Whitstable we followed the Kentish coast clockwise past Reculver and the Herne Bay Sailing club to the West Bay Cafe for lunch. A brief stop at the Sunken Gardens and we carried on around the coast to Ramsgate and our train home.
More photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmEX2YGU
A fortnight later on Sunday 21st July we took the high speed train out to Ramsgate and continued the loop—around the coast past the Pfizer pharmaceutical site and its accompanying “Hands & Molecule” celebratory statue to Sandwich. From there we headed inland through the Weald of Kent on some fairly quiet country roads to our lunch stop at the Independant Pedaler [sic]. Some short and sharp hills, and then a long fast descent into Canterbury to take a look at the cathedral. We just missed a fast train back, so took the opportunity to have a drink at the Millers Arms by the Stour.
More photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmFnkWLe
This strategy has just been published. For some local flavour:
Arnold