Lee Valley : From Source to Thames

well his one didn't turn out quite as expected

where are the rainbows glinting off the water

so you made it to the thames did you ?

Great ride and a perfect day, cheers Dicki.

My forearms are almost the same colour red as my jersey. Lovely day.

did some of the stort yesterday
up the lee to hoddesdon then did a right
did a few miles along to harlow very nice stretch meandering navigable channel, nice meadows and flood plains
it's seems like it starts near the bull in langley lower green
seems like a mission with a reward at the end
anyone up for this next week on a sunny day

What sort of path is it, gravel, pathed, dirt, combo?

I know that pub. You could get a train to Saffron Walden and cut accross west to start.

I'd be up for this but only the week of the 26th, excluding the 28th.

I did the part from the Thames (Mile End) up to the first reservoirs or the second, can't recall, from Waterloo Station and back via normal roads via Finsbury and Regent's Park.
Nice path, some gravel. I suppose to more north you go the more gravel you find.
My Venom with 28c tyres went fine on it.

compact gravel, would suit any tyre i would say ... similar to the section described above i.e. north of the north circular
they had just cut the hedgerows and pathsides so you couldn't see the path most of the time
i stopped in harlow not sure what it's like further up than that
don't know where the navigable section ends, i guess thats where nice path would finish too, the top end of the stort seems to be in the middle of farmers fields and a bit inaccessible

time for the first one of the year
next couple of weeks if anyone is interested

I'd be up for this with a few pub stops along route!

Keen

Maebs

Bring sunglasses though.
Dem bug swarms as you get closer to town..

Weekend tho pls

yeah howard 'works' during the week*

*unfair sorry

I have my own fun @7Üp

Hi, I cycle this from Bishops Stortford which is the end of the Stort into London, apart from swarms of bugs around Picketts Lock the tow path is in very good order. The only rough section is around Broxbourne to Dobbs Weir, about 5 mins of shit potholes but thats about it. It is possible to join the Flitch Way at Stortford and follow the disused railway about 30 extra miles with very pretty countryside good pubs en-route.

Andy

poooo not til May please, Im away til 28th April, any day is good after then

monday and tuesday look like full sun all day from the metoffice 5 day forecast currently

a tentative pencilling ? meet at kings cross / st pancras at 10:30 train to luton leagrave ( if we want to go to one of the sources on leagrave common ) or luton parkway to avoid a traipse through luton and just get on with the riding

tramps beers and a lovely fish and chip shop can be found in wheathampstead plus a lovely spot by the river to eat and drink

i've done the route about 6 or 7 times now, route is 99% logged, i should be able to get us home

Bring a spoon

Yes!

a definite tentative maybe from me, dicki

Ah, damn. Back to work on Monday. Enjoy yourselves and I'll look out for a rerun.

How much of this is along the canal itself?
Idyllic though it is, the canal path can be full of puddles and mud once you get as far up as Enfield etc.

Might have Tuesday off, so tentatively in if you decide to do it on that day.

yup tuesday looks a doozy, lets make it tuesday
route is mostly off road, the upper reaches is cyclepath : tarmac and compacted mud we see the river but don't follow it all the time, the odd hop on to the road for small sections.

once we get to hertford it's canal path all the way, large sections of tarmac compacted gravel and there is one rough patch north of broxbourne ( the worst bit ) about a mile or two in length
it's been really dry recently i reckon there shouldn't be too much mud
26" single speed with annoying, loud freehub for me, i've done it on a 23mm fixed before but it will be a long day bouncing around in the saddle
anyone with a google map type thing on their phone should bring it as there are a couple of sketchy bits through a couple of towns along the way but i know the route 95%