Tell us about your weekend ride

I have recently had one of those periods of melancholic cycling, where i fell out of love with it, mainly as I wasn't putting the effort into training or racing and becoming pissed off with doing badly........ :)

So with the wife and dog away for the weekend I decided to try something away from my normal cycling routine.

I decided to see if i could ride right around the Thames path and then what ever is beyond it, to find the London Stone on the Isle of Grain. i had previously ridden to Erith around the Thames Path for work so knew there was a pathway there, but beyond that it was all an adventure.

I just decided to stick to the river as closely as I could and see where it got me.

I set off quite late (9-30) from Bermondsey as I had no dog shaped alarm clock to alert me to the immediacy of the new day. So I rushed out of the house and forgot to apply suncream....

I know the path is a mix of gravel, tarmac, broken asphalt and loads of other hashtag terms that enable the bike industry to sell us TOTALLY RAD machines, but I just took the train and hoped for the best.

getting out on the first part of the path all around to Surrey Quays farm, Cutty Sark and the barrier is easy, i just went down a few side roads to see if there were any good short cuts, but Cycle route 4 & 1 seem to have the best bits covered. I nearly got binned by someone chasing Pokemon, but other than than, very pleasant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6pqtQBkq3/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6rdI9BVry/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6uh4RBzKv/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

After you get past the Woolich ferry the path opens up on to dedicated bike paths along past the developments, there is some tots rad groad bruv, just below you, but rather than belting it past dog walkers and joggers i reckon its better to used the facilities, especially as soon the path merges onto the gravel track and you can feel like a true IG superhero smashing along it.

From here to Erith its empty, the path goes from gravel to broken concrete and back to gravel, but its an easy ride. Just watch out for the tank blocks and moto-gates that are there to stop the little herberts getting on the path. Around some of the pumping stations its very twisty and tight and there are some random sets of steps that just appear in front of you, at 18mph :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH6yPJOBag8/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

From here you are heading out to Dartford and the paths are very good, but just before the Dartford Creek, you end up back on wide empty gravel/flint paths, its lovely (apart from some of the smells)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH62MI6BZgD/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

the section of track that runs around the Dartford Creek is narrow and overgrown, but the dirt is hard and you can keep your speed up. I had a few 'map' momments after you get spat out on to the main road and after one false start I ended up finding the footpath back around the other side of the creek. This is the first of the really flinty paths that are just the top of the flood banks really. The paths are mainly flint, grass and hard cow trodden mud. After a while though you end up back on the gravel and its a great place to not pay attention to the path and fall off it, right next to the rifle range :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH65HI4BgFh/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

Eventually you get under the Bridge and then you come to a perfect lunch spot - A huge ASDA.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH66bEUBROT/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I had lunch and then bashed on, I was just following my nose and the map, but nature makes it interesting and many individual LOLs where had (silent tantrums) as i yet again went the wrong way. (I've since worked this bit out)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7BhfhhvHH/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7ClQHBg3f/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

Approaching Gravesend you start to get involved in gate hopping and squeezing through tiny paths, waiting to be savaged by an industrial guard dog, but it is a cyclepath, regardless of its oddness. at one point I went straight through a concrete batching plant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7ImXmhOsC/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I got my first puncture here and released that one of the tubes I'd brought was useless as it was for larger volume tyres, but i had another, so no worries. After some wrong turns I picked up Cycle Route 1 in Gravesend and enjoyed the promenade and the great cobbled alleys.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7MWxHB1XU/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

The cycle route went mad and you go down some proper dodgy bits, just head down and get it done rapido. I had seen that there was a path marked on maps called the Saxon Way that hugged the coast and that was what I was looking for away from cycle route 1, as that heads in land.

I found it and immediately got two pinch punctures, on the really rough path. I patched both but I had one patch left, so I knew that it was prob silly to continue on away from civilisation, so I did just that. Unfortunately at Shoremead Fort the inevitable happened and I pinched again, the tube was done in two places and I had one patch, so I had to walk (I rode a bit, sorry Hed Belgium Rim) to Higham Station, which I used for work previously, so I knew where it was, which was dead handy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH7TU87h7Rr/?taken-by=ecobeard&hl=en

I got the train back then met all the Welwyn Ominum lot in Canopy, I was very pink/angry red, quite (very)tired but back in love with cycling.

This
was what I managed on the day and this is
what I'm planning for August, because I will find that London Stone.

Lessons learnt are this:

1. The paths are rideable all the way along the coast
   
2. Tubeless tyres are getting fitted
   
3. mudgaurds are coming off
   
4. Suncream is a good idea
   
5. The route has good food, drink and pub stops on it, so taking loads of food isn't required
   
6. Cycling is great
   
7. I scored TL points last night purely because of this ride
   
8. I still have a thorn from this in my back