London, here I come

Hey forum, ill be coming from San Francisco to London for a few days in June and thought id hit you guys up to make sure i dont miss anything while im there. For the most part ill just be doing the tourist thing and sight seeing, but if theres spare time im hoping to drop into a couple bike shops and see whats you guys have that we dont. I havent been overseas so after London im taking a few days to see Paris and Florence. I dunno if any of you know any bike shops in said towns, or other things you think i ought to check out, but if you do let me know!

Oh and im bringing my bike, so if any of you have some nice routes youd care to share thatd be great too.

We at fixedgearlondon will gladly show you around, drop us an email and let us know your schedule.

Prices here are dead expensive compared to the states so be prepared for sticker shock. BrickLane Bikes, Condor and Brixton Cycles are worth checking out but really theres little here (aside from Royce and Goldtec) that you can't get easily in the states apart from dope old british track frames, the fancy schmancy stuff in Condor and the very fresh Brixton Cycles branded clothing :)

Witcomb Cycles might be worth a visit. Its the shop that Richard Sachs, Serrata etc all trained at but for a shop with so much history theres not too much eye candy to look at. If its quiet they often take you into the frame shop and Barrie Witcomb is a very nice and knowledgable man.

Definitely head to Herne Hill velodrome on a sat or race night. Theres always a good scene and folks are very friendly. Easy ride from the centre of London.
http://www.hernehillvelodrome.co.uk/

Paris is weird. Not really any bike shops worth checking out there IMHO.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=283810&highlight=paris (for shops)
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=279374&highlight=paris (for the velodrome)

Best places to check out:

Brick Lane, Greenwich Park and the Tate Modern.

let us know the dates and maybe we can organise a bit of a group ride - show around some pubs, etc

As far as bike things go, i think you're going to be dissapointed - especially at the prices!

Southbank ( of the Thames ) from Tower Bridge down to Westminster you can ride all the way nice peadestrian route from there you can spot other interesting things

Portobello and Camden

Happy to meet up for drinks and show you around.

There's a lot going on in June, especially towards the very end in the run-up to the Tour de France, so let us know your dates and we'll see what's on for you.

As for rides and routes, I'm sure we can come up with some great routes for taking in all of the tourist sites. Just give us an indication of comfortable distances and we can knock up a few routes on Gmap Pedometer for you.

Are you a go-with-the-flow kinda person? Or would you like stuff planned and routes and stuff organised in advance? Pretty sure we can make you feel welcome either way.

in florance watch out for crowds of spanish tourists trying to snap your picture if your over 6ft tall 'moi alto'

+1 on Greenwhich Park, do the thing of standing with one foot in the western hemesphire one in the eastern.

When your here ask about places to eat. I am sure we shall all have some good eating recomendations.

indian veg all you acn eat vegan/veggy food for 2.95... foods not the best in the world... tis england after alll.... but its all you can eat, which is alot.

oh and bring home one of those bags that says 'fish and chips the compleate nurtioush meal'

Where is this palce?

its near angel, up the big hill, see the station on your right, make the frist left, then down the smelly market street (i think its the seccond left) and its towards the end on your left.

It's called the "Bhel Puri" and youl'll find it at the end of Chappel Market, not ala carte but it fills hollow legs.

here?
Edit;yep I was correct.

what is the best place to get fish&chips in London? Best place i went to, can't remember the name of it for the life of me, but i remember it was in Kew, SW London. Mmmmmm.

Faulkners Kingsland rd is pretty hard to beat but it aint cheep.

Fitzrovia, tottenham street top notch Italian. big tasty calzone about £3.50.

Indian ymc nr Warron street,

Chuyneys and other Indian Drummond street Euston,

South Korean place Store street ..

Load of places, lotts of good food i could keep on listing... but I am hungary

vegansdontneedgears foods not the best in the world... tis england after alll.

Strange statement.

We have the best food in the world bar none, and the best chef in the world bar none.

http://www.fatduck.co.uk/
http://www.lenclume.co.uk/

The touble is most people visiting London have never have the chance to eat good Britsh food.

edited to mean more what I ment.

i'm just saying, i have had soem amazeing meals in my life (thinks of a small restrunt i stoped into while hitch hikeing in italy), adn engald has just not matched it, and besied british food does have a reupataion... bangers and mash any one?

TheBrick here?
Edit;yep I was correct.

yuppers

vegansdontneedgears i'm just saying, i have had soem amazeing meals in my life (thinks of a small restrunt i stoped into while hitch hikeing in italy), adn engald has just not matched it, and besied british food does have a reupataion... bangers and mash any one?

Fair enough, raise the bar for where you eat then. Sounds like your fault you eat rubbish, yet you want to blame a whole country for it.

Yeah I'm British, yeah I'm proud. There's a few things I'll defend if pushed; food, ale and track cycling being a few things that are way up there. The place isn't perfect, but there's some stereotypes that need killing in the right way. That said, we do need dentists.

bangers and mash any one?

Yes please - you're a vegan so I'll excuse your ignorance.

Yep good bangers are hard to beat.

I love food. Eat it every day you know.