2013-05-19 Ladies do Owls

As the last ladies ride saw some llamas, I thought we should up the game with a visit to an owl sanctuary.

Eagle Heights has loads of owls and other birds of prey, as well as an assortment of other animals. It’s situated just outside the village of Eynsford, which is quite pretty and has (unsurprising to most but it came as a shock to me) a ford, as well as some pubs.

It’s a 20 mile ride there, which I will endeavour to make as flat as possible – but this is Kent (just…) and here be dragons. Or at least a couple of inclines. Social pace - no tearing off or otherwise antisocial behaviour allowed. There will be bonus points for any owl-related clothing.

9.30am start - PLEASE NOTE: we need to leave promptly, no hipster time! - from the bagel shop on Brick Lane (please get there well before 9.30 if you want to buy coffee/bagels) so as to allow us time to see the 12pm flying display.

There’ll be some pick up points along the way: the corner of Tanner Street/Tower Bridge Road SE1 at 9.45; the corner of Catlin Street/Rotherhithe New Road SE1 at 9.55; and Chislehurst Common (corner of Heathfield Lane/Centre Common Road) at 11.15. Please let me know if you want to meet at any of these to save waiting around.

Please bring: money (entry to Eagle Heights is £9 for adults or £7.50 for students, and I will be selling reflective owls made by the super talented Betty for £5), waterproof jacket (just in case), mobile phone, lights. I'll have some tools but if you have anything crazily non-standard then do please bring spares.
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After the owls, we'll head to a pub in Eynsford and then anyone who wants to take the train home can do (every half hr, 45 mins to Blackfriars, about £8) or can ride back.

1. hats
   
2. poots
   
3. bothwell
   
   

If you don't have my number and you would like it, please PM me. See you on sunday morning!

OWLS! And a CHEETAH!! This has the potential to be the greatest Ladies Ride ever. The weather will have totes sorted itself out by then too. Fact

The weather will have totes sorted itself out by then too. Fact

oh, didn't you get the memo?

The old lady quit. Last weekend was the last we'll ever see of 'the great british summer', from now on it'll be nothing but nuclear winter, rendering anything north of Watford uninhabitable. Its what 'she' would have wanted.

Bloody kent lolz. I assumed it was in Essex because I'm an idiot.

So that's 20 miles from where in London? Your house or Café St Germain?

About 20 miles from my gaff in Peckham - but that's the most direct, using google maps and pretending I'm in a car type 20 miles.

Man, ladies get the best kit and the best rides :(

About 20 miles from my gaff in Peckham - but that's the most direct, using google maps and pretending I'm in a car type 20 miles.

The Rosie Route, you mean? A roads ftw!

Looks like it'll be about 20 miles from hats' place as well (as my vague remembering goes) and 18 miles from Café St Germain. CSG is the deep deep south, though, think most people would be coming from further norf by at least a couple of miles. Confirm a start point and I'll see what Not On Here ladies I can drum up to join us

OWLS! Oh this sounds great, I wish I could come but I may have accidentally said I would take part in/had my arm twisted/got told I was taking part in an audax (it looks mighty hilly too).

Start point is central - where else but LMNH (which won't be open as it's too early on a sunday, but hey). I plotted a very rough route from there which worked out as 22 miles with a bare minimum of A roads.

The route back might be more A-roady.

^^ Betty, sack off the audax and come to see owls!

LMNH opens at 9:30am! Not even one small coffee before we leave?

Aww, I'll have to miss this one, as still in Italy at that time. Sounds like a great ride though!

haha awesome! Will try and make it.

LMNH opens at 9:30am! Not even one small coffee before we leave?

I could just about stretch to a 9:35 start. Get there early and I'll be lenient. I really want to see the flying display.

What about meeting Brick Lane - bagel shop is best place to start a ride and there's a posh coffee shop open early - certain at 9am on a sunday.

Man, ladies get the best kit and the best rides :(

Was about to post the same.

Goes to buy undercover kit.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOSPPXACwVw"]A
OWL - Phone Shop - YouTube[/ame]

Sounds awesome. I'm in!

1. hats
   
2. poots
   
3. bothwell
   
4. pops
   

Oh my, it's like you invented this ride for me. In, in, in.

1. hats
   
2. poots
   
3. bothwell
   
4. pops
   5 KT Bee
   
   

Eynsford is super pretty, and think I have a route from south London that goes there missing major main roads, will have a look. Request that we meet S London, to save us southies trekking north for a coffee? Maybe Bermondsey way?

Here you go:

[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95339262[/ame]

First bit of this goes from Brixton to Eynsford, via Greenwich. Remember it being an ok route.

Or I could go to LMNH first - sorry, overcome by a wave of owl-obsessed selfishness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qaKRHH6YgTY

y u no embed

1. hats
   
2. poots
   
3. bothwell
   
4. pops
   5 KT Bee
   5 Cafewanda
   

Poots, good idea on Brick Lane start. I'll amend the first post in the morning.

Katy, thank you for the route! We can certainly have a south pick-up point too :)

1. hats
   
2. poots
   
3. bothwell
   
4. pops
   
5. KT Bee
   
6. Cafewanda
   
7. xsvcx
   
   

Really looking forward to this!