London freewheel

spasypaddy

ive just read they are recommending that you dont wear lycra. There is not a chance in hell that im sitting on my bike for what will probably be 3 hours plus in non bike shorts. Thats an absolute joke!

* Do bring Your Hovis London Freewheel bib - you'll need it to cycle on the route
* Bike lock and key
* Snacks for the route
* Camera
* Mobile phone to keep track of your friends and text us your photos via MMS to 6967 for your chance to be featured on the Hovis London Freewheel or Metro websites
* A copy of the central route map plus and A-Z to get you from your house to the hub
* A water bottle - you can always top up at the festival if you run out
* Suncream (if it's hot)
* Waterproofs (if it's not)
* Red Bull the energy drink will be available at each of the hubs for you both on the way in and out of central London, learn more about the product here: promotional information about Red Bull as a sports drink

* Don't bring Loads of food - you don't want to be too weighed down while you cycle. Plus there'll be nibbles at St James's Park, and you're bound to pass some supermarkets and food places on the way if you need anything extra.
* Lycra (this is a family event)
* Too many clothes - the event at St James's Park finishes at 5pm so you shouldn't get too cold

im still going to wear my bib shorts

beckenham

spasypaddy wrote:

ive just read they are recommending that you dont wear lycra. There is not a chance in hell that im sitting on my bike for what will probably be 3 hours plus in non bike shorts. Thats an absolute joke!

* Do bring Your Hovis London Freewheel bib - you'll need it to cycle on the route
* Bike lock and key
* Snacks for the route
* Camera
* Mobile phone to keep track of your friends and text us your photos via MMS to 6967 for your chance to be featured on the Hovis London Freewheel or Metro websites
* A copy of the central route map plus and A-Z to get you from your house to the hub
* A water bottle - you can always top up at the festival if you run out
* Suncream (if it's hot)
* Waterproofs (if it's not)
* Red Bull the energy drink will be available at each of the hubs for you both on the way in and out of central London, learn more about the product here: promotional information about Red Bull as a sports drink

* Don't bring Loads of food - you don't want to be too weighed down while you cycle. Plus there'll be nibbles at St James's Park, and you're bound to pass some supermarkets and food places on the way if you need anything extra.
* Lycra (this is a family event)
* Too many clothes - the event at St James's Park finishes at 5pm so you shouldn't get too cold

im still going to wear my bib shorts

No lycra cos it's a family event :roll: What does that mean. I know we all look a bit daft when lycra'd up but it's still respectable enough.

I'm losing all faith in this event. I phoned them about my pack on Monday and was told that it would be sent out that day. It's Friday and still nothing's arrived so I phoned them again and was told that I could still do the event without the Freewheel bib. This seems to contradict what's been said above. I asked whether there would be anyone else coming in from Uxbridge. They suggested that I send an email asking this question. I sent the email and guess what I've had no reply :x

If I get to Uxbridge on Sunday morning and find no one's there I'm just going to head off in the other direction and enjoy a day out on my own

spasypaddy

i dont want to take that freewheel bib it will take up unnecessary space in the three pockets i have on my back which are likely to be filled like this:
bananax2, keys/phone/wallet, inner tube

its not good for your balls to be out that long and not padded up! im considering wearing a pair of baggy shorts over the top for the decency look if its comfortable will need to experiment

beckenham

spasypaddy wrote:

i dont want to take that freewheel bib it will take up unnecessary space in the three pockets i have on my back which are likely to be filled like this:
bananax2, keys/phone/wallet, inner tube

its not good for your balls to be out that long and not padded up! im considering wearing a pair of baggy shorts over the top for the decency look if its comfortable will need to experiment

Won't the shorts ride up? They do in my experience

spasypaddy

beckenham wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

i dont want to take that freewheel bib it will take up unnecessary space in the three pockets i have on my back which are likely to be filled like this:
bananax2, keys/phone/wallet, inner tube

its not good for your balls to be out that long and not padded up! im considering wearing a pair of baggy shorts over the top for the decency look if its comfortable will need to experiment

Won't the shorts ride up? They do in my experience

i dont know, im not worried about them riding up whilst im riding its purely to save my blushes when i get down to the freewheel and im prancing around attempting to get my free sandwiches and cans of red bull!

beckenham

spasypaddy wrote:

beckenham wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

i dont want to take that freewheel bib it will take up unnecessary space in the three pockets i have on my back which are likely to be filled like this:
bananax2, keys/phone/wallet, inner tube

its not good for your balls to be out that long and not padded up! im considering wearing a pair of baggy shorts over the top for the decency look if its comfortable will need to experiment

Won't the shorts ride up? They do in my experience

i dont know, im not worried about them riding up whilst im riding its purely to save my blushes when i get down to the freewheel and im prancing around attempting to get my free sandwiches and cans of red bull!

Good idea, I'll put a pair in my back pocket

Totalnewbie

Does anyone know what security is going to be like in St James park for locking up bikes? I think I might take the old bike, rather than the brand new one.

SteveR_100Milers

This looks more like a way of promoting mr and mrs fatty and their kids to use a bike for the day, rather than a thinly disguised sportive (hence the no Lycra request). I'd take my kids and ride my mountain bike, cant see the point in tearing around on my road bike - what does that prove..???!!

With the hovis link, they should have run hill climb up THAT street they featured in their ads for years.

dazzawazza

My wife and I attended the event and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course there were hold-ups and we rarely got any speed, but the sensation of riding the waterfront without the constant motor vehicle drone was fantastic; so peaceful. Another well organised and successful London cycling event. Anyone with kids should have attended.

Here are some pics:










[/img]

overmars

That ride was excellent!


Hovis did an excellent job in feeding so many people. 8) Thanks to Thames Water for providing the two big tankers of water!

Did the route twice. It was that good.

Agree with the previous post. It was a great family day out.
Top event.

spasypaddy

i never made it down, got up and my ankle was not in a pretty state so i decided against it! was absolutely gutted

kieranb

Great event , the peckham rye hub was pretty empty at 12pm but free redbull and apples plus spare bibs if required, rode the way i (very well signposted and lots of marshals) with my 6 year old. The ride itself was great fun, a great bike spotting event, we honked our horns, blew whistles and rang our bells, great when we got answering noise back. Had lunch in the park and then got back on the route, great to cycle these roads car free (near my work place so am used to dodging cars & tourist buses on them instead). A great friendly fun atmosphere. Hope it's on next year and even bigger.

beckenham

A good day, there was about 20 of us who met at Uxbridge and cycled in from there. The funniest part was the group of MTB riders who were fully kitted out with team shirts etc. About 5 minutes before we were due to leav they all disappeared into the station. It turned out that they went on the train

very very busy and rarely had a chance to get any speed but still a good day and the ride homw on my own was nice. 52 miles in all some a good ride out

london_commuter

I went yesterday with my wife and 18 month old in the babyseat. We all absolutely loved it. We started at Peckham Rye around 12pm. Initially I was wondering where everyone was because the park seemed a bit empty. We set off to cheers of encouragement from the cheerleaders which was funny because there was only the three of us :-). We soon picked up a 'convoy' of other riders. The route was very well signposted with marshals directing us where to go.

It was absolutely fantastic when we got to Southwark Bridge. The feeling of using the whole road with NO cars around was amazing! When we got to the underpass everyone was ringing their horns and shouting and whooping. There was a feeling of camaraderie and all the riders were really friendly. The only downside was when we arrived at the festival itself. NO SANDWICHES LEFT :-( and there was only one place (that I could find) that was selling any food. Next year I'll bring a packed lunch :-).

Kudos to the 'guide rider' who got us back to Peckham Rye after the cars had taken over the streets again. He stopped the traffic to let us cross safely on the busy intersections which was important as our 'convoy' consisted of a number of children.

I'll definitely be going again next year and would advise others to do the same!

kieranb

hope next year they keep the roads closed a bit longer, as it was because we got in late we hadn't time to browse the stalls and just managed to get back to the route home before the roads reopened (4pm). As the festival was going on 'til 5pm maybe try to keep roads closed up to 5:30pm to give people a chance to get to the guided routes home? Still no real complaints!

beckenham

I thought that there were too many pedestrian crossing points At some places you were stoping every few metres :?

I wonder what it was like at 11am. It must have been great to be among the first few to go around

chthonic

For such a badly/weirdly/patronisingly organised event _beforehand_, it was excellent fun and really well organised on the actual day.

We didn't bother following an official route in, but just headed in the right direction till we found a closed road. Nice Marshall saw us coming and moved some fencing to let us through. Which was probably a good thing, I'd got quite a bit of momentum going what with the heavy bike, panniers and my son in the trailer behind. Oops.

Since we started on the route at 10am, it was really, really quiet. Quite a few roadies doing laps, and really very pleasant. Not many peds about, those that were there were just watching the spectacle.

We left at 2pm and riding North were passed continuously by people heading South to join in - one Marshall said we were the first she'd seen going home, so I've no idea just how crowded it got. Get there early next time folks.

beckenham

"Since we started on the route at 10am, it was really, really quiet. Quite a few roadies doing laps, and really very pleasant. Not many peds about, those that were there were just watching the spectacle."

I thought that the roads were still open to cars untill 11. Not so it seems. Looks like I missed out on a few clear laps Oh well I know what to do next year now 8)

chthonic

beckenham wrote:

I thought that the roads were still open to cars untill 11.

Well, there was so much conflicting information about, we just thought we'd turn up whenever.

They kept making announcements about things not starting till 11, but it make little difference to the people down there...

They did announce a fire engine coming through at one point near London Bridge - it must have had its fastest response time ever judging by the speed it was able to get down the embankment.

Totalnewbie

I went from the Clapham Hub which was packed. Slight downsides on the journey to the central route were when some bloke in a car screamed at us all that we were all w***ers and should buy a car. I wanted to shout something back but only sentences involving swearwords came to mind and I was conscious of the fact I was surrounded by kids. Unlike him, who was too busy on his phone to notice.

Then later a car attempted to pull out on a girl who looked about ten riding along in front of her dad. Her dad was not pleased.

But once we got on the route it was great with a good atmosphere. I'm so glad I took the old bike because some of the inexperienced cyclists kept bumping me, and almost had a bad crash with a roadie who pulled out right into me, he did say sorry though and somehow I stayed upright (might have caused a pileup otherwise). Even though at points it was more challenging than my commute (cycling ultra slowly with loads of people wobbling and zigsagging around is not that easy!) ultimately getting more cyclists on the road is a good thing.

It was a bit of a bunfight for sarnies but by God I got mine!

PrettyBoyTim

It sounds like a lot of fun - I would have come along, but I figured that 23 odd miles in the trailer might have been a bit much for my little one :?

Cyclegent

I wasn't too impressed at first as I joined at the City end and it seemed to be a load of 'Modern Parents' from Viz comic going round very slowly with little Tamsin and Jessica, but as it picked up speed through the underpass and along the Embankment it was quite enjoyable. One of the main things I noticed was how fresh the air was - I cycle around that part of London quite often and believe me you never smell anything in St James' park other than car fumes.

Another thing that made me laugh was despite traffic wardens directing the traffic and blocking off roads with tape, one or two people were still RLJing! Some people just seem to have this pathological need to break rules even when it serves no purpose.

Most people interacted very well though. Despite lane discipline being totally absent and people weaving in and out, little kids on tricycles etc I only saw one minor prang. It was also frustratingly slow at some points, giving you some idea of what London would be like if everybody cycled.

It was a good laugh but I'm somewhat sceptical about what it was meant to achieve. I think we need to learn to interact with motor traffic, not expect roads to be blocked off for the pleasure and ‘safety’ of cyclists - though I suppose the 'hubs' promoted sensible interaction. I wonder how many people who went will attempt the route on a normal weekend though.

dazzawazza

Totalnewbie wrote:

I went from the Clapham Hub which was packed. Slight downsides on the journey to the central route were when some bloke in a car screamed at us all that we were all w***ers and should buy a car.

I'm starting to think that some Cagers are so ignorant that they think that all cyclists are so poor that they can only afford a bicycle and we must all look in awe and complete jealousy of their shiny car (dreaming of the day we can have one).
Meanwhile, in some cases, a car worth three times more is parked, gaining cob-webs and seizing up through non use.

overmars

Despite the ignorance of some people it did not spoil what was a fantastic event. Well it didn't spoil it for me.... and thousands of others!

london_commuter

Did anyone else have an 'official' photo taken? Here's mine :

overmars

beckenham

overmars wrote:

Overmars and his camera strike again! Presumably we won't be seeing this one on the girls in lycra thread :?