Meet up and drinks?

menthel
menthel Posts: 2,484
edited May 2015 in Commuting chat
As the evenings get longer and the nodders more plentiful, is it not time for a meet to discuss how wonderful cycle commuting is and how awesome we all are? Something traditional like Richmond Park and the Roebuck, something Central or perhaps something crazy like mobbing the brewery tap at By the Horns in tooting?

Ideas and dates would be great...
RIP commute...
Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
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Comments

  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    Tooting would be convenient...
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
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  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    elbowloh wrote:
    Tooting would be convenient...

    And the beer is very good...
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Richmond Park is nice, but the Roebuck is by far not the best pub up there. The Marlborough (might remember wrong with the name) is much much better IMO.

    The Shaftesbury at Richmond roundabout is the best pub... although I might be biased there, as it's 3 minutes walk for me... and they have Yakima red by Meantime brewery on the tap
    left the forum March 2023
  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Richmond Park is nice, but the Roebuck is by far not the best pub up there. The Marlborough (might remember wrong with the name) is much much better IMO.

    The Shaftesbury at Richmond roundabout is the best pub... although I might be biased there, as it's 3 minutes walk for me... and they have Yakima red by Meantime brewery on the tap

    All feasts are movable and venues up for discussion. Probably best to choose a pub near the park if we go for meeting there.
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,800
    That strikes me as a damned fine idea. Richmond is good for me as I'm not coming from Big Town.
    I don't think I've tried the Shaftesbury, but it is 15 years since I worked in Richmond. Roebuck has the advantage of all the space out the front and no problem with bike parking.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
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  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Veronese68 wrote:
    That strikes me as a damned fine idea. Richmond is good for me as I'm not coming from Big Town.
    I don't think I've tried the Shaftesbury, but it is 15 years since I worked in Richmond. Roebuck has the advantage of all the space out the front and no problem with bike parking.

    Realistically you are looking at 4-5 bikes, you don't need a Tesco car park for that.. :wink:

    I vouch for the Shaftesbury for the fine beer, great sofas and chairs and oustanding food... mind you, it ain't cheap
    left the forum March 2023
  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    Tooting convenient for me too.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Roebuck gets my vote. Good beer, and plenty of space to sit/stand outside with the bikes, admiring the best view in SW London. Malborough is way too gastro for my liking, and the beer garden's pretty much like any other pub beer garden...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    TGOTB wrote:
    Roebuck gets my vote. Good beer, and plenty of space to sit/stand outside with the bikes, admiring the best view in SW London.

    The beer is average and you can't admire the view from inside the pub... We went there last winter and I wasn't exactly blown away by the beer or the place itself... it's just a very average pub with commercial beers on the tap.

    Gastro is good if you want to eat something which is not microwaved, if you don't, then it doesn't matter one way or the other.
    left the forum March 2023
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Gastro is good if you want to eat something which is not microwaved, if you don't, then it doesn't matter one way or the other.
    In that case, why dont we just find the nearest Pitcher & Piano / Slug & Lettuce / All Bar One?

    Last time I ate at the Marlborough (this is actually true) the food was so trendy and insubstantial that we actually had to go to the Roebuck afterwards for a proper meal.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Well, anyway, I was voting for the Shaftesbury, which is the best pub in Richmond... FACT!

    Any idea about this? I always cycle in front of it, but never sampled... it looks cute

    http://whiteswanrichmond.co.uk/
    left the forum March 2023
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Well, anyway, I was voting for the Shaftesbury, which is the best pub in Richmond... FACT!

    Any idea about this? I always cycle in front of it, but never sampled... it looks cute

    http://whiteswanrichmond.co.uk/
    Never eaten there, but when I popped in for a drink (many years ago) it was nice, and very friendly. Can't remember what the beer was like, but that suggests it probably wasn't too bad...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    Perhaps we can keep the pub near the park- some of us have to travel back south after!
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    menthel wrote:
    Perhaps we can keep the pub near the park- some of us have to travel back south after!

    It's going to make 2 minutes difference tops, unless you HAVE TO cycle through the park, in which case maybe 3-4 minutes
    left the forum March 2023
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    For a Richmond one white swan is good went there many years back, I can annoy folks by drinking coffee...
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    menthel wrote:
    Perhaps we can keep the pub near the park- some of us have to travel back south after!
    Agreed. Roebuck/Marlborough are easy for non-locals to find (the Roebuck's better, dammit!) whereas getting to the pubs in town or by the river requires a basic knowledge of Richmond's one-way system.

    White Swan in Richmond is good, but can turn into a bit of a zoo on a really nice evening, especially if there's a very high tide.

    OT, but is the White Swan in Twickenham still good? It's by far my closest local, but I haven't been recently because I'm too lazy to carry a canoe down to the river to get there...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,800
    TGOTB wrote:
    OT, but is the White Swan in Twickenham still good? It's by far my closest local, but I haven't been recently because I'm too lazy to carry a canoe down to the river to get there...
    It's a shadow of it's former self if you ask me, don't like what the new owners have done to it. Absolutely rammed on a nice summer evening too. Roger would like the fact they now do coffee, I did hear a barmaid tell a customer "No madam, this is a pub" when someone ordered a coffee a few years back.
    I still think the Roebuck makes sense as even on a nice evening you can find space outside and as you say any fool can find it. It may not be the best pub, but it's a practical choice if we stay outside. But saying that anywhere in Richmond works for me, except the Richmond Arms perhaps.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    Tsk amateurs, do them ALL

    Must I do everything around here!?!
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    Lets do the sensible thing and pick the Roebuck, despite the objections.

    Date? Time? Ride first of all?
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    itboffin wrote:
    Tsk amateurs, do them ALL

    Must I do everything around here!?!
    Aren't you busy organising Xmas 2013 drinks?
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
    CAAD12 Disc
    Condor Tempo
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,064
    oh did you not get the invite? :roll:

    it was awesome :lol:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,800
    itboffin wrote:
    Tsk amateurs, do them ALL
    You can do a decent cycling pub crawl between Kingston and Richmond almost entirely off road on tow paths and RP. About 11 miles and up to 10 pubs, but some are bunched together so 5 pubs works best.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • keyser__soze
    keyser__soze Posts: 2,067
    Marlborough was my local for a long time, okay but overpriced, nice garden in summer but overrun with entitled kids and parents who don't care. They do/did have loads of space for bike parking in the garden with some dedicated stands and didn't mind you wheeling your bike through the main body of the pub. Roebuck has better beer but isn't as nice inside and the benches outside get rammed whenever it's good weather. Lass O'Richmond Hill is better than both if you want to sit inside, or go down the hill a bit to the small but perfectly formed Victoria or the Duke's Head.
    "Mummy Mummy, when will I grow up?"
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  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    Right, back on topic! ;)

    Can I suggest one Friday in May- either 1st, 8th or 15th.
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • Ian.B
    Ian.B Posts: 732
    Sounds good for me!
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    menthel wrote:
    Right, back on topic! ;)

    Can I suggest one Friday in May- either 1st, 8th or 15th.

    Drinking in May? You clearly don't take yourself seriously as a cyclist... :wink:

    No drinks till Grassington for me!
    left the forum March 2023
  • elbowloh
    elbowloh Posts: 7,078
    menthel wrote:
    Right, back on topic! ;)

    Can I suggest one Friday in May- either 1st, 8th or 15th.

    any of those dates are fine for me.
    I have no life and my gf is away for 2 and a half weeks, that covers all those days!
    Felt F1 2014
    Felt Z6 2012
    Red Arthur Caygill steel frame
    Tall....
    www.seewildlife.co.uk
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,800
    I can't really call myself a cyclist at all at the moment, never mind a serious one, so I'm in.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • menthel
    menthel Posts: 2,484
    Shall we say the 8th, unless anyone has any big reason to say no? Are we going to spin round the park first?

    And I am sure we can source some tap water for those not drinking! ;)
    RIP commute...
    Sometimes seen bimbling around on a purple Fratello Disc or black and red Aprire Vincenza.
  • hopkinb
    hopkinb Posts: 7,129
    8th suits me I think. Spin round the park sounds tempting now, but I'm sure after a week of battling nodders and traffic, I'd rather just sink into a pint or 2.

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