This was a pretty action-packed day! First off was getting back to Beckton Park, where I’d ended the original running plan over 2 weeks previously. I’d decided to make up for lost time by cycling some of the Capital Ring route, otherwise I’d never get it done. I was already slightly anxious as a) I don’t have a bike, b) the TFL bikes don’t go anywhere near far enough out to be useful and c) I’ve never used one of those Lime or Mobike apps. Anyway, after downloading and consulting both those apps, I could see a solitary Lime bike only 10 minutes walk from Beckton Park DLR. So yesterday morning, I checked it was still there, then set off to capture it.
Getting to Beckton Park was simple enough, but unbeknownst to me, two challenges remained. The first one was a deeply inconvenient bit of maintenance. I was heading up to get the bike when a not-so-cheery council worker told me the path I needed to take was closed. “How closed?”, I asked, as it was obvious they were just setting up. He held to his party line, but I sensed he wasn’t going to make much fuss about a bit of light trespass, so I defied the sign (and inspired a few others to do likewise) and carefully made my way through. Phew! If it had meant wading through molten tarmac, I would have made a different decision, but a diversion would have been a real pain in the arse – map below indicating the closed path.
I found the bike, it was in good repair and tyres ok, which given how far away it was from the Lime “service zone” was a great result. It even had some charge in – 34km, it told me (it lied), happy days. The second challenge however was paying for the bike to unlock it. I entered my usual credit card details….checking…denied. I tried again in case I’d entered something wrong…checking…denied. Grrr. Sweating now, as my plans would badly break if I couldn’t take this bike right now, I tried my other Visa Debit card…checking…unlocked! Thank Goodness.
So finally off on the bike – I had the usual navigational issues almost straight away – I fully intended to follow the larger road route to the Woolwich Ferry, but ended up going straight on somewhere into featureless flats that was more or less a big building site, but that was, in fact, the official Capital Ring route taking you on the Thames Path. (I also had to pause frustratingly for at least 5 minutes while Natwest rang me up with an automated fraud prevention call – at least that unlocked my card again). The Thames Path was really a tiny goat track, feeling like it was there on sufferance and everyone would far rather be rid of it. In places you were squeezed between building entrances and chain link fences where it didn’t seem possible you were going the right way – but you were.
This route also took you over a couple of locks which was a bit hair-raising with the Lime bike. It may have a battery that zips you away at traffic lights, but fuck me, they are heavy to get up and down stairs. And one of the locks you had to walk over had scanty railings which gave me The Fear I was about to drop the sodding thing in the drink.
Eventually I got through this semi-industrial residential featureless landscape, trespassing on another actual live building site only slightly (genuine error that time and the foreman on site was very helpful), and made it to one of my favourite bits of the journey – the Woolwich Foot Tunnel. First you go into this little building:
This contains the lift that takes you down to the foot tunnel. Perhaps to make up for my earlier civil disobedience, I followed the “no cycling” rule to the letter, although I suspect I’m the only one who does given the other cyclists I saw – and it is a very tempting cycle track.
That concluded the first part of my journey today (confusingly, that was section 15, the last of the official sections). I didn’t have my tracking on at this stage, and Lime’s GPS/app didn’t track it very well either, but I followed this route (marked in Lime Green):
Once out the other side at Woolwich, I did my best to follow the proper route, first along the river, then bushwhacking through parks. I’d got to Maryon Park ok when the Capital Ring sign pointed me up a LONG flight of steps. In the words of one of the national guard guys in Rambo: First Blood, “screw that Clinton, I ain’t going up there”. I also took stock of how quickly I was covering ground and realised I was way off the pace for getting to Crystal Palace by 12.30 if I followed anything like the official route. I had a moment of realisation:
- I need to be at Bank at 1.30pm (see post on Cybesecurity exam)
- I don’t want to end up stuck out near Falconwood at 12.30, with the Lime bike even further from its service area than I found it
- Frankly, I also don’t want to have to schlep back to this far side of London on some future time to complete the Ring
- I should use Citymapper simply to get me directly to Crystal Palace from where I am now
- I forgot to turn on Runkeeper earlier – I should do that now
- Hey, what’s that little bracket on the bike handlebars? Awesome, I can put my phone in there so I can follow the Citymapper route!
This was quite an epiphany. Citymapper really looked after me with the route – not purely on big boring roads, but back streets and through some very nice parks. Some highlights:
- Blackheath – it was funny to find myself going through there and recognise instantly the open land where I’d started the London Marathon…17 years ago! I’m not sure I ever knew how nice Blackheath is – a lot like Hampstead and probably similarly priced.
- Ladywell – a nice “village” centre and Ladywell Fields is absolutely lovely.
- Catford & Lewisham – pretty much as you’d expect. No oil paintings.
- Pool River Linear Park – an absolutely idyllic bike route
My thoughts on the Lime bike. I was glad to have it, as I’m not sure realistically what I would have done without it. It came to £20 all-in for the journey, which I’m fine with, but doesn’t seem particularly cheap. But a few considerations:
- As mentioned previously, they are ridiculously heavy. My “cycle-friendly” route involved crossing a railway line near Crystal Palace with steps. Ok, it had one of those wheely trough things, but the Lime bike is pretty lethal, especially coming down (and I’m reasonably fit and strong, although no Zydrunas Zavickas, fair enough).
- That weight avails you naught when the cocking battery runs out just on the approach to Crystal Palace. I was up on the pedals like a Tour de France mountain stage to try and get the gear-less, leaden boneshaker up a slight hill.
- The boost you get when you start off is great, especially at roundabouts. But can be a bit hazardous if you’re not pointing the right way – I almost stacked myself into a wall navigating through a subway at Catford Bridge when I touched the pedal whilst at the wrong angle.
Timsformational 