IBikeLondon Nautical Ride
On Saturday you may have seen a large group of cyclists with pirate flags and striped tops. Do not wonder anymore, it was the IBikeLondon Nautical Ride! The ride, mostly traffic free, traversed 20 miles of beautiful London streetscapes, canals and docklands, ending at the iconic Brick Lane.
Around a hundred cyclists attended the event. The group gathered at Victoria Park at 10.30am, where they receive details about the route and a presentation from our company, Cyclehoop. For the occasion we had a specially built ‘music bike’ that helped to motivate the group throughout the ride with energetic electro and house music.
After cycling through Victoria Park, we went to the Olympic Park in Stratford, which was under construction due to renovation works.
The group then reached the ‘Green Way’, a cycle path completely traffic free, which lead all the way to the Royal Docks. The path was a quiet route and surrounded by trees. We were offered a ‘shower session’ for few minutes, reminding us the variability of the British weather.
When we reached Woolwich dock we boarded the free ferry. In such a large group we had the ferry all to ourselves, allowing everyone to admire the view.
We passed by the impressive Thames flood barrier and soon after we stopped to take a group picture. This was a memorable moment as our photographer Andrius precariously climbed a wooden post to get a better angle, held by John our ride leader. The result is great!
By the time we started cycling on the Thames path, the sun was now shining. We passed Greenwich and paused in Rotherhithe to let people decide whether they wanted to end here or in Brick Lane. A large portion of the group carried on through Tower Bridge to the iconic street to enjoy a pint in the sun.
Time lapse of the ride: