FREE Brixton Neighbourhood Ride - Sun 18 May 2014

All are welcome on this free family-friendly ride on Sunday 18 May gently exploring Brixton and its neighbouring area.


We'll see a few of Brixton's fantastic and long-lasting murals and rock down to Electric Avenue (as Eddy Grant sang); and touch upon sugar lumps and ice cubes. We'll discover the planned route for an urban motorway, cross an underground river, see the last 'old style' windmill in inner London, and pass by houses where Charlie Chaplin and David Bowie lived.

The ride starts at the junction of Brixton Road and St John's Crescent, SW9, by Max Roach Park. Arrive from 10 am onward for a bike check; the ride will set off promptly at 10.30am and cover about four miles over a couple of hours.Riders of all ages are welcome on the ride, but under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. To book a free place visit the Cycle Confident website.

FREE Chelsea Fringe Ride, Sun 18 May 2014

Join me on a bespoke Chelsea Fringe at Nine Elms on the South Bank Cycling Tour – stopping off at a number of fringe projects as well as pointing out places of interest and pop-up bits of guerrilla gardening.

Meeting outside the Garden Museum by Lambeth Bridge at 2pm, the gently-paced 11 mile ride starts at 2.15pm and will amble down towards Battersea Park and back, ending up at the Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall around 5pm

 Along the ways we'll visit a Doorstep Green

explore a community garden

mosy around Bonnington Square

spy upon rooftop gardens

gaze up at wall gardens

visit an edible bus stop

and see much more

To book a free place on the ride email charlie@capitalrides.co.uk with Chelsea Fringe Ride in the header and the names of participants in the message. Numbers are limited and you will receive an email letting you know if you have a place. Bikes are not provided so you will need to bring your own or use a Cycle Hire bike (docking stations nearby). Should you or any of your party need to drop out subsequently please let me know so I can offer the place to another person.

FREE Rock 'n Ride Westminster - Sun 27 April 2014

 A free seven mile ride for those who live, work or study in Westminster covering highlights of its rock and pop history.

Along the way we'll pass the location of the Beatles last performance, discover how Handel and Hendrix are linked, spot the studio where the first three Queen albums were recorded, and visit the world's most famous Zebra crossing.

Meet at 2pm at Park Lane docking station, on the pavement of Park Lane adjacent to Hyde Park (a little way down from Speakers' Corner), opposite Upper Grosvenor Street. Following a quick bike check the ride will set off around 2.10pm and finish back there by 5.30pm

Book on the Cycle Confident website

FREE Alphabetical Adventure in Vauxhall and Waterloo ride - Sun 14 April 2014

This ride zig-zags madly so you can chance upon 26 and more historical and quirky places in alphabetical order (except X, sorry).

From Architecture to Blake

the Canterbury Music Hall 

and the home of Drugs

 Etc.

En-route we'll visit the true centre of London, see the grand entrance to the Necropolis (the railway for the dead) and spot astronauts in trees.

Accompanied by experienced cycling instructors the ride will cover a dozen or so miles within a very small area, mainly on quiet back streets.

To discover the full alphabet book a place on the FREE ride, meeting at 10am for a quick bike check before departing by 10.15am, to finish by 1.30pm. The ride starts on the segregated cycle track by Lassco, 30 Wandsworth Rd, SW8 2LG. Book this free ride through Cycle Confident, Lambeth Council's cycle training provider.

London’s Street Furniture, a FREE Lambeth Cyclists' Architecture Ride - Sat 26 April 2014

Extend your familiarity with bollards, crossings, grit boxes and  other essential aspects of the streetscape. Along the way we’ll discover the first place in the world to have traffic lights, and stumble across the likes of the Duke of Wellington’s Mounting Block.

We will also visit the English Heritage Carscapes exhibition en-route, so you'll need to bring £4.20 or an English Heritage membership card to gain admittance, plus some money for lunch (or a packed lunch).

There is no need to book for this free c10 mile ride, just turn up from 10.15 for a 10.30 am departure from the entrance to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens next to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5HY. The ride will end around 4pm near the Elephant and Castle.

A Pride of Lions in Westminster

It was a glorious day recently to lead a Cycle Confident ride around Westminster in search of lions. Here, in no particular order, are a few of the ones we saw:

Public and Street Art in the City of Westminster

A few quick snaps from a Cycle Confident ride I deliver looking at Public and Street Art in the City of Westminster