The Mayor of London's Skyride was a blast. Thousands of cyclists, both big and small, attended this event in Central London. It was one serious hands-on crash-course for dummies, between 10:00-17:00, my bum only came off the saddle for less than half-an-hour at lunch-break. The leader and his marshals were great, as was the group I rode with to and from the event, everyone was so supportive in giving this amateur some tips. Tomorrow, when cycling to uni, I'll be aching but will definitely be riding with more confidence.
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The Mayor of London's Skyride Report
Sunday 20th September 2009 - Report: Eddie Allen
Skyride rocked London today, giving thousands of cyclists an unforgettable opportunity to ride some of the world's most famous streets, traffic free, and show their communal love for the bicycle.
The 15km route started on the Mall and took in Trafalgar Sqaure, Victoria Embankment, St Paul's Cathedral, the City and the Tower of London. The roads were closed from 10am to 4pm. The sun shone and cyclists arrived in their droves from all over the capital and beyond to savour the unique experience.
So what is it like to ride the streets of the London with thousands of other riders? In a word, awesome... The memory of riding Victoria Embankment surrounded by riders from all four points of cycling's compass is one that I'll never forget. At one point, on Northumberland Avenue, I witnessed cycling gridlock. But unlike it's motoring equivalent, it was a happy, sociable gridlock. One rider next to me commented: "It's wonderful. It's surreal, it's like riding in a dream."
I rode the course all day, taking photos and chatting with fellow riders. At one point climbed to the top of Blackfriars bridge and was bowled over by the sea of cyclists flowing into Blackfriars Tunnels, which had been turned into a sonic experience courtesy of Skyride's ‘Go Loud' drummers.
It was the same on the Mall, which was wall-to-wall cyclists, flowing up and down the regal avenue, passing Buckingham Palace and the Victoria monument. St James' Park and Green Park had been turned into a cyclist's festival, with food, entertainment, BMX and trials displays, chances to meet GB stars Chris Hoy, Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar and Shanaze Reade.
Trafalgar Square was locked down by cyclists, with an endless stream of florescent Skyride bibs flowing past Nelson's Column. Tourists looked on, enthralled, or bemused, or normally a combination of the two. The usual cacophony of cars, buses and taxis was replaced with the ringing or bells and the hooting of horns. The usual miserable looks of city commuters replaced by smiling cyclists.
There were many, many reasons to love Skyride London. But perhaps the best was the way it brought the many cycling tribes together. There were Mums and Dads with their children in trailers. There were London's cooler-than-cool fixie community, weaving amid the two-wheeled crowds on their custom fixed wheel bikes. There were hard core roadies in full club kit mixing it with mountain bikers. There were couples elegantly gliding through the cycle-traffic on classic Dutch roadsters. There were guys on cargo bikes with huge PA systems, blasting out tunes. There were clowns on Tall bikes, men in top hats on Penny Farthings, there was even a gorilla on a bike (don't worry, he was wearing a helmet).
As a vehicle for showing the world the potential cycling has in terms of health, travel, fun, fitness and social cohesion, Skyride is a tough act to beat. Skyride London has once again given Londoners an eye to a utopian future - a rare glimpse of what their city could be like if more of us chose to use two wheels.
As one rider said to me on the Mall - "I wish it was like this all the time".
Amen to that...
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