Wheelers Rides
back to rides index
Boxing Day Ace Cafe Run
26 December 2006
I think it was a late call but I recall that I did eventually see something on the e-group about Keith's usual Boxing Day ride.
For once I was early despite having to ride a clunky reconditioned mountain bike that I had borrowed from my neighbour, Dave, who is a builder/driveway paver/garden centre owner who lives round the corner from me in Winchmore Hill. O.K. the bike is not that clunky as it has hardly been ridden since I rode it back after it was serviced but that was in the middle of June. Considering that it had been tucked away in the back of Dave's garage the condition was good and all I had to do was pump the tyres up. I also gave the chain a quick squirt of lubricant before setting off. Riding a bike without with standard pedals cleats is a great challenge for me as I have not had to do that since riding this bike back from Victoria and even before that it has been several years since I last had to ride without cleats and even then I was riding with toe-straps. This morning I was just on flat pedals so the day was going to be a throwback and even more of an adventure.
Eventually four of us started from the Green Bridge and after a short while we were five as we met Paul from the Hackney LCC group along the way. He was not the only person we met along the towpath as just before crossing into Islington one of my CTC friends was riding the other way on his way to watch this team, West Ham, play football. Soon afterwards as we took to the roads to cover the part of the route we cannot ride along, namely, the Islington Tunnel, we had an unusual meeting. In broad daylight at approximately 12:00 a fox was walking down the road. Has nobody told this urban fox that they are supposed to be nocturnal! Soon after that and before we were back on the canal we ran into some more of my CTC who live in Islington. It was an amusing moment as I was just about to tell Camille that we were going past the friends place when they stepped out of the apartment building; do I have a sixth sense?
After that the day went surprisingly normally as we proceeded to our first stop of the day at Camden Lock. Suitably refreshed after coffee we then continued along the canal until Kensal Rise where we took to the roads to start searching for the Hindu Temple in Neasden. I have an apology to make as I thought I knew where it was but succeeded in diverting us towards the Sikh temple which is located in nearby Willesden Green. Fortunately, my male pride is not that big so I did pull over and get some directions from a mini-cab office which enabled us to turn back and go to the right temple.
The temple is magnificent and well worth going to visit. However, once again I caused trouble as firstly I managed to set off metal detectors at the security desk as I was still carrying the aluminum foil that I had wrapped my breakfast in and then as I was wearing shorts I had to be provided with a sarong type garment to cover my legs lest they offended the deities. If David Beckham can wear a sarong then so can I.
After visiting the temple we went to The Ace Cafe for lunch and then rode back on the roads. Well, I only rode as far as Scrubs Lane before I branched off to head back to north London leaving Keith and the rest of the gang to return to east London.
Finally, many thanks to Keith for leading the ride and to the other people who turned up; namely, Camille, Anil and Paul.
Ken Peters
December 26, 2006
back to rides index
| 
