Wheelers Rides

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Barnes Wetlands Ride
15 March 2009

South of the river and west of the Square Mile - this all felt a bit foreign, but ride leader Caroline found the way with her usual skill. Starting at the Green Bridge, we picked up people at various points, eventually ending up with 13 at Barnes. The ride went through Limehouse and Wapping to Tower Bridge, then along the South Bank as much as possible, with a stop at the cafe in Battersea Park (big thumbs up for the pastries here). The sun was shining and the pace was gentle - it's a very twisty route along the South Bank, but there's always lots to see. The riverside around Battersea felt very familiar to anyone from the Isle of Dogs - huge new blocks of flats everywhere, and all the routes seem to have changed since we were last there. On the other hand, Battersea Power Station never seems to change - always derelict despite the many changes of owner.

The main drama of the ride was a broken chain - a first for a Wheelers ride I think (no-one pedals that hard normally...), but the Wheelers workshop sprung into action, and removed the offending link. I've carried a chain tool on every Wheelers ride I've been on, and finally we got a chance to use it - I felt quite proud of being Mr Well-Equipped*.

We arrived at the Wetlands Centre around 12:30 and followed correct Wheelers etiquette - go straight to lunch. After a leisurely meal in the sunshine we thought we really ought to see the reserve, so we spent a pleasant couple of hours touring around. Unfortunately we didn't see any bitterns, top bird of the day was probably a snipe, but that's still pretty good for the middle of London. Actually, some rarities are easily spotted, since they have captive examples of wildfowl from all over the world, including some cranes - which is where it all starts to get a bit bizarre with the WWT - see launch_of_wwt_slimbridges_crane_school_announced

Overall I think everyone enjoyed the feeling of peace** and space that the Wetlands Centre gives - it's a great place to go even if you're not really interested in the birdlife. It's quite different from the various London Parks, and feels much more an out-of-London experience.

The route back was the reverse of the outward, except we straightened out a few of the diverts to the riverside path, and total mileage by the time we got back to the East End was around 30. From an LCC point of view, I should also mention the cycle parking at Barnes - secure mesh cages where you can put your bike and helmet in, then lock the cage with your D-lock. And plenty of it too.

Dave A

* Pride comes before a fall - two rides later we needed a cassette remover, but I didn't have one of those...

** Well, except for the Heathrow-bound jets constantly passing over - a feature of West London that I'm glad we miss out on here.

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