Around 15 of us met on the Green Bridge at Mile End Park and headed off from there. In fact The Green Bridge has some history about it too, and David, our ride leader, told us a bit about this from his (slightly alarmingly) fat file full of papers. He also showed us the map of places he wanted to visit.There were red dots on it for all the museums he'd discovered from his research on East London – and surprisingly (as I only knew of maybe 3 or 4 myself), the map looked like it had chickenpox. David explained that we would not have time to actually visit all the museums as there were literally too many – but we would be shown where as many as possible were, what they got up to, a bit of the history, and then it was up to us to (cycle!) back to them another time and go and visit.

From there we headed off to something that was not strictly a Museum, but nevertheless a place of interest. This was Kingsley Hall, which had not only an interesting history (Ghandi stayed there for 3 months, in fact), but also was chosen by David as a general lead-in to many of the things we would be seeing. This hall was started as a community hall and was developed by local philanthropists who wanted to work with the poor of East London, which was a theme that ran through much of the day. David gave a little talk about the people behind it and the background thereof, drawing on more papers from the scary file (he'd obviously put a lot of work into the preparation for this ride!).

We carried on to the most magical of all – 3 Mills Island, which felt for all the world like we'd dropped into the middle of rural Suffolk or somewhere. Apparently some of this is now a film or TV studio but it was so picturesque, right there in the middle of industrial East London. David explained how these were the first tidal mills in the UK and the basics of how they worked.

We carried on cycling right into Docklands to West India Quay, home now to the large financial institutions. David explained about the history and decline of the docks, the background of the Isle of Dogs (why was it called Isle, for a start), and how the land came to be sold and developed in the way that it did. We then ventured into the Museum of London Docklands, not to visit the Museum, but for an obligatory tea stop (we have a lot of these on our rides). We decided to wait until we got to Spitalfields to stop to eat, although I have to say the menu did look pretty tempting and it was lovely to sit outside by the water.

On we went, utilising some of the very impressive blue Cycle Superhighways, the first time I have been on one, which of course the LCC were instrumental in creating, how appropriate. We stopped by the Ragged School Museum, where Dr. Barnardo founded his school, and then David showed us the very flat, not far away, where he started his work. We passed the Barts Museum which is a medical one (very unprepossessing I must say, you'd never know there was anything there!), and then on to something quite unusual – the Whitechapel Bell foundry. Now it seems like there's almost no old industry left in East London sometimes, but here is one business that is still going strong, and in the same buildings its been in for years. This is where they cast BIG BEN. Amazing. And they are still making church bells and all sorts even now, and shipping them all over the world.

From there we cycled on to a delicious lunch at Spitalfields where the bikes were piled in a huge heap whilst we took it in turns to guard and go foraging in the market for food. On from there we went right round the corner to Dennis Sever's House. This is another hidden gem of East London. I happened to know about it as I worked right next door 20 years ago, but not many people do.

Dennis Severs (now dead) was an artist who kept this (Georgian?) house as it was over 100 years ago. It has no electricity and I think its only concession to modernity is gas lighting. I've actually still never been inside (I think this ride might actually be the straw that broke the camels's back!) despite meaning to all these years, but I understand that it's very atmospheric and you get the impression that there is a family still living in the house, and they are just around the corner. Although he is now dead, it remains unchanged and his friends do open it up to the public once or twice a month.

From here I had to peel off as I had other things planned for Sunday afternoon but the rest of the group headed off to another sampling of the delights of East London's museums. It was a most enjoyable ride and hats off to David for making such painstaking preparations.