The London Brompton Ride from Richmond to Hampton Court Palace

As the sunshine gleamed through the curtain I realised that the Brompton magic was working its wonder with the weather. Bright blue skies, clear as a bell. To think that 24 hours earlier part of today's proposed route looked like this. 

                                                             (c) Andy Longfellow 2014

I headed out to discover that bright doesn't necessarily mean warm. Pedal power warmed me up along the South Circular, being overtaken by speedsters about to lap and slap their Strava/Strada (one of those is a pizza restaurant but I mean the other one!) records of Richmond Park. A win win win - they'd be pushing their physical strength to new levels, maintaining and improving fitness whilst not spending big money to sit and sweat in a gym - to top the lot they'd be riding a bicycle! Way to go!

Circuiting Richmond Park on a Brommie eludes me. I'm convinced I'd never reach the top of those hills so I stayed on the main road and discovered the power of one of today's unexpected guests - the headwind. A real work out! 

At Costa in Richmond I met Chris, then Tony, then caught up with Anne and David which was great and soon we were a group of 10. At last I could meet Mick B and Karen - not just a hallucination on the web! - with our illustrious Ride Leader, Andy. Chatting and coffee, holding on to our Brommies so they weren't blown over. It was all good. The 11th guest was the temperature. That robin must have his head under his wing, poor thing. The north wind blew. I put on my Tourcanourbano emergency waterproof wind proof jacket and it stayed on all day. 

As usual, bands of Brommies always cause a stir, a bit of standing and staring by members of the public. Once we were all together, Andy led us down a little lane, along Richmond Green and straight to a Chocolatier - except we could only look at it, no time to go in. I will be back!

Out over a bridge and along the towpath. We actually cycled along the stretch that had been underwater the day before. The water level was the highest I have ever seen, indeed the overflow of Friday had created a new lake on what is normally a playing field.

Then I had another Alice in Wonderland moment. This is the second time it's happened - both times on Brommie rides - as I must have drunk another Drink Me drink.  One moment I was cycling along the river and the next I was cycling in one of my photos, in a place I have never, ever been to before. It was so surreal.  I was so overcome by it all that I stopped cycling. And stared.

In my early twenties I spent so many summer Sundays picnicking in what used to be a meadow running down Richmond Hill. It used to have long grass and was full of daisies and buttercups. Picnics with my then boyfriend were often joined by his family. The long afternoons of games with nephews and nieces, hide and seek, I-spy, Scrabble, making the longest daisy chains encompassed by warm sunshine and fun. 

We even had a surprise birthday party there one evening. About 40 of us all hid in the long grass and as the Birthday Boy arrived (thinking he was going for a stroll with his wife) we all popped out of the grass singing Happy Birthday To Youuuuu!  I don't think I will ever forget the sound of his laughter rolling down the hillside as more and more of us appeared in front of him. We had all brought champagne and picnics which we shared and compared as we laughed and chatted the evening away until about 10.30 or so and left as darkness fell. A memory of memories.

The thing about this spot isn't just the meadow. It's the view. The Thames makes a sweeping turn to the left and there's an island in the middle. You can see for miles and every time you go there it is different. Here it is - with a friend (and his bicycle of course) in the foreground but behind him is the meadow and then the view. 

 

So without notice or warning I had literally ridden into my past as there I was riding my Brommie along the towpath to the right of the Island. As I turned round to see the meadow and hillside behind me all the memories above just flew into my head. 

Things like this only happen on a bicycle. You just see so many things that would normally be missed. As I looked ahead I realised I was way behind the others who were waiting around the next corner oblivious to the mind time that had brought me to a halt. I caught up with them and we weaved our way along the path, chatting about all sorts of stuff as we went over bridges, Victorian Thames Barriers and past ducks who were wondering how they could win their battle of the flow which was working against them. Andy was full of all sorts of information about the area making the whole ride very special. 

 There was just enough space for us to cycle along this stretch without putting our wheels in the water but all I could think about was Olaf who would have made me cycle through it - so on the return I did and Orange Brompton kindly took the pics as proof!

 We reached Kingston and once over the bridge we split into two groups as I was unkeen to give my Brommie a mud bath!  Ken, Tony and I stayed on the road and the others followed the river path. We met up at the back gates of Hampton Court which created a perfect photo opportunity. As soon as I saw the front I realised that the last time I saw it was when Bradley Wiggins was winning a race and where he leapt into the crowd. 

Once in the restaurant the heavens opened until we left when the sun came out again. Did I mention the power of the Brommie? The food at Hampton Court may be expensive but it is delicious and it is run by a charity I assume paying for the upkeep of the palace.

Cycling through Bushey Park we stumbled across the deer and I tried to match Brommie Antlers with theirs (this only works - if at all - on the M-type!). There was a visitation which meant we could enjoy the park a little longer as Mick B replaced the tube in lightening speed and we headed east accompanied by a Tail Wind!! 20.6 mph without much pedalling - what's not to like?

Sooner than I was expecting we were outside Costa again and the heavens opened - but not for long. We all said our goodbyes, four of us headed east sometimes into the headwind and at Putney Bridge we rejoined the river path. Thanks to David I found a great route home which means avoiding the Wandsworth one way system. Result! 

31.20 miles in 3hrs 22 in fabulous company on a really great ride. Thank you Andy, I very much look forward to the next one.  The rest of the pics are here