Ride to Alexandra Palace on Saturday 16th August

  Tony led 4 others, David, Pat, Jenny and Harry via Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath to Alexandra Palace. We began at Waterloo station by Platform 2, sped past the tourists on Westminster Bridge, the protesters atop the Wellington  Arch and up through Maida Vale and the Regents Canal to Hampstead. This is where the hilly part of North London begins. A stop at Parliament Hill to take in the views (much cheaper than paying to go up the Shard), then down to the bathing ponds and the steep climb up to Hampstead Village past the palaces of the super rich.
  A fast descent through Queens Wood took us to the foot of Alexanda Palace Hill and another steep climb to the Grove Cafe in the Palace Complex. The food was prompt and the views over SE London were great with the good visibility prevailing.
  Thoughts that all the hills were now over proved to be an illusion as we came through Hornsey Vale to Finsbury Park where David reminisced about races in his youth, and the start of the Greenway back up to Highgate Village. This quasi rural fragment is well worth a visit and it brings you out by Highgate station. An urbanised, rather trafficky stretch, took us down through Kentish Town to Camden where we turned into Regents Park and it's hordes of tourists. They must spend a lot of time queuing on their visits to London, a noteworthy one being outside the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
  We sped south down Baker Street and Seymour Street to Hyde Park, also thronged with Tourists. These had thinned out by the time we crossed Battersea Bridge after which Pat diverted to Clapham Junction and a train to her car in Dorking. Our tea stop was at Merton Abbey Mills after which we dispersed. The ride was about 33 miles from Waterloo to Abbey Mills. The weather stayed dry though became rather breezy.
  It was a real variety of riding environments and starting at Waterloo is a good way to begin. Many thanks to Tony(I like maps)for working all this out. Urban rides require careful planning and concentration when riding.