Olympic Ride

Nicky and I, along with 3 others cycled from her school in Hemel Hempstead yesterday to the Olympic site at Stratford. This was a sponsored ride and we raised over £500 for teaching equipment for her special needs school. The weather was mild, dry and occasionally sunny. Nicky had planned a rural route that took us through pleasant countryside, villages and small towns such as Shenley and Cuffley. The London Revolution ride was cycling the other way for about 5 miles of our ride. We stopped for lunch at a picnic spot in the Lee Valley Park at Cheshunt, then cycled the remaining 10 or so miles along the canal towpath on the edge of Tottenham and Hackney to the edge of the Olympic site. The final leg was quite an interesting mix of pretty wetlands and willow trees, canal boats, massive power lines and factories and modern apartments backing onto the canal. It's quite a cosmopoltion area, and as it was Saturday there were quite a few othodox jews in their massive furry hats or fedoras, coats and tights. It was a 45 mile trip - and we loaded our bikes into the minibus for the return home.