Ebike Rides London

Bike Ride with Lesbian Friends: Ally Pally to Finsbury Park. Join us!

South Downs & Beachy Head - FREE RIDE: 22 Miles

As the Autumn Equinox occurs on the 23 September this is a fitting end to our season of summer rides, it's a **FREE** ride and a very popular one to boot! Starting at Eastbourne Station and incorporating a number of trails including part of the South Downs Way and the Seven Sisters Trail. With 2250ft of climbing this is an ideal route for the gravel enthusiast. You will need a gravel bike or MTB to cope with the off-road terrain. For those taking the train I would suggest the 8.31 from Clapham Junction arriving at 9.53am for a 10.00 start. For the return to London I suggest you book after 5pm from Eastbourne. There's various car parks in the area but should you wish to park at Eastbourne Station Car Park, the weekend daily rate is £5.40 and the address for your GPS is Commercial Road, BN21 3XE. The car park is operated by APCOA and can be paid for using the App. We should met at The Foundry coffee shop which used to be the old ticket office and is just outside the station. The ride starts from Eastbourne Station and we pedal out of town and onto the South Downs. We then head to the village of Wilmington to visit its church and the famous 1600 year old Yew tree. We then head up to the Long Man of Wilmington and its mysterious barrows. Wilmington is well known for its Druid community as Folklore treats the site as an energetic "epicentre" or crossing point of ancient trackways and ley lines, with some traditional beliefs associating the giant's staves with dowsing rods or cosmic alignment. Here's a short video on Wilmington in case you are interested in such matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5qvWbGWEho After the uphill trek to the Long Man we cycle through the Lillington Nature Reserve to East Dean where we stop for lunch at The Tiger Inn. A lovely old pub with a great outside space for the bikes and delicious Appleshed Cider on tap. I highly recommend having some of their thick triple cooked chips. With lunch over there's a lovely downhill dash to the Birling Gap where we join the Southdowns Way to pedal up and along the cliff tops to Beachy Head. From Beachy Head it's a short ride to Eastbourne. We aim to arrive at Eastbourne around 4-4.30. CYCLING CAN BE DANGEROUS, YOU JOIN THIS RIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK

New Members Club Joining Laps (and Club Social Laps)

WLRC October Brunch Ride

Club ride - all levels

New Members RP Park Laps & Cobham loop

New Members Wednesday Park laps

🌈 🍻 Whinstable - Key Date Placeholder

TREK THE GTE - THE GRAND TRAVERSE OF ELBA - ITALY

**Elba is the biggest island on the Tuscan Archipelago, a place where the Italians holiday and the GTE trail crosses the island from coast to coast linking the mountain ridgelines on the island's spine.** This cluster of 7 islands will surely become a prime destination for international tourism very soon but so far it survives as a lesser visited gem whilst the nearby Cinque Terre hogs the limelight. Backabush is planning an adventurous thru-hike completing the GTE trail in full, from coast to coast on foot in 3 hiking days. This is a tough route that takes in the island's highest summits following a trail with ocean views out to Corsica and the Tuscan hills. On this trip we will also need to pack light and carry our luggage with us 'hut-to-hut' style as there is no luggage transfer service yet on the island. **ITINERARY** Saturday 19 - We will meet in the port town of Piombino, a 90 minute train ride from Pisa, ready to catch the ferry to Elba the next day. Guesthouse accommodation in twin and triple rooms. Breakfast included. Sunday 20 - Day 1 on the GTE. Cavo to Porto Azzurro - 23km 900m ascent. We catch the 8.40 ferry Cavo and hike up to a striking ridge before following the winding trail down to Porto Azzurro. Hotel accommodation in Twin rooms, breakfast included. Monday 21 - Day 2 on the GTE. Porto Azzurro to Procchio - 20km 750m ascent. A day with many peaks crossing the central hills of the island with frequent sea views. Hotel accommodation in twin rooms, breakfast included. Tuesday 22 - Day 3 on the GTE. Procchio to Pomonte - 16kms, 900m ascent, 950m descent. Today we cross the highest peaks on the island, then it's downhill for a celebratory swim. Hotel accommodation in twin rooms, breakfast included. Wednesday 23 - Home time, we will catch a bus back to the ferry terminal for the 11am crossing and then it's back to the airport or on to another adventure. Pisa is reachable on the train by 17.30pm so evening flights can be booked for 19.30 departures or later. **DIFFICULTY** This trip has 3 long days of hiking, 20 kms/12 miles or more each day and considerable up and down so a good level of hiking fitness is required. There will be some minor exposure encountered on our rocky ridgeline trails with occasional use of some fixed cables on steeper sections so some surefootedness will also be required. **WHAT'S INCLUDED** * A 3 day itinerary of guided hikes led by qualified Mountain Leader and certified first aider * 4 nights guesthouse or hotel accommodation in twin or triple rooms * 4 breakfasts * Return ferry tickets to the island of Elba * Financial protection in line with the Package Travel Regulations 2018 **WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED** * Flights to Italy * Trains to Piombino * Local bus transfers on our final day * Lunches and evening meals - We will be eating out at local restaurants and picking up lunch supplies from the shops each day. **HOW TO GET THERE** There are many flights from the UK Pisa everyday. The last trains run to Piombino from central Pisa at around 17.00 so please plan to land in Pisa at around 15.00 at the lastest to allow time to reach the station. Trains can be booked in advance on Trainline or at the station in Pisa. Return - We will aim to catch a late morning ferry and stop for lunch afterwards. The next train back to Pisa Airport is at 15.31 arriving at 17.08. I would recommend booking a flight home departing any time from around 19.30 to allow for some delays. **HOW TO BOOK A PLACE ON THE TRIP** The trip cost is £499. To confirm your place payment in full is required. Please send all payments through online banking, using **ELBA** as the payment reference. **Your RSVP is not enough to reserve a space.** The account details are: Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS Sort Code: 090127 Account Number: 22440622 The following "terms and conditions" apply to all trip reservations: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ngc5A61k76qb6HGMeTK96AVaXn0565yPS9p42IPzIy8/](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ngc5A61k76qb6HGMeTK96AVaXn0565yPS9p42IPzIy8/edit?usp=sharing) Please email [nathancapay@googlemail.com](mailto:nathancapay@googlemail.com) when you send payment so that we can confirm everything with you. **IMPORTANT NOTE:** We consider safety to be our number one priority and while we never take unnecessary risks, we do recognise that any outdoor activity involves a danger of personal injury or death. Remember that you should be aware of and accept these risks as you are responsible for your own safety and you should not undertake anything beyond your abilities. It is also your responsibility to be correctly equipped for the weather and activity you have chosen to participate in.

New Members - Wisley/Ripley

Guildford Extended Loop - Inters 95k/55mi

Finding Eric - Free Ride 39m

This is an impromptu FREE ride in honour of rock god Eric Clapton. Eric is a local hero who played at Richmond's Crawdaddy Club with the Yardbirds. He also played at Twickenham's Eel Pie Island with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. We are on holy ground where 'Clapton is God'. A little known fact is that Eric is also an enthusiastic cyclist and is often found cruising the Surrey Hills where he lives. Indeed cycling is an addiction that Eric has had for decades. On tour with his band Cream Clapton was looking to buy a racing bicycle when his roadie Mick Turner said out loud "look it's got them Disraeli Gears", a mispronunciation of Derailleurs. That became the title of Cream's second album in 1967! **Our road trip starts at 10am from Hampton Court Station** and meanders through Surrey to Eric Clapton's birthplace in Ripley. He grew up in Ripley, got married at the St Mary’s Church, and also held a funeral service there for his four-year-old son, Conor, who died after falling from the 53rd floor of a New York apartment building. On our ride we visit St Mary's to find the grave of Connor Clapton for whom Eric wrote Tears in Heaven. In the neighboring village of Chiddingfold Clapton famously played concerts at the Ex-Servicemen's Club, not to be confused with the Royal Albert Hall, in front of a packed 200-capacity crowd. These performances are available to view in their entirety on YouTube and are a glimpse into the past with sets from December in 1989, 2006 and 2007. Here's link to one of these concerts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ7tD5M1Z-s&list=RDEJ7tD5M1Z-s&start_radio=1 Our pilgrimage continues south but on the way we divert to visit the Lovelace Bridges which are a remarkable slice of Victorian engineering. Built in the 1860s by William King, 1st Earl of Lovelace of Horsley Towers, they formed part of a private network of tracks and bridges built of brick and used to move timber across his estate by horse and cart. This is definitely worth the diversion as we head to to Hurtwood Edge, Clapton's current home. As this is a discovery ride it is unclear how close we get to house but this is all part of the fun of it. We then head east towards the Downs Link and stop for a quick lunch at The Red Lion at Shamley Green. After lunch we head towards Guildford Station, our end destination, where we alight a train heading towards London. CYCLING CAN BE DANGEROUS SO YOU JOIN US AT YOUR OWN RISk