Trip 3: Waterloo, Clapham Junction, Morden, Wimbledon, Richmond

This was always going to be one of the fun ones. South to Wimbledon and back up through Richmond. Parks, pubs and side streets all the way. Well some of the way. Probably on the part I missed out due to getting lost.
I blame Transport for London. Unoriginal but true. For this time I decided to use their travel maps. For cycling, they're next to useless. The printer spews out sheets and sheets in near random order (always north to south, even if your route is south to north). You end up with something that is basically a jigsaw puzzle. Not the most convenient thing to be speeding around with.
Over the bridge and Waterloo first. I'm starting to wonder if by photographing rail termini, I'm attracting the attention of the authorities at all. Is anyone snapping my picture on CCTV? The cops haven't grilled me yet.





Waterloo isn't the busiest station in the UK; that's Clapham Junction. A few twists and turns (TfL suggest going over Lambeth Bridge, then back over Chelsea Bridge, then oh nevermind) and I'm there. Then it's a long smooth shot to Morden. You know the one. The end of the Northern Line, you're waiting for the Tube and you want the announcer to say 'MOR-DOR' instead of, well, Morden.



A short sprint over some tram lines, another wrong turn, and Wimbledon, and then really got interesting after that point. Through Wimbledon Park, where I took a wrong turn - totally myself to blame on this one. Thinking I had chanced upon a shortcut I went down a path signed 'cyclists allowed - give way to pedestrians'. Usually if cyclists are allowed you think the path is a decent one, ie, cyclable. This one was, but barely. I freewheeled 10 minutes down a loamy gravel and dirt track, reminding myself that I've got to adjust those brakes. No pedestrians in sight, which is good because I wasn't giving way to nothing.

It was getting late and I was put further behind by Richmond Park closing at the odd hour of 8:10 p.m. Around the park then, the long way. Even now, the days are getting ever-so-slightly shorter, and so once again it was the District Line home.
An updated map, with routes and everything, is here. More than 26 miles and that doesn't include all the wrong turns, so this one was longest ride yet.