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This is the "Week on Wheels" free weekly London skating email newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your email inbox each week.
From: Week on Wheels <wow /at/ lfns.co.uk>
Subject: [wow] Week on We'd have got away with it (if it weren't for you meddling kids) Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:41:09 +0100 This week, on wheels * This week: Moorgate and It's a Mystery skate * Last week: Wagner Over London and a taste of Chelsea * Thinking of joining the night skates? * London to Eastbourne: a long way to skate for chips * What say our lawyers == THIS WEEK == Last week's Over is Over. This week we're going Under. Through the West End to see the sights before whizzing along the Embankment and up around St Pauls to some tunnels underneath the Barbican towards Moorgate and the welcome sight of those large wooden armchairs where we'll spend half time. Then its a race though the City and over the Thames to a long straight before heading around, through, and under Waterloo. Then its off to Westminster and Chelsea for some smooth surfaces, lovely squares and a last sprint towards Hyde Park Corner. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070727 The SUNDAY STROLL is a bit Scooby Doo: the Lead Marshal says he hasn't actually worked out where to go yet as he's still sobering up (Happy Birthday. Bren). Tales of an excursion up to Maida Vale have yet to be confirmed but Bren does promise to run a slower skate, which he will have to do anyway as many of the regular marshals will be out doing laps at the Goodwood Roller Marathon. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070729 Tonight's LondonSkate route, the Shopper's Delight, passes some of London's busiest shopping areas on Oxford and Regent Street before checking out some of the more exclusive areas and smooth roads in Chelsea. Meet in front of the bandstand on Hyde Park's Serpentine Road at 7:30 for an 8pm departure. http://tinyurl.com/yvzztp == LAST WEEK == FRIDAY: "In the opera-house, the Ride, which takes around eight minutes, begins in the prelude to the Act, building up successive layers of accompaniment until the curtain rises to reveal a mountain peak where four of the eight Valkyrie sisters of Brünnhilde have gathered in preparation for the transportation of fallen heroes to Valhalla." In the streets of South London, by contrast, it was more of a flyover than a mountain peak, but 4 Valkyries would have been a poor substitute for 200 skaters. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070720 SATURDAY: Harry Potter and his friends journey to the Pit of Doom. Harry struggles to remove the Ring but is attacked by Kreacher, who bites off his finger before stumbling and falling headlong into the volcano. Meanwhile the Quidditch Cup is shaken by drug scandals, with the Hufflepuff team withdrawing after their Seeker has a positive A test for blood doping. SUNDAY: All the beautiful people were out on the King's Road, where we stopped for a half time ice cream before continuing on this gentle 6-mile beginners' SUNDAY STROLL. Not a Harry Potter book in sight in our photos, all the serious readers had obviously stayed at home. http://www.lfns.co.uk/route.php/20070722/01 == LONDON TO EASTBOURNE == They call them the South Downs, but they felt more like ups. If you thought London to Brighton wasn't far enough, why not visit some other south coast seaside resort instead? Nine of us decided it would be fun to go to Eastbourne ... (Kids! Do not try this at home! It involves 120km horizontal and over 750m vertical of skating, you will run out of hallway and/or bang your head on the ceiling) So. Saturday morning, 5 skaters and 5 cyclists assembled at Hyde Park Corner. We left about 7am, passing through South London for the first stopover in Norbury, where we meet Simon "wotnobrakes" - LFNS First Aider and music mixer - and his Landrover. On the first, flatter, part of the route we met him every ten miles so we could refill bottles and eat, and in case any of us needed a lift to the next checkpoint. Through South London and under the M25, we reached the halfway point at 11:30 just as a band of heavy rain reached us. Fortuitously, we were right outside a pub. After lunch we set off again at around 2pm as the roads were starting to dry out. Now it started to get steeper: water and diesel on the uphill country lanes made for hard work. Surfaces were rough in places but mostly skateable - though the mud, gravel and small streams on some parts of the route will not be featuring on an LFNS any time soon. Some steep downhills with blind bends made us very happy to have the Landrover along. The last 20km or so were on the Cuckoo Trail, which follows the route of a disused railway line from Heathfield most of the way to Eastbourne. Although narrow and a bit muddy, its relative flatness was a welcome respite from the ups and downs preceding it, and we covered it at a quite respectable 22km/h average. And once that had run out, we were so close to the coast we could hear the gulls. We got to the beach at 7:30pm and finished up with a dip in the sea followed by a fish and chip dinner. Big thanks to Alex for planning the whole thing and deciding the route, to Simon for the driving, and to the cyclists for leading pacelines, reading maps, and for their skate-retardant properties on downhills. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/kanaps/LondonToEastbourne == NEW TO THE NIGHT SKATE? == The LFNS is probably the fastest marshalled street skate in the UK. Wondering whether to attempt it? Here's what a relative newcomer had to say: The LFNS meets at 8pm next to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Numbers vary from about 30 in the deepest, coldest winter to a few hundred in summer (the skate is run all year round, weather permitting). Preparations kick off with the appearance of the FireBrox sound system: after safety announcements and a marshal briefing, the skate moves onto the road and is off. The pace during the first (red) moderate speed section is similar to the LondonSkate on Wednesday evenings. In practice, the pace on the red route is often more limited by traffic than anything else. The music pounds from the bike and cheering can be heard from high-spirited skaters. After a short half-time break, the faster black run begins. Traffic has died down a bit by now and the skate has the opportunity to really begin moving. The front marshal also opens up the throttle a bit and if you are managing to keep up, you might even see a paceline or two. Eventually the front is forced to stop either because the skaters are spreading out too far behind the lead marshal, or because the marshals need a chance to catch up and overtake the skate to cover the junctions ahead. If you are puffing and panting, the sound of the FireBrox should keep you motivated. Slowly the roads become that much more familiar and eventually the welcome sight of the Wellington Arch appears. Skaters head off their various ways, many to our favourite pub the Victoria. Next day at least some of us end up feeling muscles that we had long forgotten about, after skating for nearly 2 hours without a break. Is the LFNS for you? If you've skated a few Sunday Strolls or Londonskates and feel pretty comfortable skating on the roads with marshals and other skaters around you, then do give the LFNS a go. The marshals at the back are much more assertive than on the Sunday Stroll: you may hear them raising their voices to get you moving faster and keeping up with the rest of the skate. If you get tired, move towards the front of the skate when it stops at a junction. You will probably drift back again, but it's a lot less tiring. Above all, don't be discouraged if you have to drop off the skate - come back the following week, ask other skaters for pointers on how to build up your fitness or technique tips and tricks. Work up to it gradually, plan to complete only the first half, manage your expectations and you should work out fine. Hope to see you soon! == THE FINAL CURTAIN == Feedback, comments, complaints, suggestions, please drop us a line through the feedback form on the site. To unsubscribe, see the link in the page footer (down a bit, yes, there). If you email us, it will bounce. http://www.lfns.co.uk/feedback.php#contactus Material in this email is protected by copyright; it may be reproduced unchanged in full provided that credit is given. All trademarks acknowledged. The LFNS is not responsible for the content of external web sites. You must be able to stop, turn, control your speed and keep up with the group, but we don't care whether your knee pads are over your trousers or over your head. -- Sent from the London Friday Night Skate - http://www.lfns.co.uk/ Check out any time - see http://www.lfns.co.uk/unsubscribe.php?list=wow |
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