The Way to the Sea

Description

209km cycling event starting from Cutty Sark Gardens, London. Controls at Grain, Minster On Sea, West Kingsdown and Greenwich., plus 3 information controls.

This is a great 200 for anyone stepping up to the distance or as a taper ride for LEL. There'll be plenty of daylight in July, there's only one hilly section & you'll get refreshments at Nurstead, Grain & Minster.

The ride has a historical theme, starting next to the Cutty Sark ship in Greenwich, following the Thames estuary out to the Isle of Grain, passing by the Chatham Dockyards, onto the Isle of Sheppey before returning to finish in the Old Royal Naval college in Greenwich.

The first 135 km are relatively flat after which there's a hilly 55 km section over the North Downs on the return to London.

The route leaves Greenwich via Shooter's Hill and Bexley and the first control is in Nurstead (33 km). The ride then descends to the Hoo Peninsula, which is depicted in Dicken's 'Great Expectations' as an area of wetlands and salt marsh. The second control is at the beach car park in Grain (68 km). You are then 6 km as the crow flies to the next control, but it's 50 km of cycling back around the Medway. You'll get extensive views of the estuary. The ride crosses onto the Isle of Sheppey via the Kingsferry Bridge. There'll be a control with food at the beach in Minster (118 km).

After returning back to the mainland the ride then crosses the North Downs to the final control in West Kingsdown at 176 km (Co-op / McColl's etc). There are a number of sharp hills in this section, the main one being Birling Hill after Snodland.

From West Kingsdown the ride descents to Eynsford and a final info control. The finish will be at The Old Brewery in the World Heritage grounds of the Greenwich naval college.

Finalised routesheet and gpx will be published closer to the time but this is the plan: http://tiny.cc/hyaquz

Ride With GPS link: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39049822

Event Date and Location

Date:

Sat, 2 Jul 2022 Add Event to my Personal Calendar

Distance:

200 km (209 km) in 13h30

Time:

08:00 to finish by 21:30

Starting from:

Cutty Sark Gardens, London

Fee:

£7.50 (£7.50 when paying with PayPal)

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