Sunday's ride to Erith again took place in beautiful warm autumn sunshine. Paul and Mike met me in Brookmill Park . Mike made the most spectacular entrance yet for a newcomer on a Lewisham ride, skidding, then sliding and falling on the heavily dew covered park path. Unhurt and unfazed. Mike was to entertain us more later with wheelies and long descents down flights of stairs.

At Cutty Sark Gardens we met up with Dave, Patrick and Teresa. Mike, part time mechanic at On Your Bike proved his worth yet again as he repaired Teresa's seized front derailleur. Hope to see you gain soon Mike. The ride to Erith is one I have ridden loads of times, but it's one I always enjoy. There's so much to look at, the urban industrial sprawl on the south side of the river, contrasting with the towering new high rise offices of Canary Wharf . Then there is the dome, the river, the Thames Barrier, the ferry, Woolwich Arsenal the futuristic building at Crossness sewage works, Ford Dagenham's wind farm and everywhere new housing developments are springing up. And more often than not these new developments have nice, smooth cycle paths that front the river. Honestly though I miss the days (only about 3 years ago) when it was almost wild down at Thamesmead and the riding was rough and ready. We ventured out beyond Erith onto the marshes, stopping at the River Darent flood barrier before returning to Erith for a cheap all day breakfast. Mike left us here deciding to return alone to Lewisham (Mike, seriously, come again).

One of the day's highlights was the annual closing of the Thames Barrier. On the way down the barrier was completely closed. On our return we heard the speakers announced that the barrier would actually be in motion and we would see it actually open, or maybe close, some sections were open and some were closed. We waited and waited and nothing happened. We left. I hope its working OK.

Back at Greenwich our number had dwindled to three.

Ian Pendleton