Most people know Edgware as the end of a Tube line, but riders know it for something older. The A5 that runs through it is Watling Street, the Roman road that ran from the Kent coast to the far side of Britain, and the long dead-straight run from here towards St Albans has the unmistakable stamp of legionary surveyors. The finish lies a little south, around Kingsbury and Queensbury, where north-west London becomes an endless spread of semis, shopping parades and busy junctions.
There is water close by, which is not what you expect. The Welsh Harp, officially the Brent Reservoir, was dug in the nineteenth century to feed the Regent's Canal, and it is now a nature reserve and sailing lake with herons, grebes and the odd cormorant, wedged between the North Circular and the houses. A short walk along its edge is the closest thing to countryside in this part of town.
For anyone mechanically minded, the RAF Museum at Colindale is a few minutes away, with hangars full of aircraft from the First World War to the jet age. Entry has traditionally been free, and it is a fine way to spend an hour if you finish early and the light is still good.
Coming back from the Peak District, the M1 delivers you straight into this, and the transition is brutal. The last few miles are all traffic lights, bus lanes, speed cameras and drivers looking for parking spaces. Filter carefully, watch for car doors and pedestrians stepping off the kerb, and remember that London's low emission zone covers this area; older bikes may need to check their status before riding in.
Fuel and food are easy, from big supermarkets to late-night takeaways. Edgware and Burnt Oak have plenty of cafés where you can sit with a tea and let the motorway hum fade from your ears.