Why this ride
Out of London and back again: 431 km, roughly 6 h 23 in the saddle. It goes by way of Rye, Ewell and Oxford.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Out of London and back again: 431 km, roughly 6 h 23 in the saddle. It goes by way of Rye, Ewell and Oxford.
London is the one place on the map where the best advice is to leave the bike at the edge. The centre around Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square is a maze of one-way streets, bus lanes, taxis and tourists, and parking is limited and expensive. The city also has a congestion charge and a low-emission zone, whose rules for motorcycles have changed over the years, so check the current conditions for your own machine before you ride in. For a start and finish, a quiet side street or a secure garage on the outskirts is a better plan.
Rye sits on a small hill that was once almost an island, surrounded by the sea and marshes, and the town still looks the part: a tight cluster of red roofs, a church tower, a stone fort, all perched above the flat expanse of Romney Marsh. It was one of the Cinque Ports, the confederation of Channel towns that supplied ships to the medieval crown in return for privileges, and it was a busy harbour until the sea retreated and the channels silted up. Today the coast is a couple of miles away.
Oxford is where you want to arrive late morning, when the commuters have settled and the tourists have not quite taken over the pavements.
Return visit. Read the place description above.