Bazalgette cycling weekend this Easter

[Sally Eva]

Bazalgette is London's sewer man who ended the Big Stink back in the day when all sewers ran straight into the Thames and slowly emptied into the sea. With rides on Easter Saturday and Easter Monday there will be 7-8 hours of cycling around the works of Queen Victoria's most famous civil engineer. He spoke of designing ?those engineering works which promote the health and comfort of the inhabitants of large cities, and by which human life may be preserved and prolonged'? Amen, we all say. He sounds like a man who would understand bike lanes.

The Saturday ride starts at 9.30am from the Southwark Needle (see pic) and will go out over Waterloo Bridge then follow CS3 on top of Victoria Embankment. Sights include the Bazalgette Memorial,in St Margaret?s Westminster where he got married; and the Institute of Civil Engineers in Gt George St, where he was president out over Waterloo Bridge; CS3 on top of Victoria Embankment and Bazalgette Memorial, St Margaret?s Westminster where he got married; Institute of Civil Engineers in Gt George St, where he was president. His blue plaque is in St John's Wood. The ride ends at 1pm where it started.

Bazalgette was an exceptionally hard working and talented man. We need a second ride to cover his achievements in London. This is Bazalgette 2 on Easter Monday starting at 10am at Burgess Park Life Cafe with a lunch stop at Fulham Palace (not built by Bazalgette). This ride will concentrate on the Embankments and then the bridges upstream in Putney, Battersea and Hammersmith (recently upgraded to car-free). Ends about 3pm.

Both these slow, easy-paced rides are organised by Bruce Lynn and friends on behalf of Southwark Cyclists and we are a branch of the London Cycling Campaign. Like everything we do they are free, cheerful, and as welcoming as we can make them. You don't need to join anything or live anywhere. You do need a bike.

Sorry, I haven't got maps of either route. For more info text bruce on 07792 279 945 or email [email protected] (slow method) or just turn up. Bazalgette 1 is here: https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/events/easter-saturday-healthy-ride-2/ and Bazalgette 2 is here: https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/events/bazalgette-2-long-ride-to-commemorate-the-200th-anniversary-of-bazalgettes-birth/