London to Maldon 2025: Ride Report

London to Maldon - what could be simpler? 

No major hills, a wonderful warm and clear early September night. Newbies welcomed at the pre midnight briefing. 29 hardy souls, a few Bromptons scattered amongst road bikes and one recumbent.

As the night progressed however so did your correspondent’s angst increase. I’ll only mention it once. I had three punctures. And yes I did check the inside of the tube each time. I need to thank Dan profusely for his help and patience in fixing the visitations from the puncture fairy. 

Heading out north-east we trundled through the suburbs, well lit by street lamps and generally quiet. In just under two hours the houses changed from terraces to semis and then smart detached mansions that grace the London-Essex boundary.

On we rolled to the M25 boundary. Just before the bridge that crossed that ever busy motorway (where were all those hundreds of cars hurrying to in the middle of the night?) we passed through a particularly dark forested area, complete with a sign of a deer to warn drivers. Needless to say I saw the outline of a deer crossing the road ahead, luckily no impact resulted.

Out into the Essex countryside, rolling and gently undulating slopes with some ascents and descents, but nothing that really amounted to a hill of any great size.

We hit the halfway stage and were well refreshed by the scout leaders in their hut at Doddinghurst. A goodly selection of sarnies and excellent home made cakes. Watered and victualled the final leg beckoned.

A comfort stop at an open petrol station at Lawford Lane (the older gentleman’s excuse) and the magical moment that precedes a glorious dawn. And what a great dawn, streaks of sunlight and misty fields. Shadowy trees and vistas across open meadows. These are the moments we do the night ride for. The escape from the mundane sleep we would otherwise enjoy on every other non-ride Friday night. The ride that leads to curious questions from friends we tell of our exploits. ‘What do you mean, you cycle through the night; what's the point of that; you can't see anything’ and ‘wouldn’t you rather be tucked up in bed in the wee small hours?’

All of that falls by the way once you have experienced a thundering dawn, the ride becomes worthwhile as an exercise in experiencing the unusual and beautiful that we normally sleep through.

Then the tail end of the ride. Due to circumstances beyond my control (outlined previously) I was unable to complete the trip to Maldon itself, leaving the group some 6km from the end. And for me, an early train back to London from Hatfield Peverel. 

In summary; a classic Fridays ride. Many thanks for Nick for leading, all those who waymarked, despite the lengthy wait they may have had while Dan fixed my punctures, and the tail end Charlies who also patiently waited for my repairs to be done. I hope all riders enjoyed the last London start Friday ride of the season.

Edit from The Leader: Bob missed out on some entertainment. I guessed the route I recce’d would be flooded, so I diverted via Nounsley. But I chose the wrong lane. Usually there’s a ford where it crosses the River Ter, with a rideable path to the side. But through a landslip or earthquake, the path was a clamber. Sorry! But we did get to breakfast exactly on time.