What was the greatest ride?

This must be about 18 years ago! I was still living in Scotland and came to London especially for the Dynamo. It started pissing it down before we even got to Epping! 😂
My Brooks was at least two inches longer by the time I got to Dunwich and I was still practically sitting on the seatpost. 😂

The Monopoly ride was a good one too. Also pissed it down before I even got to the start.🙄

Yes, a nice touch of glow in the dark on the hat - I think it was a Wayne design?

I used to have a panoramic photo from the top of Ditchling with most of the participants in. Must try to dig it out.

Really enjoyed reading this thread ..... keep 'em coming ... in no particular order I really enjoyed....
bridges
ride east
circle line
ride north
one out into Essex where Oliver took us to a nuclear bunker

still consider Dunwich dynamo cobblemonster ride of the falling leaves etc as forum rides cos of who I've ridden with / seen en route
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still can't believe it's the closing down sale
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peace and love

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Seeing you post brought Cobblemonster to mind for me as well actually. Me and a mate did it for the first time in 2018 I think and I recall us bumping into you a few times the whole day. I only found out you were on here a few days later when you posted a picture on the thread I think and I recognised your bike. I personally see it as a forum ride as it's yet another thing I wouldn't have had any idea about if it wasn't for finding the forum.

2007 I think

Brooks Hammock Ltd Edition

I forgot about the Nuclear Bunker ride! Another absolute classic, I remember reclining in dappled sunshine with a few folks while others took the little tour down into the bunker. Don’t really remember much of the ride at all but I did buy a Cold War era cap at the bunker for the ride home :)

I was late to the party, but am eternally grateful for the great rides I did get to. MA3K's rides of course, this one was incredible, overnight to Grain for solstice to this most psychedelic sunrise I've ever seen.

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Bath overnighter. Dropout swanning about the thermae spa in his bibs afterwards.

Surrey Hills B2B all-nighter. Ending at some American-style diner for breakfast.

Any TNRC featuring the Damotrain back to London.

IoW randonnee in absolutely bullshit weather.

Any London ride (especially those featuring Greenwich foot tunnel and loads of us racing one end to the other).

Always shattered, pretending to work the next day. Smile on face.

What is Dropout John up to these days?

Marathon ride 2008 was amazing! I still bore folk about that every year when the marathon is on the telly.

This was the 50x14 ride!!! I was gonna say that one - good times, thanks for the photos :) The fucking paramedics asked if I was a paleontologist!! And BMMF - and you? - got the speed cameras to flash going down Bitchling Deacon as I recall....

Yeah, that all rings bells :)

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Found this incredibly low res 'panoramic' shot
https://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m35/blackdice23/LFGSS-DITCHLING360.jpg

I didn't take the photos so not sure who to credit.

Was that the l2b night ride discussed earlier? I’m in that pic but can’t place when it was in my head

The ones I posted are from 2007_11_11_London2BrightonFixed

So many rides,so many memories, a lot of which will be repeats of those mentioned above.

But some standout must mentions for me are all the Bridges rides, particularly the massive early ones.

Every single TNRC and derivative - that is the true spirit of the forum right there.

The Australia day ride when we went stealth through Richmond Park under a full moon and had a herd of deer running alongside us and leaping across the road in front of us. A ride that ended with Jonny, DDM, myself and perhaps one other dancing in the Student Union indie night of King's College, in SIDIs til some ungodly hour. The very best of times. (This ride even got mentioned on prime time BBC 6 Music the next day, thanks to forum adjeacent DJ Nemone.

Marathon rides - I loved the later ones where we had to dodge police on the Embankment and the Mall.

Not strictly a ride, but it kind of turned into one - LFGSS Pedalo day. Never to be bettered never to be repeated. If you were there, you know, if you weren't then hold the regret deep inside. If my last memory on this Earth is of Big Daddy Wayne and BRM dressed as Vikings and Jonny in that bobble hat, chanting "One Less Boat" it will be a fitting one.

I also want to give a shout out to the forum's fledgling days and the rides that were just "night rides". We had no idea if this place was anything or what it might be, but we wanted to ride our bikes round London in the dark and have a blast doing it. It was beautiful.

Southend, Brighton, Cambridge, Bletchley all places that now have double meaning for me as forum destinations.

The camping trip to the South Downs, with the lethal BBQ bike and trying to buy booze on Deliveroo before it was a thing.

I loved the Astronomy rides with a destination measured in light years and incredible stories and legends told along the way.

Thorpe Park, ending up with us in the queue for the log flume, trying to remove bib tights from under jeans without flashing all the kids. Failing and having soaking wet chamois for the rest of the day.

The time that a few of us rolled down to Glyndebourne to take in an opera, with a speaker belting out classics, a Porsche support car and charity shop ties and bow ties to wear. Yes this is pure golf club, and I don't care. The best of friends, the best of days.

I rode with forum peeps in New York in an Alley Cat on the Fourth of July, that ended up with us dancing on a roof in a thunderstorm and a lot more beside.

I honestly think I could go on and on, but I'll pause here to revel in the memories that are flooding through me, to silently thank each and every one of you that I rode with, and to hope that this list will carry on growing as we morph into whatever comes next.

I think it was maybe the 2nd forum-arranged one. Supposedly timed to arrive at sunrise (clearly didn't work out based on the pic!).

My distinct memory is of being promised a secret back way into a Gatwick terminal, but being denied at a service lift? Also a full english & an early train back with Damo.

Critical Mass. Any more need to be said?!

I remember 2 occasions where we had issues at Gatwick, def something about a service lift and another occasion where our mere presence was considered a security risk. I think @Oliver Schick(maybe?) had to calmly explain to security we just wanted to buy a sarnie etc and be on our way.
Memory is a funny thing, all the l2b rides are interchangeable in my mind.

@mashton - camping trip will forever be seared into my mind. Thousand yard stare memories…

Friday lunch hour rides ?

That ride where @youramericanlover read poetry to me

How could you forget I was the other dancer (though I didn’t stay for long, music wasn’t to my taste) at the student union.
Good times.

Aha! Yes, far too guitar for you...

Does anyone have any contact details for @DDM ? Are they even in the country? Would be great to try and get as many of the “original” forum members that we rode with interacted to show their faces at the celebrations.