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The Nature of Weakness and a Moral Lesson: 100 miles in a Day Through London's Royal Parks

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It was somewhere around the 45-mile mark of Saturday’s Pipe-Up Royal Parks 100 ride round London’s Royal Parks that I told two of my fellow riders – Mark and Aileen – that I would need to stop to look for a lavatory. I apologised for being weak. “It’s not weak,” said Aileen, a hospital consultant, with the decisive tone of someone voicing a firm professional opinion. “It’s physiological.” The group in Richmond Park: a joy to ride in. As a group of seven middle-aged amateur cyclists trying to ride 100 miles in a day through London, we all faced at least some physiological issues undertaking the challenge. We were all what is sometimes hurtfully called the “wrong” side of 50. The majority (I think, without having asked for dates of birth) were over 60. As well as the lateral distance, the ride included around 1,600ft of climbing, including several circuits of famously hilly Richmond Park, a climb up Primrose Hill and two climbs near the end up Maze Hill, by Greenwich Park. Not all of...
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100 Miles in a Day Through All London's Royal Parks

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We are a group of eight enthusiastic cyclists from the Parish of Herne Hill, south London. On September 30, we plan to ride our bikes 100 miles in a day through London. The route will take us through or past each of the capital's royal parks: Bushy Park, Richmond Park, Brompton Cemetery, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park, Victoria Tower Gardens, Primrose Hill, Regent's Park and Greenwich Park. For some of us, it will be the first time we've attempted 100 miles in a day. For all of us, it will be a challenge. As well as the 100-mile distance, the ride will include more than 1,500ft of climbing. The aim is to raise the remaining £6,500 needed to start £70,000 worth of restoration work on the beautiful Victorian Norman and Beard Organ at St Paul's Church, one of the parish's two church buildings. Two of the registers of this key community asset no longer work. Many of the pipes are damaged. Repairs are urgently needed to restore the organ t...
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