Welcome to the Outer Loop A social ride. Starting in Walthamstow we will head out on a 60km circular route along canals, through woods and onto hedgerow filled lanes. From there we will be looking out for military structures built during World War Two. The Defence of Britain was an initiative created to prevent Germany from invading Great Britain after their defeat and retreat at Dunkirk. All across the country there are a variety similarly built pillboxes, anti-tank emplacements and AA positions that formed defensive lines that with the help of natural barriers for example rivers, would hopefully slow down the enemy enough for reinforcements to arrive and batter them back to mainland Europe. On this ride we will be focusing on a section of the GHQ Line called Outer Loop A, which is part of London’s defensive ring. The route is quite demanding and also liable to get mucky. We might have to hike with our bikes at some points. Detours are in place if need be. A gravel bike would be the most suitable for this excursion. During the ride I will talk about the types of structures we are looking at, their intended usage and more on the history surrounding such a large scale defensive project.

After the ride, we will have a debrief in a beer tavern of some kind.
-route file will be shared a few days before the ride-
If you are interested in a solo version of this feel free to try out the token hunter edition.