A rolling loop into the Hertfordshire lanes: about 99 km with roughly 900 m of climbing, spread fairly evenly through the day rather than saved for one big hill. It's named after the Spoke café: Spoke Cycles CC at Ridge Farm, Codicote (AL6 9UA), a café with a bike workshop that sits right on the route at km 50, almost exactly halfway round. It's open Wednesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so check its website for times before you set off.
Where it goes
The route climbs out of Islington through Highgate, then follows the old Great North Road north through East Finchley, North Finchley and Whetstone and up Barnet Hill to High Barnet and on to Potters Bar. Beyond Potters Bar the suburbs give way to farmland: you pass through Essendon, drop to the River Lea, cross the Mimram at Panshanger and climb back out through the lanes around Bramfield to Knebworth, the northernmost point of the ride.
The return heads south through Codicote, where the Spoke café is the natural halfway stop, then across a small river valley and up past Ayot St Lawrence to Wheathampstead, then across Nomansland Common and through Colney Heath back towards Potters Bar and Barnet, where you rejoin the outward roads home.
The hard bits
- Getting out of London (km 1–16): the climb through Highgate and then up to Barnet gains about 100 m over the first 16 km, on busy roads.
- Out of the Mimram valley (km 34–40): a steady climb of about 75 m over 5 km or so.
- Wheathampstead (km 59–60): short, around 40 m at 4–5% with a steeper kick, coming out of the village.
None of these is steep for long, but the lanes rarely stay flat, and the highest points, around 130 m, come at Barnet and near Knebworth.
Planning
Barnet and Potters Bar have plenty of shops, and the bigger villages on the route have shops. The Spoke café at Codicote (km 50) is the planned stop, but check its opening days first. Carry two bottles in summer. The Hertfordshire lanes are narrow in places and can be muddy or gravelly after rain, so this is at its best from spring to autumn. The main road through Barnet and Potters Bar can be busy.
Weather: the open farmland around Knebworth and Wheathampstead is exposed, so a strong westerly gives you a crosswind for much of the middle section. The return into London is mostly downhill from Barnet, which is great in the dry but cold and full of spray in the rain, so dress for it if showers are forecast for the afternoon.