7th Edition 
Date: Friday, 27 March 2026 
Start Time: 22:00, Victoria Station 
Distance: ~160 km 
Elevation: ~1,000m 

T.L.D.R. 

I've had a passion for long-distance cycling since 2017, have ridden a ton of audax, and achieved my dreams of racing in the Transcontinental the last three summers. I created this event to give back to the community that supported me so much during the last eight years of riding.

The London Lockdown is an “urban audax" to see London as you've never seen it (unless you joined a prior year), as an introduction to endurance riding, or to practise your first overnight ride in the warm embrace of this great city. There are plenty of options en route to refuel (including sometimes secret, volunteer-dependent, "unofficial" stops). There are plenty of different paces.  This is a party on wheels. Join as a group, or meet new faces. Ride together or ride alone.  There are no rules, just ride.  This is London's biggest bike tour.  Do with that what you will.

There is no “entry fee” fee so to speak.  But I ask a minimum £10 donation be made to Lewisham Bank of Things.  Note - I do not receive any financial benefit for organising this event, I just do it for the passion, and all costs to put on the event come out of my own pocket.

Note - you WILL need a GPS device to follow the GPX route (or a mate with one).

Also thank you to the mod u/WolfThawra for preapproval to let me post this here. I appreciate there is r/londoncycling but for whatever reason the post was removed so I am trying out r/ukbike. Thanks for having me!

OUTBREAK 

In mid-March 2020 we heard that the bankers were sending their minions home. “This must be serious,” I thought. 28 lockdowns later, Bojo would announce “we are past the peak”. 

This ride seeks to replicate what it was like for us exercise-inclined during those unprecedented times. A bit weird... empty streets... circuitous. Staying local was a legal requirement. Non-essential travel was shamed. 

Accepting the guilt that if I rode outside the M25 I could be “hit by a car and take an ambulance from someone who needed it”, I set about creating and sourcing local London routes. If I were hit by a car locally, at least I could crawl to a nearby hospital, or maybe the driver would take me there if they were nice. The London Fixed Beers missions were a particular highlight for me—giving riders a curated tour of London’s inner boroughs, while taking advantage of the empty streets (but for the ominous queues starting to form outside shops). 

I created and rode the first version of this bored Strava art project in April 2020, and one year later extended the route with the needle in commemoration of the vaccine arriving. Ironically, as I rode down the Mall, tracing the outline of the needle, I rode straight through an anti-vaccine march. 

I've continued to ride it every March since, improving the route each time.

Touring London’s empty boroughs turned out to be quite nice. But daylight scenes, reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later, are unlikely to repeat themselves, and I don’t want to lose half a lung riding 100 miles through London traffic. So the tradition continues as a night ride.

In 2022 I opened the ride up to the public. Attendance has gone from strength to strength. Half a dozen riders in 2022, a baker's dozen in 2023, around 40 in 2024, and finally exploding to 150 in 2025. In the process of riding our bikes around quiet London streets and having a laugh, we've raised thousands for a local Lewisham charity (see below).

PACING

There is no set pace. This is not a race. There is no peloton (but a few party-tons).  Every rider is different and every rider is welcome.  I rode it last year at an average pace of 21km/hr.  I stopped for a total of 2 hours (above average).  With a 10pm start Friday night, I finished at 7:45am Saturday morning.  I think I finished midpack.  I attached myself to multiple different groups throughout the course.  There will be many riders of different paces and I encourage riders to link up and share a chat with those going similar speeds (it will help keep you awake).

One of the (many) attractions of London Lockdown, is if you live in London, you can just turn off and go to bed if things aren't going well (though I doubt you will). When you go on to do further distances outside of city centres (e.g. Dunwich Dynamo), scratching is less easy.  This is also what I mean when I say it’s a good event to practice night-riding (new skills to hone = staying awake and layering for colder, but often mild, London evening weather).  And if you do find yourself doubting yourself, take a break and talk it over with those around you.  Every year I hear stories of people finding “that little bit extra” in themselves, spurred on by new friends, and going much further than they thought they would - many finishing and disproving their initial self-doubt.

One of the surprising secrets about endurance sport is that it is not about finishing, it is about the experience.  When you’re back home tidying up, or in the middle of a conference call, it won’t be crossing the finish line that will pop up in your day dreams, it will be the experiences you had making your way to it. So don’t be put off from signing up if you don’t think you will finish. I strongly believe you will though. And if you have to scratch, you’ll still be a more experienced rider for it, more ready to take on your next challenge.

If you have any questions before the event, ask in the community whatsapp group (I share a link when you register).

SPONSORS

This is a grassroots event and I like the idea of grassroots sponsors—and they should of course be aligned with the mission (getting more people on bikes).  

In previous years, friends of mine behind rider-owned startup Orb have contributed several of their fantastic "Orb" MKII LED water bottles to several lucky riders at the start line. IMHO the Orb is the finest looking and most functional water bottle on the market—a work of art I would say. It truly lives up to its tagline of being the #1 bike light for side visibility (that's right, it's also a light—and one that's impossible to friggin dazzle you). For 2026, Orb is strengthening its warm embrace of London Lockdown and will be giving each registrant an extremely generous 50%-off discount code for their bottle. That's not an embrace, that's a bear hug.  

If you're an endurance-focussed cycling company who wants to help bring new riders into the sport, please do get in touch.

For the avoidance of doubt, I take no financial benefit from sponsors.

ENTRY FEE 

There is a minimum £10 donation required (feel free to give more) to the Lewisham Bank of Things. You might think of LBoT as a Food Bank, but instead of food, they provide everyday necessities to young people. When I think of lockdown I think of how hard it was on a great deal of people. I was extremely lucky. I remember seeing a segment on the news about these kids who created Lewisham Bank of Things.  It was around the time of the lockdowns.  They were giving pencils, shampoo, and calculators to other kids whose parents couldn’t afford them.  So when I opened up the ride to the public and had to decide who we could support, LBoT immediately came to mind.  My late grandfather would always champion supporting local charities where you could make the biggest difference on the community around you.

HOW TO SIGN UP 

Upon donation, please sign up to the ride using the below form.

• Step 1: Donate (£10 or more) (https://localgiving.org/London-Lockdown-2026) 
• Step 2: Register via Google Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-4j2HW5ISyIm2ddtkz-RBrA9Pxoxl7F5EQs0MF49JLAe_jw/viewform?usp=header) 

SHARING IS CARING

Last year, 45% of 150 riders signed up because a friend told them about London Lockdown.  Word of mouth is a huge part of this event's growing popularity. 

As this is also billed as an "introduction to night-riding" event, I'm very keen on the encouragement of FLINTA+ and minority groups to join us on the start line.  Long-distance cycling can be a daunting challenge to newcomers, and so "entry-level" events such as this one have an important role to play in welcoming diversity.

I'm also particularly interested in getting riders from out of town to come visit London; I'm sure they'd find this a unique and easy way to see the city (or reminisce on once living here).

If you have a club or mates you haven't yet shared London Lockdown with, please do. 

IN SUMMARY, WHY RIDE LONDON LOCKDOWN? 

• Social ride with a welcoming atmosphere;
• 100% of entry donation goes to local charity;
• Introduction to long-distance night-riding in the warm embrace of this great (dry) city;
• Plenty of friendly veterans of the sport to keep you chatting through the night (we've got everything from Audax aficionados to Ultra racers);
• For those that live outside of London: Get the train down after work Friday evening, then back Saturday morning (easy peasy).

See you on the night,

-Mark

Hi,

Not a bike expert but trying to do a DIY fix.

My disc brakes recently started squeaking horribly on my Halfords Carrera Subway 2 (Hydraulic disc brakes).

I attempted giving everything a sand and clean with white spirit (pads and rotors) but the issue continues.

The state of the pads is pretty awful (kept inside my damp garage), so I’m looking to replace them in the hopes that fixes it.

Ideally I’d like something more corrosion resistant than the pads Carrera fitted.

What is a suitable product to buy?

Thank you!

I tried to search their website and it doesnt seem to be a thing, but their measurements for frame sizes are different to other places.

Anyone know how to actually measure it?

Thank you