Those nice people at the London Parks have finished re-surfacing both the North Carriage Drive (runs along Bayswater Road) and Board Walk (runs along Park Lane) in Hyde Park.

The Drive is a swanky red and black tarmac with a wider cycle lane and right-turn refuges and perfectly flush drop curbs.

The Boad Walk is super-slick black top – the cycling equivalent of wiping your arss with a Swan's neck.

Now just need TfL to sort out the Hyde Park corner phasing and my commute will be like a Magic Carpet ride! 🙂

I used to commute through Hyde Park corner and Park Lane every day for 2 years, my whole commute was like a tourist tour – Kilburn to Waterloo via Little Venice, Marble Arch, Park Lane, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square and London Bridge.

I miss it now i'm back in the Midlands and drive 10 miles along a dual carriage way instead.

The only problem i found with Hyde Park was the pedestrians who always walked in the cycle lanes when they had the whole park to choose from.

there's v few peds/tourists in the cycle lane these days mainly becuase there's so many cyclists using the routes that's it's pretty obvious, even for an American! 😉

My ride from Paddington to Trafalgar square is 70% off road and really quite relaxing. I only get to do it one day a week though and it's best to avoid rush hour.

I sampled the delights of the new surface this evening!

Huuuuge improvement : )

I'll be the stealth-clad ninja, on an oldskool Ti-Inbred, with 700c wheels & a dayglo Ortlieb pannier!

the City was mental today, few little roadworks have popped up creating traffic armageddon
great fun on a bike 😀 and the fastest way to get around, even the scooters were getting stuck

the cycling equivalent of wiping your arss with a Swan's neck

That's a great quote. I'll be on the lookout for brown-necked swans from now on.

has anyone used the new 'cycle superhighways' yet? would be interested to hear anyones experiences!

I imagine wiping your arse on a swan's neck could get pretty nasty, unless the swan was dead.

wiping your arss with a Swan's neck

Is there much of a risk of chaffing from its beak ?
Does the hissing mean they're enjoying the experience ?