Spoke 'n Motion Bike Tours

What a fabulous ride!

Short story basics that you should know: The bikes are Brompton (excellent quality and super portable), the guides are knowledgeable, the pace and routes are easy and safe regardless of athletic ability or ‘wrong’ side biking, and it ends with a pint!

For the longer version... We met at Bermondsey tube and walked to the pub that would be the start and end of our trip – The Old Justice. Ian, our guide, along with his sister, Jacquie, set us up with bikes and helmets (optional) and we set off on our tour of Hidden London. As an Eastender myself, this was a great tour of areas I’ve never had an opportunity to visit on both sides of the river.

The tour hits destinations like the Mayor’s office, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Wapping, Shadwell, Canary Wharf, Canada Water and Bermondsey. I’d hate to give it all away, since these special places are ‘hidden’ for a reason – so you can go on this tour and feel like you must be the only one to know about them, appreciate them and understand what it is that makes them so special. (I do!)

What makes the tour even more special is that you really get a unique view of the city (forget the hop-on-hop-off) and cover so much ground in a relatively short amount of time. If you have questions, both Ian and Jacquie are filled with an amazing amount of knowledge about the areas. Occasionally, Ian would pull out an iPad and supplement our view of the area with historical photos or paintings. It really puts things in perspective on how much London has changed.

If you are debating on whether this is the tour for you (or any of their tours for that matter), may I just say that this is an incredible value for the money. I’ve been on plenty of day trips and the cost for mileage, knowledge, and fun cannot be beaten. I would suggest any one of the tours to my visiting friends for a great day out and I’ll definitely be signing up for the Greenwich tour in the near future!

Spoke 'n Motion is a great little bike tour company that runs out of Bermondsey and currently operates a couple of tours. Sights at Night and Hidden London.

I went on the Hidden London tour and enjoyed it immensely. Ian the tour guide was exceedingly knowledgeable and you could see he loved what he was doing.

The only thing I enjoyed more than the tour itself was the post tour tipple.