Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in July 2025. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section – you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here.
IN THIS ISSUE… +++ Welcome to our new co-sponsors +++ Motorist mounts kerb and hits cyclist +++ Say goodbye to Thomson’s Teeth +++ Dynamo ‘spitting’ incident +++ More club rides added to our list +++ Sir Loyd Grossman’s tenure as The Royal Parks’ chair extended +++
Visit our sponsors: Bella Velo, Cycle Exchange, Forge 1860, Kingston Wheelers, London Dynamo, Richmond Cycles, Richmond Park Rouleurs, Sigma Sports, Waldy Wheelers
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
A warm welcome to our new co-sponsors, Waldy Wheelers. The Teddington-based cycling club is the newest organisation to join our growing line-up of supporters, which has been quietly evolving over the past few months. Richmond Park Rouleurs is another new entrant, and the Pearson brothers’ bike shop Forge1860 replaces Pearson, which has been spun off into a separate bike brand.
Our thanks to all three, and the rest of our sponsors featured on the masthead of our bulletin. You can find out more about them by clicking the links above. Their involvement supports all of our endeavours to help make Richmond Park an even better place to ride your bike, including the delivery of this monthly newsletter to your inbox.
PRIORY WARNING
A word of caution if you use Priory Lane to get to the park: we have been told that a motorist intentionally mounted the kerb on that road and hit a cyclist.
The incident took place the Saturday before last, near the lights at the junction with Upper Richmond Road. The cyclist was heading towards the park when a driver in a light blue estate car pulled up close and yelled at them to “get in the cycle lane”. The cyclist told the motorist to stay away before switching to the cycle lane – but the driver followed them, mounted the kerb and hit the rider, breaking the car’s wing mirror. The victim, who was thankfully unhurt, has informed the police.
Sadly, tolerance of cyclists can often be lacking among impatient drivers using Priory Lane. So if you experience a similarly threatening situation, report it to the police, using the guide on our new FAQs page.
TEETH KNOCKED OUT
Thomson’s Teeth are being extracted. On Friday park staff were toiling in the summer heat between Robin Hood and Kingston gates, knocking out the ankle-high timber stumps with mallets by the side of the road.
The teeth – named after George Thomson, who installed thousands of them during his tenure as Park Superintendent from 1951 to 1971 – prevent motorists from parking on the grass verges. But they are also a hazard – a few of us at Richmond Park Cyclists still remember a particularly horrible incident more than 20 years ago which left a cyclist in a serious condition after he skidded on wet tarmac and fell on to one of them chest-first. (Thankfully, after weeks in hospital, he made a full recovery.)
Some of the stumps have already been removed from hilly areas of the park, and the rest will be taken out in phases. Paul Richards, our park manager, tells us he plans to replace some of them in key locations with a “landscape treatment” such as a “mound, ditch, or a combination of both” to prevent errant car parking. Our thanks to him for making the park’s roadsides safer.
DYNAMO PROBE
London Dynamo is investigating a serious incident that allegedly took place during its club ride on the morning of Saturday, June 21.
The complainant, who was cycling in the park on Priory Lane heading towards Broomfield Hill, says he shouted “yo!” at an oncoming group of Dynamos because they were “taking up more than three-quarters of the road” as they overtook another rider. He maintains one of the group spat in his face as he went past. He has reported the incident to the police, The Royal Parks and the club.
Naturally, the Dynamo committee is very concerned and has launched an investigation. Once it has concluded we will report the outcome.
GROUPING TOGETHER
Our roster of group rides is expanding. We’ve added three more – two run by our co-sponsors Forge1860 and Waldy Wheelers, plus Velosport cycling club – to the list on the new Frequently Asked Questions section of the Richmond Park Cyclists website. We have also corrected the information for Richmond Park Velo – our apologies to them for the error. Take a look at the full list here.
Our thanks to everyone who has contributed. Please let us know if you run a group ride in the park, or a ride that meets in the park, so we can add yours to the list. Time permitting, we will also continue attending the Forge1860 social ride on Fridays, meeting at 7.30am outside Colicci, so please come along and say hi if you are around.
CHAIR BOUND
There’s no change at the top. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has extended Sir Loyd Grossman’s term as The Royal Parks’ chair for nine months until February next year while it carries on looking for a permanent replacement.
As we reported in October, the former MasterChef host was asked to stay on when the incoming Labour government removed Conservative appointee Dame Mary Archer as chair before she had even taken up the unpaid post.
The chair runs TRP’s board of trustees, which has significant control of Richmond Park. It is the board that could ultimately decide to remove through traffic, which is a key part of our vision. But with no permanent chair, the likelihood of TRP being willing to back a trial ban on cut-through journeys remains unclear. Roll on February 2026…
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
As ever, thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox, and let us know what you think about anything related to cycling in Richmond Park – we reply personally to every email you send us. If you enjoyed this bulletin, please share it with your cycling friends – and if they like what they read, encourage them to sign up to our mailing list too. The more subscribers we have, the bigger our voice.
All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists