Riding bikes in Hyde Park

Cycling in Hyde Park and the other Royal Parks is wonderful! If you haven't yet found these resources, they contains a lot of helpful information about where the Cycle Hire points are, cycling etiquette, etc. I always stay close to one of the parks for this very reason. This year I'm thinking of also horseback riding in Hyde Park. http://www.royalparks.org.uk/about/cycling.cfm http://www.royalparks.org.uk/about-us/cycling-in-the-royal-parks/barclays-cycle-hire Bring a picnic lunch! There's a concession near the Albert Memorial where you can buy drinks.

Thanks Rose, That's Exactly what I wanted to know. I'll check out the links. Yes, I know that the Barclay Hire Bikes are everywhere, that's why I thought it might be fun to try out.

Might peruse this TimeOut Magazine article as well. http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/the-london-cycle-hire-scheme Biked in Hyde Park on last trip. Wonderful time. Great idea about taking a picnic along. Have fun.

One thing that just came to mind - the bike hire station kiosks might require a Chip-and Pin credit card only. That's a roadblock (literally) if you don't have one because there would be no way to use a magnetic strip Chip-and-Signature American credit card. I travel with my Brompton folding bike when I go to the UK and the trip allows time for bicycling, so I've never had to deal with the credit card boondoggle.

The Royal Parks links are good but the text contained within is quite old and somewhat out of date. The TfL website would be the most accurate for new and closed, and temporarily closed Boris bike sites. If you have iOs and data isn't an issue for you, or you are on wifi somewhere there are good free apps showing how many bikes are available at each location in real time. It is most important in all London Parks, but especially in the Royal Parks, that you carefully observe all the cycle laws and Royal Parks regulations. Particularly in the Royal Parks they are strictly enforced. You must cycle only on signposted cycle routes and at or below the posted speed.

In the interest of closing a loop in this thread - because the specific question was asked and answered in a different thread - TfL confirmed to me by reply Tweet that the bicycle station kiosks DO accept U.S. magnetic strip credit and debit cards.