The Age of Carbon Fuels. A London-Paris bike ride:
- To celebrate all our carbon-fuelled industrialised world has brought us.
- To recognise that future progress has to be less damaging to our planet.
- To help less privileged communities benefit more from the advances made.
Pedal with a purpose. Just look around – homes, utilities, vehicles, communications. Industrialised nations have got it all. By burning coal, oil and gas to power the Industrial Revolution we’ve built today’s amazing world. Now look at the consequences. Polluted land & seas, disrupted climates.
The costs of damage to the natural world are felt by all.
The benefits are enjoyed disproportionately by industrialised nations.
Now, for the sake of generations to come, it’s our responsibility to take greater care of the natural world and work towards sharing the benefits more equitably. This bike tour highlights the issues & encourages our contemplation.
…a tale of 2 cities…
Around London……
…birthplace of the Age of Carbon Fuels
……a journey between two cities…….
….Tour de Paris
…where its end was mapped out.
Firstly, a tour around sites in London highlighting the ‘before’, ‘after’ & ‘what next?’ of the Industrial Revolution that kicked off in Britain 250 years ago.
A journey from London to Paris. Reflect on our journey of industrialisation.
Finally a tour round Paris. Here, 10 years ago, the world committed to end our addiction to Carbon Fuels.
Progress has been at the expense of lasting damage to the natural world and climate. That affects us all – particularly vulnerable less developed nations. Here’s a chance to contribute by pound-matching a small, very practical initiative run by Kenyan smallholders taking responsibility for positive action into their own hands, organising themselves, finding ways to adapt. Click the pic, there’s more detail on our crowdfunding page.
Route, 2026 – Britain
(Detailed maps and highlights below)
Ride 1. Around London – 10miles
- Train, Dormans 9:10 London Bridge 10:05
- Shard start 10:30
- Parliament Sq. 16 km./10 miles
- Train Victoria 15:50 to Dormans 16:44 (or Ride 2)
- Overnight Dormansland
Ride 2. London – E.Grinstead. 42miles
- Train, Dormans 9:10 Victoria 10:02
- Parliament Sq. start 10:30
- East Grinstead 16:00.
- Overnight Dormansland
Ride 3. E.Grinstead – Newhaven. 36miles
- Depart Dormansland 12:00
- Arrive Newhaven 17:00
- Overnight Newhaven
Route, 2026 – France
Ride 4. Dieppe – Mesnieres-en-Bray 30miles
- DFDS Ferry Newhaven check in by 08:15
- Disembark Dieppe ferryport 14:00
- Penly Nuclear Power
- Avenue Verte
- Overnight Mesnieres en Bray
Ride 5. Avenue Verte to Vernon 57 miles
- Overnight Vernon
Ride 6. Avenue Verte Vernon to Saint-Denis 61 miles
Overnight Saint-Denis
Ride 7 From Saint-Denis via Le Bourget & around Paris 25 miles. Then train too Rouen.
- Depart Saint-Denis 08:00
- Gare St. Lazare 13:00
- TNO #3117 to Rouen 13:40-14:59
- Overnight Rouen
Ride 8. Rouen to Dieppe 42 miles
- Cleon EV motor factory
- Anquetil’s grave, Quincampoix
- Dieppe 42 miles
- or TER 851725 to Dieppe 16:08-16:57
- Return ferry DFDS check in closes 18:16 arr. Newhaven 22:30
Route maps & details – Britain:
Around London, 10 miles, 4+ Hours biking, walking.
Reflect on Where we stand today
From the eastern side of London Bridge, see iconic examples of the world built in an industrial era fuelled by coal, oil and gas….. Adelaide House, London’s first steel-framed ‘skyscraper’….Tower Bridge, its roadway lifted by hydraulic pumps (originally steam powered) ….. HMS Belfast, a steel warship from WW2 powered by oil-fuelled steam turbines ….. the soaring Shard, a steel framed skyscraper anchored on a massive core of reinforced concrete.
The world we came from.
William the Conqueror built the Tower of London to stamp his authority on England.
Across London Bridge road is Southwark Cathedral, London start point for the Pilgrim’s Way to Canterbury……. The Golden Hinde, a replica of Drake’s wood & canvas warship….. a faithful replica of Shakespeare’s timber & thatch Globe Theatre……. St. Paul’s cathedral, once the tallest dome in Europe………. Long Acre, home of Britain’s first hobbyhorses…..
A glimpse of where we’re heading:
Brompton’s folding electric bike showroom is cheek-by-jowl with the hobbyhorse workshop in Long Acre…….next, the British Museum’s huge glass roof enclosing the whole of its courtyard ……
Museum pieces from the age of carbon fuelled industry:
In the Science Museum, an early James Watt beam engine, this started it all………. Starley’s ‘Rover’ safety bicycle brought affordable transport to the masses. That did wonders for the gene pool.
Finally,,,,,,
In Westminster Hall. Parliament Square, sat the Court of Chancery which issued Watt a patent which kicked it all off 250 years ago…..right alongside are the Houses of Parliament where our legislators grapple with the consequences.
Highlights:
steel and concrete, fashioned by carbon fuelled industries.
HMS Belfast (1936). Steel-built cruiser.
613’long, 11,553tons
32 knots, 800 crew.
12 six-inch guns. 14 mile range – now aimed at Scratchwood motorway services.🤭
Oil-fired boilers 4 steam turbines, 80,000 hp.
30 tons/hr of fuel; 120 tons/hr CO2.
1st steel-framed ‘skyscraper’. 13 floors, 43m height.
stone, wood, canvas. the Pre-industrial world we left behind
1066 Tower of London William the Conqueror built the Tower of London to stamp his authority on the capital of England
Originally an 1106 priory, mainly built 1220-1420, nave rebuilt 1839.
Traditional London start point for Canterbury pilgrims.
102′ long,150 tons, 385 sq.m. sail, max speed 8 knots, 80 crew.
22 cannons, 3/4 mile range.
The Globe Theatre. Sam Wanamaker’s faithful 1997 reconstruction of Shakespear’s 1599 original. Timber frame, thatched roof.
a glimpse of a Sustainable Future
2026. Brompton foldable electric city bike. The days of fuel burning cars on our city streets are numbered.
Brompton’s showroom is at 69 Long Acre, next to Johnson’s workshop of 200 years earlier.
The science museum celebrates carbon-fuelled industries
Leadership
Westminster Hall. 1094-1398. The Court of Chancery, seated here, awarded Patent 913 to James Watt on 5/1/1769. The Industrial Revolution began, slowly at first then gathering pace from the mid 1900s
Houses of Parliament. 1837-60. Pugin, Barry. Pompous Gothic Revival style glorifying Britain’s superpower status. Within, our elected leaders grapple with the issues of long term direction in the face of short term electoral survival.
From London into Sussex. 42 miles
Battersea power station (1935-82), super-sized, coal power for London’s growing electricity demand.
Peak output (1955) 503MW ~167,000 windmills.
Coal consumption 1 million tons/yr,
CO2 emissions about 4-500 tons/hour.
Pre-industrial Merton Abbey mill.
(1724) One of about 100 watermills on the river Wandle, combined power 300-400 kW. Calico then
silk processing and printing for Liberty’s
Outwood mill (1665), England’s oldest operating windmill. Output limited by the wooden gearing, 2-3 kW.
Negligible CO2 emissions
Dorset Arms E.Grinstead (C1550). A change of horses & overnight stop when London to the coast was a 2-day journey. An entrance wide enough for coach & horses.
Class 4 steam loco at E. Grinstead.
Coal fuelled, 1500kW
Class 700 train at E.Grinstead.
Electrical power.
3300kW
East Grinstead To Newhaven. 41 miles, 4 hs.
Safeguarding our future.
Mass Transport
Class 700 train at E.Grinstead.
Electrical power.
3300kW
Class 4 steam loco, Bluebell Railway.
Coal fuelled, 1500kW
Carbon Fuelled
Newhaven ferry. Merchant ships and aircraft need a game-changer. Nuclear power is only justified where cost is no object, weight no obstacle – aircraft carriers, nuclear subs, icebreakers. In comparison with aircraft, ferries generate 1/10 of the CO2 per passenger mile.
power generation for a Sustainable future
3MW solar array paired with 90 long-duration vanadium flow batteries. The UK’s first ‘super battery’ scheduled on-line late 2026. Can service approx 3,000 homes.
https://envirotecmagazine.com/2026/05/12/europes-largest-vanadium-flow-battery-completed-in-east-sussex-ahead-of-2026-launch/#:~:text=Invinity%20Energy%20Systems%20has%20completed,enters%20service%20later%20this%20year.
116 offshore wind turbines.
116 x 3.45 MW=400MW
~133,000 pre-industrial windmills Negligible CO2 emissions
Onward through France……
Route maps & highlights
Dieppe Ferry … Penly … Mesnieres-en-Bray 48 km / 30 miles
Commissioned 1990
2 x 1382 MW
Cycle-friendly route between London and Paris
Mesnieres-En-Bray to Vernon 91 km / 57 miles
power generation. Sustainable & Pre-industrial
20 MW
20 x 3,000 kW = 60 MW
Pre-industrial
The Old Watermill Remains of 16th century watermill on 12th century bridge over the Seine at Vernon
Vernon to Saint-Denis 97 km / 61 miles
Saint-Denis via Le Bourget into Paris. 40 km/ 25 miles
Highlights:
Leadership
Palais Bourbon.
Built 1722-1728, façade added 1806.
French National Assembly.
COP 21 Venue
Le Bourget conference centre, Paris.
Climate Change Agreement finalised 12/12/15.
175 Signatories 22/4/2016.
Now 194 – Iran,Libya,Yemen declined.
(USA withdrew again 20/1/2026)
Power in the Pre-industrial era
Carbon Fuelled
In the 1970s France generated about half of its electricity from fossil fuels. Since the 1973 Oil Crisis it has switched to nuclear (70%) and hydro electricity (12%). Coal, oil & gas now account for only 4%
Iconic buildings. Past, Present, Future
Notre Dame, Paris.
Built 1163-1260.
Spire height 96m.
Limestone, marble & wood
Eiffel Tower, Paris.
Built 1887-9.
Height 330m.
Prefabricated wrought iron
Built 1984-9
Height 21.6 m
673 steel-framed glass panels
Mass Transport
Stagecoach Terminus.
Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris
(Louis Leopold Boilly)
Gare St.Lazare
(1837, rebuilt 1889)
Trains to Rouen, Le Havre (Monet 1877)
A Sustainable Future
Gare St.Lazare
1960s. French rail electrified
Return: Rouen to Dieppe 68 KM/ 42 miles
Sustainable Travel
Chapter & verse on the back story.
What?
What is this ‘Age of Carbon Fuels‘? A patent issued in London gave James Watt the confidence to install the world’s first efficient steam engine 250 years ago. It ushered in the Industrial Revolution that propelled us forward from the basic technologies of the Pre-Industrial age. It has granted us the wherewithal to move on to a future that is less damaging, more Sustainable and has far less need to exploit carbon fuels to progress. If we have the will.
Anything else?
We need to share those benefits more equitably. Much of the world has gained little – but still shoulders the costs of the burning of billions of tons of fossil fuels. Now, erratic weather is hampering their farm production.
So let’s support Climate Adaptation by smallholders in Kenya. They need to double farm yields within ten years to match population growth without claiming yet more wilderness. Attainable? It means reaching the levels already achieved in India – still way below the developed world. How? A modest investment in mechanisation would be a start.
We’re raising funds to meet half the cost of a small second-hand tractor and trailer to help our smallholders up their game. Click the thumbnail here to chip into our tractor fund. There are more details HERE.
So much for adapting to a growing problem. How do we stop making matters worse? The pernicious damage we are doing to our environment relentlessly ratchets up even as we tire of hearing the same old story. It’s time to move on to a less damaging Sustainable Future.
We too have to be willing to adapt. Our nations’ leaders can only navigate all this while they are confident they have our clear, enduring support.
Confirming that support is our second aim.
Curious on more details? Click HERE.
Where? When?
- The 2026 trip starts outside the entrance to The Shard, for a tour around relevant iconic sites in London.
- Then a journey through southern Britain & northern France with more landmark sites ….
- To finish- This year is the 10th. anniversary of the signing of COP Paris Agreement. A tour starting at Le Bourget where that agreement was draughted, ending at Parlement Francais.
How?
By bike of course! The most environmentally friendly transport devised by mankind.
Who?
Anyone, on any bike is welcome – or take on any bit of the route you like whenever it suits. Detailed Google Maps routes are below. Do it any time! If you do, send pics of you &/or your bike at any calling point to petersbed@aol.com – we’ll post them on this site.
A bit of history
1712 Steam power arrives.
Cornish tin and copper had been valued since Phoenician times. But now the miners were following seams miles out under the sea bed. Flooding was one challenge, getting miners down to the seams was another – horse-powered treadmills could no longer keep up. Dartmouth Ironmonger/engineer/inventor Thomas Newcomen knew this well. He also knew of Savery’s experiments with steam. He designed the first working engine – a piston drew steam up into a cylinder. Water was then injected, the steam collapsed, drawing the piston back down. Clunky, slow, costly to run – no more than 12 strokes a minute, pausing each time while the cylinder was reheated. But if it kept mines from flooding it was worth it. The same problems beset the coal & iron ore mines in the north. The first Newcomen engine was installed at a coal mine in Tipton. It worked. Word got around, over the next 60 years about 100 were installed, mainly in England but also in Europe. Coal and iron started to become more plentiful.
1776 Fossil fuels ignite the Industrial Revolution.
29th April 1769. James Watt was granted patent GB1769/913 “A method of lessening the consumption of steam and fuel in fire engines.” On to 1776, exactly 250 years ago. America declared independence. Jane Austen turned one. Captain Cook started his fateful final voyage . Just as tumultuous as all that, James Watt installed the world’s first economically viable beam engine for the Carron company, near Falkirk. Soon, with Boulton’s gearing, it delivered rotary power.
This disruptor triggered the Industrial Revolution. By collapsing the steam in a separate condenser the piston and cylinder stayed hot, ready for the next steam charge. The condenser was kept cool ready to cause the next steam collapse. It needed half the coal to do the same work as Newcomen’s. It was a big advance.
Did that halve the demand for coal? Not a bit. Boulton added epicyclic gearing to the nodding beam. Watt coined the term ‘horsepower’ to convey the potential. Suddenly factory owners no longer had to use ponies in treadmills, or build their works where rivers could drive paddle wheels. Millers could grind corn at will, not just while the wind blew. The world moved on from the era of wind, water and horse power, into the Age of Fossil Fuels. This fuelled the Industrial Revolution. With a head start on the pack Britain steamrollered the world, built an empire and briefly stood as the dominant superpower. After WW2 energy demands sky-rocketed as we embraced car travel and centrally heated our homes. Coal then oil and finally gas have been devoured to power our needs.
1838 J M W Turner symbolised the transition from wind power to a coal powered future as the proud, veteran ship-of-the-line “The Fighting Temeraire” was hauled at dusk by a smutty steam tug to the breaker’s yard at Rotherhithe.
What benefits fossil fuels have brought to our world! Today we take for granted skyscrapers, ships, railways, lorries, cars, tractors. Electrical power at the flick of a switch. Potable water at the turn of a tap. Waste gone at the flush of a cistern. Cars to take us daily to distant workplaces. None of these would have been possible without extracting and burning billions of tons of the coal and oil locked away beneath our planet’s surface. The revolution didn’t stop at making things and transporting things. Enormous ships have laid undersea cables across the world. Satellites have been launched. Communications too has been revolutionised.
There has been an unsustainable price to pay for burning all that coal, oil and gas. Approaching 2 Trillion (yes, 2,000,000,000,000) tons of CO2 have spewed into our atmosphere. Unimaginable!. The damage to our world is apparent. This tour shouts out that we care about the world we bequeath to future generations.
Our hunger for energy.
Terrawatt hrs per annum.
Today our world supports a population 10 times greater than it was at the time of Watt’s 1776 engine, with immeasurably better living standards. But burning fossil fuels releases stored carbon, it reverts to its origins as atmospheric CO2. That’s destabilising our weather. It’s time to draw the curtain on the age of carbon. Paradoxically it’s our very exploitation of those fossil-fuels that has brought us the ability to take the next step and leave them behind.
2016 A commitment to move on.
Nuclear power stations, wind & solar farms, tidal barrages, electric trains & cars – once unimaginable. all realistic now – if we have the will to get on with it. April 22nd (‘Earth Day’) 2016 saw the nations of the world sign up to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
2026. Progress?
- We’re 250 years on from the first steam engine, time enough to take stock.
- 10 years on from the Paris Agreement, time enough to judge progress.
Power Generation: https://ourworldindata.org/energy-mix
Great progress. Still, it’ll take a long-term effort.
If the trip from London to Paris seems a long haul on a bike, that reminds us that there’s a long long haul ahead to shake off our addiction to carbon. Volcanos erupt then fall silent. Earthquakes rupture then settle. Wars horrify us then grind to an end. As each crisis subsides, our attention is distracted elsewhere. Meanwhile the climatic damage of burnt fossil fuels ratchets steadily up year on year. Have we the bottle to head off problems right now? The persistence? Or will we kick the challenge into the long grass until it becomes so damagingly acute we can stall no longer? Time will tell.
Developing nations have contributed least to climatic problems yet bear the brunt of them, especially the millions of small scale subsistence farmers living on the margins. Small wonder that conflicts and mass migrations result – right now there are over a million Somali and Sudanese refugees camped in Kenya. That presents an enormous challenge on top of the feeding of a population expected to double within the next couple of decades.
Local farmers are rising to the challenge, upping their game, using social media to freely share their learning as widely as they can. We can listen, encourage, pitch in, enable.
Why bike it?
- Energy efficient transport. One slice of cake fuels a bike for miles.
- Health giving. Stay fit !
- Sustainable. There’s so little energy expended making a bike.
- Minimal maintenance. So little to go wrong.
- Enduring. A 50-year-old bike can roll as easily as it ever did.
Google Maps:
London: Globe Theatre to Parliament Square.
Parliament Sq. London to East Grinstead
East Grinstead to Newhaven
Dieppe to Penly Nuclear Power, back to Dieppe Station. 31km
Rouen to Mantes-la-Ville 106 km 6 hours
Mantes to Le Bourget 71km, 4 hs.
Around Paris