And you’d definitely be getting into the cycling spirit. But what if you’d rather get more from your London trip? Perhaps you’d rather take a traffic-free route around London’s landmarks, but just aren’t sure where to go? The following guide-led cycling tours of London will not only get you freewheeling around the best the city has to offer, you’ll also learn as you turn those pedals. (Wearing a yellow jersey and inked-on sideburns is, of course, optional…)

1. Capital Sport – Gentle Cycling
Choose from a variety of London tours organised by Capital Sport: from a half-day tour of London’s Heart (taking in Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern, the Thames and more) to four-day trips from London to Richmond to Windsor and back! I particularly like the London to Greenwich and The Barrier and back tour: “a day tour with 8 or 15 miles of virtually traffic free flat cycling” – sounds like my kind of ride!

2. Fat Tire Bike Tours
Family-friendly and fun, the Fat Tire Bike Tours offer two unique cycling tours through London: Royal London and River Thames. With baby seats and super-comfy bikes for hire, Fat Tire Bikes are suitable for the whole family. If you’re a really inexperienced cyclist, try the Royal London Tour, which spends much less time on London’s roads, instead sharing with you the best of London’s Royal Parks.

3. London Bicycle Tour Company
The London Bicycle Tour Company has one of the largest selection of bikes for hire in London. They offer daily tours of central London and the West End, as well as weekend tours around East London and the London 2012 Olympic sites. Their new hire centre is just 3 miles from the Olympic Park at Camp in London, and is open daily from 8am to 8pm.

4. Mind The Gap Cycle Tours
With the Mind The Gap Cycle Tours, you really can travel in Bradley Wiggins’ footsteps. (Or should that be pedals?) Riding from Richmond to Hampton Court Palace, you pass Ham House and some great local pubs before visiting the very place where Wiggins started his historic time trial yesterday. Then you can leave the bikes to the guides while you enjoy a look around Hampton Court Palace before returning to London on public transport.

5. Association of Professional Tourist Guides
Finally, you can take a fully-guided cycling tour from the best tour guides in the business: London’s Blue Badge Tourist Guides. These guides are known throughout the world for the accuracy of their information and their incredible enthusiasm for sharing London’s most fascinating stories. They’ll even create a bespoke bike tour for you; find out more here.

Do you have any tips for exploring London by bike? Please share them with us in the comments below.

Here’s a lovely video by the National Trust featuring visitlondon.com favourite Omid Djalili’s favourite walk.

The actor and comedian is a fan of walking around Ham House and Gardens in Richmond, and from this gorgeous video, we can see why!

The video is part of the National Trust’s Walking Festival, running from 22 to 30 October. Find out more, and vote for your favourite walk at www.nationaltrust.co.uk/walkingfestival

Walking is one of the most popular ways to get around London. Check out our Guide to Walking around London