London Cycling Diary

Ride It!

I came home to find the latest Evans Cycles catalogue had arrived via the post, and while drooling over all the lovely bikes and bits and bobs inside, out tumbled a little flyer about Ride It! This is a new initiative by Evans Cycles (in association with the magazines Mountain Bike Rider and Cycling Weekly) to run organised road and off-road rides in various locations across England twice a month this year.

According to the flyer, the off-road rides will be held on Saturdays and the road-rides will be held on Sundays. Both types of rides offer various route lengths, so you can choose the one that best suits your level of ability. They're not races, but simply a hassle-free way to enjoy some weekend riding in places you might not have visited before. A £10 entry fee applies.

You can find out more via the Evans Cycles website.

Slow

After an 11-day hiatus (caused by increased workload, laziness and Easter hols) I finally got back on the bike this morning. Typically, after a long weekend of snow flurries and very cold temperatures, the start of the working week dawned bright and sunny!

I thought it would be incredibly cold on the bike and went so far as to don my Icelandic socks (which are made out pure Icelandic wool ... and are the warmest socks known to man) to protect my little footsies from the (expected) zero temperature, but I needn't have worried. The weather was remarkably pleasant.

However, I did struggle with my fitness. About 2km in I felt like I'd hit a brick wall. I had absolutely no energy levels and could barely make it up the Broad Walk in Kensington Gardens. Fortunately, the second wind came shortly after and I got to work in my usual time. I just found it hard work.

The return journey was better. I caught most of the green lights, which helped, and I got a real buzz zipping down Kensington High Street with a pack of about 12 other cyclists of all ages, sizes and descriptions. When you "take the lane" as a  group it feels so much safer -- there's definitely a noticeable difference in the way that motorised traffic behaves around you, giving you more room and driving more slowly.

Total distance: 12.29 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 14min and 13sec | Average speed: 10.56mph | Top speed: 19.1mph

No wind, but some rain

After three days of horrible gusty wind, which I refuse to ride in, this morning arrived with nary a breeze in the air. I clambered on board my bike and made my way to work, battling busier-than-normal traffic. I arrived slightly sweatier than normal owing to my having to wear an ordinary t-shirt and not a wicking one, because our washing machine is on the blink and I am running out of clothes to wear!

The journey home was a wet one, a cold drizzling rain that looked worse than it felt. Still, it was lovely to finally get indoors so I could thaw out under a hot shower.

I wonder what tomorrow's weather will bring?

Total distance: 12.39 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 14min and 48sec | Average speed: 10.45mph | Top speed: 18.1mph

Look out for cyclists

Martin Uttley from the advertising agency Engine Group sent me the above video today. It's part of a new Transport for London campaign designed to test people's visual awareness on the road. It makes a vital point about "change blindness" in quite a clever way.

I "did the test", so to speak, and I'm afraid I failed dismally -- and I normally regard myself as a very observant person!

How did you do?

A visit to the British Cycling Museum

It was too damn stormy to cycle to work this morning, so instead of regaling you with tales of my normal Monday commute, let me tell you about my recent visit to the British Cycling Museum.

The museum is in north Cornwall -- one mile north of Camelford on the B3266 Boscastle Road, to be precise. It's basically an old railway station that's been covered over and converted into one rather large building. From the outside it doesn't look like much...

But step inside and it's like a magical Aladdin's Cave!

Rainy weather

The prospect of riding in pissing down rain is not one I relish, but whenever I brave the wet weather it is never as bad as I expect it to be. This morning's commute was a case in point.

It was chucking it down when I left the house. I was almost tempted to change out of my cycling clobber in order to catch the tube instead. But no. It's only a bit of water, I told myself.

To be honest, the first mile-and-a-half was pretty damn wet. The rain was coming down so heavily it hurt. I tucked my chin down and used my helmet visor as a kind of shield.

The rain eventually eased off and became that kind of misty rain that gets into everything. But, surprisingly, when I arrived at my destination I wasn't too wet. My feet, of course, were soaked. But the rest of me -- hair included -- was dry.

I must remember this mantra in future: whenever it rains, cycling in it is never as bad as it seems.

Total distance: 12.43 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 15min and 31sec | Average speed: 10.56mph | Top speed: 20.1mph

'Lost' in Victoria

I spent last week in deepest, darkest Cornwall enjoying some much-needed rest and recreation, so getting back on the bike this morning took quite some effort. But tonight's return journey took even more!

At about 3pm I was feeling absolutely knackered. (I think I was missing my mid-afternoon beer.) I had to  go for a brisk walk to get some fresh air and then drank a pint of water to wake myself up.

Still, I didn't feel much better when 6pm rolled around and I knew I had to cycle 6-and-a-bit miles in the dark to get home! Ironically, the journey got lengthened slightly when I missed my turn on Parliament Square (I wasn't in the mood to fight with the traffic to get in the right lane) and so I found myself trundling through the oh-so confusing back streets of Victoria looking for the correct route.

A year or more ago this would have sent me into panic-mode, but tonight I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. It helped that I recognised some of the streets and so, despite some doubts (is this the right way? am I supposed to go around this roundabout or turn left? should I take this junction or the next? do I usually go past this pub? I don't think I've ever seen this building before -- or have I?) I managed to get myself back onto Buckingham Palace Gate without too much stress -- and no wrong turnings!

Hopefully tomorrow's journey will be much more straightforward!

Total distance: 13.12 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 21min and 52sec | Average speed: 10.24mph | Top speed: 18.5mph

Cycling into the sunset

Tonight's sunset was one of the most amazing urban sunsets I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

I stepped out of the office at about 5.50pm and everything seemed to be aglow. It was almost dark but the sky was lit up in the most vivid orange imaginable. The light was bouncing off everything: the river, the glass buildings, the road. And it was stunning.

All the buildings along the Embankment, lining the river, were in shadow, but the sky behind them resembled the skin of a juicy, ripe orange. The whole scene looked like a stage set. Not quite real.

Then, over Westminster Bridge, I held my breath at the beauty of Westminster Palace bathed in a dazzling gold light, the sky forming the most perfect backdrop of apricot and tangerine.

By the time I cycled around Parliament Square, the sound of Big Ben chiming 6pm, the heavens had turned a deep navy blue, and it was all over, just a small orange smudge fading in the distance.

Total distance: 12.38 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 14min and 46sec | Average speed: 10.50mph | Top speed: 20.1mph

Things I saw on today's commute

Empty roads: For some reason there was little traffic this morning, and I trundled along Hammersmith Road and Kensington High Street on my almost-lonesome. Is it mid-term school holidays or something? Or did I just time my ride well?

Frost: The parked cars in my immediate neighbourhood were all dusted with frost. When I got to Kensington Gardens the lawns were like white carpet, almost as if it had snowed overnight. It was really pretty, especially with the morning sun shining through the bare-armed trees and bouncing off the white ground. It was a bit like cycling through a Christmas card.

Daffodils: In the space of a week clumps of green daffodil leaves have popped up everywhere, and some are even in bloom. How did that happen?

Soldiers: Clarence House, where Prince Charles lives, has installed two sentry boxes, complete with soldiers, on The Mall. Normally the sentry boxes and soldiers are on the inside of the main gate, now they are on the approach to the gate. This seems to have happened over the weekend, because they certainly weren't there on Friday. It feels slightly surreal to cycle within a few feet of them. I wonder what they'd do if I rang my bell?

Female cyclists: On my ride home I stopped at the traffic lights at Hyde Park Corner and did my usual cyclist count. There were seven cyclists around me -- and every one of them was female! Normally, I'm hard pressed to spot someone of my gender on a bike, let alone seven ladies all together and not a male cyclist in sight. Interestingly enough, all of us were decked out in the same "uniform" -- fleecy Altura cycling tights and flouro yellow jackets -- demonstrating the poor choice in cycling "fashions" us ladies must contend with. Any budding entrepreneurs would see the marketing opportunities here, as not every female commuter wants to don fat-hugging Lycra, and nor do we want to look like cycling clones.

Total distance: 12.37 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 13min and 16sec | Average speed: 10.72mph | Top speed: 18mph

Cycling in the light -- and a rant about the 'daredevils' who cross Hyde Park Corner

I snuck out of the office a little early today, which meant I got to cycle home while it was still daylight. I'd forgotten how lovely it was to cycle without the need for head or tail lights.

Mind you, dusk began to descend when I was still three miles from home, so I made sure all my lights were flashing, which is more than I can say for many of my counterparts on the road. Why so many cyclists persist in wearing all-black gear with not even a single reflector anywhere on their bike is beyond me. Even as a cyclist tailing along behind them, I can barely distinguish these black ghouls from the road. It must be almost impossible for a motorist, who has to peer through a thick windscreen, to see them.

Oh, and while I'm being critical of my fellow (irresponsible) cyclists, can I just remind the idiots that try to jump the lights at Hyde Park Corner every night, that this is possibly the worst intersection in the whole of London to try that little stunt. This is because:
(1) It's a blind corner, so the traffic can't see you (and you can't see the traffic)
(2) The lights don't seem to be properly synchronised with others in the vicinity, so you can't always predict that there's nothing coming around the corner. Just because there's a gap in the traffic, doesn't mean the lights are about to change. I have lost count of the number of near misses I've witnessed due to cyclists making this error.
(3) The traffic shunts around here at speed, and because there are no lane markings the cars and buses and motorbikes seem more concerned about fighting for their space than watching for a cyclist who shouldn't be there.

There. I feel better now. I hope the lady with the high-heeled boots and black cardigan takes note -- especially given she didn't have any lights and almost got skittled crossing Hyde Park Corner when she shouldn't have been crossing it in the first place!

Total distance: 12.35 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 13min and 06sec | Average speed: 10.67mph | Top speed: 20.4mph