London Cycling Diary

Drenched -- and lost!

What other city in the world would close its main thoroughfares at peak hour so that military marching bands could put in a bit of practice on the streets?

I couldn't understand why tonight's traffic was at a standstill until I went to take my exit off Parliament Square and found the whole street cordoned off. Don't tell anyone, but I ignored the NO ENTRY sign and cycled up the street until I came to a policeman blocking the rest of the route down Bird Cage Walk.

"Can I  go down there?" I asked him.

"Sorry, no."

"What about Horse Guards Parade?"

"No, that's out of bounds too. But you can take your bike and walk through St James' Park."

"Great," I replied. (I might point out it was pissing down with rain at the time and I didn't much like the idea of taking a stroll through the park as if I had all the time in the world.)

"But if you get back on the bike," he said, "I'll pretend I didn't see you."

Nice idea, although I'm not sure his hundreds of colleagues swarming through the park would be prepared to turn a blind eye. So I walked. Slowly. Through the park. And admired the pelicans on the pond, the lupines in bloom in the flower beds and the beefy-looking soldiers marching by me all immaculate in green wool capes, berets and shiny black boots.

Summer's getting closer

You know summer is on the way when:

• you get to ride to work in daylight
• you get to ride home in daylight
• you need your sunglasses for both commutes
• there are more tourists hanging out on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace that you have to trundle past without running over
• the daffodil blooms look like they are about to wither and die, if they haven't already
• you notice green shoots on the trees
• there are more cyclists everywhere (where, by the way, did all these fat blokes come from?)

Total distance: 12.13 miles | Ride time: 1hr, 09min and 17sec | Average speed: 11.10mph | Top speed: 18.7mph

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

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

Filthy weather for cycling

Today's commute -- at both ends of the day -- was marked by rain, an abundance of puddles and taxi drivers who deliberately went out of their way to make sure I got splashed.

When I initially set off this morning it wasn't raining. But by the time I'd got about half way it was bucketing down. It was pouring off my helmet visor like Niagara Falls. I could feel it seeping through my gloves and my fleecey tights.

When I got to George Street, which leads to Parliament Square, I was pretty much wet all over. And then I rode through a river where a river shouldn't be. It was a puddle -- or should I say lake? -- that I simply could not avoid cycling through. The ensuing back wash filled one of my shoes with icy cold water. Both of my legs got drenched up to the knee. I think I mouthed the word "fuck" and then I started to laugh. What else could I do?

It stopped raining not long after and I rode the rest of my route in relative dryness.  As soon as I locked my bike up I took off my right shoe, tipped it up and poured out what seemed like a whole pint of water! I spent the rest of the day trying to dry my shoes and my clothes: I had all manner of cycling gear adorning the air vents and heaters at work! Anyone would think I was running a Chinese laundry not editing a magazine!

The ride home was also wet -- and if that wasn't enough it was dark and very windy. The good bit, if I can call it that, was the fact that for much of my ride I was the only cyclist on the road. This meant I only had to concentrate on the motorised traffic and the odd rogue pedestrian dashing across my path with inside-out umbrellas, and so I was able to travel quite quickly, pushing myself to get home as soon as I could -- if only so I could thaw out under a scalding hot shower.

For the record

Yes. It snowed.

No. I didn't ride my bike.

Snow on the way?

Anyone would think we were preparing for the Second Coming.

The amount of media attention being devoted to tomorrow's predicted snowfall is, well, otherworldly.

I'm not entirely convinced myself. If it snows, it snows. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Either way, I'll make up my mind about whether or not to cycle when I get up in the morning.

Spot the difference

Most people have a general interest in the weather -- is it going to be hot or cold or wet? Should I take an umbrella to work, or should I take a jacket?

But when you become a cyclist you develop a more specific interest in all things meteorological, because the weather can make such a difference to your journey. If you know it's going to rain when you're out riding you can dress appropriately. Ditto if it's going to be hot. And, if you're like me and are scared shitless of excessively gusty winds, you can leave your bike behind if you know that the conditions are going to be a bit cyclone-like.

The past two weeks have been rather windy in this part of the world, so I've been paying particular attention to the weather reports: if the predicted gusts are more than 40mph there's no way I'm getting on my bike. So on Wednesday evening I did my ritual check-the-forecast-before-bed routine and didn't like what I saw on Metcheck.com

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Given I usually head out on the bike at around 7.45am, I didn't fancy trundling along while 44mph gusts were raging all around me. The return journey, at around 5.15pm, didn't look promising either, with gusts predicted to reach 55mph. So I made a conscious decision to catch the tube to work instead.

However, if I relied on the BBC Weather Centre to determine whether I should ride my bike or not, I'm pretty sure I would have opted for the bicycle.

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According to this forecast the wind didn't seem to be a problem. While there's no indication of gust speeds, the wind speeds are a laughable 17mph in the morning and 18mph in the evening.

The difference between these two weather forecasts is quite astounding really. Especially given the fact that Thursday's weather was horrendous: storms raged across the country, killing nine people in the process!

Needless to say, if you live in the UK, it's wise to get your weather forecasts from Metcheck.com  I've been using this site for about six months now and have found it incredibly reliable. Its cycle-specific forecasts are very helpful, because all the information you want to know as a cyclist -- how windy will it be? what will the humidity be like? is there going to be any rain? am I likely to need my sunglasses? -- is all there in convenient three-hourly blocks. And the best part is that you can see how conditions are likely to change across the day, so that if you head out in the morning wearing dry-weather gear, you know to take along your waterproofs because your return journey is going to be a rainy one!

Now, if only it could predict the amount of traffic on your route...

Like a drowned rat

I turned up to work looking like a drowned rat this morning.

But it wasn't the 6-mile commute in light, drizzly rain that did it.

It was the short 50 yard walk from my undercover bike park to the office door that did the damage. It was like someone had flicked a switch. One minute the rain was light, the next it was bucketing down. The wind picked up too, gusting and swirling and turning people's umbrellas inside out. Quite funny actually to watch everyone scuttling for cover, while I stride by in my cycle helmet and rain-jacket getting completely drenched!

When I finally reached my desk and took off my helmet my colleagues took one look at me and laughed. I spent the next 10 minutes with my head under the hand-dryers trying to recover my dignity!