I want to ride my bicycle
Sep. 24th, 2007 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lprovenYesterday was Freewheel London so as something of a cyclist I wanted to take part.
I arranged to meet a friend, Roger Burton West, up in town.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pilot_moondog was meant to be there too but had to drop out due to a pedal falling off - for, I understand, the second time.
I rode up towards town but found that there was an official start point at Clapham Common, so I decided to join the official route there. It's about 4.5 miles from me. I got in touch with Roger, who was at the festival on the Mall, so went there via the Freewheel route. Most of the cyclists seemed to be novices and rather uncertain on public roads, despite some trick kit. It was amusing to see immaculate lightweight racing bikes, riders in all authentic Lycra with expensive shades and water bottles and computers and all that, but wearing trainers and not inserting them in their toe clips. Bally posers. So I nailed it up to Buckingham Palace, another 4.5 miles. It took me 20min - I think I'd have been faster without the marshalls and the directions
Roger and I wandered around the festival a bit, but I wasn't able to see any Penny Farthings - of the listed activities, a go on one of these was about the only thing I wanted to try. I'm not interested in watching stunts on BMX bikes, no matter how impressive, and I wasn't able to get hold of any of the reputed free refreshments. So after half an hour or so, we set off with the vast throng and followed the route to London Bridge. V-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
I found the announcements most amusing. "Just today, see the sights of London from your bicycle!", they said. I've seen the sights of London from my bicycle hundreds of times. Riding to work, mostly, or riding to the pub, or riding around town for the fun of it to see the sights. It's as if they were making out they weren't there the rest of the time, like this was a special dispensation, bicycles normally being illegal or banned.
More seriously, genuinely, it seemed to have tempted out tens of thousands of people who, by the look of them, would never normally ride in traffic and so wouldn't dare try this. I hope it persuades some of them to try a little more often!
So that was another 3 miles, and Rog and I were getting a little tired of the slow-moving hordes of nervous Nellies. I decided to follow him home for a visit, as I've never been to his place. So off we went to Newham, another 7 miles or so, by a remarkable mixture of cycle paths and back roads. Roger himself is quite new to cycling - he only learned to ride a year ago - but he's a convert, with three bikes, two trailers and a purpose-built bike hut in the back garden. His riding style is hard work to follow, though. He doesn't like to let go of the handlebars, so he never indicates; he lets his road position indicate to car drivers where he's turning. This doesn't tell one much on a cycle path. Despite warning me that he stops for red lights, this only seems to apply to traffic lights - he scooted across lots of pedestrian crossings and things. Given that I had no idea where I was going, I was working hard. Not because he was quick, though he is, fairly, but because I was leaping up and down the gears and trying to second-guess where he was going, while conversing, too. Hard work!
After an hour or so's visit, I headed back towards Brick Lane, our planned starting point - I was late - and a bagel or two from the 24h beigel bakery. That was another 6 miles or so. After a bite to eat, I headed down towards London Bridge and South through Brixton (about 6 miles) to Streatham (another 3) and then down through Norbury (another mile) to Croydon (another 4.5) and finally to the Claret in Addiscombe (another 3 miles).
Where I had some well-earned beer with, in no particular order, thefishlifters, reverendjim, jamesb, ajshepherd, nolley and others WANOLJ.
A long, but very pleasant day. And after 40 miles in the saddle, and since it was raining, I thought "sod it", and took the tram and bus home.
Not bad for a folding bike, really.
I arranged to meet a friend, Roger Burton West, up in town.
pilot_moondog was meant to be there too but had to drop out due to a pedal falling off - for, I understand, the second time.I rode up towards town but found that there was an official start point at Clapham Common, so I decided to join the official route there. It's about 4.5 miles from me. I got in touch with Roger, who was at the festival on the Mall, so went there via the Freewheel route. Most of the cyclists seemed to be novices and rather uncertain on public roads, despite some trick kit. It was amusing to see immaculate lightweight racing bikes, riders in all authentic Lycra with expensive shades and water bottles and computers and all that, but wearing trainers and not inserting them in their toe clips. Bally posers. So I nailed it up to Buckingham Palace, another 4.5 miles. It took me 20min - I think I'd have been faster without the marshalls and the directions
Roger and I wandered around the festival a bit, but I wasn't able to see any Penny Farthings - of the listed activities, a go on one of these was about the only thing I wanted to try. I'm not interested in watching stunts on BMX bikes, no matter how impressive, and I wasn't able to get hold of any of the reputed free refreshments. So after half an hour or so, we set off with the vast throng and followed the route to London Bridge. V-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
I found the announcements most amusing. "Just today, see the sights of London from your bicycle!", they said. I've seen the sights of London from my bicycle hundreds of times. Riding to work, mostly, or riding to the pub, or riding around town for the fun of it to see the sights. It's as if they were making out they weren't there the rest of the time, like this was a special dispensation, bicycles normally being illegal or banned.
More seriously, genuinely, it seemed to have tempted out tens of thousands of people who, by the look of them, would never normally ride in traffic and so wouldn't dare try this. I hope it persuades some of them to try a little more often!
So that was another 3 miles, and Rog and I were getting a little tired of the slow-moving hordes of nervous Nellies. I decided to follow him home for a visit, as I've never been to his place. So off we went to Newham, another 7 miles or so, by a remarkable mixture of cycle paths and back roads. Roger himself is quite new to cycling - he only learned to ride a year ago - but he's a convert, with three bikes, two trailers and a purpose-built bike hut in the back garden. His riding style is hard work to follow, though. He doesn't like to let go of the handlebars, so he never indicates; he lets his road position indicate to car drivers where he's turning. This doesn't tell one much on a cycle path. Despite warning me that he stops for red lights, this only seems to apply to traffic lights - he scooted across lots of pedestrian crossings and things. Given that I had no idea where I was going, I was working hard. Not because he was quick, though he is, fairly, but because I was leaping up and down the gears and trying to second-guess where he was going, while conversing, too. Hard work!
After an hour or so's visit, I headed back towards Brick Lane, our planned starting point - I was late - and a bagel or two from the 24h beigel bakery. That was another 6 miles or so. After a bite to eat, I headed down towards London Bridge and South through Brixton (about 6 miles) to Streatham (another 3) and then down through Norbury (another mile) to Croydon (another 4.5) and finally to the Claret in Addiscombe (another 3 miles).
Where I had some well-earned beer with, in no particular order, the
fishlifters, reverendjim, jamesb, ajshepherd, nolley and others WANOLJ. A long, but very pleasant day. And after 40 miles in the saddle, and since it was raining, I thought "sod it", and took the tram and bus home.
Not bad for a folding bike, really.
