It only took me five-and-a-bit months, but I finally clambered back on the bike today and trundled off to work under my own steam. Boy, it was hard work. My legs felt very strong and powerful, but my heart and lungs are a little out of condition, and I really [...]
I remembered why I normally make sure I'm on the road by 7.45am when I got stuck in never-ending bumper-to-bumper traffic at 8.45am today! Yes, I left the house very late this morning. I wasn't quite with it and left my sunglasses behind. I went back to get them, only [...]
According to the advertising slogans, it's quicker by bike. What they forget to tell you is that it's cooler by bike, too. I'm talking cooler in the literal sense, because even though we're supposedly in the grips of a heatwave, I'd much rather ride my bike to work than [...]
It's been a week since my last post, but I've cycled to work three times since: last Friday (June 19); yesterday (June 24); and today (June 25).
Foolishly, I caught the tube on Monday and Tuesday, because I'd had two poor nights' sleep and was feeling too fatigued to cycle. Getting' [...]
I'm not a fan of fold-up bikes, but I quite like the look of this one. It's a Dahon Cadenza 2009 model.
I noticed this particular model parked next to my bike at work, so I was able to take a [...]
When I got my driver's license (in Australia way back in 1988) I was taught to not sit behind vehicles that block your view. If it was safe to pass, then you should overtake them, or if it wasn't, you should drop right back so that your ability to read [...]
One of the best things about cycle-commuting is the way it energizes you at the start of the day, and gives you "breathing space" between work and home at the end of the day.
When I cycle to work in the morning I arrive at the office feeling like I can [...]
How's this for a sky? I took this about ten minutes after I had been caught in the most horrendous rain storm as I cycled home this evening. Typically, when I set off from work at about 5.15pm the sky did not look anything like [...]
My site stats seem to have exploded in the last couple of days, so if you have arrived here via the TFL cycling page, welcome.
I started commuting to work by bicycle in August 2005. You can read my first post here.
Initially, I was petrified. I had a real [...]
... and I headed out very late on the bike -- 8.30am instead of my usual 7.45am -- and found the roads surprisingly bicycle-free. But by god, there was an extraordinary number of buses about. I can handle one or two buses at a time, but when you get queues [...]
... and it was worse than yesterday -- in more ways than one.
The roads were definitely busier this morning, despite the fact I left the house 20 minutes earlier than yesterday. The number of bikes at Hyde Park Corner was staggering and it was pretty congested through Trafalgar Square and [...]
...and it was chaos on the roads.
Everything was choked. The cars, the taxis, the trucks and the buses were all bumper-to-bumper pretty much for the entire length of my 6.5 mile journey.
And there were pedestrians everywhere, some of them even strolling along cycle paths (!!), and many wielding maps and [...]
Cycled in the rain this morning. It wasn't half as bad as I expected. A kind of light, misty drizzle that cleared before I was half-way to work.
Had expected lots of cyclists on the road, owing to this evening's tube strike, but there weren't as many as I thought [...]
A 48-hour tube strike is being planned in London, from 19.00hr tomorrow evening.
The London Cycle Campaign has launched a plan to get people to cycle to work to beat the strike.
You can find out more via the official website.
[...]As I turned into Kensington Gardens this morning, getting ready to pedal my way up the Broad Walk, I was flagged down by a cheery fellow in a fluoro vest. Then I clocked the big white sign behind him, asking cyclists to stop and pick up a survey. So I [...]
Unfortunately I've had a bit of a flare-up with my arthritis, so my tentative return to cycling ground to a halt last week and I haven't cycled since May 20. I've doubled the dosage of my medication in recent days (don't panic -- it's allowed, as I have been [...]
So, I didn't cycle yesterday and I was grumpy as hell all day.
So, this morning, I was up and in the shower by 7am and out on the road at 7.40am.
So, I arrived to work very early and instead of heading straight to my desk I ventured to M&S Simply [...]
I cursed myself for not donning my sunglasses on this evening's ride home. It wasn't because the sun was blinding -- far from it. It was more to do with the insects flying about. No sooner had I negotiated all the horrible bumper-to-bumper traffic along The Strand (mental note, don't [...]
I caught the tube in to work this morning and rode my bike home -- in a light, misty rain -- this evening. I followed my normal route home, via Parliament Square, and waved to the protesting Tamils as I sailed on by!
I have to say my ride home [...]
A lot has happened since my last cycle -- a holiday to Ireland, a major refurbishment of my flat and another visit to see my rheumatologist -- but this morning I decided to stop putting it off any further: I jumped on my bike and cycled into work.
Fortunately, my Other [...]
Call me a wimp, but I left the bike at home today.
My goodness, I have sore muscles! And I'm not talking about my leg muscles, which are fine, but my upper arm muscles and my tummy muscles.
I'd forgotten that cycling really keeps your whole body in tip-top shape! Women [...]
So, after a five-month break from cycling, I got back on the bike this morning. My hiatus was initially due to a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis in both hands, which is now largely under control thanks to medication (although it's likely it will never go away and means I [...]
I'd like to say this is the reason I'm still not back on the bike, but it's a combination of a lot of different things. I miss cycling and hope to get my bike out for a spin very soon. Watch this [...]
Well, I'm still here folks, despite the lack of posts.
I haven't ridden my bike in quite awhile, owing to some major health issues, including an ongoing shoulder problem and a recent diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis in my hands, for which I'm now receiving treatment. [...]
It snowed overnight in London, the first time it's done so in October since 1934. However, the morning dawned bright and sunny, with nary a snowflake to be seen. It was damn cold though. I donned three layers -- a long-sleeve base t-shirt, a fleece and a cycling jacket [...]
Is there anything better than a nice hot shower after a commute home in the pitch dark buffered by wind, rain and hailstones?
I couldn't wait to jump under a steaming shower when I walked in the door tonight. The ride home was fraught with all kinds of weather elements, [...]
Another cyclist was killed on London's roads yesterday. And, once again, a HGV was involved. This time it was a teenage boy. More here and here.
[...]After a week's break while I battled some weird lurgy (fever, sore throat, aches and pains and a dry cough), I got back on the bike this morning expecting it to be terribly wintry and ice-cold. I donned lots of layers and hit the road a little later than normal [...]
Last Friday marked my six-week anniversary of cycling "full-time" after a relatively long absence. I was pleased to achieve the goal I'd set myself: my prime motivation was to lose enough weight to fit into a suit I planned to wear at an event on October 12. And yes, I [...]
Today's highpoint was cycling around Parliament Square to the beat of what sounded like a thousand drums.
The road itself was relatively quiet, but the grassed area was heaving with people, many holding up banners, chanting a slogan that had something to do with Tamils*.
I love cycling around Parliament Square [...]
"I had some of my greatest times in my life on a bike, without a doubt" -- Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds.
View the 3-minute clip above to find out more.
[...]What no one ever tells you when you start commuting in London is to watch out for the inherent dangers posed by wildlife.
I'm talking about dogs and squirrels and ducks that refuse to budge off the cycle path in Hyde Park despite the constant ringing of your bike bell!
Yesterday I [...]
I had to buy a new tail light yesterday. On Tuesday night my other one decided to fall off my bike while I was travelling at speed, bounce onto the road and get run over by a taxi! All the while I had two pedestrians yelling [...]
September draws to a close, so here's some statistics of which I'm rather proud:
Number of working days in the month: 22
Number of days I cycled to work: 22
Number of miles/km cycled: approx 270/434
Money saved in tube fares: £88
And now here's some random pictures taken along my commute [...]
Dear Galah One and Galah Two,
There was a reason I was hanging back as I cycled down the South Carriage tonight. I was reading the traffic ahead and noted that the cement mixer, which was holding up a long line of traffic, was highly likely to make a lefthand turn [...]
In case you hadn't heard, another London cyclist was killed by a lorry this week.
A group of London cyclists has now created a new blog -- Cycle Safe London -- in response.
They have also created a flyer to download and print off for distribution among fellow [...]
My fourth week of cycling to work Monday to Friday has now drawn to a close. I know I say this every Friday, but I can't believe I've managed to haul myself out [...]
Zipping through Hyde Park on my bike this morning, I noticed the King's Troop practising their riding formations on the riding ring situated between Rotten Row and the South Carriage.
I had my camera with me (for a change) so I pulled over, propped [...]
It could only happen in London.
The morning traffic along Kensington High Street grinds to a standstill as the King's Troop parade 20 horses along the road!
I stopped to let them turn into the street (they were coming down from Notting Hill) and the sound of the hooves clip clopping on [...]
Strangely enough it was a fairly uneventful commute today. If anything the road seemed much quieter, both this morning and this evening, and there were certainly much fewer cyclists around.
Tonight, for instance, at one of the busier intersections where cyclists normally jockey for position and the more idiotic element [...]
Today's Darwin Awards go to:
1) The car driver -- coming towards me -- who indicated she was turning left at a four-way intersection but decided she was actually turning right. She almost knocked me off my bike as I sat stationary in the middle of the intersection preparing to [...]
Interesting news story in today's Evening Standard that claims Lorry drivers 'need educating about cyclists'. That's probably very true. But it works both ways.
Cyclists also need educating about blind spots. The number of cyclists I see "filtering" through traffic, on the inside of lorries (and buses), and then [...]
Today's commute marked three weeks of cycling for me. That's three weeks -- or 15 working days -- of getting out of bed at 7am in order to be on the road before London's traffic gets too busy.
It's now become second nature. No longer do I lie in bed [...]
My Other Half alerted me to two news stories involving cyclists in serious road accidents today.
The first happened on my "patch" -- Kensington High Street -- when a cyclist had his legs crushed by a lorry at around 9.20am. Judging by the story, it sounds like a classic case [...]
Absolutely beautiful weather today.
This morning was glorious. So sunny and bright and warm. One of those mornings that makes you feel good to be alive. Especially when you are flying down Rotten Row, the sun's glinting off The Serpentine and the King's Troop are galloping through Hyde Park. (I have [...]
I got home tonight feeling thankful I'd arrived in one piece. My god there were a lot of idiots on the road tonight.
First, the cyclist who pulled out of a side street right in front of me even though he had seen me coming!
Second, the open-top tourist bus which [...]
How did it get so dark so quickly?
I left the office at 6.10pm and the sky, brimming with dark cloud, caught me a little off guard. It was far darker than I had expected for cycling at that time of the evening. And, typically, I didn't have any lights.
I [...]
Beautiful weather today: a crisp, clear autumnal morning and a rather warmish sun-filled evening. As a result, there were loads more cyclists on the road today. No one cut me up or put me in danger, but I did see an awful lot of cyclists doing silly things. I wouldn't [...]
Another end of a long week in which I cycled to work every day. Go me!
I cycled home in the rain tonight. So what else is new? I got caught in the rain at least once every day this week, either in the morning or in the evening.
Oh, and while [...]
I don't really want to turn this blog into an ongoing rant about my fellow cyclists... however... I'm getting slightly sick of those who put me at risk of collision while they go on their merry way completely oblivious to their dangerous, usually illegal, road behaviour.
This morning, at a T-intersection [...]
Not much to report today. I'm definitely getting used to the early mornings now and seem to wake up about 15 minutes before the alarm goes off. This is a good sign.
I am not a morning person. I like my bed and I find it difficult to get up [...]
Loads of bikes on the road today. I guess that means everyone is back from their summer holidays.
Lots of idiots too, including the dipstick speaking on his mobile phone this morning, who I watched cut up about a dozen cyclists as I trailed behind him.
When we got to Hyde [...]
I wore a face mask for the first time while cycling today.
I thought it was time to invest in something to protect my lungs after I read an article a couple of weeks back that suggested certain pollutants put cyclists at risk of [...]
Was just checking the weather forecasts on metcheck.com for the next couple of days and saw this for Tuesday. I know it's been a little windy lately, but this is ridiculous. Surely an error?
[...]I'm feeling rather proud of myself.
I cycled to work every day this week, totting up 62.64 miles in total. That's 100.8km in metric measurements.
Mind you, it was tough going this morning. I woke up with every muscle in my body aching, especially my leg and tummy muscles, from four days [...]
I've cycled four days in a row this week. I used to do this quite a bit in 2006 but I rarely did it last year and I definitely haven't done it at all this year.
I thought it would take a couple of weeks before I started to feel the [...]
When you cycle you sometimes see odd or unexpected sights.
It might be completely contrary to the health benefits of cycling, but I often see cyclists trundling along with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths! I once saw a cyclist smoking a pipe! (Admittedly, he was an older chap.)
I often see [...]
Determined not to succumb to the little voice in my head that whispered, "It's way too wet to ride your bike today" I put on my cycling gear and braved this morning's horrendous rain.
It was 7.30am when I left the house and I was sat at my desk at 8.10am. [...]
It was a beautiful morning to go cycling this morning. As I made my way to work on the back of a bicycle I felt ashamed that I had considered staying in bed and catching the tube.
If I'd followed through on my lazy thoughts I would have missed the [...]
New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham's slide show reveals what Park Avenue looks like when the street is taken over by bikes and other non-motorised wheeled traffic. Having gone on a bike tour of Manhattan myself last year, this looks like a lot of fun!
[...]If you live in the UK be sure to watch BBC1 tonight to catch the third episode of The Man Who Cycled the World.
This is a four-part documentary series about Mark Beaumont's attempt to cycle around the world in 200 days.
Unfortunately, I only caught the tail end of [...]
Whenever I cycle to work I try to leave before 8am, when the traffic of both the two-wheeled and motorised kind starts to get heavy.
This morning, energised and ready to go after yet another self-imposed cycling break, I wasn't really keeping my eye on the clock, and when I [...]
Oh my god, it's August already! Summer's on the wane and I've barely cycled through any of it. I decided to rectify that situation this morning and dug my bike out of storage -- covered in builder's dust it was -- and hit the road early.
I love that first few [...]
The number of people visiting this blog seems to be on the increase, despite the fact I haven't updated it for quite some time and I haven't cycled to work for more than a month (owing to a chest infection and then a temporary move out of home while half [...]
One particular Bristol resident doesn't think much of cyclists. In a letter to the Bristol Evening Post, he writes:
And make no mistake, cyclists are criminals. Let
me remind you, it's still illegal to cycle on pavements, run red
lights, ride the wrong way down a one way street, whizz through
pedestrian crossings (when pedestrians [...]
I started off this week with a new goal in mind: to cycle at least four times a week for the rest of the year. I was also going to try my hardest to cycle every single week day in June.
Alas, these plans have already fallen by the wayside. Didn't [...]
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 [...]
Two contrasting rides today.
This morning was slow going, with a seemingly endless queue of red buses snaking up Kensington High Street making it impossible to get very far very quickly. It didn't help that I caught EVERY red light along a one-mile stretch, so it was pretty much stop, start, [...]
After eight months or more of intermittent flank pain, I went to the doctor who advised me to stop riding the bike for a month to see if that might alleviate it, because he suspects it might be muscular. Alas, I stop riding and the pain gets worse. After almost [...]
You know summer is on the way when:
I got my bike serviced at Evans Cycles today. I know I could have probably done the job myself -- or convinced my Other Half to do it for me -- but I simply don't have the time (or inclination) to get my hands dirty. Sheesh, I can't even find [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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", [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It's been a long time since I started my Monday morning with a cycle into work. I'm glad I made the effort, because aside from the occasional idiot* on the road, I got to the office feeling relatively energised.
The roadworks are a problem, though. For the last two miles of [...]
I took this photograph last April during a Saturday morning trundle through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. But I see this scene every day on my normal commute. Yes, I know, life can be hard at times!
Mind you, this stretch of bike path is NEVER this [...]
A glorious dawn this morning. The sun was a giant orange ball just hovering over the tops of the buildings when I set out at about 7.45am. I could see it rising through the skeletal tree branches in Kensington Gardens just beyond the glinting gold of the Albert Memorial. It [...]
Not having cycled on a regular basis for god knows how long (I'm too embarrassed to check), it seemed like I'd never been away when today I spied two regular cyclists that I used to see on my commute all the time.
The first is a well-built woman who always has [...]
Today's commute by bike was my first of the year. In fact, it was my first ride since November 26! Terrible, I know.
The weather conditions were surprisingly mild for both my inward and outward journeys. I could actually feel a warm breeze on my face this morning.
While I [...]
According to journalist and former Conservative politician Matthew Parris the answer is cyclists. In this article published in the Times on Thursday he suggests decapitating cyclists by stringing piano wire across country lanes.
I quite like Matthew Parris whenever he's on the BBC TV series Grumpy Old Men, but [...]
Start the week as you mean to go on.
I trundled into work this morning on my bike, the first time in a week, and boy, did it feel good. The air was crisp, but not overly cold, and my legs felt strong. Everything seemed to come together traffic-wise as well: [...]
Remember my post about the unicycle I saw on my commute? Well, it seems unicyclists are also taking to the streets of Manhattan.
One word. Mad.
I know a lot of cyclists lust after bikes, but this story -- from tonight's thelondonpaper -- about a Scotsman, is simply ridiculous:
A man caught trying to have sex with his bicycle was given three years' probation and placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Robert Stewart, 51, was convicted of [...]
Tonight I saw a man commuting on a huge giant UNICYCLE!
It was dark and I got the fright of my life when I spied him coming around Spur Road, near Birdcage Walk. The route here is not very well lit and it was hard to make out this "thing" coming [...]
The last thing you'd expect a hardcore motoring show to promote is cycling, but that's what Top Gear did -- quite unintentionally -- in last night's episode screened on BBC2.
In a little stunt called "Race Across London" the three presenters and the show's infamous test driver "Stig" raced each other [...]
On this morning's route there were loads of policemen handing out leaflets to cyclists around the Hyde Park Corner area. I took one and shoved it in my pocket to read later.
Unfortunately, the leaflet isn't very clear and it could do with some proper sub-editing. (I'm an editor, so I'm [...]
Most people go to Manhattan for the shopping and the sight seeing. Me? I bite the bullet and go on a one-day cycle tour. Nothing like living dangerously, right?
Well, wrong actually. Cycling through Manhattan is nowhere near as dangerous or as scary as I thought [...]
After a couple of months of very little, if any, cycling I thought it was about time I got serious about this commuter caper and started riding on a more regular basis once again. I've noticed a distinct negative impact on my health and wellbeing recently -- lethargy, constant tiredness [...]
