I now have a bike! Not my bike Simon, who I would be nervous about leaving alone on a dark London street, and in any case is not well suited to commuting with his alarming clip-in pedals. I have been gifted a bike by a very generous friend following a house clearance, and since last week I have cycled to work every day but two. I have always been extremely nervous about cycling in London, partly because as a pedestrian it's terrifying to watch the cyclists and buses perform their fatal weaving dance, but mostly because it IS terrifying.
On my very first commute I chose to cross the river over Waterloo Bridge, because that was the most direct route. This turned out to be a big mistake. I wasn't familiar with the road layout or the cycle lanes, and found myself caught on the inside of the IMAX roundabout gong right when I needed to turn left onto the bridge. However, I made it across eventually a little shakily and since then I have been using Vauxhall Bridge. Now my commute takes me to the river on a beautifully safe cycle superhighway which leads me all the way through Oval, past MI6 and across the bridge, where I check to see if the London Eye is still there on the South Bank. Then I am swept all the way through Westminster, past Big Ben and parliament, Downing Street, and the Cenotaph on Whitehall, up round Trafalgar Square onto Charing Cross Road, past the one of best bookshops in the world, Foyles, and much more importantly, the Leaky Cauldron, through a bit of Soho, and eventually round the back of the British Museum to my workplace.
It's absolutely exhilarating. Where else could I find such an interesting commute? These are the things that happened to me this week:
- I went past Westminster whilst the (very long) meeting was taking place in which Jeremy Corbyn successfully defended his right to have his name included in the ballot for the Labour leadership elections.
- I cycled past Downing Street on the day David Cameron moved house, and at the very moment that the now-Prime Minister Theresa May was leaving her new house to go and meet the Queen. (I have been in London for two years and the Queen has not met me yet.)
- I was knocked off my bike this morning by someone reversing their car (thankfully slowly) whilst I was behind it. I banged on the back window loudly to let the driver know I was there just before I fell down, and she was very frightened when she got out. I was a bit shaky but completely unhurt, and I hope that that was the worst thing that ever happens to me on a bike.
- I attended a talk by Caroline Lucas, Vince Cable, Clive Lewis and others on the idea of a Progressive Alliance. Since Caroline Lucas is a member of the Green Party I felt it best to cycle there, and I managed to navigate with only one wrong turn: quite a success for me since I find London's winding streets a little confusing sometimes.
- I saw a drag queen fabulously dressed as a geisha outside the Vauxhall Tavern at six in the evening.
- My quads have become suddenly stronger almost without me noticing, and I accidentally climbed too many staircases today at work because I was waiting for the leg fatigue to tell me which floor I had reached rather than the numbers on the signs.
And that's all in a week! May my commutes be ever interesting, in a safe and controlled manner.
On my very first commute I chose to cross the river over Waterloo Bridge, because that was the most direct route. This turned out to be a big mistake. I wasn't familiar with the road layout or the cycle lanes, and found myself caught on the inside of the IMAX roundabout gong right when I needed to turn left onto the bridge. However, I made it across eventually a little shakily and since then I have been using Vauxhall Bridge. Now my commute takes me to the river on a beautifully safe cycle superhighway which leads me all the way through Oval, past MI6 and across the bridge, where I check to see if the London Eye is still there on the South Bank. Then I am swept all the way through Westminster, past Big Ben and parliament, Downing Street, and the Cenotaph on Whitehall, up round Trafalgar Square onto Charing Cross Road, past the one of best bookshops in the world, Foyles, and much more importantly, the Leaky Cauldron, through a bit of Soho, and eventually round the back of the British Museum to my workplace.
It's absolutely exhilarating. Where else could I find such an interesting commute? These are the things that happened to me this week:
- I went past Westminster whilst the (very long) meeting was taking place in which Jeremy Corbyn successfully defended his right to have his name included in the ballot for the Labour leadership elections.
- I cycled past Downing Street on the day David Cameron moved house, and at the very moment that the now-Prime Minister Theresa May was leaving her new house to go and meet the Queen. (I have been in London for two years and the Queen has not met me yet.)
- I was knocked off my bike this morning by someone reversing their car (thankfully slowly) whilst I was behind it. I banged on the back window loudly to let the driver know I was there just before I fell down, and she was very frightened when she got out. I was a bit shaky but completely unhurt, and I hope that that was the worst thing that ever happens to me on a bike.
- I attended a talk by Caroline Lucas, Vince Cable, Clive Lewis and others on the idea of a Progressive Alliance. Since Caroline Lucas is a member of the Green Party I felt it best to cycle there, and I managed to navigate with only one wrong turn: quite a success for me since I find London's winding streets a little confusing sometimes.
- I saw a drag queen fabulously dressed as a geisha outside the Vauxhall Tavern at six in the evening.
- My quads have become suddenly stronger almost without me noticing, and I accidentally climbed too many staircases today at work because I was waiting for the leg fatigue to tell me which floor I had reached rather than the numbers on the signs.
And that's all in a week! May my commutes be ever interesting, in a safe and controlled manner.
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