World War Three And Other Stories

I spent a few days in London last week. I FINALLY got to ride my bike around the city. It quickly became apparent that all of Boris Johnson's hard work may be in vain. I found the city incredibly un-cycle friendly. Don't get me wrong: I had a blast riding through the busy streets, dodging buses, pedestrians, other cyclists, motorbikes and many other obstacles. It's the type of riding that I really enjoy. I must have gone through 50 red lights in three days. Cut up dozens of double decker buses. Shouted at many clueless tourists.

But the majority of people riding in London are not on brakeless track bikes and would probably prefer a more relaxed pace. There is so much going on on the roads that it is almost impossible to take a look around you and enjoy the sites and landmarks. It struck me that, for tourists at least, you can't beat taking to the pavements on foot. The recently launched bike hire scheme also seems too expensive and dangerous for the casual tourist, albeit a step in the right direction.

I am sure that in 15 years time the entire city centre and it's current congestion Zone area will be vehicle free. Only then will London be a truly great cycling city.

I managed to cover a lot of miles and a large part of the City, including a few places that I'd not been to before.

I rode over to see some friends at Jayne Doe tattoo studio too. It was a confusing journey to Essex, in which I got very lost several times, and managed to turn a 28mile round trip into a 40 mile, 2 hour epic voyage. But it was a fun ride nevertheless.