Bicycle Diaries – Dec ‘09

This morning, while cycling back from work, London had its first taste of freezing temperatures. In fact I got -2C on the bus’ thermometer. Not exactly the Arctic, but definitely nippy. And all the remaining puddles were frozen solid. Also took the cycle ride a bit slower this morning. You could feel the frost on any smooth surface and it was a little unnerving to say the least.

Now I am fully wrapped up when on the bike. The gloves have been on and off since October, the scarf on since November and now the hat is on, under the helmet to keep my bald palette warm. Need to start wearing thermal socks with my boots too! Also tightened the brake cables as I need to make sure I can stop the cycle in time. Roll on March and the promise of warmth and more daylight!

Bicycle Diaries (Autumn)

Shockingly, I have had this bicycle for over a year. And for eleven months, it has run pretty well. In fact, it is the longest lasting bike that I have ever owned. Now remember, I use my bicycle almost everyday. Not because I am some fitness freak (although there is an element of health to consider), but mainly due to convenience and expense. Petrol is shockingly expensive in the UK, and has risen to over a pound a litre (for anyone in the US, that is around $8 per gallon, for anyone in Europe, that is approx €1.40/l). As this week, I had to repair my bike instead of ride it, I have spent the best part of £20 on petrol, and that is not even driving everyday. This is not an expense I want to occur.

Secondly, the car is very unreliable in terms of traffic. Am I going to get somewhere? How long will it take? Will I get a parking space? All of these things must be taken into consideration. Despite the greater speed of a car, the distances that I am travelling means the time saving is not as much as I think. And I have to leave extra time to account for traffic. On a bicycle, the travelling time is pretty much static, dependent on how tired I am rather than how much traffic there is. Driving in London is an exercise in futility, especially in the daytime, where the time saved is negligible.

But this week, I have had to undertake some repairs. As you can see from the photo, the rear wheel is different from the front wheel . That is because, my back wheel buckled a few weeks ago, so I did a straight swap between my old bike wheel and current one. It is fine for now, although I will have to replace it come winter, otherwise I will skid on the frost.

Also, my saddle broke. This is quite embarrassing, but basically, I do not always cycle with my hands on the handlebar. Early mornings, late evenings, there is no traffic, and so with the roads to myself, I will wobble all over the place without balancing myself in the correct riding position. Great if coming off night duty, and hey, I look cool, but it is awful for the bike. Hence the buckled back wheel and the fact that I managed to shear through the half an inch thick of solid chrome that my saddle bar was made of.

I did go tot the cycle shop, but obviously they have not heard of the current rate of inflation. Like the rest of real world, inflation was not a few pounds increase, but a hundred pounds extra for exactly the same model. I was prepared to pay £200 for a bike (the amount I use it makes it worthwhile). But £300 was not even conceivable. So instead I bought a saddle post and clip and repaired the saddle myself. I will also have to spend cash on a new back wheel, bringing the current cost of repairs up to £90. Expensive, but considering this bike still has a lot of life left in it, and the amount of mileage I also get out of it, I hopefully will be able to get another good year’s worth of riding out of it, but there is no way in hell I will pay £300 for a bike.

Come on, this is London, and anything that expensive is going to get stolen before I even put the locks on.

But winter is coming, time to ready the bike for the last part of 2009…

Celebrating the Morning Commute

Britain is a great country, at east if the history books and the propaganda serves me correctly. But even if we look beyond that, this cold insignificant piece of rock in the North Atlantic has punched far above its weight in terms of global impact. Possibly its greatest export, the English language, is used today as the world’s main communication tool. We can also look at modern democratic government and laws, fair trials, modern urban living, industrialisation, the modern banking economy (actually now is not eh best time to celebrate that invention), the jet engine, computing, the internet, modern multiculturalism, music, theatre anything. The list is endless, and I am not a fan of this country (blame the crappy summer for my current feelings towards the UK).

Of course, did we use any of these wonderful traits, expressions of our nationality, to showcase ourselves at the closing ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic games? Of course not. Instead, we decided to celebrate the morning commute.

Oh dear, how pathetic. The best we could come up with was a bunch of miserable, damp faces staring at their newspapers/gossip rags on their way to a job which they despise and the only relief from their lifestyle is a Friday night at the pub pickling their liver.

We might as well slapped on an a snippet of Eastenders and called it ‘Life in the Olympic Zone’ such was the accuracy of London’s contribution to the closing ceremony.

Or was it? That is the saddest thing to ask ourselves. Was that closing ceremony an accurate description of all of us. Is that the highlight of our lives. The morning commute? As we settle down to another day in the office, many of us hurtling towards the end of our twenties, we have to ask ourselves, is this as good as it gets. When 2012 does come round, we would have suffered through four years of recession, four years of the same old tripe. And is the highlight of our lives Friday night in the pub. If so, how alcoholic are we.

These questions are not difficult, but I hate asking myself these questions everyday. I look at myself and I think, well, I am not exactly in a great position myself. At the same time, I am trying to become more than the sum of my parts, trying to push myself everyday (and that’s why I was sick for the last week or so). But I have always maintained, I remember twenty-four wild hours awake with more clarity than the best night’s sleep.

In four years time the world is going to see a city in freefall, struggling with the expense of the Olympic games. Most of us are going to be a part of this system, moaning, not happy with our lives, but still commuting every morning on the bus. But how many of us are going to say NO to this system?

All Sports on the Web!

One of the first people I met online was Walter who runs the great All Sports on the Web, a great site that reports on extreme sports, especially Ice Hockey. Before stumbling across this page, I did not a clue about the huge sports scene in Canada, but now, we are well educated on the subject of ‘Hockey’. Also, it’s just loads of fun!

You’ll see the link when you scroll down the page, or just click here!

All Sports on the Web! Home to Canada’s Iciest Sports