Sunday
7th April 19.97 miles in 1hr 49 mins. 10.9mph average
speed with 22.3 max on the Marin.
What
is it about these rides? Is it that they
really are a pootle? No particular mileage to be covered. No real destination until someone at the
start comes up with an idea? Cycling at conversational pace towards a nearby
location for coffees and a chat? And in
fine company?
Today
was no exception. Except one thing. A
friend of mine arrived on his "Is it a Bird? Is it a Bike?" "No.
It's a Velomobile." This is really
a recumbent trike in a carbon fibre shell.
It looks like something out of The Wacky Races. (If you are under 28 years
old you may have to google that! The Hanna Barbera version). It goes like a
rocket with very little effort and supersonically so once its owner gets going. Unbelievable.
It
also causes a bit of a stare. Members of
the public come up and ask to take photos and questions. It's
more of a Velo Celebe than a Velomobeel!
Once
autographs had been metaphorically signed (by the VM not by the owner) we
decided to head towards Borough. Even on the move people stare. There was a particularly classic moment when
a chap was about to take a photo of his girlfriend who had struck a pose in
front of Buckingham Palace. As the
Velomobeel went by the lens left the girlfriend and followed the wheels
instead!
Down
Birdcage Walk, Parliament Square and onto the Embankment. Cycling in London on a sunny Sunday is a joy.
Total joy. Along to Blackfriars Bridge
and onto Borough. Down to a cafe in Burgess Park, Camberwell. It was a reality check against Look Mum No
Hands which quite frankly has fallen into the outrageous pricing category.
Coffees
and catchups with a few more Velomobeel moments and we were off to
Peckham. TJ Alexander was in charge,
apparently he wasn't sure of the route but of course I didn't care. We were on
our bikes. We found our way to another
cafe, this one on Peckham Common. Excellent food and drinks. The VM and Andy
headed for home whilst TJ and I sat in the sunshine putting the world to rights
(metaphorically speaking at least!)
We
headed North and went our separate ways. Over 100 miles cycled in a weekend. That will do for me! I love riding my bike!
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