Star Date 68 15.12
miles, average speed 8.8 in 1hr56; laughs - too many to count. 15
fabulous miles with friends - also known as London Hybrid Rides.
A few months ago, a couple of friends who
live in Brighton and I thought it might be fun to play host to each other in
our respective cities. We could then show and share our favourite spots, cafes,
routes and give a sort of insider tour of our neighbourhoods. The only rule is that there is no rule - the
host has a vague plan as a sort of default but it can all change on the day the
moment someone wants to cycle somewhere else (although Birmingham isn't an
option - yet!). The only reason there is
a plan is to avoid standing on the side of the road saying "where shall we
go?"!
Today's
tour started at Victoria station from which a beeline was made to breakfast at
Look Mum No Hands in Old Street just north of The City. They do a very good breakfast and are totally
bicycle-friendly (but bring locks).
On
the way there as we weaved our way through quiet streets we found ourselves
stopping every so often for a photo or just to have a look at a building or a
view.
We took in Westminster Abbey and the Houses of
Parliament before heading down to the Embankment which has a cycle lane along
it (in part). The sky was grey and St
Pauls was barely visible in low cloud. It was cold but it didn't rain.
I got
lost a couple of times but the great thing about being a guide
is that noone notices when you actually get lost! (Or rather nobody cares - it's a bike ride!) Once at
Smithfields Market we were back on track and at Look Mum No Hands. With the bicycles locked up we sat down to
Brunch. As is de-rigeur the first thing
we all did was to take photographs and post our location and status on Facebook
and Twitter!
Half
way through scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast we were joined by another
friend. Two hours later we were still there, eating, chatting and generally
having a good time. A geeky techno moment occured as we turned our table into a Carphone Warehouse store comparing Iphones, Samsungs and
Blackberrys. The Blackberry lost on several counts - not
least because it was unable to connect to the wifi during the entire time we
were there! Whatever the topic of conversation, we all found ourselves laughing loudly and very frequently. True friends are worth their weight in gold and carbon!
Eventually
we managed to tear ourselves away and headed west. For some reason the Brigtonians wanted to see
Hyde Park so they could compare it with my photos...! Into
Trafalgar Square where there was an International Womens' Day March. A reminder of how things have changed thanks to the stoic
and humbling efforts of women in the past.
We
cycled through Admiralty Arch which is always special and as we made our way
along the Mall, Sahar spotted a friend of hers who had come up for the
march. Timing really is everything.
We
stopped for a Hello before making our way to Buckingham Palace (as you do)!
Along
Constitution Hill from where we popped into a shop to have a look at a spinning
bike. This is no ordinary bike. It is
the Tour de France bike and has been designed to enact every inch of the Tour
de France - it has hydraulics so that it can put you in the actual position of
any part of the route matching the exact ascent or descent. Amazing.
Time
had flown by and we were thinking of food again! Hungry in Knightsbridge is expensive so we
popped along to South Kensington where the eaterie options are plentiful and
not quite so pricey. After a recce of
about eight restaurants we settled on Le Pain Quotidien where we ate hot soup, followed
by salmon with couscous and roasted vegetables.
Real food, healthy, freshly prepared and delicious. Topped off with carrot cake or in my case
Apple Crumble and an enormous pot of clotted cream! Calorie ratio intake:burnt not ideal. The day however had been fantastic.
As a
footnote, these rides are a real opportunity to discover your own manor. You see sights and streets that you that you have noticed before -a great way to share it with friends and to
spend time in fine company with a bit of a bike ride. Bring locks, puncture repair kits, a spare
tube, pump and lights. (see basic kit). But they are definitely days to
remember.
