Mice Log Star Day 50

Feb 19 2013. What a day to be out with friends for a bicycle ride! Woop Woop!  Miles 21, Average speed 9.9, top 22.5 in 2hrs 7. An absolute treat of a day!

The weather covered two seasons in an hour. At 8am the forecast said 3 degrees but by the time I left for Camden at 9.15 the temperature was rising.  I cycled to Knightsbridge and onto Hyde Park's South Carriageway where I found my very first daffodils.  A cyclist duly coordinated the image as, in a yellow jacket, he whizzed along Rotten Row. 

My choice of outfit for the day was black ankle boots and lycra leggings with a dress over the top.
 
I say (and show) this because..... as I headed up the cycle path in Hyde Park the army were out for a run - in their camouflage kit.  As the first two went by one of them called out to me "Great legs"!

How fab was that? I grinned all the way to Camden! Even when I stopped to take a couple of pics on the way I was still grinning!  (Feel free to disagree, Im not convinced at all but it was a mighty fine moment to have them described in such a way!)

Arriving in Camden at 9.40 I noticed how little traffic there was and wished for a solution to the school run - it's Half Term this week.  Wouldn't it be great if walking and cycling were the way forward! How to make cycling a part of life rather than apart in life. There has to be a slogan in there somewhere.

A couple of hours later I headed to the City for a lunchtime ride with people I normally only ever cycle with in the dark.  Unfortunately, even in broad sunshine I lost my bearings completely, was inadvertently on my way to Finsbury, D'oh! On the N7 a lorry driver laughed out loud as he shouted and pointed directly behind me "The City is that way"!  

Luckily I made it to The Pudding Lane Rendez Vous, in time where I found some familiar faces but clearly in disguise. They were in civvies - and our host was in a suit!!   Practically the only person in Lycra - was me!!  I was definitely the only one in heels!

So this was it! The inaugural ride The inaugural ride initiated by a friend who was keen to cycle away from his keyboard in his lunch hour for a pootle and fresh air with fellow cyclists. 

One of them was none other than His DZship.  Founder of The Fridays the Fridays and one half of probably the greatest cycling duos I have ever known and who I am lucky enough to call friends.  Of the eight of us, six were on Bromptons.  There were some eyebrow raising impersonations that I wasn't on my Brommie.  I explained I was on my work bike!

  

I dont actually know where we went. Down  little lanes one of which was called Brick, we looked at empty spaces where buildings had once been and we popped into a church which I hope DZ will take us all back to another time.   

It was not the longest ride I have ever been on but it was quality!  45 minutes later the group headed back to their desks, Rebecca Olds and I headed for a Burrito (a new word in my vocabulary) Bar and then we went our separate ways.  

On the way home I did a couple of laps of St James's Park which was very pretty.  

I reflected on how much fun a 45 minute pootle in the City had been and hope we can all do it again. 


What to wear

Today I wore heels (rubber wedged ankle boots) lycra leggings and a dress under a gilet and a Gore Oxygen jacket which really maintains my body temperature without making me bake or freeze.