Out and about in London #6: Cycling to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Today was the culmination of a long-held cycling dream: cycling from our home in south-east London to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, via the Mall and Buckingham Palace. Before returning home we had a park-based lunch complete with sunshine and grassy reading time. It was a 20 mile (32km) or so journey, we were out for about 5 hours, and I loved every minute of it.

The journey was aided by Mr Bite planning our route around cycle paths and on road but cyclist friendly cycle routes. We had a few busy stretches but they were minimal (getting on and off bridges to cross the Thames were the most trying sections). We had our first experience of London's 'cycle superhighways' and also benefited from the closure of some central London roads to Sunday traffic.

A traffic-free Mall, approaching Buckingham Palace

Tweet

Cycling in London

Before we moved to London, we thought cycling would be a useful way to offset the adjustment to life without a car. Then we watched a few too many episodes of 24 Hours in A&E with severely injured cyclists, and, subsequently, moved over and realised that many 'cycle lanes' in London leave a bit to be desired. If you're lucky, you share a lane with buses. Quite often, cycle routes are just regular roads with no cycle path at all, but designated as part of a cycle network.

My bike came across in our shipment, so for our first few months in London I couldn't have cycled even if I'd wanted to. We did a lot of walking. Supermarket trips were limited to what we could carry in backpacks and with our hands, and if we wanted to visit somewhere more than 4 miles away, we had to figure out a public transport route to get there. Home delivery was incredibly useful for heavy objects.

A typical bike lane

Tweet

Fitness Fridays - getting back into cycling, and heading off for another half marathon

With our shipment arriving last month, I was reunited with my bike and able to add cycling to my mix of gym-free activities. I was concerned my bike would need to go back into storage as it would be hard to fit in our flat, but fortunately we've hit upon a solution with locking it and covering it in our shared front courtyard. It takes me about 5 minutes to take the cover off and undo the two locks, but at least I can use it!

Clearly an Australian bike photo...

I haven't used my bike much for serious exercise, but I am now cycling to work 3 times a week. When I wrote my August post about giving up a gym membership, I was running 4 times per week and considering going up to 5 times. That mix included a run home from work once per week. That was a novelty at first, but I will confess to getting tired of it quite soon. I am really not an evening / after work exerciser...

I did end up increasing my running to 5 days per week in the lead up to my Ealing half marathon in September. However, I found the higher mileage sparked some niggling pains and also running fatigue. My bike arrived the week after that race, so it was a good time to re-think exercise routines.

Tweet

Fitness Fridays - Cycling into the new year (plus blog house keeping and the winner of the Paul's warehouse voucher)

Last year, I started 2013 with a leisurely 25km bike ride. As I wrote about at the time, it was a lovely way to bring in a new year. So lovely, in fact, that I decided to repeat the experience to welcome in 2014.

I left home a little later this year than last (7.30am instead of 6.30am), which means I saw more people on my outing and didn't quite have cycle paths to myself. However, the sunshine was equally sparkling and the scenes I passed were equally beautiful.

Scarborough beach cycle path, ~8am

Tweet

Fitness Fridays - A New Year's Day bike ride

I have mentioned before that I prefer sleep to partying on New Year's Eve (or any eve, for that matter). One consequence of this is that I can start the first day of the year relatively early, if I so choose, and happily refreshed, at least in theory.

I apologise for phone quality photos throughout

This year, we returned from Dunsborough on New Year's Eve, which meant that the 1st of January was the first day in a while that I'd had access to more than my feet for exercise. Fond as I am of my feet, and the running they allow me to do, I like variety in my activity too. Cycling was looking appealing.

At 6.30am on the 1st January, I headed out on my bike.

I cycled to the coastline, where the sunshine would suggest 10am instead of 7am.

I cycled along cycle paths, which I had mostly to myself.

I cycled through trees, welcoming their shade.

And as I cycled, I felt such joy.

Joy at the process of movement.

Joy at the early morning light that twinkled and sparkled even as it made me hot.

Joy at being able to cycle 25km and enjoy every minute of it.

And most of all, joy at the sense of possibility that comes from being on a bike, half way across your city, on the first morning of the first day of a new year.

That morning captured so much of what I love about exercise. It is a heady combination of freedom, movement, beauty, challenge, and possibility. And I love it.

What is exercise for you?
And more generally, what joyous things are happening in your life at the moment?

Tweet

Fortnightly Fitness Fridays - Cycling fun

A month or so ago, I mentioned that I wanted to consolidate my outdoor cycling efforts and also use my bike for trips to the fruit and vegetable market I visit each Sunday. Unexpectedly, a number of you commented with helpful advice on bike carrier / pannier options - for which I am very grateful. It sounds like panniers are definitely a good buy if you're looking at a purchase in this area.

After that post, I got myself into gear and looked into panniers. I looked online. I looked in stores. I found some great options. However, in the end I was a little daunted by the price!

It would have been about $100 for the rack and pannier bags. That isn't a huge amount of money, and if I was cycling daily it would be easily justified. However, for short trips that may only occur once per week, it seemed a little too much for my needs.

So, instead I bought a detachable basket for the grand total of $25.

Panniers would have given me more carrying space, and a better balanced load, but there is something quite quaint about having a basket and I'm liking it very much. 

It's not a perfect carrying system and I've found that the best approach is to use the basket for produce that might get squashed, and then put heavier items (carrots, potatoes, apples...) in my backpack or messenger bag. I do like that the basket slides on and off, and that it's large enough to fit a reasonable amount.

I also like, in fact love, the experience of cycling to the markets, buying produce, and then cycling home again with my basket. It just feels good.

It feels good to cycle instead of drive. To avoid the hassle of finding a parking spot, use less fuel, and feel the wind on my face as I zip along on the bike (or crawl along, on the homeward stretch that involves an uphill component...).

It feels good to abandon all efforts at appearance, something that I find surprisingly (perhaps scarily!) easy to justify when I need to wear a bike helmet and be dressed to cycle. My hair gets to be a little wild. My outfit gets to be entirely casual. Definitely no make up.

It just feels good.

It may be the best $25 I've spent this year.

Do you use your bike for transport or carrying purchases? 
Or do you have any other simple activities that give you enjoyment?

Tweet

Work transport

I feel incredibly lucky that both of my current workplaces are close to home. One of them, where I'm based two days a week, is a 10 minute easy walk, door to door, including any waiting time for crossing roads. I suspect I'll never have such a good set up again!

My other workplace is a 10 - 15 minute drive, or perhaps twice that in peak hour traffic. It's also a 20 minute (ish) cycle ride. On one of the three days I'm there, I try to cycle. Which means that on my way home, instead of a view like the following:

I get scenery like this:

                          

The question, really, is why I don't do it on more days. I really feel incredibly lucky whenever I make the ride, particularly in the morning when it's calm, quiet, the temperature is cool (it's been summer here after all...) and incredibly beautiful.

One of the reasons I don't cycle on all three of the days in question is that sometimes I need a car to go to meetings off site. This is usually just once per week though. I think the other reasons are almost laziness - the challenges of squeezing clothes, towel, lunch, and work requirements into a backpack. I usually cycle in early, consistent with my normal morning routine of heading to the gym from 6am - 7am (the gym, incidentally, is at the workplace in question, which is a university).

Instead of getting to the gym at 6am, I leave home on my bike at 6am, and then do a shorter and more weights-focused workout. I'm at my desk by about 7.45am.
.

I think I might set myself a challenge of cycling twice a week some weeks - perhaps just once a month at first. There are lots of pros, and not too many cons. And given that before long we'll be into winter, and I'll be put off by the rain and/or cold instead of the heat, now is the time to start!

Tweet