THE JOYS OF CYCLING

Since a year or two I’ve been cycling around London. Initially being put off by having to cycle on the left side of the road I decided to go with the flow and give cycling a go in the big smoke.
It took me about five minutes to get used to this new ‘traffic situation’ - it took me quite a bit longer to get used to all the helmets, reflecting bike wear, ultra modern city bikes and Japanese style gas masks passing me by every morning.

You see, I am a slow cyclist and see cycling as a way to get from A to B. Firstly because I don’t like to arrive at work sweating my arse off, but also considering the speed of some cyclists I’m wondering if racing is actually the safest way to go. Some call me a reckless cyclist for not wearing a helmet or a reflecting jacket, I just don’t believe all these things will make you less vulnerable in traffic. I therefore agree with the views of this commentator in the Independant.

On my trip everyday from Stoke Newington to Westminster I pretty much cross the whole of Central London. This trip is quite a pleasant one since you pretty much pass every nice sight of Central London – Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square admittedly are some very nice sights on a sunny morning.

Less pretty are the policemen waiting for cyclists at every corner of the street trying to find excuses to write a ticket for either cycling on the pavement or crossing a red traffic lift. True; it is quite annoying when someone almost (or actually does) run you over, but mostly these people are just trying to make their way through a traffic jam of cabs, busses, vans and the worst of them all – bendy busses.

Us cyclists also have to cope with some incompetent bus drivers, especially those on the 73 and 38 bendy busses who would rather push you off your bike than try to spot you in traffic. Even today I was almost squeezed in between on of those harmonicas in the middle of Essex Road, not a particularly pleasant experience. Does it really hurt to just look if someone is overtaking you at a bus stop?

What would help is for everyone to take cycling a bit more easy. Cyclists shouldn’t behave like they’re riding a Tour the France to work every morning and bus drivers should really be a bit more vigilant on the roads. What would also help is some more cycling lanes. The cycling chipmunk mayor of London should consider taking some action on this. So Boris, when are you going to do something about these cycling lanes that suddenly seem to end in the middle of the road? Might be worth throwing some money at decent cycling infrastructure rather than a sunday London cycling day.

Having said all of this though, if you realize that a couple of meters beneath you, every morning most of us are packed like sardines smelly and hot tube carriages, it is great to overtake that same 38 bus in the morning on Essex road knowing that you’re doing a very healthy work out and saving about a hundred quid every month. That is after all the equivalent of about 35 beers.

Still not quite there...

So after years of working, studying and traveling through Europe (with the occasional escape to America and Africa) I managed to stay in the same place for three years now. A miracle.
Having set up camp in London for a long time wasn't at all what I had in mind.
I couldn't wait to start a summer job in Paris after I had visited the city for the first time in my life. For some reason though I ended up working in the French alps for a couple of months.
When I moved to Berlin I was initially totally unimpressed with the city and was close to booking myself on a KLM flight back home after spending my first week there. Six months later I couldn't imagine myself leaving that place, but I had no choice. I still needed to finish my degree, and had to go to England to get some work experience.
After spending six months in London I told myself when I was sitting in the Eurostar back home that I would never go back. But here I am.

The above pretty much reflects the past 5 years in my life. I moved from place to place, worked for government institutions, as a barman in a club in the South of France, managed the marketing for a hotel in a forest in a remote Dutch village, was mountain sports instructor in the French alps (without any previous experience I must add) and ended up job hopping in London. In the meantime I finished a couple of degrees, dipped my toe in the dark waters of politics (and pulled my toe out of the water after a short period of time), but most importantly I've been 'on the road'.

This blog is mainly about my little trips here and there, my London life and everything I might find on my way on a daily basis. As you might have concluded from this introduction you might also find posts on here that don't match the above criteria, but hey, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

Niels