My (not so) new love and our escapades ;)

London has a fantastic public transport system. Once you learn how to use it, you can plan your travel fairly accurately. The underground and its call to 'MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND The Gap!' is legendary and the buses are not far behind either. Many bus stops have boards that display which bus is due next and the time it is expected to take. But the tubes can sometimes be stuffy and it is an awkward journey when you're stuck amid people who are ALWAYS in a rush, who will not smile or indulge in petty conversations. Besides being expensive, the tubes also have another downside. I've spent about 2 and a half years in this place now and I'm ashamed to confess that I can hardly recognize places. I know the tube map pretty well and  have no problems getting from point A to B but I just don't know how these places look on the outside! That's a shame considering how rich the architecture and heritage is and how much there is to see out here. The buses give you the opportunity to get to know the city better but if you'd really like to know the city intimately, there is no alternative to cycling. 

While I like leading an active life, I'm hardly the sporty type who can run a marathon or cycle across town in a heartbeat. Was it worth investing in a bike I wondered? Especially since I'd heard that bikes in London get stolen very easily. It was a culture shock when I heard that bit for the first time. My reasoning of course was quite simplistic. I had imagined that things like bikes could get stolen only in places like India not in supposedly 'developed' countries like the UK! I wondered why people would bother stealing bikes when they could steal cars instead.  LOL. Another factor that I had to really think long and hard about is that while it is definitely safer to cycle on London roads than Indian ones, London is not as cycle-friendly as perhaps a Berlin or Paris. Well, I decided to take the plunge anyway! I shopped around for a bike that I would feel good about. I found one that is so me! It arrived in a box but it had to be partially assembled. I hadn't a clue how to go about it! 

In stepped my rock star friends Ana and her husband Rodrigo. They, btw are the sporty types who have run a marathon and they also cycle everywhere they want to go. So while Ana and I busied ourselves preparing a nice dinner, Rodrigo, the bike enthusiast fixed the bike for me in no time! I was dying to try it but my maiden voyage had to wait a few days until it stopped raining! Yes I know it is London and it is always windy and rainy but I wasn't going to let the rain soil my lovely new bike on its very first ride now, was I ? So I waited and in a couple of days was able to take it for a short spin. Visited a friend and her baby. On my very first ride, as I stood at a traffic signal beside a bus, the bus driver looked at me and my bike, gave me a broad smile and a thumbs up sign. I was as pleased as Punch! I wish I could say though that all bus drivers were as friendly but I'm afraid I've also encountered absolute jackasses on the road. One of them even sped up so he could run over my bag which fell on the road. The bag had books, my lunch box, my wallet and even my camera. Even the passersby stopped to ask me if I was okay and comment on how nasty the driver was and how deliberate the act was. I was just happy to be alive and was also thrilled to discover that the camera was safe. The bag itself was beyond redemption though. 

Once I had gotten the hang of riding a bike with gears, I ventured further and further and made some pretty startling discoveries. I found that cycling to Richmond and Kew gardens took me only about half an hour while the bus took almost 50 minutes or so. I also discovered that I could travel in a straight line right from Hammersmith to Strand. I was amazed that it was just one straight road that passed by Earl's Court, Victoria and Albert Museum, Hyde Park, Leicester square and even Covent Garden. It never seemed that way when I took the bus! It has been lovely so far. I still try and avoid peak hours because i would like cycling to be pleasurable instead of stressful. I've taken my baby to some interesting events. One was a free bike registration event sponsored by TFL where the Police registered the bike frame number and other details. The idea is that bike theft is significantly under-reported and even if recovered, the Police usually have no way of finding the rightful owner. It was a very helpful event. They got cyclists like me to mount the driver seat in a MASSIVE truck so we could see the blind spots for ourselves. Very very useful! If you have a bike in London, I'd recommend that you register. See this website for more details. http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Cycle-marking-events/1400005859885/1400005859885. I also signed up for a Bike Maintenance course, again sponsored by the local council. The workshop was pretty hands-on. We were asked to bring our bikes along and we tinkered with it and learned really basic stuff like how to remove a wheel, fix a puncture, adjust and align brakes etc. There were only 4 people in the workshop so we had plenty of time to ask questions too. So if you have a bike in London, look up your council's website and you're sure to find such offers. Here are a few pictures from the workshop where my friend and I had a blast despite my focused face pictures where I look dead serious. It was also pretty cool that the mechanic was a woman ;) I also made sure I learned how to lock both wheels and the frame to the stand. I was tempted to buy a chain that would be long enough to go through the basket too. But that would be a bit much! So my (now not so) new love and I are trying to make the best of the London's "Summer". Wish us luck!