Soggy

Well for the first time since hanging up my travelcard, I rode in torrential rain. Not just rain that requires a light showerproof jacket but full whack leggings, winter lined waterproof and full finger gloves.



For those of you who haven't tried cycling London in the rain yet, the puddles seem to have a silly amount of grit in. Hence, covering all available skin is a Very Good Idea. Another Very Good Idea would be shoe covers....



I always thought that they looked a bit daft and also a bit fiddly to use, so have avoided them, despite riding miles in pouring rain in Afan Argoed (aka off-road heaven). However, I saw a lot of them on the roads this morning and maybe the people wearing them have got something... I had little rivers between my toes for the last two miles this morning. If my shoes are as wet as they are now, 3 1/2 hours after arriving, by the time I ride home tonight, I may be investing in some shortly.

The other difficulty with cycling in heavy rain is that the white lines that mark bus lanes and are an excellent place to ride in absence of cycle-specific lanes become VERY slippery. This means that it took me about 5 minutes longer to get in this morning. Compared to the delays that flooding causes to the TfL system, I know which I prefer.

I am also expecting to be featured in a letter to the free press at some point this week. When will pedestrians realise that bikes CANNOT BRAKE LIKE CARS? This is even more true in wet weather. My victim this morning stepped into the cycle lane without looking, I swerved (braking would have either not been short enough or sent me over the handlebars) and I happened to swerve in a rather large puddle and spray her from top to toe.

Up and running

So... scores on the doors...

52.2 miles ridden
24.70 GBP saved
2,500 calories burned

I have also established some rules...

I only ride zones 1 - 4. Further than that I take alternative transport
I only leave my bike overnight either in my flat or the office secure car park

Most importantly, I have learned some key lessons:

• Do not sit on white sofa with red chain lube in pocket (thank heaven for IKEA washable sofa covers)
• Stupid people are the most dangerous... specifically novice cyclists in baby pink kit and silly little rich girls on scooters who don't need a licence but capable of doing a lot more damage than other cycles
• Put chain lube on bike BEFORE affixing panniers - otherwise can't lift it and more ends up on me than chain
• GPS is remarkably sturdy, but would be better to make sure is in holder rather than let it fly off into middle of road too many times
• I may feel like Nicole Cooke with panniers, but cars can still accelerate faster

Coaching fencing

Well in my excitement about aspiring to abandon public transport, I sort of forgot about the small matter that my career as a fencing coach is about to get underway in September.

The club in question is Streatham Fencing Club (no knife crime jokes please) which happens to a) be my local club (even though I have never actually been there) and b) has a coaching team headed up by one Mr Coton. Mr who? Mr Coton, my fencing coach from school in Hertfordshire.

Roger, a kindly gentleman who seems to be important (club president I believe), called me today to tell me more about the club, its structure and what I could be doing. It looks like that I will be taking some footwork warmup (it appeals to the sadistic streak in me). In addition, I will be teaching groups of new sabre fencers (swishy weapon hitting with blade edge) who have learnt the rudiments in foil (fiddly wobbly blade hitting with the point) and require conversion. I will also be able to give some one on one coaching to some intermediate students. Well, this is all terribly exciting and I have lesson plans and stuff to write... only one issue... swords on a bike.

The friendly people on the fencing forum have provided me with some ideas. These include wearing a sword bag across myself, which look something like this:

Arguably an option, but I am a little concerned about the balance and also increasing my width - sneaking through between buses could go a bit wrong.

The other alternative is something called a freerunner, a preferred option of motorcyclists. It is modelled here... I suspect they wear it pointing the other way up. However, as good value as Leon Paul kit is (love you Barry) it is quite expensive when I already have a kit bag as it is. My current kit bag is a wheelie one... maybe I'm putting myself up as a guinea pig to trial a trailer... maybe not...

Meanwhile... Amazon order (satnav) dispatched, JEJames (panniers) dispatched... APT-Day approaches

PS Other fencing suppliers do exist...

Panniers and Return On Investment

***Panniers***

Ah.... panniers....how hard can it be?

Well the answer turned out... a lot more complex than I was expecting. Quick release, straps, buckles, the wretched rack I don't have that they need to attach to. Reviews told me that the cheap stuff falls apart and that the expensive stuff is "reliable, but you don't have to spend that much..." Can I find the implied middle ground? No I can't. Plus, once I have seen something at a low price, I take on a mildly obsessive mission to find a decent branded version for the same price...

At which point, from the smoke of Rotherham comes rising J E James - a bike shop with an online offering that has the worst search functionality I have ever come across. What it DOES have is a rather good sale on Altura panniers... specifically these ones for exactly the same price as Halford's own label ones. It says it is offering a tenner off the RRP, but as I didn't find them anywhere else for under forty pounds, I feel like I got a sizeable saving...

***Return on Investment***

So, having taken advantage of credit crunch sales, what will be the ROI when this stuff finally appears? Well, my Monday night on www.tfl.gov.uk proved several things...

It is "all or nothing". Because my overland trains don't take PAYG, if I don't have a travelcard, I either cycle or spend a LONG time on buses. In rush hour. Which, ironically, is when buses are at their slowest. So, in response to the comment from one of my avid readers (all 3 of them at last count)... should there be rain in London, yes I will be cycling in it.

Other cycling bloggers keep a spreadsheet blah blah... I think that is a bit excessive. In terms of payback, I reckon it should be 4 weeks (still depending on a rack which needs to magic its way up from somewhere...) Normal monthly outgoings - 166.72, investment on extra bike gear not including stupid rack 129.97... added to the guarantee of a seat wherever I go!!

However, as my dearly beloved lives in Surrey, I will have to retain a PAYG for when I go to visit him. This is because, despite being assured that I can park my bike at Victoria Station, I am cynical as to the state of it when I get back, so the garage at the office is probably my preferred option.

Estimated timing to the abandonment of my travelcard?? Amazon are rubbish, still yet to despatch, panniers are currently in transit. Fingers crossed it will not require renewing on Monday...

Getting my BoJo - without getting lost

So BoJo says that too many people are not riding bikes they have access to. And golly, you know what? He is right. In my case, definitely right


I like being on a bike. I like it so much that 2 years ago I rode the Anti-Atlas, last year the Rockies and May a 24 hour off-road team relay. Some of that training involved a trusty hybrid (Spec Globe, love it) to and from the office, and I felt much the fitter and leaner for it. However, since changing jobs a whopping two months ago, I haven't been on a bike... I'm fat, spending a fortune on public transport, I even stroke my hybrid on my way in and out of my flat... so what has been stopping me? None of this "is it safe" or "are there cycle lanes" nonsense, but some far more prosaic things I needed to find out:

• The way - I have NO sense of direction. My previous commute involved only 3 turns in a 7 mile ride and I only had an 80% rate of getting that right



• Whether there were showers/hairdryers etc.etc. - for what will be a ~9 mile ride each way, I expect to get a little hot under the collar...



• What to do if I went out on an evening... my old job didn't lend itself to the greatest work/life balance, so I only ever needed to worry about getting to and from the office (see above point about having NO sense of direction)



• What to carry my stuff in - I used to have a brilliant ergonomic backpack thing that fitted my laptop and an array of everything else. However, it belonged to my previous employer and they wanted it back.
  


• What would have to be carried and what could be left behind in the office.



• How to manage the Oyster/bike balance... my new job requires me to get overland trains and they don't use Oyster PAYG yet.

Admittedly, some of those have been easy to find out. Yes there are showers/hairdryers, there is a secure garage to lock my bike, there is a wardrobe for stuff... so I am just left with...

NO sense of direction, how to carry stuff and what to do about Oyster.

A bizarre thing about bikes is that they are not sold like cars. They do not come with a rack to put stuff on, lock, lights etc. They are sold like a stripped down chassis that you need to add things onto to make it the vehicle you need. Lights and lock I already have, but to gear it up further, I needed to do some severe shopping around...

1. SatNav... I can't function on a bike without either following someone or stopping at every corner to check the map.
   


2. Panniers - apparently better for your back and I have had on/off back problems for the best part of 5 years. (Also a pannier rack so that I can attach the panniers)

So.... as I can't operate without direction, first priority was the SatNav. Well, with retailers taking a bath at the moment, I was hoping for some reasonable bargains. As it turned out, they are plentiful at the moment - if you have a car. My goal was under £100 but still reliable, which last year wasn't an option... whaddya know? Garmin is selling their well-rated Nuvi 200 for £89.99 vs a previous price of £139.99.

Bike-specific satnavs seem to remain niche elite and I could only find very sexy ones for £300+. Now, I am sure they are worth all the random stuff they do, but not to just stop me getting lost in London. However, it is about being resourceful, so why not use a car one on a bike? If you already have USB cables, you can charge the Nuvi 200 without a car for 4 hours use. Additionally, my dearly beloved offered to "customise" it (ie mount it on a Jubilee clip to screw onto the handlebars) I decided I was all set. Imagine my excitement when the friendly chap at Halford's overheard this conversation and informed me I could get a handlebar mount for it... So, subject to Amazon's delivery times (I'm tight so went for the slower, free option) my lack of direction will soon be a thing of the past. And, in that time, I have more shopping around to do for panniers (and just to reiterate - a rack - why sell a "commuting bike" without one? Specialized, are you listening???)

As for Oyster... some time on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ may be required... That's my Monday evening planned