The Sultry Streets of London

The weather is supposed to be getting colder but seems to be weirdly holding the warmth in a way that makes it difficult to know what to wear every morning. Do you wrap up for October, or try for what you were wearing in August? It means the roads are still full of the cyclists who will give up when it gets too cold or wet, like this guy. (If you’re finding it hard to plough through his lengthy description of himself then jump straight to the fifth paragraph).

It also means that there are still cyclists out there giving deep glances to unsuspecting ladies in North West London. By February those glances will be replaced with desperate stares out of a frozen face, or the waterfall of rain coming from your helmet, but for now the glances, the flirting and the dating "novellas" will carry on.

All of this love on bikes might be a bit distracting, so it’s important to make sure your cycling skills are up to scratch. I’ve heard a bit about cycle training in London and it’s always intrigued me in the way that hearing of learning to do something I find natural is interesting. I find it hard to imagine what they teach. Although, obviously I can come up with several examples of people who would find it useful from every ride to or from work as cyclists wobble around and seem unaware of what’s going on around them. It should be learned when you’re little, although London doesn’t have the facilities that we saw in San Francisco. There they have training areas marked out with practice road markings for children to learn the rules and skills they’ll need when they venture out onto the steep streets of the city, as you can see here:

This is brilliant and should be encouraged in other places, including here.

Ultimately, in my ideal world, the cycle training will make you ride along the lines of Danny MacAskill’s new video for VW. In which case, sign me up.

Happy Halloween

A