Foreign Climes

Recently I had occasion to enter a whole new world of London cycling.

I ventured over a bridge and found myself in South London which seems to be a land of contradictory signposts, scary roads and a large number of other cyclists. I found myself mixing it up on wide bus lanes, always aware of taxis and busses bearing down on me, and holding my breath as I looped round large, busy roundabouts. I also swore a lot at roads that refused to let me turn right and my lack of knowledge of where I actually was most of the time.

My situation was probably not helped by attempting to reply on a memory of a map I’d looked at before I set off, rather than actually using the map to find my way. Still it worked out reasonably well and I neither died, nor got too lost (both of which may have been down to a certain amount of luck).

Heading home again was another world altogether. I was riding again on the wide open roads, often with several lanes of taxis all around me, but this time in the dark. There was an element of excitement to swooping past London landmarks at night even if my attention was mainly focussed on the traffic, rather than sightseeing. Making my way into The City is intimidating at the best of times, as the narrow streets and high buildings make it tough to navigate, but it’s also fun, as the roads are clear at night, to feel like you’re threading your way through a dark maze.

What the trip really drove home is how much easier it is to ride routes that you now well. All the back-street cuts and quieter roads you use seem normal until you consider what it would be like to only know the main thoroughfares. As soon as I set foot in South London I was out of my comfort zone and having to rely on the obvious roads, as opposed to chancing the smaller ones. It made for a fast run, but one where I rode with all my senses more alert than I might normally. That’s no bad thing, although it’s not something I’d like to be doing every day.

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