Today, I rode my bike in London and it was grand. Heading off from Brick Lane Bikes on Bethnal Green Road, I followed Adrian intently through cars and pedestrians while grinning from ear to ear. With all our training plans and lighter-weight bits, it’s easy to forget the essence of what riding a bike is really all about: freedom.

I was supposed to meet Adam to ride out and back to his race, but when I showed up at the shop, I was told he left work early and was not racing tonight. I tried not to look too disappointed, considering I had only been looking forward to this all day. Adrian must have sensed my all-dressed-up-and-no-place-to-go anxiousness and offered to head out for a spin with me. He finished up working on a few bikes, while I chatted with some of the other blokes hanging around the shop. One young fellow was stuffing old tubes into his backpack from a pile in the back. He said they “help him out” by letting him take the old rubber. I figured he was a young, poor cycling type and asked if he was going to patch the tubes. Quite matter of factly, he said, ‘no, I make S&M gear out of them' while waving a short rubber whip hanging off his backpack. I tried not to look surprised, since no one else did. Another fellow hanging around seemed to be a seasoned cyclist. He had a thick accent, which was hard to follow, but he had lots of advice on where to ride so I asked him lots of questions and listened carefully. Turns out he is a courier – no wonder he knew all the streets of London! He also told me which pub all the bike couriers hang out at on a Friday night.

Adrian and I headed out around 6pm in that kind of gray, damp evening where water seems to hang suspended in the air. It was absolutely lovely. We turned off the busy streets and got onto a trail that follows one of the canals. Sticking to the left on the narrow path (with an abrupt drop into some murky-looking water) turned out to require more attention than on the roads. Bridges overhead meant one-lane traffic and a ring of the bell to say, “I’m coming.” We toodled around Victoria Park, which is a pretty large with a closed road around the outside, like Wash Park, but bigger and greener. Stopping at a bench, we chatted about how we ended up in London. Turns out he has only been here a month from Romania. It was refreshing to feel some wind on my face, get some saddle time, and chat with someone else who is embracing a new opportunity in life. We parted ways and I rode the last bit on the roads by myself. There was something incredibly empowering about riding along by myself, in traffic, and on the left side of the road. I didn’t feel scared at all.

I realized today, my riding in England may not be as much about the fitness, as it is an extension of seeing, experiencing, and living London.