I commuted to school today on my bike due to the tube strike and not wanting to repeat the 1:45 bus ride from yesterday. Shane was heading to work in the same direction, so he escorted me most of the way. Although I have been getting used to riding on the left and the traffic, this was a whole new level of insanity. In addition to too many cars, taxis, and double-decker buses crammed into the narrow craggy streets, there were scores of cyclists. Now, I use the term “cyclists” loosely here, as I’m quite sure a good percentage of them probably acquired a bike only the day before. Who knew my criterium skills would come in handy! It was simultaneously empowering and frightening to see so many people taking to the road dressed in every possible combination of street clothes riding every possible configuration of bicycle (and mostly with no helmets). It appears to be completely acceptable for bikes (and motorcycles) to weave through the traffic on both the left side of the cars and in between the lanes to move up. Come to think of it, this appears to be completely acceptable for the drivers as well. It was much quicker even with all the traffic and lights, though, and I got to Bloomsbury, left my bike at my classmate’s flat, and had time to spare before class. The downside is the exhaust, which is stifling. I keep wanting to simply hold my breath, it was so palpable.

On the way home, things had calmed down considerably as it was mid-afternoon and the strike had subsided. Cruising along and beating the cars from the lights, I felt like a bad-ass courier. The competitive cyclist in me peaked out and I found myself feeling slightly addicted to the rush of it all. If it weren’t for the exhaust, I might commute more often! I ended up over-shooting my neighborhood a bit and was quite excited when I was able to piece together where I was and consciously choose a different route home. I toodled down Columbia Lane, where there is a flower market on Sundays, exploring some lovely new streets in the East End.

I'm off to Scotland early Friday morning. I'll be meeting up with Gary and cheering on Heather and Jeremy and the rest of the American crew at Worlds. Yippee!! Stay tuned for pics and updates on that next week.

Postscript: I am told that the tube workers threaten a strike on a yearly basis, but it usually doesn’t culminate in an actual strike, so I guess this was a rare “treat.” Let’s hope so, anyway.