Thursday, March 6th, 2008
20 miles
Today I attempted my first proper cycling commute since the Lewisham move. Although in my typical disorganised fashion, I did it the hard way. Leaving from Fiona’s in the morning instead of my house (+2 miles), and having to go to college in the evening instead of just straight home (+6 miles).
The morning wasn’t too bad, I’d estimated about an hour, had the route pretty clear in my head and left plenty of time to get to work reasonably early in time to grab a shower. Half an hour later I was still only as far as London Bridge, but the traffic through the city was mental so I knew that had taken longer than it should’ve. As I crossed the Thames, passing the hoards of people with feet pounding towards their offices, I couldn’t help but think of pigeon racing and the Great North Run, and ended up singing the Geordie Racer theme tune for the rest of the journey.
Plain sailing from there down through Borough, along the Old Kent Road through Peckham and on to New Cross. Pretty much just following the Number 21 bus route, slightly apprehensive about having to tackle Amersham Way, which shall henceforth be known as The Hill of Death. But such is life, what goes up must come down, and I sailed down the steep-but-safe-enough-to-enjoy decline of Lewisham Way, for a glorious arrival at the work just on the hour mark.
Knowing that the next leg, from Lewisham all the way to Caledonian Road was an extra couple of miles, I really should have adjusted my time accordingly, but I left with 1h 10mins to spare. I didn’t fancy going all the way back up Lewisham Way from a standing start, so decided to take a detour and just follow my sense of direction and take reassurance from the ‘towards…’ signs on the bus stops. This was working out pretty well and I eventually found myself joining Old Kent Road about halfway up. I tried to cut across and take a more direct route toward London Bridge, closer to the river, but hit a dead end and had to go back and face O.K.R. (thats my hip new slang term for it). My determination took me a closer and closer to the Thames Path, and I struck gold - GOLD I say.
To be honest I’d never really taken much interest in Tower Bridge, but it looked pretty impressive as I cycled past at dusk. So that was another few minutes added on to my journey time for taking a few pictures.
Again, getting through the City was a bit of a slog, and I probably could have picked a better route, but I was still just following my nose at this stage. I seemed to be making pretty good time as well, considered my dead end at OKR and my scenic detour along the Thames Path. Still no chance I was making it to college for half 6 though. About halfway the steady mile-long slope of Caledonian Road I had to admit defeat and walk for a bit, but still a decent effort.
After some dinner and rest at college, all that remained was the usual jaunt home, but even that proved a bit too much and my legs gave in just after Brick Lane. Late shift tomorrow I think!
