Spring Days

Well after two long phone calls with both Adelaide n Sydney and while watching the lightning and the rain outside, it’s time to do something a little productive today while I take some time out from life in general. Looking outside it’s a fair contrast to the weather of the past few weeks which has been nothing short of summer (for England) with sunny days of nearly 24C (or the 30C weather predicted for the forthcoming week!).

We’ve certainly taken advantage of these balmy days with daylight savings keeping the sun up til around 9.30pm at night. There’s been just a few evenings where I’ve joined Shar and Charlotte down at the White Horse pub in Parson’s Green. I’ve certainly enjoyed the rides there after work, just bombing alongside the Thames through Embankment, Westminster (giving Big Ben a wave), Chelsea and Fulham. Usually this is with a myriad of other riders as we all leave work to ride this tree filled route by the river.

The riding has been good lately, and culminated in last weekend’s London to Brighton event. Riding the 55 miles to Brighton on a nice Sunday morning is all well and good, but in typical style I added an extra 40kms onto the journey by simply riding from home to the start in Clapham (and back again).
Some great countryside to pass through and I think if I do this event next year, I’ll do it in a completely different manner. It wasn’t quite the sort of event for more serious riders, like last year’s London to Cambridge, as this one had some 27,000 entrants. Most were more casual riders making a bit of a day of it, which is exactly what I’d do next year - stop off at some of the townships and their pubs along the way, to then make an afternoon and overnight stay in Brighton. That way I probably wouldn’t have minded the massive traffic jams, or even the traffic itself (as in the cars that were still using the roads).
Oh, and I’d definitely use the mountain bike to take advantage of the extra gears that would make the climb up the Ditchley-Beacon Hill far easier! Still, I managed to ride up it to then enjoy the views of the surrounding countryside and sea. The trip down the other side that led into Brighton was good fun as I reached just over 65kmh at one point.
With the sun shining it was then time for a nice leisurely stroll along the beachfront of Brighton amid the smell of fish n chips, overhead gulls and plenty of beachgoers in their hired stripy deck chairs on the gravel beach. Onto the event coaches and it was time to travel back to Clapham for the ride home.

On the subject of exploration, I had a day off Thursday week ago and spent it taking Shar’s visitor, Naomi, around London to the sights she wished to see.
This began in Knightsbridge for Harrods, which I’ve not been to since I last came to London 5 years ago. This place is still impressive, especially the Food Hall! From here we headed for a stroll through Hyde Park and made our way to Westminster via Wellington's Arch, Buckingham Palace, St James Park and a red phone box.
We paid Westminster Abby a visit and then continued along the Thames past Big Ben, through Embankment to arrive at Covent Garden.
After watching a bit of the street theatre and browsing the stalls and shops, it was time for a coffee and to sample a pastry at Pauls (the famous patisserie). Seriously good as always.
We then filled in the remaining time for the day by just hanging out together in the park by embankment to enjoy a chat and the antics of a Big Issue seller who was convinced we should be engaged...

Last Sunday night was Naomi’s last in London so after the London to Brighton ride that day, I met up with Naomi, Shar, Charlotte and Rachelle for a few “send off drinks”. For obvious reasons I caught the tube there and back, but it was a good night and a good way to finish off the weekend. That's Charlotte and Naomi with me on the left.

With a retirement and a resignation at work this week, there’s been a few extra nights out other than Wednesday evening’s trip to the White Horse. We also had Charlotte’s night out as her final week in London comes to a close and she heads back to France. Left to right here is Rachelle, Jess, Charlotte and Shar in Eclipse nightclub in South Kensington.

Now several weeks ago, it was the end of the football season and a couple of us headed north for the final game. Read on for our merry long weekend...