I vow to thee my.....BIKE

As usual, I rode the bike into work this morning. But today, for some reason, it felt good. It felt REALLY good.

There was nothing out of the ordinary particularly. The weather was drizzly, the roads were wet - flooded in places, the result of another poor English summer - and traffic was fairly heavy. So what's to enjoy? Well, not for the first time I just felt very lucky to be able to suit myself getting into work. No bus timetables, no getting stuck in traffic, no being packed in on the hot and unreliable Northern Line and no smelly/rude/selfish/coughing & spluttering fellow commuters to deal with in an enclosed space.

But of course, it's not luck is it? I love bikes and I have a bike. Therefore, I ride it in to work. Why wouldn't I? The question is, why don't more people do the same?

As is the case every single day I ride the bike, I arrived at work this morning absolutely buzzing and ready for the day. For mental stimulation and a crash course  in problem solving, forget Sudoku - just buy a bike and ride it into Central London each day.

The challenges come from every direction - cyclists weaving in and out, car/van/taxi drivers pulling out, U-turning and jumping lights, long traffic queues to negotiate, death-wish pedestrians walking out between traffic and running for buses not caring about the vehicles that might be in their way, blind school-run mums, potholes in the road, an expanding proliferation of traffic lights and road furniture - and with the Olympic lane restrictions to come.

And you know what? I love it.

Even better, it saves me time, money and hassle. As Loyd Grossman might say...."let's look at the evidence"... My 14-mile ride into Central London takes 35 minutes door to door. Via bus and tube the same journey takes on average an hour and a half - each way. That's up to three hours travelling each day, in not very comfortable or salubrious conditions, just for the dubious privilege of going to work. Then you consider how costly our public transport is. A weekly travelcard for zones 1-4 in London costs £41.80 (£53.40 if you live further out).

By contrast, I put between £16-£20 of petrol in the bike each week. That's less that half the cost of public transport - and that's riding a relatively thirsty (and zesty) Z1000. A smaller bike or even a (spit) scooter will do the job even more economically. Bargain.

More bikes on the road would benefit everyone - there would be less congestion, less pollution and less overcrowding for those who choose (or have no choice but) to remain on public transport.

Time for the ride home now....I may go the "scenic" route and enjoy some more.

Box Hill here I come.....