Then I’d buy a t-shirt with this design and wear it with pride:
It’s divine isn’t it? It’s a shame I’m not a girl.
It’s from the C.I.C.L.E. store, and they do have other shirts, I’m tempted by this one:
It’s not quite up there with Velo Kitty though.
So it’s 6:40pm and I’m back from cycling, having been out since 8am this morning. I’ve clocked up around 100 miles, not easily though! The Park Ride this morning was a bit faster pace than I would’ve liked given the heat, so I dropped at the end of lap 2 and then did the last 2 laps as a solo inbetweener (between groups 3 and 4).
After that I still felt great and didn’t want to dismount, so I shot off towards Barnes (not the way home) and from there meandered the day away navigating a huge arc around South London and up into East London.
Around 2pm I dropped into Cycle Fit, and Warrick was there servicing a bike for someone. I was fried, and needed a hat… so of course, I now sport a London Dynamo hat in addition to the shorts, bottles, jersey and shirt! I’m not sure there’s any club gear left for me to purchase! The hat was really needed though, the difference it made was instant, a considerable drop in perceivable temperature, and on a day like today that was really appreciated.
The real fun started at 3pm though, when I arrived at Hyde Park Corner for the World Naked Bike Ride in protest at oil dependency, the effects of that and a general pro-cycling rally. Stripping was the hardest thing to do, I hesitated and only gave in when I was considerably outnumbered by naked people and started to look a bit prudish. There was nothing to it though, you just get undressed in front of a thousand other people who are in various states of undress.
A few pervy guys (not participating) at the start line were hassling some of the women, but the police were great and moved them on… and then we got rolling.
It was a 6 mile circuit, that we covered in about 2 hours. We were going 5mph most of the time, which I was truly thankful for as it’s just fast enough for me not to fall off (I don’t have a lower gear that could help!). The police stopped us every now and then for 5 minutes or so, whilst the quite considerable number of cyclists re-grouped.
The people were great, and the weather perfect. Even bars emptying of England football fans couldn’t taint what was a great experience.
I’ve posted pictures of the event on Flickr.
It’s only 7am, it’s a Saturday and I’ve had a stressful week. By rights I should be in bed, but instead I’m sitting here naked waiting for the P20 to bond to the skin and give me sun protection. On the hob is a pot of water boiling, pasta for breakfast. The weather report is 26′c, bright blue skies… and today is a day for cycling.
So what’s happening? Well, at 9am there is the London Dynamo Richmond Park Ride. I didn’t complete the last time I did it because I got so frustrated with a guy in front who fell over in front of me, and was a little shaken by seeing a club mate down near an ambulance on one of the laps… it didn’t feel right, so I ducked out. I go with how I feel a lot of the time, and usually it’s the best thing to do. So for me, the 30 miles or so this morning will be a re-entry after not completing the last one and having bonked on a Surrey Hills ride. A start (I hope) of far more cycling once Candy arrives.
And then this afternoon I shall be taking part in the World Naked Bike Ride. It’s a protest ride against oil dependency, and additionally to promote the use of cycling as one of many means to help reduce our emissions from, and dependency on, oil. We congregate around 3pm at Hyde Park Corner, undress, and then cycle 6 miles through the most populated part of London on one of the hottest days of the year. Hence the greased up body covered in P20 sun protection.
So that’s my day. Not quite the average one, and no plans for tonight, though perhaps I might just be a little sunburnt and tired by then that I’m thankful for that. I’ll take the camera… I’ll share what I see this afternoon. Hopefully you’ll be looking at the spirit and atmosphere of the protest rather than all of the bodies.
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