All I want to do is ride bikes with you

[venta]

Well, I have now managed one cycling trip office-to-station, and one station-to-office. Am not dead.

I am a very wary cyclist. I always was, even as a kid zooming (slowly) around in the back lane. Accordingly, I've always had my seat-height set so I can easily reach the floor while seated. Recently, I've been using the exercise bike in the gym and have got used to the idea of having my leg straight when the pedal is at its lowest point. Hopping on my bike last night I immediately felt that I was riding a bike three sizes too small - which in a sense, I was.

It turns out there is a bewildering array of (carefully signed) cycling options from my office to the station. Last night I opted for the canal towpath, figuring that the worst that could happen was that I'd fall off into the canal - highly unlikely, and a problem which (however unpleasant) I feel I'm well equipped to deal with. Whether the company that owns the laptop I carry in my rucksack would like this assessment is a different question. I didn't fall in, but the only slightly less unpleasant problem of inhaling and swallowing midges fast became apparent. Eww.

I had assumed that at 6pm it'd be light enough to cycle - and in many ways, it is. However, I was very aware as I got to town that if I'd been a car, I'd have had my lights on. Presumably this means that I ought to have had my bike lights on.

This morning I experimented with the more road-based route, using the broad shared-use pavements. This is a bit of a faff, as there are quite a lot of side-roads to cross. In fairness, they are almost all beautifully light-controlled with little green cycles to show you across, but waiting for them is a bit of a nuisance.

It's also apparent that Reading is beset by waterways. A large roundabout which I have driven round many times has a complicated cycle crossing integrated into it. Using it, it becomes apparent that there's an odd stretch of canal right in the middle of the roundabout. I'm not entirely sure what it's doing there, or how it joins up with all the other bits. In other places, junctions of canals and rivers lead to some fairly complicated bridge arrangements.

My main dilemma is currently how to get across town. Last night I followed the bus route from Bridge St to the station, but that is heavily afflicted with traffic lights (all of which were red, many of which seem to change only when they espy a bus coming). Although the buses were terribly polite to me, I was very aware that I'm slow away from lights and was holding them up. Not to mention wasting time twiddling my thumbs at red lights.

This morning I experimented with the route I would walk to Bridge St, but that found me pedalling past a large number of 'No Cycling' signs, so I hopped off and walked. uitlander suggested yesterday riding along the canal to Tesco and thus to the station, but that seems like a hugely long way round (unless I'm misunderstanding it). Various colleagues have suggested different approaches which I will be investigating.

In conclusion: I'm very slow and a bit wobbly, and a bit out of practice at being on a bike. I am very bad at even gentle inclines. Hopefully these things will improve with time :) My saddle issue has not magically resolved itself; I shall experiment with hoping it'll get better, probably before giving in and buying a new saddle. Overall, I'm quite impressed with the quantity and quality of cycle routage Reading has.

Comments

[venta.livejournal.com]

I couldn't possibly put you to the inconvenience ;p

[thegreenman.livejournal.com]

No! Honestly! No problem at all!