Cycling - in Central London

Yesterday I got the train up to London to meet Sarah, my marathon-running friend from uni who I got in touch with again recently via Facebook. She met me at Waterloo station, having brought her own bike with her and hired one for me, and we cycled through St James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Regent's Park, then to the top of Primrose Hill for a great view across London (Sarah decided she wouldn't be cycling up Primrose Hill and walked up with her bike; I got about 3/4 of the way up before I had to stop and walk the rest of the way) and back again to Waterloo.

Sarah brought a picnic, which we ate in Hyde Park, then we fed the ducks (and geese, and pigeons, and starlings which flew up and caught the bread in their beaks in mid-air, very acrobatic...) before carrying on. Our route took us down part of Whitehall and through Horse Guards Parade, which was packed full of tourists and it was quite difficult negotiating our way through them, but once we got onto the cycle paths in the parks it was much easier. Not easier all the time - plenty of pedestrians walking on the cycle path, plus one woman who walked out in front of us and a kid who rollerbladed into my path after I took the trouble to move to one side so he could pass. We had to go on regular roads between Hyde Park and Regent's Park, but Sarah picked some fairly quiet routes for my first cycling trip through Central London.

Sarah's GPS said we cycled nearly 13 miles, but she forgot to set it going at least once after we'd stopped for a break, so we think it was more like 15 miles altogether. More importantly, we caught up with what had gone on in each other's lives since the last time we saw each other, which was over 10 years ago. Time really does fly...

I had a great day, not only catching up with Sarah but also remembering how good it is to ride a bike - the last time I did it was a year ago in St Lucia, and the time before that I was probably still in primary school. Rob's been trying to persuade me to get a bike for a while now (because he wants a new one but can't justify it while he still has the old one, so if I have his old one he can get another) and I think I will. I'm very saddle sore this morning though! Plus my knees are creaking a bit from cycling up Primrose Hill, and my shoulders and across the top of my back are aching from leaning over the handlebars, but other than that, a really great day! Now I have to think of something exciting for us to do when Sarah comes to Southampton next time...

More pictures here.