Monday night trip to the theatre demanded that I cycle in early evening dampness from White City to Seven Dials in Covent Garden. Took the route through Notting Hill and then up the inside of Hyde Park, along Park Lane and up Piccadilly before braving the insanity of Shaftesbury Avenue.
It’s not the longest ride in the world but it is one that I do frequently. Zipping up Holland Park Avenue, I found myself pondering why I struggled with the hills in Richmond Park on Saturday: up the hill from Ham gate towards Broomfield Drive at 12kph at times with no sense of being able to dig in for a little more energy. Yet there I was going up the slopes of another rich London quartier at about 25kph.
Wrong gear, wrong preparation on Saturday? It’s possible that I had toasted myself trying to keep with a group that was too fast for me on the flat and had nothing left for the inclines. I’m pretty sure riding on the big ring did wear me out more than I expected so I’m back to abusing the middle one as much as possible, apart from for the downhill bits and the steep uphills.
Otherwise my main problem at the moment is that my hack bike got stolen at the weekend so I am in the process of replacing it, meaning that I am having to ride my good bike everywhere at the moment. Truthfully, I’m quite enjoying getting better accustomed to it and the way it rides in all situations. Hopefully I should have the hack replaced within a week or so with something from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op or a cheap second-hand from a local shop.