Cycling in London for Dummies

Since Lucy sadly returned to Berlin for two weeks and after that will attend the Edinburgh fringe she is lending me her bike till the end of August.

Now the manual:

What you need

I am now the sitter of Genevieve (the bike), a helmet, a jacket that is so yellow people sure will be blinded when they see me, three locks and the same number of keys. This is the Basic lay-out if you want to cycle the Royal streets of London.

The surroundings

Traffic in London reminds me a lot of certain South East Asian Cities i.e. Phnom Penh. It is immensly crowded, people with just two wheels pretty much drive how they feel right now (wiggly lines seem to be very popular) and only cars and buses respect red traffic lights (technically there are no buses in Phnom Penh. If they would have stopped at red traffic lights... who knows). There is on major difference though: everything here is faster. A lot faster. Meaning: while in Phnom Penh nobody worried about your pace as long as you didn't stop in London they can not overtake you easily because big buses and quite narrow streets... well, you get the picture. So to the " do not stop under any circumstances other than immediate danger to your very life or others" (a subject that can be defined very differently by varous people in various situations) comes the "the minimum velocity must not under any circumstances, I repeat, must not under any circumstances fall under 20 mph!". I can cycle very fast by now.

How to adress the streets

In London streets are divas. They like to go with the latest fashion. Holes are very much en vogue. They also encourage you to play. Because of the holes you have to cycle in slalom which can be very funnyt sometimes, e.g. when a bus is right behind you.
They are allergic to a non-observing behaviour. If you are on an intersection keep in mind that there are FOUR streets not only two or three. The neglegted street will react quite bitchy in spitting out an unlimited number of cars.
I have learned to respect the streets.

Getting around

Oh well the normal way: cycling in opposite directions of one way streets, in between vehicles that have stopped on a red traffic light, hiding under a tree till the rain's over...

Miscellaneous

Yes I am still alive and no I do not fear (much) for my savety. I am having a great time exploring the city looking like a douchebag.

See ya, Tini

P.S.: Some impressions from the previous weekend