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2 spots - 7.45am ish. Lady on a black condor Norwood Road heading into Tulse Hill one way. Nice assertive riding young lady.

That can only have been me. Was it this morning that I was yelling at the people getting out of the car without looking? I'm rather embarrassed if you overheard me.

I was the guy on the katana who stopped to shake your hand.

Oh, was that your Katana at Souths t'other night? Very nice...

Aah, that was you.
I heard someone shout but in my hungover daze couldn't work out the direction of the voice.

Mystery solved.

Oh, you had a hangover too...?

Spotted today: a chap in a shirt who drew up beside me and asked why I was wearing a radio: "Is there, like, some kind of network?"

I explained that I'm a courienger, and that the radio enables me to be shouted at by my controller without stopping riding, but I'm a bit disturbed by the fact that he thought I was part of some secret society, who ride around London pointlessly gabbing to each other through radios. Because if such a society existed, I'd think they were all preposterous wankers.

Does this mean half of London thinks I'm a preposterous wanker? Oh dear...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8045086.stm

oh dear.
poor old Em.

You see, I read that as "Japan jet engine sucks off object"...

Spotted the one himself, riding down Oxford Street this morning, looking all confused when I yelled from the top of Wardour Street.

Emilia yet again, this time dropping off at my workplace at WC2A 3LH. The courtyard at the front has historic stone paving that's not ideally suited to bike tyres. Sorry about that.

I'm bringing my own tarmac next time.

Gah. I only meant to stop for a swift half, and then suddenly it was 10pm, and now I have to go to work with a hangover.

Lovely to see so many people though! Especially WiganWill, Plagiarist, Fluff, Fred, VVnJG... ummm, etc. :-)

Spotted a Brompton undertaking a blue on one. Pulled up next to the brompton, put on my best charm, and mentioned that, althought the on-one rider was paying attention and seemed a very competant rider, many other riders might not have noticed him on the inside and it would be safer not to pass someone this way.

He actually thanked me for the advise. It made my day.

Oh, this gives me hope! I'd given up giving people advice about undertaking, after all the abuse I got.

Hmmm. Do you reckon that if I deliberately leave all my waterproof stuff at home, it might be persuaded to rain?

It worked! Well, a little bit.

I'm being thwarted in my riding back plans - the other half wants to get a B&B, and make a weekend of it. I'm hoping that she'll leave it too late, and that everything will be booked up...

Sorry Emilia; I'm kind of happy now so I flushed them :)

I almost went all gooey-eyed at the thought of your happiness, but then remembered I'll need all the tears I can get to flush out the bits of fucking tree tomorrow, so decided to keep them to myself.

Hmmm. Do you reckon that if I deliberately leave all my waterproof stuff at home, it might be persuaded to rain?

You got any of those sleeping pills left, Will?

I got in this evening and had bits of fucking tree plastered all over my hair, face and jersey, as well as clogging up my eyes and sandpapering my nose and throat.

Please! Can someone tell me when it will stop?

oh yeah and its pitch black!

It wasn't last year. The moon was so bright that I didn't actually need the very flashy head torch I'd brought along. Most disappointing.

(N.B. Obviously you will need some lights though.)

A courier approaching Holborn letting me know that he thought my riding position looked uncomfortable.
Apparently my arms were too straight... then he told me my bars were too low...
Called me kiddo in the process, like it was my first bike...
Gee thanks Dad... and i'll be sure to brush my teeth and do my homework.
Having just turned 36 this could be seen as a compliment.
However, i already know that I look young, and I don't need some cunt riding a hunk a shite to tell me. Patronizing fuck!

I had to bite my tongue this morning. Pulled up alongside a girl on Knightsbridge, riding a hybrid set up so low that at first glance I thought she was a child or a midget. She wasn't all that big herself, but the bike was far too small for her, and she had the saddle right down, so that her knees were sticking up higher than her hips when she pedalled.

But I couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't come across as smug and/or interfering, so I just left her to it.

Last year we all converged in the park just outside the pub. I think we're easy to spot.

Yes, just look for lots of bikes.

Oh, erm, hang on...

Really sorry to hear this. Perhaps you could try your hand at writing, while looking for other work? If a few well crafted articles were to hit various editor's desks of popular and also less known cycling publications who knows where it might lead. Just a thought.

Hmm, I've long thought that the London Paper could do with a weekly column by a cycle courier, and you'd be so much better at it than me...

Oh fuck Will. Are you still going to be at South Easts tonight? I'd like to join the stampede to buy you a beer.

(This is a completely pointless message - I'm about to go to work, so won't get any response till it's too late. But still...)

(I am being far too reckless with this talk of riding back.)

How could you do one without the other?

I am getting ridiculously excited about this ride already!

And I'll happily chip in a tenner for anyone who's willing to turn up in a van with beer, BBQ, dry clothes, etc. (hint hint)

Oh damn you all, I am going to be eating so much ice cream tomorrow!

(Incidentally, there's a very good ice cream van in Lincoln's Inn Fields, that has all the childhood favourites, including the one that looks like an RTA between a Mr Whippy and an ice lolly.)

Yes, I did it as a 'ghost-rider' one year - apparently there are thousands of them. The more conscientious make a donation to the BHF when they get home. I planned to and forgot, of course.

Spotted two chaps riding matching grey Peugeots with white arrospoks on Shoreditch High Street on Saturday afternoon. Don't think I've ever seen people with matching bikes before. (Unless it was one of those accidental oh-god-we're-wearing-the-same-outfit things.)

I am always baffled by people thinking I'm cool. Baffled, but flattered.

Oh, but you are, you are. At least by comparison...

an ex-enger in the mirror today, in Brixton Cycles toilet :-)

YAY!

(Erm, that's "yay" as in "yay you got the job!", not "yay one less girlenger to make me look uncool". Though maybe that as well.)

I thought they banned bikes on trains during the L2B?
Idiots.. imagine how much they could make from it and how much better it would be rather than choking Brighton with cars picking up riders.

They do, but I was wondering if they'd enforce the ban before 10. Or what about before 9? I could dash straight from Ditchling to the station... I think they probably would though. The buggers.

I think they probably do make a lot of money out of coaches though. I don't think you'd really get enough bikes on a train to make it worthwhile. I mean, there are thousands and thousands and thousands, aren't there? It's bad enough on the DD.