A cycling rant

As you may have read here, I like cycling. I now cycle to my day job and back every day, which is a total of 16 miles per day (I'm still waiting for the health benefits). I'm also (I think) quite a considerate motorist, probably because of the cycling.

During my travels I get to see the sights of East London, including Clapton, Hackney, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch before arriving in the City. This also means I get to risk my life twice daily on the roads, so I'm extra careful. However, although the trip is usually safe, you can't account for what other people do and lately I've taken to classifying  the various types of idiot out there.

Pedestrian idiot - these tend to step out when there aren't any lights, or the lights are green for traffic. Often they look one way but not the other. Some cross the road by pushing their pram out first, into the path of traffic..not a good idea.

Cyclist Idiot - several types of these, but several factors are usually in play- lack of helmet, headphones on (!), hands not on the handlebars, meandering side to side, jumping red signals... Around Bethnal Green I often see a combination of these, completely oblivious to anyone else. Natural selection maybe?

Motorist Idiot - not giving room on the left for passing cyclists, cutting corners, texting/phone whilst driving, doing makeup/hair... 

I was almost sandwiched last week, and an old friend nearly died after somebody on their phone hit him and drove off.  I think if motorists were made to cycle in London for a week, perhaps they would be a lot more considerate. As for the bad cyclists..well - any suggestions? I have a few but I can't print them here!

The Cycling Photographer

At the weekend I combined two of my favourite hobbies and took my camera out on a bike ride around London. It was so much fun i might make a regular feature of it!

On this trip I first visited the Brick Lane area of London. Here there are many coffee shops such as Nude Espresso in Hanbury Street, which is probably my favourite so far. Great cappucino but I had to wait a while as it's so popular. On Brick Lane itself, there are some hidden clubs such as 93 feet East,

 and also plenty of characters  just lounging on the street, such as these guys..

This area is full of trendy shops such as Sunspel,

design shops like this one,

and galleries like this:

I then cycled through the back streets and found a Saturday market in a disused car park. You couldn't miss this place, as they had a DJ! Sounded like the old pirate radio stations I used to enjoy.

After cycling down Bethnal Green Road, I found Mason & Taylor which is a newish craft beer or real ale venue. It's meant to be good although I haven't tried it yet.

Next, I rode toward the Strand, stopping off to take this shot of my new bike near the Old Bailey.

Then it was onward to the South Bank, which I often use for model shoots.

Toward Southwark, these youths were practising the sport of parkour, or free-running. Impressive to watch but could be dangerous at my age..

On the return journey, a shot of the iMax:

and St Paul's peeking over the buildings:

Overall combining cycling and photography was a great way to spend a few hours! More to follow.