The bike shop rang unexpectedly today to say that the Stumpjumper was fixed already! Seems the shock failure wasn’t so catastrophic after all, but it did somehow swing around to being all my fault again. Ho hum!
I left the shop with a rejuvenated bike and a swanky new high pressure suspension pump. Apart from that I wasn’t in the slightest bit prepared for my cycle ride today. I didn’t have my spd’s, helmet, lights or a map/gps to help me get from Liverpool Street to Mortlake and I didn’t have a clue how to get home.
By 6pm in February it is way too dark to cycle without lights so I’m afraid I had to “share” pavement space with the peds to save myself a 10 mile walk. I decided to hug the river home as the pavements are wider and there was more chance of finding cycle paths. Also, as I live on the river, provided I picked the right direction I was bound to find my flat eventually.
The embankment is absolutely beautiful at this time of the night so I overloaded my phone with night shots. I think the Samsung D900 handles low light conditions particularly well.
Still trying to avoid both pedestrian and vehicular collisions I took the rash option of the Thames trail from Putney to Hammersmith Bridge. Without lights or even a segment of moon the track was pretty darn scary – my first attempt at night riding.
The path was so waterlogged that at one point I worried that I’d managed to ride off the bank and into the Thames.
There were a peculiar amount of runners choosing this spooky stretch for their evening run, given the choice I would definately opt for the bright lights of the embankment.
Got home eventually, absolutely filthy and determined to eat more carrots.
Stumpy went in the shower and blocked my bath up again so I’m not sure where I’m going to get cleaned up today.
I missed my usual date with the treadmill this evening due to all the excitement so I’ll have to try and pick that up tomorrow if I can ignore the ironing for another day.
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