All this time I have been going on to Jimmy about how we ought to get bikes, and all this time he has been hesitant. He did suggest rather than buying, we ought to try hiring. But I wasn't keen. I reckoned it was as much hassle - more, maybe - to hire one for a day than to buy. When I finally plunged, he didn't plunge with me. Although he followed suit swiftly.
Now, I reckoned getting a bike, it would be nice to go out maybe once a week. Do I have such a luxury? Oh no! On Friday we were out for three hours. Only down on Tooting Common. And not riding constantly - we stopped for coffee, we stopped to have a domestic on the mean streets of Furzedown, we stopped to watch the swans, ducks and dogs in the pond, and we stopped again for lentil soup. I was doing just fine until we got off the common and my legs stopped working.
There are many advantages in where I live, right at the top of Brixton Hill. Mainly the fact that it's the top of the hill, which is handy in times of flood. It does however mean that the 'home straight' is uphill all the way. Oh yes, it's fun to freewheel all the way down to the Common. Not so much fun to do the opposite of freewheel back. The opposite of 'freewheel' is, of course, 'get off and walk'.
But it was civilised on the Common on Friday. Mainly dog-walkers, a few people with small children, an older woman in a mobility scooter. Pleasant, talking to people, with people, nothing substantial. Different on Saturday. Admittedly it was a gorgoeus afternoon, perhaps the best Saturday of the summer - clear sunny and not too hot. No great surprise that it was a lot busier. Always interesting to people-watch. I know one shouldn't jump to conclusions, but it did seem as though the Nappy Valley Yummy Mummies and their smug husbands were out in force. Maybe I'm being stupid. There are paths with a white line down the middle, one side painted with pictures of bikes and one with pictures of walking people. If I spy a group of eight adults and three buggies parked on the cycle path, two toddlers on trikes and an older child on a bike weaving his way back and forth across the entire path, if I slow down to barely moving, I don't see why I should be glared at.
Still it's better than car drivers. Obviously, the majority of people who drive on side-streets are careful and considerate. I oughtn't to be surprised but it never ceases to amaze me how many stupid people there are behind wheels. The other evening, we waited to cross Atlantic Road, an important-but-minor thoroughfare that meets Brixton Road in the town centre. There is no pedestrian crossing, but it's usually easy to cross. The light was red for the side road, green for the main road. We crossed. I just reached the pavement when I realised a car had overtaken the three cars waiting at the red light and was accelerating towards the main road. Straight out, in front of a bus, wanting to do a right, only to come to a halt because of the traffic coming from his left. So he stopped. The bus driver sounded his horn. Eventually the car reversed out of the yellow box and back to be in front of cars waiting to emerge from Atlantic Road. As he was clearly unconcerned about his own safety, I doubt he had the slightest awareness of other road-users.
The next morning I walked through Smith Square and spotted four police horses. It's not unusual to see two, on patrol or going to and from the stables. But four is unusual. They are gorgoeus animals. Big. Docile and well-trained, but, still, big. And horses. As they walked away to my left, a car approached in the opposite direction,and obviously deliberately revved their engine exactly as it passed the horses. AsI say, they're docile and well-trained, but even so, they're big. Who in their right mind would deliberately provoke a horse, police or no? As I say, I ought not to be surprised, but there is no limit to the stupidity of people, especially when they get inside their invincible driving machines
