April showers have played havoc with the cycle commute recently.
I managed to complete one ride into work this week, and subsequently the train ride today felt even more grim than over the long winter months. If I manage to keep up the riding through spring, the one thing I think I will miss is the quiet moment stood on Kings Norton train station before boarding the train, looking across the tracks, through the overhead cables and towards the spire of the medieval church.
It is a symptom of suburbia that fifty people can all stand on a train platform with the same destination, about to board the same train, and yet nobody interacts. Nobody makes eye contact, nobody passes the time of day, and yet I see these same people day in, day out, and I may even end up sat next to, or opposite these people, however I am safely cocooned behind my Ray-bans and Ipod so that I don’t have to make the slightest interaction with any of my fellow passengers.
Riding along the tow path is a different experience altogether. Admittedly you see fewer people on the path, however, the dog walkers, joggers, holidaying canal boat pilots, and other cyclists always give you a nod, or a ‘morning’.
Trying to beat 40 min door to door. I’ll try and have some thoughts on buildings or something soon… motivation and inspiration depending.
MM
Architects Ride Bicycles 