It was day in the life again the other day (where some of us document our day) but I only managed to take some pictures during my commute. In the above I am waiting in the early hours with Gloria (my bicycle) at the station.
On the train drinking a cuppa, listening to a podcast, and finishing my makeup (this is needed if I’ve had to dash out of the house).
Cycling. Deer on the horizon.
Swans on the lake.
Then a day of work and the whole thing in reverse :)
The cup holder for my bicycle is getting a lot of use now that the cold weather has come. It has been a good talking point with other cyclists too! This cup holder is the PDW Bar-ista, I recommend it, it fixes firmly on to the handlebars and is lined with foam that grips the cup. I’m not sure if it would fit on thicker handlebars. I bought the cup separately, I like the look of it but it’s not completely sealed, if I go over a big bump tea can bubble up through the air hole, so I’m on the look out for another cup. At first I had the cup holder on my side of the handle bars but I found that interfered with my space when jumping on and off so moved it to the other side.
Woke up 5:55am. Shower, bagel with marmalade, quick cup of tea.
Out the door 7:15am.
This was one of the first days since starting my long cycle commute to the new job that if it had been an option to stumble out to a car and be ferried in I would have been tempted. However as with so many things once out on the road I was happy that hadn’t been an option.
It is a 17 mile trip each way, when I tell people this is gets quite a big reaction. “WHAT??? YOU CYCLE HOW FAR???” But so far it has been doable and enjoyable. The route is a mixture of city roads, then a cycle lane next to an A road, and finally country roads.
Got to work for 9am, washed and changed.
Then working.
At lunch there was the BBQ that they have every Friday in the summer, it was very nice, I had a burger and a mini Magnum. I should have taken a picture but I just didn’t feel like it, another time.
Then back to working.
At 5:30pm I changed back into my cycling gear and I headed back to Oxford.
This morning I had attached my Exposure Flash front light as I knew I’d be out late. It is tiny but powerful, once winter comes I have other additional lights I’ll add on too.
This is the rear one, the Exposure Flare, it’s great and I have the ones with rechargeable batteries.
The thought of a cold glass of wine with friends was obviously highly motivating as I made really good time. On my way through the city I popped my head around the door of the beer garden that my old work colleagues frequent just to say a quick good luck to one of them who was leaving. I couldn’t stay more than a couple of minutes as I had to get to a friend’s house.
For some reason I was greeted with a tune on a banjo :) That banjo is really old and belonged to a sailor relative, it was damaged in a bar fight but now restored.
BBQ cat! This is the cat that I have mentioned before that shows up a BBQs at this house. (Yes it was my second BBQ of the day!)
I had a great night. Really funny. Laughed so hard. Then sometime after 11:30 I got back on my bike and cycled home. Don’t worry I was completely sober having had but one glass of wine. So many people staggering around drunk in the streets though. Cycling through a city at night can be so wonderful, it is dangerous, but it is magical to glide along.
Then about 1am to sleep.
The end.
Let me know if you have done a Day In The Life contribution as I will update the list here.
Day In The Life contributors:
I stopped to take this picture over my shoulder on my cycle home today, this cycle route is such a treat. I’d just come up that road. Everything was golden, the sun warm on my back, geese flying overhead.
Anyway, on to the important business! I was given the privilege to choose the next ‘Day In The Life‘ date and have chosen this coming Friday 2nd September. I hope that is not too short notice for anyone.
Basically the idea is to blog about what you did on that particular day, you could document with photographs, or write what you did, or even a chart, or A-Z, whatever suits you, the only rule is that it must be about what you did on that date. All are welcome to join in, please do! If you don’t have a blog why not document it on Flickr or G+ or whatever medium you favour. After Friday let me know in the comments when you have done your post as I will list them all in once place.
…a bicycle, a camera, and a sunny morning. YEAH!
Also best when you still have the hand stamp from the gig the night before on your hand :)
The bicycle I am riding here is Janice, a Specialized Dolce. It’s a great bike, so speedy, as good as Gloria but in a different way. You get to see all sorts of things…
This is what I usually wear for cycling longer distances, some sort of shirt, looser black trousers, and PF Flyers. I prefer to wear a shirt as if it’s cold or too sunny you can roll down the sleeves and if it rains it’s not too clingy.
