Highstreet Foodweb

If cities are ecosystems and cars, pedestrians, and all the other road vehicles form a food web, cyclists are most definitely at the bottom. Their existence is rarely acknowledged and then on the rare occasions someone notices a bike, it's usually to complain about them. A bit like rats in London; most of the time they're forgotten about but when one is seen everyone panics and calls the exterminator. OK, maybe not the best of examples, but as a cyclist I often feel like I'm treated with the same level of disdain.

I definitely have a number of cycling horror stories, so if you're my parents, grandparents, or anyone who is remotely concerned about my survival as I journey to and from university and prone to worrying, I advise you to stop reading now.

If I had a pound for every pedestrian I've almost knocked over in the past year, I could probably afford to get the tube to university for the rest of this year. Pedestrians will wait for a car but as soon as they see that it's a cyclist coming, nope, not waiting. Even though it may be green for me, I still have to break and swerve to avoid knocking over the London commuters like pins in a bowling alley. Admittedly, most of these aren't near misses, just very frustrating for me considering I'm a cyclist who actually stops at red lights (unlike a number of other cyclists, including a PCSO amazingly enough!) However, I have had someone walk between queuing cars, straight in front of me in the cycle lane. The man didn't do a quick check to his left, or even respond to my (understandably) annoyed "Hey! Watch it!" and just continued chatting into his mobile. You would have thought a London businessman would be used enough to the idea of cyclists in London and there being a number of cycle lanes meaning the cyclists don't have to stop in the queues with the cars but nope, another case of cyclists not existing.

Pedestrians aren't the only culprits, Taxis are some of the worst. Often impatient and stopping in the most awkward of places. I've had at least one, and probably more I've forgotten about, almost knock me over because they've impatiently tried to get into the bus lane and not checked their mirrors. I had a motorbike do something similar with me having to test my brakes to their limit. Last time I checked, motorbikes aren't meant to use the cycle lane however this City Sprint motorbike zoomed into the cycle lane to skip the queue without checking and was mere centimetres from causing some serious damage to either me or my bike. I'm not easily shaken but that was the scariest incident I've had while cycling.

The most awkward bit about cycling in London is the fact that I'm expected to use the cycle lane but most of the time it's either not there, being over taken by half a car, full of pot holes, or has a car, van, lorry, taxi or bus (although to be fair the buses can't help it) sitting in the way. Going round these obstacles isn't half scary as no one wants to let you out of the cycle lane because you'll slow them down, even if it is for a few seconds, and there is rarely any gap. Nevertheless, I need to get round as I'll either be waiting until the drivers finish unloading in the case of vans and lorries, or I'll keep having to stop every bus stop because in London, where bus stops are so close to each other, I am more often than not faster than the buses.

Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. Most bus drivers will be patient enough to stick behind you unless it's a significant distance to the next bus stop and a driver or two have been known to make my day by politely letting me out as if I were a car. I could moan more about cars in the cycle lanes and lorries not cyclist space despite bearing stickers asking us to give them space however, on the whole, I quite enjoy cycling. It's nice to get some exercise and pass over London Bridge on my way to university, seeing some of the sights rather than being squished up against someone's armpit on the tube. Until I either get enough money for a private helicopter or teleportation is invented, I think I'll stick to the cheap and healthy cycle to university.

Would you like a book?

Yesterday evening, the American author Maureen Johnson was given a Waterstones shirt and "free reign" of the Oxford Street store. A university friend and I went along to both meet her and try to resist the urge to buy books. That... well.... failed...

You see, I couldn't leave without buying one of Maureen Johnson's books (which she kindly signed) and then, well, I read the back of Every Day by David Levithan and just couldn't resist the urge to buy it. Also, "Let It Snow" was in the same offer so why not get a signed (well, 1/3 signed) copy?!

In the last 24 hours, I've already finished reading Every Day. It's been a while since I've just devoured a new book but each time I do I remember just how much I enjoy reading. Yesterday, as we were talking about books and reading blurbs, it reminded me of the thrill I used to get when I went through the bookshelves of the library, searching for an exciting new read (except with the constraint of money...). I wanted to buy half the books and I feel like I should let myself buy one or two new books a month to read, or at least read a couple of new books each month.

Books are a new world where you can get absorbed and forget your troubles. Time passes in a completely different way with only hunger and tiredness occasionally interrupting. You go rapidly from page to page, absorbing each word, not wanting the illusion to be broken; letting the fictional world become your own and never wanting to leave.

I want to be reminded of the awesomeness of fiction more often so readers, hold me to that and remind me every now and then to read a new book or chuck a suggestion my way!

I'll think of a title later...

I am a queen procrastinator, and I hate it. Most people procrastinate from time to time; those reports you don't want to do or a visit to the doctor but I've been known to procrastinate things I enjoy doing. Don't even get me started on the things I don't want to do.

procrastinate

pro·cras·ti·nate

[proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh-]
verb, pro·cras·ti·nat·ed,pro·cras·ti·nat·ing. 

verb (used without object) 

1.to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost. 

verb (used with object)  

2.to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

Origin:
1580–90; < Latin prōcrāstinātus (past participle of prōcrāstināre to put off until tomorrow, equivalent to prō-pro- + -crāstināre, derivative of crāstinus of tomorrow; crās tomorrow + -tinus suffix forming adjectives from temporal adverbs); see -ate

What is worse is that I've somehow managed to justify this ability to "put off till another day or time" but doing other things that are useful, but not necessarily the most important. I might have some reading to do for university so I'll go clean the bathroom. Report to write? Go do the washing up. Dissertation to sort out? No problem, go back and do that other less important university reading!

Procrastinating university work sort of makes sense. Insert physiological analysis about being scared of getting a bad mark or doing it wrong so just avoiding the situation. However, where is the logic in putting off writing a blog, playing my flute or doing some painting? I enjoy those activities. I'm not getting marked on them so I can't get them wrong. The flute playing nobody even has to hear if I time it right so what is my problem?

I guess the only way to do it is to force myself into doing these tasks. I mean, once I start I generally go 'oh, that wasn't so bad' or something along those lines. It's the actually starting that I suck at.

And on that note, I'm going to go make myself doing some extra reading for one of my lectures. No clicking around on the internet, no distractions, just the thing I'm meant to be doing. Wish me luck.