Extreme nose blowing and a new invention - the "third sock"

This is a compilation of odd observations: 

* Up til this morning, I have never seen a person blow their nose on a leaf.

* In the park, I saw a couple - on two bikes - holding hands as they biked along. Dangerous, but nice.

* And strangest of all. I saw a police car flagging down a car which had gone late through red lights. Fancy that - the police actually stopping a car for a minor traffic infringement.

~ I also have a tricky question. A certain rather delicate part of me got pretty much frozen on my way in this morning. I'm wondering if anyone has yet invented a ... "third sock"?~

Cycling tip du jour, Monday. How to stay warm on your bike

Any soldier will tell you that the sure way to demoralise an army is for the men and women of the forces to have cold, wet feet.

Cyclists and soldiers need
dry warm feet. Source

Personally, I'm a complete wimp about my hands - the moment they start getting cold, I'm misery.

And the final part of the anatomy - ears. I once arrived in Canada in the midwinter with boots and a coat, but nothing around my ears. I practically passed out with ear-pain before I'd gone a block.

So, cyclists, now that it's getting "proper cold", the key bits of gear, in my view, are:

- some combination on your feet to keep warm - thermal socks, tough shoes/boots and ideally waterproofing
- good gloves (I've got my eye now on some Sealskinz, said to be fully waterproof too)
- ear cover. I've got a tube of material which normally goes round my neck, but can be lifted up to the head to go around the old lug-holes.

There you go. The rest of the body generally can get pretty warm just by the effort of cycling, assuming you've got something half decent to stop the wind.

May I recommend that for a nice reminder of how cycling in the winter can actually be possibly more saitsfying than in the summer, have a look at ibikelondon's excellent article "Are you ready to cycle through winter?"

A few cycling updates for you to have a look at

I've been spending more time on Twitter than the blog recently so have not been as "regular" as I should - for which, apologies. I also thought it might be worth me putting in a few more links to things related to cycling, rather than just banging on about my own experiences in London. As ever, feedback welcome.

But first, Me

It's always me me me isn't it. Well, I can safely say that my "everlasting cold" is now over, since you ask - and I think I'm now getting back to match fitness. Not that I play any matches. But I feel energised again by biking, and more importantly I'm not keeping my wife awake at night with my hacking cough. Seems that the doctor's surprising prescription (see earlier post ) might have done the trick

The bike

Time to get those lights on the bike again, I'm afraid. After what felt like a supreme effort, I finally managed to:

1) find front and rear light
2) find the right battery for them both
3) re-fit rear light to bike despite it not really being compatible
4) avoid leaving lights flashing overnight in the shed (so far). I find this last one an unavoidable winter activity

For your entertainment

It's great to discover a new cycling blog - and I'm annoyed I haven't found this one before as I'm finding it hilarious. The blog is called The Lo Fidelity Bicycle Club  They've recently invented a whole Highway Code with items such as this:

213 Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road which the cycle lane runs through. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make by sounding your horn, winding down your window and informing them that they should NOT be on the road (also see Rule 204).

 Anyway, it made me chortle.

Upright - better for your back?

Sit upright, not forwards:

Interesting article suggesting sitting upright on your bike is much better for your back. Can be found on Bike Biz here.

Cycle escorts not used during tube strike?

And here's some news reporting union claims that bike "escorts" sat idle during the recent London tube strike. I didn't actually know there were any, so I'd be interested if anyone out there can report anything different. The article is reported on PA


Safe biking to one and all. KC

Gear versus "normal" clothes

I had to divide my journey into two this morning - so I travelled half way in my usual get-up of shorts, bright cycling jacket, red socks etc - showered, had meeting, then cycled the rest of the way in my "work" clothes. I took things easy, enjoying the sunshine and generally felt great when I got in. There's always that horrible thing of whether you're going to be too "glowing" if you don't shower and change ... but arguably, as the days get a bit colder and you have to work harder to get up a sweat, there's more reason not to wear the full kit.

But then again, there's the rain. And snow. And everything else.

At this point I dissolve into confusion and get back to work.

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