In Italia

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to come and live (and work) in Milan, so I took it! I've been here about 6 weeks now and I quite like it.
There's alot going on in this fine city, and plenty to see. I've seen a few of the main sights, like the Duomo, La Scala and the Castello Sforzesco. I also saw the start of the Milan-San Remo cycle race, went to a few of the shows for Design Week, and saw the big local half-marathon race here, the StraMilano. (I would have run it but I thought I'd leave it to the Kenyans to show us how it's done!)

But there's alot more going on beneath the surface, and I imagine that in time I will eventually get through the outer stylish veneer and see the real Mediolanum. As with alot of places, visiting a place for pleasure is quite different to living there!
Now that I am set up with my job, a place to live and a codice fiscale (which it seems you need in order to do anything interesting here!) I have found myself going about my business pretty much as I did in London.

Things aren't massively different really. I still have the go to work, go home routine, after work drinks, Monday morning blues when it rains - which it has been doing an awful lot lately! (Milan is one of the wettest major European cities!) There are many things that don't change!
Subtle differences are that Milan is more compact than London, and it is possible for me to walk to work and the city centre fairly easily. The public transportation system is quite efficient - when the workers aren't on strike! Quite a few places like the mobile phone shop, the bank or even the bakery need you to pick up a ticket and queue up (like in large post offices in London). That can make the shopping experience a little tedious. If this system is not in place people don't queue and they just tend to surge forward and the person with the sharpest elbows gets in first - and don't think it's the big burly bloke. Often it's the elegant old lady who gets in first! And the Milanese appear to have a higher tolerance of graffitti. There's alot of it around. For every ornate building, you can be sure that around the corner there's a tag or political slogan of some sort - or maybe the council is pretexting the graffitti as a new artform, thus saving on funds by not cleaning it up! 

I am looking forward to the next few months here, though I don't think Italy will take London out of the girl, so I will be back in Blighty regularly!
But yes, I am drinking more coffee, and the bog standard stuff is nicer than what I get back home. I am also eating more pasta, and having sit-down meals with wine at lunchtime. It might be better to wait for slightly warmer weather before I have a gelatto though! 

Shoot Story - Royal London

On a very cold morning one Sunday in January Higg and I set out to central London to do the photo shoot that is in the current edition of Cycling Active. It was for a ride story themed around riding  in the "royal" neighbourhoods of Kensington, Chelsea and a bit of Westminster thrown in, since the Queen's residence sits within that area.

I wanted to create a stylish upmarket feel to the story without pretending to be a sloane or a lady who lunches. I didn't want the pics to look like something for The Lady magazine either. It was more about something smart but without looking ostentatiously upmarket.

In the end I wore my Tweed Run gear. Tweed definitely keeps you warm - possibly a little too warm for spring when the popular stylish bike ride takes place. However, on this very clear crisp morning in January not even Tweed could shield me from the chill in the air!

Underneath my trousers and jacket I had on two pairs of tights and two thermal base layers plus a thick anorak to wear between shoots. However, having to remove the outer layers, plus my big gloves and hat every time I was going to be photographed disturbed the rhythm a little and the snapper was got quietly frustrated under his breath with the countless times I kept him waiting!

In a couple of pics I actually forget to take off my big gloves or scarf so I guess some of those pictures didn't make it into the edition which was supposed to be portraying a warm day in Spring!

By the time we finished our day of shooting pics around central London I wasn't the only one glad to be calling time on our session. Higg's fingers were so cold he was having difficulty operating the controls on his camera, while I was finding it hard to maintain a relaxed demeanour when I was freezing my bosoms off. This stop-start riding in the cold sunshine was not funny anymore!

It was really useful to get into London early on Sunday as we were able to get decent shots of famous landmarks on relatively empty roads. Only the hardy tourists were out before 9am on The Mall, and as this road is closed to traffic on Sundays it made it even easier to get clear shots of the Queen's London residence. The keen tourists who were out and about at Buckingham Palace that morning became quite curious when they saw Higg photographing me. When we told them we were doing photos for a magazine they thought they could hang around in the vicinity and get their 20 seconds of fame!

By contrast, the passers-by in the Cadogan area of Chelsea were not so curious seeing us taking pics. They were more suspicious, maybe worried we might spot a celebrity or politician and snap them while they were showing their not-so-good side! It was also a bit more of a challenge trying to find a clear street in Cadogan Square. At times it was just a parade of prestige cars and sports cars with drivers who were in no rush to go anywhere!

Talking of Parades, we managed to see a Changing of the Guards ceremony at Horse Guards Parade. In an effort to catch the pomp and glory as it happened Higg left his bike against a post nearby while he photographed me near the mounted guards. The Police got rather tetchy about his bike. Initially they gave a friendly, "watch your bike, sir - you don't want someone to steal it." But after a few minutes they became abit more irritable and said what really was on their minds: "your bike is a security risk and will be removed if you don't keep it with you." Jeez, it's a bike not a bomb!

All in all it was a fun day, once we had thawed out.

Photos by Higg

What the Dickens! A bicycle ride?

Seeing as we are celebrating what would have been the 200th birthday of that great writer, orator, and erstwhile superstar Charles Dickens, how about a themed bicycle route. This velocipede was probably coming into the market in the 19th Century, though I don't know how much it would have been to Dickens's taste!

I haven't read many of his works, but the ones I know referred to various areas of London - and of course much of his early life was based in around Southwark and Bloomsbury.

In his day, Dickens spent hours on end walking around the squalid, smelly, overcrowded streets of London. Apparently the insomniac in him meant that he could walk up to 15 miles on a particularly sleepless night. Dickens's time was not wasted though, since it was during these nights that he gained the inspiration to write such fine works as Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist.

A number of the areas he passed and frequented (including various pubs) have been mentioned in his novels.

If only the modern bicycle had been available at that time. Sadly, the workaholic in him meant that Charles Dickens died at the ripe young age of 58 and did not actually get to see the new two-wheeled inventions of the late 1800s. Imagine how much more ground he could have covered during those nocturnal outings, and even more observations from the 'burbs and the shires!

So, here's a quick cycle tour which takes in some of the significant London spots where the great author lived and walked.

http://www.sharemyroutes.com/routes/United-Kingdom/Southwark-Greater-London-England/Dickens-London/elevationmap.aspx

The Borough/Southwark
Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison, Borough High Street – Dicken’s father was imprisoned here in 1824 for his bad debts. The prison was featured in Little Dorrit.

Lant Street – Dickens found temporary accommodation here to be near his family while they were in Marshalsea prison.

St George the Martyr, Borough High Street – Dickens featured St George’s in Little Dorrit. There is a representation of Little Dorrit in the east window.

The George Inn, Borough High Street – a coaching inn frequented by Dickens and featured in Little Dorrit and Pickwick Papers.


Embankment
Warren’s Blacking Warehouse, Hungerford Stairs (Hungerford Bridge) – as a teenager Dickens took a job here polishing boots. Featured in David Copperfield.

York Water Gate and The Adelphi (now York House), Strand/Villiers Street – Dickens lived here for a short time.


Covent Garden
Charles Dickens Coffee House, 26 Wellington Street – the offices of All the Year Round, Dickens’s magazine were based here (1859-1870).

Covent Garden – an actual working market rather than a tourist spot. It was featured in Oliver Twist and Pickwick Papers.

Seven Dials, junction of seven streets including Monmouth Street, Mercer Street, Shorts Gardens, Earlham Street – setting of the most notorious slums in London in the 19th century and described by Dickens in Sketches by Boz.

Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, Bow Street – was featured in Oliver Twist and Barnaby Rudge. The court closed in 2006 and is being developed as a luxury hotel.


Bloomsbury/Holborn
Charles Dickens Museum, 48 Doughty Street – location of the former family home (1837-1839) and where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.

Dickens worked as a solicitor’s clerk in the inns of court in London and featured them in his different works - Lincoln’s Inn (Bleak House), Gray’s Inn (David Copperfield, Pickwick Papers) Staple Inn (The Mystery of Edwin Drood)


The City
Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street – the church bells chiming in A Christmas Carol are referenced here and Dickens also refers to the church in Barnaby Rudge.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub, Fleet Street – Dickens regularly frequented this place. The pub in Fleet Street described in A Tale of Two Cities is assumed to be this pub.

Smithfield, West Smithfield – Pip goes walking around this area in Great Expectations, while Bill Sikes and Oliver walk through the market before robbing the Maylies in Oliver Twist. Dickens criticised the location of the former live cattle market in the heart of London in his 1851 essay A Monument of French Folly.

My Cycling Moment of the Week - 2

It is great to hear that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the National Trust have decided to increase spectator capacity on Box Hill. Where originally access was limited to just 3,500 spectators for the Cycle Race, this figure has now been increased to 15,000. After missing out on tickets for the track cycling, myself and many other cycling fans I know had been relying on going to Box Hill for a piece of cycle racing action. It was quite disappointing therefore, to discover that there would only be comparatively few people having access to Box Hill.

For most club cyclists in London and the South East, Box Hill is a cycling mecca. Its zig zags to the summit make Box Hill the nearest you get to an Alpine climb. To be honest, it's not that tough as climbs go. It's probably one of the easiest of the Surrey Hills to cycle up. But there is something quite iconic about riding up the zig zags, and then when you reach the top the views over Surrey are too impressive to be missed. Oh, and there's a National Trust tea shop that serves the best cakes. Many club cyclists like to ride up Box Hill as fast possible, using it as a de facto hill climb competition, then collapse in a heap at the summit, thus justifying the need for cake.
Go to Box Hill on any weekend and you will find cyclists in their droves riding up the hill, and even more queuing up for their just friandise!

So really, the inclusion of Box Hill as part of the London 2012 Road Race route has been a good call in terms of showcasing cycling in London.

The trouble is, every single cyclist and their friends and family including Old Uncle Tom Cobley will want to be there - especially given the popularity of road racing nowadays. That will make slightly more than 15,000 people applying for tickets, I think! Although I am happy to know that my chance of getting access to Box Hill has suddenly benefited from a 4-fold increase, I don't think there is any cause for celebration. The section around Box Hill will now also be a ticketed event, with tickets on sale in April. The capacity at the Olympic Stadium is 80,000 but yet lots of people lost out in the ballot for tickets for the athletics events. So, if past record is anything to go by, I will only get onto Box Hill if there is a small section reserved for Greco-Roman wrestling where the cyclists wouldn't even bother to ride by! Or, I'll just resign myself to not getting a ticket and start making alternative plans. Leatherhead, here I come!

Victoria's New Bikes

Following on from the successful Cycletta events which aim encourage more women into cycling, Victoria Pendleton has taken things one step further by launching a range of women's bicycles for new lady cyclists.

In the genteel neighbourhood of Knightsbridge, a very graceful Ms Pendleton showed off one of her two-wheelers - the stylish blue and cream Somerby.

Victoria got the idea of launching this new range while at the Cycletta ride last year. She noted the great number of women doing their first ever cycling event were using bicycles borrowed from their son, their brother or another male relative.
The ladies expressed a wish to ride a women-specific bicycle that they can use for keeping fit, and something that they can look good on when riding.

With that in mind, the Olympic Individual Sprint Cycling Champion set to work designing bicycles that would suit new women cyclists and women looking for a traditional bike that can be ridden in neat non-cycling clothing.

So, from 22nd March (online)and 29th March in stores we ladies will have the choice of a step through Somerby with optional basket on the front, a Brooke hybrid, or a Dalby hybrid with more gears and mud guards - all at reasonable prices from Halfords.

"I have cycled since I was 6, so I know a bit about bikes," said the eight-time World Track Cycling champion. "These bikes are designed to be lightweight, functional and useable, though not competing with performance bikes. I just want women to enjoy riding their bike while looking good. I'm really excited to have had the opportunity to design these bikes."

My personal favourite is the Somerby as I fancy something that I can wear with a skirt. I may have a little penchant for the rough and tumble of a bike race, but it's still nice to feel like a lady when I ride my bike at other times. Good call, Victoria!

My Cycling Moment of the Week - 1

Happy New Year All!

Inspired by Andrew Neil's This Week programme I have decided to post my moment of the week on the blog. It won't be about politics (or at least only where it relates to cycling), I won't have the charm of Michael Portillo, the smoothness of Diane Abbott or the looks of Jacqui Smith! But it will be weekly and it will be on here rather than in a late-night studio with soft lights and a cosy settee. You won't even need BBC i-player to look at the post if you miss the first airing of the piece! It'll just be sitting here for you, dear Reader - for your enjoyment as you sip a glass of Blue Nun!

So, here is the first instalment.

Dear Miss David,

I am writing to both cyclists and drivers to remind them to take care on London’s roads.

Cyclists are reminded to:
• Be aware of blind spots all around large vehicles. It’s often safer to hang back
• Make eye contact with drivers to make sure they have seen you
• Not ride through red traffic lights. It’s dangerous and you can be fined £30
• Allow space between you and parked vehicles. Doors may be opened suddenly
Cycle training courses are available in most London boroughs.
For more information, please visit tfl.gov.uk/cyclesafety

Yours sincerely,

Ben Plowden
Director, Surface Planning

The good people at Transport for London (TfL) sent this rather helpful email (above) to cyclists earlier this week providing tips and guidelines.

I must admit that when I received it I could see the good intentions behind the note and how it could be useful to new cyclists. However, it made me chuckle a little and a sentence along the lines of granny and suck eggs crossed my mind.

Some of my fellow cyclists were particularly inflamed by the email and poured scorn on the memo, dismissing TfL as patronising and completely missing the point in terms of ensuring cyclists’ safety on London’s roads.

Although I did not react in the same way, I think that the people who got annoyed do have a point.

We have just rounded off a bad year for cyclists in London, with sixteen riders killed on the capital’s roads in 2011 (compared with ten in 2010). There were even two fatal accidents in as many weeks on the Bow roundabout, on one of the Mayor of London’s signature Cycle Superhighways.

Clearly, a review and re-design of busy junctions needs to take place. If people received details of the new measures being implemented, that would give a better signal to cyclists that TfL are addressing our needs.

A note like the one above may be useful to a newby commuter cyclist, but really TfL would be given more credit if they demonstrated what they will be doing to improve traffic flows for cyclists. Strangely enough I don't see any briefing to motorists reminding them not to drive so close to cyclists, cut us up at junctions or jump red lights....

TfL announced last week that it will be re-designing the cycle route on the Bow roundabout. I look forward to them sending me an email setting out the new cycle facilities.

That's your lot for this week!

A Year in Words

The weather in 2011 was quite memorable - from a snowy January in Yorkshire to a wet balmy December in Sligo. I got a good soaking on the Champs Elysees in July, though had enjoyed glorious sunshine on my bike tour of Cork and Kerry in April. We even experienced tropical temperatures on the North and South Downs in October. The weather did go a little topsy turvy in 2011 but it certainly wasn't dull!

With all this talk of revolutions and natural disasters, not to mention certain economic pressures on my purse it's not surprising that I didn't get out of the UK much. In 2011 I learnt to appreciate my home country that bit more. I did various trips to other parts of England - a boat trip along the River Ouse in November, riding around the South Downs in October and the New Forest in November, going to the Notting Hill Carnival for the first time in decades in August, Morris dancing in East Yorkshire in December, and walking the Three Peaks in June. I did a bit of English Theatre in February, French Theatre in March, and Italian poetry in May just by hopping on the number 3 bus to Oxford Circus!

2011 was a year in which I met lots of new folks - mainly through the cycle journalism. Jens Voigt (July), Victoria Pendleton (September), Mike Smith (December) were the more famous names, but I also met various cyclists when gathering vox pops for event features and through interviewing people. I found that no matter how confident you may be there's always that apprehension, during that first meeting, about making the first 20 secounds count. The pressure to have a stimulating conversation or get an interesting quote always lurks.

I have done alot of visualisation this year to get myself into the right frame of mind when leaving my comfort zone. I've visualised so much that I'm almost tuned out of the real world!

I don't know how much impact I actually made on the interviewees, or if these folks even remember me. Whatever, I'm happy with the way things went!

Of course this has been the year for lots of writing. In 2011 I had regular slots in Cycling Active and event features in Cycling Weekly magazines, as well as features in Cross-Crazy, Sportsister and Bike Magic online magazines. Thanks to the editors of the publications for taking a chance on me! :)

You may or may not have gathered that I do like putting pen to paper (albeit in a virtual sense). Sometimes it comes out abit waffly. Sometimes it's lucid. Occasionally it's higgeldy piggledy as I have been known to write my blog entries in the small hours of the morning after a tipple. Either way, writing has always been and always will be a pleasurable activity for me.

Huge thanks to you, for reading my bits and pieces during 2011.

Happy New Year!