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My apologies, dear readers, for not letting you know I was taking most of September off from bike blogging. Even your most enthusiastic author needs a respite every now and then...
I've just returned from summer holidays on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes. And of course even when on holiday thoughts of bikes and cities are never far from one's mind.
We saw streets laid out on a human scale...
..the most amazing pavements built by hand from black and white pebbles (wouldn't one of these look nice in the middle of Regent Street?)..
...urban planning and density patterns ancient Greek style..
...and of course, even on Rhodes where the sun beats down 300 days of the year people were choosing to go by bike because it is, here and as everywhere, simply the best way to get about.
So now I'm home again; I've had to dig the bike lights out of the cupboard as Autumn approaches, but normal service will now be resumed on ibikelondon. I hope you all enjoyed a fantastic summer!
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I've just returned from summer holidays on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes. And of course even when on holiday thoughts of bikes and cities are never far from one's mind.
We saw streets laid out on a human scale...
..the most amazing pavements built by hand from black and white pebbles (wouldn't one of these look nice in the middle of Regent Street?)..
...urban planning and density patterns ancient Greek style..
...and of course, even on Rhodes where the sun beats down 300 days of the year people were choosing to go by bike because it is, here and as everywhere, simply the best way to get about.
So now I'm home again; I've had to dig the bike lights out of the cupboard as Autumn approaches, but normal service will now be resumed on ibikelondon. I hope you all enjoyed a fantastic summer!
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7 comments:
Dig lights out the cupboard? I'd have thought that they'd be attached to the bike all year round. When I got my current bike, one of the requirements was Dutch style lights properly bolted on so that I don't need to take them off the bike and potentially forget them. I got fed up with people asking me why I was carrying my lights around even so it was the middle of the day.
Glad to hear that you had a nice break this month. The pictures are amazing and I'm sure you've got a whole lot more stories to tell.
Darryl
Good to see you bck. I fitted lights to my bike, dutch style this year and I haven't regretted it yet, although my bike is fortunate and lives in a nice German village whee people don't tend to smash anything left outside overnight. If I was communing in a city and leaving it chained to a lamppost while I was at work, I'd probably go with the removable lights.
By the way, those cobbles in your pictures- aren't they bit unfimfortable to ride on? We have them in Germany (often in the former DDR) and they need care in the wet.
Er... 'communing' should read 'commuting'.
Although I'm sure some clergy ride bikes...
@Shaun My bike does have hub lights, but London drivers being what they are I also decorate myself with a couple of blinkies in the absence of any high vis stuff. I agree, hub lights are great, although as Andy in Germany points out it is a worry sometimes that they might not still be on my bike when I come back.
@Daryl Thanks for your kind comments, hope you had a good summer over on the other side of the pond!
@Andy in Germany The cobbles aren't so bad, as they're very small (each pebble is about the size of your little finger) meaning you don't get the bumpy ride like on the cobble streets of northern Europe with big brick sized cobbles. And besides, they're really beautiful and slow down traffic. And as it would seem it very rarely rains in Rhodes it's not too much of a problem. These were mostly used in pedestrianised areas and the Old Town.
It's been a great summer and with temperatures still in the 100's, it's still going on over here. I'd sure love to get over to Europe one of these days.
Darryl
@Darryl Come visit us sometime! Look me up should you find yourself over here and we'll go for a ride around the sites of London.
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