February 06th, 2014

Its days like today that represent one of the most dangerous and risky days to be a motorcyclist in London. Yesterday, part of the Underground Union decided that strike action was in order following a disagreement over ticket office closures and job losses. This resulted in a massive increase to the volume of traffic trying to navigate The City. Now, it it is fairly clear to me that a motorcycle is the best way to get across the city on most days, especially ones like today, but there are however problems. As the volume of traffic increases, drivers suddenly become exceedingly territorial about that tiny piece of tarmac in front of them, much more so than usual. Its like the last bottle of water in the desert, or the last cheap sofa in the Ikea sale. Its pretty frightening at times as they squeeze up and dart into a space, no matter how insignificant. Couple this aggression with people who rarely cycle, let alone cycle in Central London, using those god awful Barclays Boris bikes and you have a recipe for disaster. Oh and did I mention it was raining....hard, which meant pedestrians have a tendency of running into the road instead of using crossing, or without looking for that matter, in a vain attempt to either stay dry(er) or catch a bus.
With these factors in mind, I refused to let myself get annoyed or angry with anything on my ride home today. My main aim, which it is on every journey for that matter, was to get home safe and sound. Thankfully this mission was accomplished, but in a slower than normal time. I mean imagine how annoyed the boys at Metropolis will be if I got seriously injured and couldn't pay my bill. I mean, that's just not cricket dear boy.