Once every few weeks I go to London to spend a day in our office in Clerkenwell. Its only about 2 hours door to door from home but it does make for a long day. In the past I have found myself shattered and unable to train in the evening. Today I made a conscious effort to drink a lot and also to have a decent lunch in a bid to put in a hill session this evening. Our office is next to Exmouth Market where there are street vendors at lunchtime selling various wares. A couple of curry houses set stalls up outside and do a ‘lunchbox’ for £5. It’s a fantastic deal with chicken, rice, salad, daal, and some flatbread, with a bottle of water thrown in too. I normally need a snack in the afternoon but today I was properly spoilt as a 1st class train ticket home was a pound cheaper than standard. Lots of complementary food and drink, they even had a healthy bean salad so my diet didn’t go off the rails.
Unfortunately I am not currently using the Boris hire bikes as my account is locked. No matter what I do, web, phone or email, I can’t seem to get the thing unlocked, so I am back to walking or the nightmare which is the tube at rush hour.
I’m sure in Clerkenwell there is a niche boutique bike shop opening every month now, dutch bikes was the most recent I spotted today. The latest trend seems to be very little stock and lots of white space, a bit like a trendy office with two bikes leant up in the corner, a bit like well…. most of the trendy offices around. Perhaps I should take everyone I know’s old crappy worn out mountain bikes down and stick them in our office window, put a couple of photos from the early 90s blown up on the wall and open a bike shop RETRO, only spelt with an E the wrong way round. I’d make a mint !