The darkside

There are loads of things you can do in central London on a wintry Thursday evening. Tonight I decided to do something that I've never done before. I went training. Er what's unusual about that I here you say. Well...it was dark. Yes, yes of course I've ridden in the dark before - coming back from work, friends houses, girlfriends place, work, and even from races. But whenever I go training its always done in daylight.

So there I was tonight circumnavigating one of the capitals most famous parks by bike (of course), in the dark, approximately 12 times. Hey, truth be told it wasn't quite as bad as I feared. It was a cold admittedly but riding quickly keep me warm ;-) The street lighting around Regents Park isn't the best, and what with my embarrassingly ineffective bike lights, and the fact I couldn't see glass, potholes or road markings things were understandably a little unnerving. Despite the vulnerability and the disconcerting nature of the riding in the blackness ,eventually this feeling softened and I felty almost embolden by the training task. I rode for ninety minutes and lived just on the edge of greatness. Ok it was around 20mph - but you get the picture

On each lap other cyclists (commuters) would appear - some looking like greenish apparitions in their ubiquitous green jackets. Most would turn off at the top of the 2.7 mile loop and head towards Camden town, Swiss cottage or Euston; but those that stuck around a bit longer become part of my own video game. I gobbled em up PAC - MAN stylee and then puffed out cold air while still trying to concentrate on my aerobic development.