WTF? People bike in this town?

I finally did it!  I biked to work.  It only took 6 months really.

It's been on my mind for ages.  I see people biking and it looks fun, healthy, active...all those things that make you think of happy people in commercials.  So I finally bought a bike.  And then it sat in my living room for a few weeks while I stared at it.  It became a drying rack for laundry.

Last Sunday, I decided that was it!  I must ride this thing!  I planned out the best biking route and hopped on the bike.  The biking route to work is a network of twists and turns overly complicating the 2 mile trip.  So much so, that I required a map just to navigate when to turn.  I had to stop frequently to check the map and make sure I was heading the right way.  After a nice cruise down the bus-free street where I live, I turned right onto some more traffic free streets.  All is fine, I thought.  This is fun!!  And then past Tavistock Square, the site of the bus bombing in 2005.  I looked for a memorial in the square center but didn't see anything.  I headed into SoHo where traffic was much busier.  But I made it!  Then I headed towards home, stopping at Regents Park to go around the park several times just to be able to ride fast and free.  I say fast, but everyone was passing me.  I'm still slow.  I noticed a guard with an automatic weapon.  That really seemed out of place in the park.  I found out a little later that it was in from of the house where Obama was staying.  Ohhhhh!  That 'splains it.  I didn't even know he was in town.  Then I hit the canals and was home.  Great!  That wasn't so bad.

Tuesday was a little different.  Sunday traffic and Tuesday 8:45am traffic are very different beasts.  I was so terrified, I just kept staring at the cyclists in front of me, missing my left turn.  I'm not even really sure where I was, but I just kept following the cyclists.  There was a small voice saying over and over, "What do I do?  What do I do?" And that voice was mine.  At one point, I was at the corner of Southampton Row and Holborn.  But I was on the northwest corner and I need to go east, that is I'm on the far left and I need to go right.  Not being able to figure how to do that easily, I just picked up the bike and became a pedestrian for a bit.  Once oriented in the right direction, I waited for traffic to pass, looking at my phone and then looking confused as if I was waiting for someone or something.  I do have my pride after all.  Can't let on that I have no idea what I'm doing.  Finally, it looked like a good moment to jump back into the fray.  I peddled on down Holborn, onto Shaftesbury and arrived at work.  And I was still shaking.

Home wasn't so bad, except for the giant hill just before home, but then...I was home!  And I just kept think, "WTF!  Why do people do that?  Drive a thing that is like a vehicle except with no front or sides or back on a busy street next to 2 story tall vehicles with very big fronts and sides and backs?"

I was thinking of riding in this morning until the security guard informed me that I need to be sure to get a sticker.  And that I should get in before 9:15 because there are only 30 spots for 150 bikes and you aren't allowed to lock your bike to anything.  Any bike that is not properly stored or is without a sticker gets towed.  If you miss getting a spot you have to take your bike outside and lock it to something else - like a rubbish bin or something.  So much for the Ride to Work Scheme.  But soon I'll move to a new building with lots of parking spots, so I won't have that excuse.  I'll just have to dig deep and find that courage to ride through Central London traffic!