Last time I went, I wasn't too impressed by what I saw of the
"superhighways" which were just a thin strip of road on the edge of the main one painted blue.
This time I saw "proper" segregated cyclepaths similar to those in my town on which I rode. This wasn't Kennington like last time, but Dulwich with some scarily posh looking houses nearby, and a private toll road. Was advised by the bike shop owner and an acquaintance in the shop to have a ride round
Dulwich Park. It has a wide road running through it that's been closed to most traffic for some years. So I did a few circuits.
Took some photos. But they're not here because I accidently deleted them fiddling about with my camera on the train, trying to figure out how it worked...well, I've only had the camera 9 years or so, you expect me to actually know how to work the thing? So I downloaded some from the Wikimedia Commons site:
 |
| Dulwich Park; photo courtesy Paul Whittington, Wikimedia Commons |
You could hire 3-wheeled recumbent type bikes from the stall - think they were meant for kids really:
 |
| Cycle Hire; picture courtesy Danny Robinson, Wikimedia Commons |
The experience was pleasant and I have plans to explore other London parks too by bike; come to think a day riding around London visiting the parks on a Boris bike or Brompton at some time in the not-too-distant future sounds appealing.
Think I'll call them Park
Pootles. Certain ring to that - rather like it...could apply it in other ways for example - is a bike a good Park Pootler?
 |
| Toer Populaire...Pootler Extraordinaire... |
Anyway, also bought a Gazelle single kickstand for my Kettler Spirit. The one that came with this bike isn't its best feature and I've lost count of the number of times it's fallen over, each time resolving that it wouldn't happen again...
 |
| nice, big solid thing that gives peace of mind when you park the bike... |
 |
| ...except it's too small... |
Impressed with the stability of the one on my Gazelle Toer Populaire, I thought it would be a good idea to buy one for the Kettler. Well, it would have been except it didn't fit...Ah, well, there are other options: I do like the double ones by
Velo Orange which are of adjustable length. On my shopping list for purchase in the near future. Come to think, it probably won't be the only thing I buy from them as there's some interesting stuff. Thank goodness for the internet - so much in the way of useful accessories would be nearly unobtainable otherwise.
