London on Two Wheels

In a bid to be financially efficient and do my little bit to save the environment, all of two months after selling my bike I am on the lookout for a new one! London is an amazing city to live in and although we have a great transport network, boasting underground trains that turn up as if by magic, literally 90 seconds apart during rush hour, it is an increasingly expensive way to get around and no good for local, suburban travel. For that, I will be relying on my two wheeled friend, the bicycle.

Cycling as a lifestyle choice as opposed to as a fitness fad is proving to be super interesting. I find myself looking at every bike stand I pass, taking a mental note of their choice of bike, pannier, basket, locks etc. My new bike is going to be an homage to the old school vintage bikes, perhaps a Raleigh or Pashley, with a wicker basket, space for a double pannier bag at the back and a low cross bar so I can get on and off in any outfit, without having to wear any specialist kit. It needs to be light weight yet durable enough to go off road, for those lovely evening and weekend rides through the parks and forests of London with the family.

Princess is about to turn 5 and is too large for the bike seats so unfortunately I won’t be able to cycle with her to school, but I do want her to get into the cycle culture too and plan to buy her a new lightweight bike and encourage her to ditch the stabilisers once and for all. She loves Epping Forest and being able to ride through it with both myself and her daddy could be a great way to spend some of our free time. I know there are options to literally ‘tether’ a child’s bike onto the adult’s but I don’t think our route to school would be safe enough so for now, the weekend trails will be her insight into the wonderful world of cycling.

Do you use your bike to get around town? If so, I’d love to hear your tips and ancedotes. Leave a message in the comments section for me!

Tin (circusmums.com)