Friday 24 July 2009

My bike commute

Every day when I ride to and from work I get reminded of how lucky I am to be living in such a great city. London is such a historic and cultural hub and my bike commute takes me next to many wonderful sites of this city. So as I ride by the Westminster or some other similar site and see all the tourists who pay a lot of money to be here, I realise every day that sometimes I take it for granted. And I do complain about the weather a lot but sun or rain it truly is one of the most amazing cities in the world.

So here are few pictures which will show you my everyday bike commute.

As I leave my office and head home, few minutes into my ride I get amazing views like these ones:





Of course I do get stuck in the traffic sometimes but that is usually along the Embankment and I know to expect it so it doesn't bother me very much. Plus the later you leave work the better the traffic is. My most favourite commute rides are around midnight (after some late nights in the office) - i LOVE them.



But then I start getting closer to the Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and I LOVE being "stuck" there at the traffic lights - the architecture never ceases to amaze me.



Then I ride along the St. James' Park and cycle right in front of the Buckingham palace, waving to Her Majesty every day :)))



Cross the lights by the Buckingham Palace and I enter the cycle route of the Green Park. It is usually quite busy but I love it:



Next, Hyde Park corner - the riders are allowed to go through the roundabout rather than around it and at any time I was there there are usually at least 15-20 riders on their commute. It is like a little peloton going through the gates and I find the faces of tourists when they see us most amusing.



And then enter and ride through Hyde Park. In the morning the park is usually full of horse-riders but on any summer afternoon you will find heaps of people doing all sorts of sports and fun events and I love it.



Once I leave the Hyde Park I turn into High Street Kensington passing Royal Albert Hall and the Kensington gardens (pictured below)



And then, less than 5 minutes to home, one of my favourite stops - Whole Foods.



I really believe that I live in one of the best parts of London and I am very very grateful for it. Any visitors, very welcome :)))

7 comments:

D said...

What's cool to me is I've actually seen all those sights and remember seeing them just as you photographed them. Nice!
I'll be there tomorrow haha :)

Charisa said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I LOVE IT!!!! I'm coming to visit for sure :) Such an awesome bike commute you have! I would love to try it with you sometime at midnight - that sounds super cool!

Molly said...

I think you definitely win the award for best bike commute (OK, so maybe Paris might beat it for me but I don't know anyone who lives in Paris anymore LOL). Beautiful photos! :)

Erin said...

I agree with Molly. You probably have the best commute by far. Some people only dream about seeing those places and you can see them each and every day!

Beth said...

Oh very cool!!! I will have to take you up on that offer to visit sometime. :)

jessithompson said...

I wish. You ARE lucky. I've never been to London before, but hope to someday. Your pics are lovely. :)

Marit C-L said...

Seriously - the best bike commute, EVER! Thanks for sharing the photos - now more than ever I want to visit! And the midnight ride...? Would be fun to try! I LOVE running when its dark - so I can imagine riding through those places would be pretty neat! :)