Cyclebabble book

You may have gathered from the surprise treats that I have aged a further year and my generous family continue to fuel my cycling hobby.

Amongst the many gifts, I received several cycling-related books and I'm about to finish reading the first: Cyclebabble - Bloggers on biking, edited by J.Randerson and P.Walker.

I have struggled to put the book down and I immediately set the related Guardian newspaper's cycle blog as one of my favourites.

I like to think I'm a well rounded cyclist (pun slightly intended given my struggle with weight loss) and enjoy all forms of cycling, building bikes, commuting, racing, reading tips and other's opinions and the book ticks all of the boxes.

A couple of small memorable quotes from the book:

• "I believe that every time you swing your leg over the saddle, your heart lifts a little at a moment pregnant with possibility."
• "Your worst day on the bike is still better than your best day in the office."

One of the threads within the blog  has got me questioning part of my daily commute and I have become concerned whether I'm contributing to anti-social behaviour by cycling part of my early morning route on the Thames Path. I consulted a policeman who said it wasn't illegal and he wasn't aware of any by-laws banning it, but some new signs have been erected renaming the path as a walkway and adding cycle restrictions.  I'll continue to use it and ride considerately but I may have to look at an alternative safe route soon.