4 miles to the cricket. The differentiating feature of today's foray was that the cricket was at Lord's and the 4 miles from Waterloo was ridden on a Boris Bike. My first adventure on one of these contraptions.
They are truely hideous machines. Or maybe the one I was riding was just a particularly knacked example. It was like pedalling through molasses - hot , sweaty, and not at all fast. Maybe the brakes were stuck on - which would have created a sort of symmetry as pulling the levers had caused very little additional stopping. But I made it in under 30 mins despite coming across every traffic light in Christendom. So, financially, it was a bargain.
Route as above.
London riding was wonderful. The most benign and courteous drivers I've experienced in years of riding. I suppose they're just used to cyclists - whereas round here, when drivers see a bike on the road they think "What the fuck's that on the road? Is it dangerous? Hell, I'll run it over just to be on the safe side".
It was a great day at the cricket (and lots of wickets) but, TBH, it wasn't the greatest of cycling experiences despite the traffic. I'll take my own bike next time I want some London urban time. Maybe the Sightseer audax in September.