Weird spam…
dewet February 8th, 2008
Even though I haven’t posted anything recently, I do get boatloads of spam; usually I let akismet trash them without any further concern, but this one caught my eye… Strange stuff:
Tube strike… ouch!
dewet September 3rd, 2007
Seems the Metronet strike could not have been averted. I don’t know about the maintenance workers, but with tube drivers earning in the region of £30k, I’m wondering what the real issue here is…
Thankfully I haven’t been on the tube in quite a while, thanks to my trusty steed and some good weather for cycling 
Critical Mass in London
dewet September 3rd, 2007
I attended my inaugural Critical Mass ride this Friday, and to my pleasant surprise I enjoyed it tremendously. It is great being able to roam the capital’s streets without the normal paranoid attitude towards cycling, and was especially complimented by the balmy summer’s evening we had. The sound systems that travelled along provided great accompaniment, and created a nice carnival atmosphere throughout.
On this occasion, we rode about 28km. The route took us from Waterloo to Holborn via Aldwych, on to Lamb’s Conduit Street and Gray’s Inn Road and back across Holborn to Tottenham Court Road, where we veered off for a detour via the West End: down Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square, across to Cockspur Street and right onto Regent Street, where we had a little street party at Piccadilly Circus: traffic was barely moving, so we stood in the dusk under the big billboards’ lighting, lifting bikes in salute to the pumping music and just celebrating freedom of the road. Tourists standing around were lapping this up!
Then, about four laps around Soho Square, before going back up Charing Cross / Tottenham Court Road, past Goodge Street and Warren Street stations, where we waited some time for the Mass to congregate again. We took some side roads along Regent’s Park, and took Parkway past Camden Town station, ending up in St. Pancras Way, past Euston, and ultimately Eversholt Street becoming Southampton Row. Passing Holborn for the third time, we continued past Aldwych and went down the Strand, got tangled up at Trafalgar Square until some decided we need to visit Parliament. So down Whitehall we went, and waited at Bridge Street for everyone to catch up. By this time, all the sound systems were turned down (silly SOCPA law!), and we proceeded to circle Parliament Square quite a few times.
Out of the blue we were joined by a lot of rollerbladers doing the same, which made for a merry end to the evening’s festivities. Apparently some of the cyclists decided to join the rollerbladers, and went off in the direction of Marble Arch until who knows what time 
I’ll definitely try to make the following Masses, weather, good health and self-discipline permitting! 
Latest toy
dewet May 2nd, 2007
Since arriving here, I haven’t been doing too much in the way of exercising. So, after having a few very frustrating weeks on public transport, and with the glorious spring weather that’s been hanging around, I’ve caved in and decided cycling to work should be a good option. Continue Reading »
Points failure and fire alerts
dewet February 28th, 2007
What normally constitutes a simple 20-minute train ride, turned into a hellish hour-plus journey between various overcrowded lines and stations to try and find an alternative route.
This isn’t the norm, luckily. Wish I’d known that before boarding the first time, since a bus would most probably have been quicker and less stressful.
