The heat is on

After nearly eleven years in the tender hands of Southwest Trains and London Underground I finally took the plunge and decided to commute from my Surrey home to my Westminster job on two wheels.

Yes, I seriously thought about cycling. I didn't drive until I was 30 so for the first three decades of my life I cycled most places, but I decided 12 miles, much of it up hill, was just too far for this middle aged office worker!

When the price of the annual season ticket finally passed the price of a brand new small scooter, the decision was made - I bought my first powered two-wheeler. For two years I rode a 50cc Piaggio which was a serious adventure, I no doubt will recount, but last year I splashed out on a Vespa Granturismo 125 even though that meant having to take the CBT before I could legally ride it.

Currently the roads are very clear of traffic. Maybe the warm weather, currently over 30C is keeping people in doors, but even Wandsworth is virtually traffic free at 5pm this week. Even though it is easy to keep moving, the heat is starting to prove a problem. Yesterday the road surface was starting to melt, and today, with the higher humidity, so was I!

I am a firm believer in wearing protection on a bike. I once lost some skin coming off a pillion in my teens. Although it was very hot today, it could have been so much worse. I have invested in a flip up helmet to get some air on my face, a vented mesh jacket to get some air on my body, and some vented mesh gloves to get some air on my hands. I know it looks and feels cooler to ride bare handed in shirt sleeves, but road rash doesn't feel very cool when it happens to you!