A Good Day Cycling

Written by a 52 year old female Library Assistant from Finchley, London.

Written on August 12th 2010.

It’s 6.20am, I’ve woken up before the 6.30am alarm as I have to get to work early today because I’m doing the minutes at the monthly meeting. Last month I got stuck on the North Circular (A406) due to horrendous road works and somebody else took my place. I’m also excited because today is the first day I’m cycling to work (from Finchley N12 to North Middlesex University Hospital N18) on my new electric bicycle that a very kind person has recently given to me! What a fantastic gift, I am still overwhelmed and grateful.

Arrived at work early 8:45 – record time. The ride was amazing, brilliant, fantastic. I’ve designed my own route which starts by going through Victoria Park N3 – lovely air and the trees were swaying in the wind. I passed one jogger and was very aware of the electric motor - it makes me smile as I must sound a bit like a mini-milk float zooming past. Continue down Long Lane and take a short cut through an alley which leads through some quiet back roads. I do not like cycling on main roads as I find many drivers aggressive and if I’m at the front of the queue at traffic lights when they turn green, car drivers tend to put the throttle down hard and desperately try to pass me almost as if they are in some sort of personal race.

Many car drivers forget that it is only my skin between me and their car or the pavement whereas they are protected by a bubble of steel. Once on the High Road, N2, I had the most amazing few seconds – I say few seconds because that was how long the green marked cycle path lasted – I often imagine cyclists must then be expected to disappear into the atmosphere – it was so nice to feel safe, knowing that cars couldn’t drive on the green tarmac. I took a quick left up one of the county roads and then a short cut past a church and onto a road that runs parallel with Fortis Green. Once in Muswell Hill, I went down and down Dukes Avenue until I could go no further.

At the gates of Alexander Palace I went through the park and down another very steep hill - whee. Once out the other side I crossed a bridge and found a lovely green cut-through to Bounds Green Road, I went straight across, through some more green parkland and ended up in Palmerston Road, halfway down I took a right and headed over the main road to Tottenhall Road, towards the end I turned right into Pasteur Gardens where a car decided it wouldn’t stop at a mini roundabout even though I had right of way and missed me by millimetres. With my heart still pounding, I nipped over the A10 and shot up Wilbury Way – I had made it in less than an hour even though I’d forgotten the map.

I was full of energy and happiness rather than being stressed after being stuck in a bus on the North Circ and worrying about getting to work on time. I made the tea and took minutes at the meeting. There were only three of us, J is still away, she broke her wrist and S told us she’d been rushed into our hospital at the weekend with a kidney infection – A and I said we’d go and see her. (I work in a medical library at the hospital) We’re going through lots of changes at the moment and we had a brainstorming session on how we could encourage more people to use the library.

Our library is not just about books on shelves, we do so much more – training, literature searches, inter-library loans, journals, new books, wonderful exhibitions, and most importantly we support our users who are a fantastic, hardworking bunch. For example we have student nurses, some of whom are studying for their first degree and not only are they studying but they are often managing families, small children AND working – I admire them immensely.

After the meeting A and I went to visit J. It was so weird going to one of the wards and seeing a colleague in bed, in the hospital. We spend so much time in the library we are protected from the harsh reality of what really happens on the wards. J looked pale but was obviously feeling better as she was dressed and told us what had happened – we didn’t need to worry about not having anything to say because J kept us entertained with her experiences. She was in one of the new wards and it was very nice almost like a film set. A group of doctors arrived so A and I said our goodbyes. Back in the library I had my mid-morning snack – bread and honey with another cup of tea.

A asked what I’d been doing the night before, I told her it was the monthly writing group meeting which was very enjoyable – we looked at R and H’s novels. H is worried because she works for the local council and has been told there are to be redundancies – it is hard not to be bitter when the local papers recently announced that our local councillors and leader have awarded themselves huge pay rises. I’m surprised that David Cameron hasn’t stepped in and told them to re-think. I love being part of a writing group, meeting up with fellow writers, putting pen to paper – it is one of the favourite nights of the month.

I’m a little worried because in September I’m due to start studying Librarianship at Brighton UNiversity and I may not have the time to write and I don’t think the group will let me off for a couple of years!! It was a late night at the library, I finished at 6pm and was very excited about cycling home. I retraced my steps but this time I sat for a while by the pond in Ali Pali and ate a packet of crisps and a Mars bar – I was starving. I saw the most amazing sight – at least 15 geese flew from the sky in perfect formation and landed on top of the water squawking and generally making a racket. Incredible.

At the top of Duke’s Avenue, I cycled round the Broadway and nipped into Sainsburys. I bought some cat food for the babies, Waffle and Muffin and also the old lady – Marmalade - plus some milk and Ecover washing-up liquid. Once home I had to clear up after Waffle who keeps having accidents. I think I will have to get him to start using the tray again. I was a bit concerned about him for a while because the vet told me he only had one testicul which would mean a major operation to find the missing one – I’ve since checked and am pretty sure, he now has two. I made baked potato and beans, with banana and yoghurt for pudding. I was very tired, I spoke briefly to D and J, my sons, read my book and went to bed.

All in all the most remarkable part of the day was cycling to and from work on an electric bike – because it is power-assisted, uphill is much easier. Most of the roads were relatively quiet, this is because the schools are on holiday and parents aren’t ferrying them to and from school. This means that I felt quite confident on the road, I don’t know what it will be like in September when school re-opens and everyone returns from annual leave. I feel so lucky to have been given this wonderful gift and opportunity to not only get to work without stress but also to save money – Library Assistants are poorly paid but rich in knowledge and creativity.