Wheels of Addis

Felix got his Christmas present early yesterday in the form of a new bike. We bought it off a friendly Spaniard and I swear it’s sturdier than a tank. It’s an old Trek Antelope 850 and it towers over my little (ironically named) Giant. We just had to take it out for a spin!

The weekend’s adventures started with my first foray into two new routes courtesy of the National Cycle Network. I cycled home from Soho to Brockley using a combination of routes. It was dark. It was cold. And frankly a bit of a nightmare. I kept getting lost as the signposts were less than forthcoming. I somehow found myself going round the houses in a council estate in Bermondsey (lost) and an imposing private warehouse complex behind Millwall football club (lost). Boy was I glad when I finally found Brockley! After a quick uphill shuffle, I was home, safe and warm.

Today was route 21. A ride from Brockley to the glorious birthplace of Kate Moss, Croydon. This time I had Felix to keep me company. Plus it was daylight, so a little less spooky altogether. Still, we managed to get lost more than once as the signposts weren’t always easy to find.

We started the day by getting Felix’s new bike ready. It’s a little rough around the edges and needed its brakes adjusting. Here’s the adjusting in progress:

Once done, we were off into the wilderness. Cycle route 21 takes you along the waterways, so the majority of the ride was off the main road, through parks and along canals. We went through Ladywell, Crofton Park, Catford, Kent House, New Beckenham and finally Croydon.

Here I am looking very happy about cycling over a bridge somewhere in Catford:

At Kent House, I discovered the house of my dreams (you can’t really see how cute it is in this picture, but it really was too cute):

And growing on the side of my dream house, some beautiful physalis. Ripe for the picking:

The sun was setting by the time we reached Croydon Football Club, so we decided to turn around and head back. But not before admiring the local Christmas decorations…

That’s right. Christmas really is coming to Croydon!

Once home, we warmed up with homemade roast tomato and sweet pepper soup with grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. Oh, and mince pies. Bring on the festive cheer!