There’s a tube strike today. Possibly run a bit over to tomorrow, so the Unions can get maximum disruption from minimal loss of income. Shrewd. And we, the commuters, the would-be travellers, the poor working masses of London, become just pawns in the ludicrous power struggle between Transport for London and the unions. And the disconnect between these two opposing parties is as vast as it is tragic.

The Unions insisted that they called for talks. TFL said the Unions refused to talk. The Unions claim ‘600 jobs are at risk, plus the terms and conditions for every worker, their pension rights AND their work/life balance’. TFL claim that ‘our proposals cause no job losses, no affect on pensions and no changes to their working methods’. I wonder if they’ve even had a conversation with, like, each other? To work out that there is absolutely nothing to complain, worry, moan or STRIKE about.

So fuck ‘em all, I’m going by bike. But not just any bike, not even my bike, I going in on a ‘lectric bike!!! Ooooohhhh. That’s… errr… lazy? Princessy? Actually, its just brilliant. Don’t know why I have managed to avoid this so far (other than the traffic, the accidents, bike-blind van drivers and the deaths). But I borrowed the bike from a friend. Who, let’s just say is unlikely to have worn the tyres out in the year he’s owned it. Most of where the bike spends its time is actually carpeted. And warm.

The bad thing is that you have to spend time around heaps of jammed up cars, all of which absolutely hate you, to wheedle a way round so you can speed off again whilst they’re left enjoying their jams. The good bit is that on an electric bike, you just have to pedal. But strainlessly, effortlessly, easily, regardless of hills, inclines, mountains, anything. You don’t exert. At all. The bike exerts for you. So you can concentrate on the vans, pot-holes, manhole covers, drains and cracks in the road. You can set the bike for ‘level of electric assistance’, from 1 (hard work) to 5 (no work). And being an eager fitness freak, I set it straight to 5, which I will never move.

When I planned my route, google maps told me it would take 59 minutes by car, but only 39 by bike. And, as always, google was right. And I’m sooooo looking forward to the ride home. Especially because its virtually all uphill. A journey for ‘real men’, or in my case, ‘real batteries’.

Happy Strike Day

A xxxx