53 Comments

No argument with that Terry, Enjoyment fulfilled via reading and writing. Peace, Maurice.

Expand full comment

Nice scenery!

Expand full comment

Yes, it's quite pretty there, with several very different landscapes

Expand full comment

Well now, surely all the arts, including martial, are full of such devices. stemming from Life's Alternate Realities. The fun, as Steve Shep used to say, is in spotting them. Karel Lewis disagreed " The fun is in creating them". Peace plus chuckles, Maurice

Expand full comment

Thanks, Maurice. I think those propositions are not mutually exclusive. I enjoy both roles

Expand full comment

Great exercise... the writing, not the bike ride. 😉 Love the photos of Fairlop Island.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Sue 😁

Expand full comment

Welcome, He. 💜

Expand full comment

🫡

Expand full comment

I was thinking while reading this, Is Rebecca coming along? And then, boom, as she says below. Have you read _How to talk about books you haven't read?_ by Pierre Bayard? It's worth every word, a hoot, and an insight into literature as well, with a tongue in cheeky style!

Expand full comment

Thanks Mary. I've dipped into it. I must read it properly. 😁

Expand full comment

Loved this, Terry! At first I was enjoying the scenic descriptions of your leisure life in the saddle.... and then BOOM, there's the epilogue explaining just what you're up to!

Really clever - ingenious, actually!

I've been meaning to get my bike out of the shed for weeks now. The thing is, there's so much IN the shed between the doorway and the bike... so even once I've got the thing out I'm going to have to sort the shed out so as to be able to put the bike back in in such a way as to leave it get-in-and-get-out-able on a regular basis.

*sighs*

Might take to storing the bike elsewhere - there might be room behind the sofa. Wonder if Jim will notice? 🤔

Expand full comment

Thanks, Rebecca. The stuff about life in the saddle was TRUE. The only thing that isn't is the premise of the book. Glad you think it's ingenious though so I'll let you off.

Bike in shed: Get Jim to clear the shed. Tell him to put his Kodak Instamatic or Box Brownie away for an hour.

Expand full comment

LOL - yes, I know the story itself was true, but the premise behind your post had taken me by (impressed) surprise!

Actually I should have gone out there to grab my bike just now - it was more accessible than usual for a brief moment while he was using the in-the-way mower to cut the grass... 🙄

Expand full comment

Last I heard, you were the mower. I guess he does get to do it too. 👍

Expand full comment

You're absolutely right, Matt - it used to be the case! Nice recall! These days, though, we're about 50/50. The balance is redressed.....! 🙌

Expand full comment

Would it help if I posted some of the vet treats to you so you can give him little rewards?

Expand full comment

🤣 Naaaaah, he knows where the fridge is! 😉

Expand full comment

🤣

Expand full comment

"Impressed". "Ingenious". These are the words I like, Rebecca. Keep going, don't stop now.

Expand full comment

A master dissembler. What if this were to turn into a real book? Then that would be experiment complete. Like the sketch and all the photos to help us along the imaginary journey. Also I like the focus on narrow, frightening paths! I ride my bike around Basel, but avoid MOST PLACES because they scare the hell out of me. Tram tracks, car doors opening...so many people ride without helmet so casually and I'm just not adept at city road biking I guess. Luckily the ride to the swimming pool as well as my favorite cafe are pretty straightforward.

Expand full comment

PS It did occur to me to turn it into a real book, although at the moment I can't face the amount of research time it would need.

Expand full comment

I imagine! We only have so much time...

Expand full comment

Exactly!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Kathleen, but what do you mean by "imaginary journey"? How dare you? Everything in the post was real. Come to England, and I will take you around the route myself, with a chaperone of your choice if you prefer.

Road biking is definitely a skill. Yesterday I narrowly avoided being crushed in two separate incidents because of stupid motorists. A year ago, I either would have been, or would have wobbled so much in fright that I'd have fallen off my bike.

Great that you can cycle to swimming pool. I could too but (a) would be worried about bike being stolen and (b) worried about having the energy to get home afterwards!

"Master dissembler": aw, shucks, thanks for the flattery :-)

Expand full comment

Ha. I like the blending of reality and fake. I would be pleased to attempt the route with you!

Good points. On hot days I take the tram to the pool as what’s the point of cooling down just to sweat on the way home??

Expand full comment

Very true, Kathleen! 😊 Are the trams cool? I ask because in London the buses are like greenhouses. Our newest train though, the Elizabeth Line, has wi-fi and air conditioning. Bliss!

Expand full comment

Yikes. Yes, they are pretty much the only thing in the city with AC. I can definitely ride around longer than necessary 😁

Expand full comment

😁👍

Expand full comment

I had to look up what a twitcher was.

Got it now. :).

Expand full comment

I didn't know what it was either when I first heard it. I thought it referred to people with a tic.

Expand full comment

Brilliant, Terry! Very well executed. Without the footnote, and without me being the perpetrator of that review, I would have believed this was an excerpt from a genuine book! You exceeded my expectations here! So much so that I am now concerned about the return favour 😅😛

Expand full comment

Thank you, squire. LoL 🤣 As for the "return favour", I'm working on it.

Expand full comment

I honestly thought you’d made up “Goodmayes Station, on the Elizabeth line”, had to Google it. I don’t know what’s real & what’s not anymore thanks to you and Nathan... Fantastic chapter, though. Can’t wait to see what you come up with for Slake!

Expand full comment

I was also left wondering and did the same!

Expand full comment

Excellent, excellent. Mouth-watering or should I say feet-tickling? In any case, I applaud the exercise and execution! Pity, I don't have a bike. Someone stole it.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Alexander. Very sorry to hear about your bike. Bike theft is terrible in the UK. We tend to two heavy duty locks on ours. They work, and come with insurance, but they're quite heavy to lug around and it's just one extra layer of faff we have to contend with. Still. Will you get yourself another bike?

Expand full comment

At some point, we'll all get new bikes. Cheap ones...

Expand full comment

Yes, it's not worth spending a huge amount for everyday use.

Expand full comment

How dare they! Stealing a bike is such a low, low crime.

Expand full comment

I agree, Nathan.

Expand full comment

C'est la vie. It was in front of the Office, too, before we had a fenced-off bike parking... There were a number of shoddy bikes "loitering" around town, though, which people kept "borrowing," a sort of precursor to today's Vélib'

Expand full comment

We always try to leave our bikes near obviously more expensive ones!

Expand full comment

good plan! never clean it either, thick layers of grime, a reliable deterrent!

Expand full comment

Defo! 😂

Expand full comment

A clever device, this reversal of review and book reviewed!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Mark. It was fun, but quite a challenge!

Expand full comment

I think you should write the whole book!

Expand full comment

LOL. Me too, Mark. But at the moment I don't think I can face the amount of research time that will be required. Very tempted though!

Expand full comment

No matter which route you take, it all sounds like following a treasure map to me, Terry! A thrilling ride!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Sharron! Yes, it does read rather like a treasure map doesn't it? I've been hanging about with Rebecca Holden for too long. 🤣

Expand full comment

Yeah, but you didn't get lost, did you? Seems none of my qualities are in fact rubbing off on you after all.... 😉

Expand full comment

🤣

Expand full comment