On the cycle path I am free to turn up the X-Mini II speaker on the handlebar and just enjoy the ride, going at my own pace without fear of any vehicular traffic. Then once the cycle path ends I can feel myself mentally getting ready to claim my own bit of space with the other road users. Metaphorically I will fight for it too as I refuse to ride in the gutter.

As I’ve said the before the air horn usually has its say when a vehicle driver does not indicate, drives too close or more annoyingly sees a cyclist as something to overtake and then ignore once they have driven past, especially in slow moving traffic. But that never happens on the cycle path, which I am going to miss during the winter months.

Now I need some more physical training with winter coming up. This season renders cycle paths dangergous to use due to the build up of ice so I am forced to use the road and sometimes take up a whole lane (in four lane traffic) when there is an unending mound of slush next to the kerb.

So the choice is to try to use the road along with car / bus / truck / taxi drivers who do not want to share it or watch my waist line expand while I pay money to sit on a bus stuck in traffic. So I’ll be buying another set of winter tyres with embedded spikes. : )