Confederacy of a Dunce - How I avoid unnecessary travel

Friday, December 30, 2005

« Holiday ramble | Main | New Year festivities »

Today's headlines shout "Coldest day in 19 years" as temperatures as low as -10C were reported in parts of the UK, and travelers are again suggested to avoid all unnecessary travel as the winter storms are due to continue today. So of course I decided to put on my layers and ride my bike to the lab to get some work done. After all, it was above freezing (1 C), and the rain was only heavy at times (and I couldn't tell that there was a 25-30mph wind until I was out in it). And the rain only got harder as I rode. Not being entirely equipped with rain gear (only my jacket and shoulder bag are waterproof), I got drenched pretty much instantly (even though I have installed fenders on my bike as a good cycle-commuting citizen). Fortunately I had enough layers that I stayed warm (thanks mainly to the Remington ninja costume I was wearing under my layers), and a small bit of foresight meant that I had some dry clothing waiting for me in the office. To conserve energy over the holiday period (the university is technically shut until January 2) all heating has been turned off; fortunately I was able to scavenge a space heater from a colleague's office, which (the heater, not the office) is now surrounded by damp clothing, giving a lovely steam-bath air to the office. By the time I head for home, my clothes will be dry enough that I can put them on, until I soak them again within minutes of going out the door.

Other than me, there are no signs of life in the building (most university staff seem to be taking full advantage of the official closure), so it's been a good opportunity to get a lot of work done without interruption or disruption. The nasty weather also meant that I was able to sneak into a very public space¹ (Be warned, the footnote may contain geocaching spoilers) to find another geocache. I've known about this one for quite some time (and have even seen it!), but there always seem to be lots of people in its immediate vicinity so I have been unable to complete my visit by signing the logbook. Today was different: the driving rain and cold temperatures meant that even the most hardened bench-sitters had gone somewhere else, so I was able to finish finding the cache and mark the logbook. Now I'm back in the lab with a hot cup of coffee and just a few more things to finish (and just a few more items of clothing to dry) before the journey home. At least the wind will be (mostly) at my back (if the local weather station is to be trusted).

^<1>The location deserves its own entry, not just a footnote to my new interest in geocaching. But for now, this will have to do. It's Tavistock Square, site of the bus explosion this past July (here are a couple of entries I wrote at the time: the day; the next day). Here's a very nice panoramic photo of the square, taken on a much nicer day than today. The main feature of the square is a statue of Mahatma Ghandi (photo, another photo); it also contains a memorial to conscientious objectors, an Hiroshima tree and Holocaust memorial (for these reasons, and its proximity to Friends House, it's the first stop on the "London Peace Trail"). All that right under my nose, across the street from my office.

bike | travel

Friday, December 30, 2005 2:19:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Disclaimer | Comments [3] | Related posts:
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Friday, December 30, 2005 7:39:29 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

And you wonder why you get double pneumonia or such!!!!!

Big Mama

Monday, January 02, 2006 1:47:08 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

i love that Sq, i used to sit there at night with a bottle of wine waiting for it to get dark so i could find a place to sleep. When i was homeless:
http://www.fuckcunttwat.com/j1/home/

check here:
http://www.fuckcunttwat.com/j1/spin/
and click on "Gandhi - Tavistock Sq"
cool post by the way, we all know that wet, bike feeling ):

johnie1 | purevilAT NOSPAMkittymail dot com

Monday, January 02, 2006 3:07:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Wow, those spinning pictures are excellent. Although now I'm feeling a bit of motion sickness....

The Dunce