How to waste a day on a bike service

As part of the deal of buying a new bike, Condors give you your first service free so that all the cables can be tightened and an inspection made of all the moving parts. After what I paid for it it's the least they can do.

I booked it in earlier this week on account of the problems I had with the gears on Sunday so they told me to bring it in today, Thursday. My plan was to take it in by train and ride the small distance to the shop. The I realised that I couldn't take it on the train before 10 so I thought I would ride all the way instead - not realising that today is one of the windiest days for about ten years. So I decided to bung it in the back of the car and drive in.

I left at 10 and got to the shop an hour later, 7 miles in an hour, how rubbish is that. Then I had to stick 80p in the meter for 12 minutes parking. 12 Minutes?! Then I dropped the bike off and asked to pick iy up again at 1pm. So with just under two hours to kill I went to draw out some money and get some change for the machine. Not enough change so I went to another shop to get more change, bunged £8 in for two hours and then went to pay the £8 congestion charge.

I found a superb little coffee shop on Clerkenwell Road, full of arty film types which served the finest cappucino I've ever been served. The staff were friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed. It was joined to an Italian deli and I would definitely recommend the Apricot Danish. All for £3.40.

This killed an hour. The wind was really kicking up by this point and I headed down to Holborn to sample the exclusive shopping facilities (WHSmith, Boots, Rymans, Robert Dyas). After some very dull retail visits it was time to return to collect the bike. I chucked it in the back of the car and spent another hour getting home. The wind had caused pandemonium by this point and the A13 was littered with collapsed hoardings and even the roof of one of the local schools had blown off causing the building to be abandoned and the children to be relocated to another local facility.

My point about all this is that I lost a day's contract cash to get a free cycle service when I could have just paid for one at a decent shop over in Sidcup at the weekend and had a day's wages instead.

Oh well. Here are some photos I took around the area while killing time:

Missing an "E" and a "T" I think. Nice to see an old MACE shop in Leather Lane. You can just about make out the smart white coat of the owner.

Peters in Leather Lane, the red and white barber pole says it all. I don't think you can get any of those cuts in the pictures.

This driving school in Clerkenwell Road has a translation in case you didn't know what the red L's mean.

The sign of Condor Cycles in Greys Inn Road, no mistake as to what goes on here!

Dodgy old place in Commercial Street, no prizes for guessing what goes on here either!

This is the Poplar Public Baths building on the A13, a sorry state but it interests me because the windows and the square design remind me of Bankside, home to the Tate Modern. I wonder if they were both designed by the same person, possibly the chap sitting on the chair?

I'm gonna take more days off and take some more photos of unusual London scenes! But no more central London bike services...

Listening to: Ray Lamontagne - "Trouble"