Firstly, the chocolate shops themselves: whoever thought this tour up was a genius. The staff were friendly and helpful, very knowledgeable and with personal recommendations for what to try. Not one of them was grumpy and uninterested in us, though we turned up only intending to sample a single item. In every new shop, I decided that this was where I was buying presents for everyone I know for the foreseeable future.
Even if you don't eat chocolate, the décor alone was worth a look in Prestat, Choccywoccydoodah, and Pierre Hermé - and the others weren't bad either!
But the cycling - wow, Westminster. Ouch. Has anyone from the council ever ridden a bicycle?
There are 3 types of streets in Westminster: broad main roads, which are terrifying to cycle on; back streets full of queueing cars, too narrow for overtaking, even on a bike; and quiet, empty little streets, which are a joy to cycle on - until either a black cab comes whizzing up from behind and honks at you for having the temerity to be on their shortcut, or the street comes to an abrupt end at a busy main road.
The shops are far too small to bring a bicycle inside. A fellow Londoner sums it up:
I can exclusively reveal the first mockup of my iPhone app to help you find bike parking spaces in Westminster. pic.twitter.com/swErTJgFaw
— Alex Ingram (@nuttyxander) November 19, 2013
And if you are unlucky enough to be doing this with friends, good luck finding enough free lamposts for all of you.
If you are going to take this Cycle Ride, book into the official one and take safety in numbers. Or even easier, ditch the bike, and use your feet. A train to Knightsbridge for the finale is cheaper than hiring a city bike anyway - because obviously TfL want to incentivise more people to travel on the Piccadilly line. But that's a rant for another time.
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