Adventures of biking from London to Lagos
This summer I went on a cycling odyssey of the world from London to Lagos. It was a great trip and I’d like to share it with you, but first I have to warn you that it’s a long one, and a few of the stories are a bit dark. But you can’t help but smile as you read them. A little bit scary, a little bit sexy and a little bit bizarre, this trip is an adventure to remember.
On Wednesday, after the excitement of the night before, I checked my email and found a message from a friend in Nigeria that I hadn’t seen for twenty years. He said “I hope you are having a great time in London.” I read the email and thought “I hope I am.” Not for long, however. I hadn’t ridden a bike for eight years, had taken up running, and hadn’t looked at my bike again since my last trip to London eight years ago. So how could I be experiencing “a great time in London”? I was thinking that it was time to have a look at my bike, and maybe get an adventure.
I got on the train and went to the UK Transport police to make an application for a bike ticket. The officer was a friendly man who gave me a leaflet about bikes and suggested that I might want to do some “pre-entry” training. It seemed strange to me. He said that there would be a £25 charge for the training. I had only brought £10 on me when I left the UK, so I paid it, and off I went to the training centre. The trainer, a man I’ll call “The Great” because of his size, was a little bit short of breath, but told me that I’d have to pay for the training. I asked him how much he’d charge me, and he said £2, and I paid him