Philip Diprose discovers a world of calm and peaceful riding in the very middle of the chaos he’s trying to escape.
- Photo by Philip Diprose.
There are over seven million people in London and I’ve only seen two in the last mile and a half. At certain times in the very early morning this might seem normal but I’m riding close to the centre of the city and it’s still supposed to be rush hour. Welcome to my new commute home. Freelance circumstances have gifted me a 13+ mile commute in each direction. Not only does it fall nicely into the area of ‘not too close, not too far…’ but it’s also away from the baying hordes of commuters. The morning ride is good, but at night it’s a different world. Without the blanket of orange light that covers the rest of the city, the towpath is transformed. Where this morning’s other commuters have gone I don’t know, but what I do know is that there is a silence and a calm I’ve rarely found in the bustling metropolis, and half the time it scares the crap out of me.
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Away from the bridges and crank-clipping railings, I’m back into the darkness. Racing along the edge of London Zoo. All its birds may be safely netted away but that doesn’t stop me from looking for my own menagerie. I’ve seen swans, geese, coots and even herons along this stretch. All seem as surprised to see me emerging from the night as I am to see them. There have been amazing moments where I’ve been riding alongside geese and herons as their wingtips almost break the surface of the water. Slow majestic beatings that make a mockery of my erratic pedal strokes. Here is human solitude, here is a place where I feel like I am intruding. A world of silence and darkness that doesn’t ask for visitors but doesn’t begrudge those who choose this route. As the nights get colder, and sadly wetter, I can see the traffic I encounter dropping off even further. People may see the towpath as an inhospitable place to be in the evening. Maybe that frission is part of its allure. Soon enough near the end. My canal-side finish line is the gawdy bright lights of ‘Feng Shang’ the floating Chinese restaurant. Its reflection in the calm waters doubling the glare. The nerves that have been building up and the excitement coursing through my veins begins to subside. I climb a short path away from the canal. The lights increase, the traffic begins to swarm and my moments of quiet seem literally a world away.
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Philip helps to create The Ride Journal as well don’t you know.
