On yer bike!

One of the effects of only having £1.32 to last me the next 6 days is that I can't afford public transport. I don't have a car (and even if I did I couldn't afford the fuel) and so there are obvious mobility difficulties.

This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a job that means I have to travel in, around and across central London. I have ruled out walking as an option - work won't be that understanding of this project - so luckily enough I have a bike. It may be second-hand, squeaky and have no functioning rear brakes but it is a luxury that a real Living Ghost wouldn't necessarily have, so I'd best be grateful for it.

I am only a day and a bit in (though the pangs of hunger make it seem like longer) and I have already cycled 29.3 miles! This covers my commute in the morning from Battersea to Brixton and travel to one external meeting in Covent Garden and another near Kings Cross. We may habitually whinge about our public transport but being without it certainly makes me feel excluded. I now hanker for those grimy bus seats and stale tube carriages...

It's going to be bad enough having to get everywhere under my own steam this week - but the prospect of doing this for an indefinite period whenever I need shopping, to see friends and family, go to the hospital or engage in any kind of social activity is so much worse.