The sky was transforming into a dark brooding grey. Clouds were forming thicker, darker and lower: almost kissing the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Less than an hour ago we were blissfully walking along the Thames in brilliant summer sunshine taking photos of all the new and beautiful places we had just discovered. The casual decision to explore the North Bank of the Thames east of Tower Bridge and enjoy the sunny day seemed a little careless and silly now as we stood on the outskirts of Canary Wharf contemplating our choices. Usually I begin the day by checking the weather reports, but this morning I decided it was time to break that habit and we had set off unaware of the approaching storm. Camera gear in tow and naturally no wet weather gear we had committed a rookie error for spending any time outdoors in England …
The first eruption of thunder made us jump and we regained our senses when we heard the chiming of a cyclist’s bell. Looking at each other, we knew at once our way to get out of the storm. With neither of us wanting to spend the afternoon in the tube or a bus, it was a unanimous decision. Accelerating our pace, we dashed madly into the centre of Canary Wharf in search of Barclay’s bikes. The bay was full and we gleefully selected our mounts and hit the pedals hard. As we turned onto the river path, we felt the first droplets of rain.
Powering on, we looked back at Canary Wharf to see lightning striking overhead. We stopped to take photos and the rain caught up with us again so we continued our escape westward away from the chasing storm. Adrenaline pulsed through our veins as we flew over cobbled streets, throwing us around on the bicycle. We flew past our future homes that we’d selected in Wapping and past our new favourite pub located right on the Thames. Parts of my body I didn’t know existed were shaking furiously as we rode over the cobbles and the return to asphalt was an incredible relief.
We dropped our Barclay’s bikes off after powering west for just under 30 minutes. Our timing was perfect. The £2 hire fee allows you to hire as many bikes as you wish over a twenty-four hour period, as long as you ride each bike for no longer than thirty minutes. After thirty minutes there are extra charges. In another five minutes we could take another bike and be on our way.
We were amazed to realise how far we had come. Canary Wharf could now be seen in the distance and we could see where the rain was soaking the earth below. We started walking to the next bicycle bay, to use up the required five-minute gap. Walking was a strange sensation after flying from Canary Wharf cycling. And the thunder began to get louder and closer as the storm closed in on us once again.
Fat droplets of rain landed on our exposed skin as we quickly hired out our next bicycles so we could flee from the storm a second time. Weaving in and out of the tourists racing for shelter and the crazy Sunday afternoon traffic, we soon made our way out of the storm. We headed off the main road and pedalled furiously to reach home before the storm was truly bearing over the top of us. We ditched our bikes in a Barclay’s bay and made it up the front steps of my flat just as the storm let go its hatches and bucketed down.
