JOURNEY

flicking through the gears
i fly down rue saint denis
lean into the sharp right curve that propels me into swarthmore
and accelerate past the primary school
out into this crisp october morning
sunlight sparkles on wet grass
cold air rushes through my wispy still-wet mane
another right and i am flying down abdon avenue
leaving sluggish cars trailing in my wake

i attack the pavement
and use the lights to negotiate the traffic-laden bristol road

the one that peters out by the great pit in the ground

that used to be longbridge car factory
death of the car - ha!
a tenuous cycle path slithers through wet leaves
then tails off mysteriously by the police station
and suddenly it's a free-for-all
pedestrians, cyclists and cars competing for right of way
disorder under the steely gaze of the law
a sharp left transports me a hundred years back in time
a dark narrow track
past simple workmen's cottages
one draped with an ugly pug-faced flag of st george
suddenly i emerge into charfield road
out again into the blazing autumn morning
to where i saw a flock of canada geese
descend on the suburban front gardens
a couple of saturdays ago
now i hang a right into bournville lane
cutting across a pavement to cheat the traffic
i try to maintain my momentum
as i climb the hill through mr cadbury's estate
standing up like a kid to get more leverage on the pedals
i swear under my breath
as i'm forced to move down into first gear
for the remaining uphill slog
breathlessly into mary vale road
and i am passing squat tudor almhouses built in 1897
an organic butcher and a deli speak volumes
whoosh!!!
dropping down again out of bournville into stirchley
no organic delis there
moving at a rate of knots now
i do a decoy run
almost heading into an industrial estate
just behind the pershore road
then at the last minute
i give my pursuers the slip
nipping down the rea river path
and sneaking through into the fordrough
as i crawl up the steep slope
i imagine the carthorses ambling down to the river for watering
while those 1897 almshouses were raising their mock half-timbers to the sky
from the top of this tricep-testing slope
there is a wide panorama of south birmingham
the chocolate factory and victorian church steeples
punctuating the skyline
but i have no time to stop and admire the view this morning
pedalling furiously onwards
i skate along vicarage road
past the old school my dad attended in the forties
with grandad pittaway
and pinky and perky
king's heath park whirs by in a bluuurrrrr
finally
a few minutes after ten
i swing into the not very regal high street
more paupers than royalty
and scan the passing buildings for the narrow shop frontage
the one i can never find among the bustle of the street
through which i will disappear for the next four hours
then i do a double-take...
the metal shutters are down
the place is closed!