Cycling in UK 英倫踩單車

The last riding I had was the time I waved goodbye to my old classmates and cycling buddies back in end March this year. As all my belongings had already been picked up by the international relocation company in mid-March, I had to rent another road bike from the bicycle shop. With quite a big difference in the components and bike settings, that 50+ Km bike ride seemed to be much harder than before. My muscles got sore and it took me few days to fully recover.

Kingston upon Thames that I currently lived is a bicycle friendly borough with well defined bicycle lanes spreading across the place. Quite a lot of the residents here take bicycle as their major means of daily transportation. During leisure time, they will also ride in the parks or along the countryside for fun and exercise.

對上一次踩單車已是今年三月尾，亦是我的與一眾老同學和車友門道別的一天。而跟移民隨行的物品包括我的單車已在月中經國際搬運公司裝箱，當天只好在相熟單車店租用另一部 road bike。由於租用的單車與我自己的在配置及設定有頗大差異，那天五十多公里的行程踩得較辛苦，肌肉亦酸痛了好幾天。

現時居住的 Kingston upon Thames 是個單車友善的地方，單車徑遍報大部分地區，很多居民都以單車作為日常的交通工具，閒時又會到公園或郊外作單車旅遊、健身之用。

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To cut down the shipping cost and the subsequent storage concern, I had sold my seldom used MTB and only brought with me the two road bikes.

The highly skilled relocation staff worked professionally and quickly packed my bikes into onsite assembled boxes within 15 minutes. As no disassembly of the bikes had been made, much efforts would be saved during unwrapping in UK.

為了減少船運費用及考慮到日後儲物空間，今次到英國前已把較少使用的 MTB 賣掉，只剩下兩部 road bikes。

搬運公司的人員非常專業，不到十五分鐘便把單車完整地放入即時組裝的紙箱上，送抵英國後就省下我重新組裝的工夫。

After we arrived at Kingston, we had considered to rent bicycles for getting around the area. I had visited a number of bike shops but found that they only provided new bike sales and professional maintenance. Probably most families here have their own bikes and there are not much demand on bike rental.

The famous Brompton Bike has her Brompton Bike Hire service available across a number of UK cities. By simply registering for a new user account, one can rent a Brompton bikes via the company’s online website or mobile apps. In fact, the nearest dock is located next to the Surbiton Station.

We had once though of renting a number of Brompton bikes using the service. However, we ended up dropping the idea as our helmets were still on the way to UK. I didn’t want to jeopardise our life in the absence of proper protection.

剛到達 Kingston 時曾經想過租單車一家四處逛，到過很多單車店，但他們只提供售賣及專業單車維修服務。相信因英國居住地方較大，一般人都有自己的單車，租單車的需求不大。

著名的 Brompton Bike 在英國多個城市有提供她們的 Brompton Bike Hire 服務。只需登記成為用家，便可透過她們的網頁或手機 App 租用 Brompton Bike，而在附近的 Surbiton Station 亦有此服務站。

本來打算预約數部給家人使用，但考慮到各人的單車頭盔仍在運送途中，在沒有足够的人身保䕶下，最後還是放棄這個念頭。

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Early this week, I received notification from the shipping company that all our belongings had already arrived at Southampton. It is estimated that items will be delivered to my apartment upon clearing by late July. In that case, I better wait for the delivery of my two road bikes and other accessories.

Anyway, stay calm and my little brothers are coming.

最近收到船運公司的通知，我的家當已運抵 Southampton，预計七月尾清關完成便可送到新居。看來還是等我的兩部 road bikes 及相關單車用具到達再算。

就讓我抱着平静的心，等等兩位小兄弟吧!