Toby's journal

Of all the (longer) roads in the UK that I've travelled, I think the M11 will be the one that I end up remembering. It's not a particularly noteworthy road, really. The roads around High Beech and Box Hill are much more fun, and considerably more scenic.
However the journeys up and back the M11 have more mental baggage associated with them.
The motorway starts strangely, with traffic merging into the right-most lane from the North Circular. (The right-most lane being the /fastest/ moving lane, here in the UK.)

For me, the M11 brings back many memories of travelling at night. High speed, often in mist or rain, and always with buffeting cross-winds. There are no speed cameras, and the lighting is intermittent, yet the highway curves back and forth and over hills apparently at random, leaving me straining to see the distant cats-eyes that are poorly illuminated by my bike's headlight.
My trips up that motorway also always coincide with fairly active or intense weekends - parties, strenuous battles in fields, hangovers, strange movies, sex, vodka, architecture, gin, punting, new people.. And I guess that by framing events with a motorcycle ride on either side, the ride becomes part of the event in my memory, even if all the journeys will blur into one over time. Just one night/day ride in the hot/cold, taken fast/slow, with/without music in my ears.

I kid you not, this did really happen just now.

I was coming back from Cambridge this evening by train. When the anime movie I was watching on my laptop ended, I swapped to watching a couple of cartoons to fill in the remaining time.
At around that point, a couple of chavs and a chavette had boarded the train, and were sat in the aisle over from me. When they noticed the cartoons, they asked if I minded if they watched too. So, I unplugged my headphones and twisted the laptop around a bit.

After a couple of episodes, the chavs proved that perhaps their stereotype's reputation for rudeness and hostility isn't always deserved... by offering me a toke on their crack-pipe after they'd smoked some.
o_O

They got off a couple of stops later, and the rest of my journey was uneventful.

Cambridge was nice.. I randomly ended up at a nice party (and in addition to seeing the usual suspect, also bumped into feanelwa and karohemd) on the friday night, and then after the appalling early (7am) start on Saturday, had some great games at the TeamSpleen/JagEx all-day outdoor airsoft event.

I'm now predictably knackered, and am trying to get up enough motivation to go to Kira's leaving party, which kicks off at 11pm in a strip club they've hired for the night. (Without the strippers, I believe). (The temptation to have a quick nap is unbelievable though..)

I had been thinking of dropping into Helen & Aaron's party a bit later in the night, as discussed with some people who'd asked if I was going.. However upon actually attempting to check out the details tonight, I realised that I'm not actually invited. So I won't be seeing you there tonight after all.
It's probably better if I don't stay up all night anyway..

(And yes, of course I declined the crack!)

Saturday morning, lusciousa and I went to the Araki exhibition at the Barbican. We arrived way too late to meet latexiron and the others there, but anyway.. I had not realised the depth and breadth of Araki's work, and came away feeling amazed. More so than with the Diane Arbus exhibition, I have a craving to take photos and attempt to create art.
Now that I have more options for unnatural lighting, with the wireless flashgun, I'm hoping I'll have more opportunities to do so during winter.

Carrie & I set the world speed record for consuming Wagamama's food, then I went home to pack, and headed up to Cambridge on the bike. (Which is now starting fine, after the major service.)

This was not without drama though - as an accident occured up the road from me, and then the car involved caught fire, and as the glass and tyres blew out, people in cars were franticly trying to reverse up.. Eventually the police and fire crews arrived.. put it out.. took photos.. eventually moved it aside.. cleaned the road.. took statements.. etc etc.. meanwhile I'm standing by the side of the road in the cold and dark. Meh.
( photo of accident )

Eventually we were allowed to move on, and I arrived in Cambridge quite late; well after 8pm I think?
robinbloke's party was great - You'd never believe he was a penguin in disguise!

Crashed out at feanelwa's place afterwards (where I'd left the bike), had lovely lunch at Indigo in Cambridge on Sunday, then I cruised back to London before the light faded. No drama this time, so the journey didn't take much more than an hour, although it was cold on the road. I need to buy a balaclava. (Balaklava?)

Good weekend. And I'm particularly glad that the bike seems to be back to its good old reliable self, even in near-zero temperatures.