I love riding my bike, but as I work from home, I don’t ride as often as I would like. With this project, I want to build the habit of riding for discovery or just because. So often the city can feel busy and claustrophobic, but every now and again I find something new and unexpected. It’s those moments I want to seek out.

Most days I have my head down going from point A to point B whether I’m on my bike, walking or taking public transport. I find myself riding faster than I would like to keep pace with the car traffic. It makes moving between lanes or having to move out of the cycle lane to avoid a parked car feel less dangerous. In contrast, the moments where I slow down and look around to properly see the city can feel magical.

There are few rides better than coming home from a summer evening with friends when the car traffic has lessened, people are spilling out of pubs onto the sidewalks and dusk has hit. Moving through the buildings, watching people and just spinning my legs with no schedule to keep feels like becoming present in the city, in the moment.

Inspired by watching too many cycling videos on YouTube along with reading some great essays and memoirs about food and place I wanted to start a project that pushes me to explore my city.

So, “Ambling Spokes” is the project name. The aim is to find reasons to get on my bike and things to see. The output is to write about it, whether it’s three pages or three sentences.

Tentatively, my first project is cinnamon bun tasting. I don’t have a massive sweet tooth, but I love a bready cinnamon roll, so the aim is to find my favourites.