My ride to work: Herne Hill to Kensington

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Route: Up Dulwich Road and Brixton Water Lane and on to Clapham, via the cycle route that weaves around the back of Acre Lane, the wrong way up the one-way street to Clapham Common (hey, it was 6am, no traffic), down to the river, through Battersea Park and over Battersea Bridge and up through Chelsea to Kensington Square.

Distance: Six miles. Only the gentlest of hills going in this direction.

Weather: Very cold. I'm cycling in T-shirt and reflective windproof jacket most days now but I've already used my under-helmet fleece hat several days. I don't remember doing that until January last winter.

Badly behaved drivers: A bus ignoring the edge of a cycle lane, a white van that accelerated worryingly quickly behind me to catch the light on the north side of Battersea Bridge. I crossed it on amber, just, he followed on red. But it's much better so early in the morning than during rush hour.

Dozy pedestrians: Fortunately none - there rarely are at this time in the morning. The cleaners and builders commuting on foot so early tend not to be listening to music or taking mobile calls.

Distractions: I forgot my iPod, leaving me free to start worrying about work. Bad move.

Time taken: 40 minutes - a little slow. But it's always hard to move fast at 5.45am. Would Monday mornings be any easier on the Tube? Probably not.