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The rapidly-changing face of how we move about town is fascinating to behold, even if it’s far from a smooth ride.

As the dockless bike hire revolution (and it really is one) continues to mature, no sooner has the problem of poor parking and hacked ‘clicking’ Lime bikes seemingly been solved, but the very success of these new modes of micromobility are creating huge piles of the things, currently amassing at the entrances to parks on sunny days or outside big sporting and other events.

Still, it’s no doubt great that there’s so much new cycling being enabled in the city, and we’re right behind a culture shift that repurposes loads more curbside street parking to official e-bike bays (especially having spent time circling around trying to find an approved space in which to leave a bike in a hurry…always a hurry).

I’m going to make an observationally informed guess that quite a high percentage of Camdenist readers already partake in two-wheeled travel on the regular - we already know the hero stat that only 40% of Camden residents even own a car now.

And despite the fist shaking of whoever bombastically declares themselves ‘on the side of the motorist’ (whatever that means), the proliferation of dedicated cycle lanes and traffic calming is, amazingly, transforming the mean streets of London into something closer to a bike utopia like Amsterdam (see below).

So, whether you’re a long-term lycra-clad evangelist, a casual e-bike hopper-on’er, or indeed a cycling-curious novice, it is becoming a doddle to enjoy the multiple benefits of riding in and around this borough.

Here are some upcoming ideas for getting on yer proverbial bike.

🚲 Throughout June, TfL is offering unlimited 30-minute rides on Santander bikes for free as part of the launch what they are tagging TfL Cycle Sundays. Their website comes complete with suggested routes and lots of local bicycle-related discounts.

🏁 The King's Cross estate is also playing host to the new London Cycle Festival next weekend (Fri 21st-Sun 23rd June), on a specially constructed track that whizzes through Coal Drops Yard and surrounds. The three days, which are free for spectators, pack in the Brompton World Championships and the VIA Criterium, presented by local bike emporium VIA Atelier, and will see men’s and women’s elite races, youth racing and fixed wheel.

😲 Last weekend’s World Naked Bike ride saw record-breaking numbers of disrobed riders descend upon the streets of London to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists on our streets, protest against the global dependency on oil, and celebrate body freedom. Some guys I spoke to on Saturday - who’d inadvertently witnessed a stream of all-too wobbly and pink enthusiasts crossing Westminster Bridge - may have been thoroughly flummoxed by it all, but expect more loud and proud cyclist action soon, especially while imaginary battle lines with motorists feature in actual political manifestos…

🛣️ You’ll often hear people say that London’s ancient, unplanned street layouts and narrow roads don’t lend themselves to the kind of bicycle dominance of a city like Amsterdam, however as this fascinating story reveals, the Dutch capital was fully enthral to the motor car in the post war period. It was only a protest at the staggering road death toll, (peaking at 3,300 in 1971, including 400 children), that turned things around, and many of Amsterdam’s streets are much more narrow than our own.

FESTIVALS

🔥 Fire pits in the park

🍔 Regent’s Park seems to be a perennial influencer’s paradise (you can’t move for them posing in eveningwear in the Rose Garden right now), and this week the foodies also are gravitating to the Park, eager to shove loaded sandwiches towards phones at the return of Taste of London (runs until Sunday). Expect demos from hunky tattooed chefs cooking over fire, and a heavily Jamie Oliver influenced marketing vernacular, that’s big on the ‘banging deliciousness’ of everything.

🍶 Today through to Sunday is one of only two occasions per year when Bloomsbury's Cockpit has an open studios where the public are welcomed in to meet the artists and makers in residence. You’ll fund homeware, fashion, jewellery and more from loads of locally-based talent.

🎻 The Fitzrovia Arts Festival is currently underway offering bountiful free events from classical concerts to guided walks, workshops, the inevitability of a dog show, and a particular focus on the neighbourhood’s bee population.

FOOD & DRINK

👨‍🍳 Social impact restaurant coming to the former Odette’s

Our comrades on the local media frontline, Kentishtowner, alerted us this week to a swift answer to our burning question about the future of historic Primrose Hill institution Odette’s.

The famous name is indeed heading off with its current owner, no doubt destined for a pop-up reappearance somewhere like Wilderness festival at an unspecified point in the future.

In its place will be a brand new venture, Home Kitchen Diner, bringing together a twice Michelin-starred chef with a rolling cohort of talented but homeless apprentices, offering them a career path that’s all too often frustratingly difficult to secure without a fixed address, while simultaneously training up the quality staff that the hospitality industry desperately needs.

It sounds really great news, and a local destination dining experience in waiting. Meanwhile, you can still donate to the crowdfunder which can earn you all kinds of VIP privileges when the place opens later this year.

🍸 B-Corp cocktail-in-a-can brand MOTH are pulling a boat up at the Granary Square steps in King’s Cross on the afternoons of Wed 19th and Thurs 20th to dish out 1,000 free margaritas.

🏠 Wild house party-themed venues are certainly having a moment, with not one but two such joints opening in Soho in as many weeks. Rapper Stormzy snatched the headlines with his meticulously retro-styled The House Party venture blowing up the socials last weekend with it’s opening on Poland St. Then there’s the latest branch of the original flatshare-turned-bar/restaurant phenomenon, The Little Violet Door, that’s packing them in down at Kingly Court. Just try not to spill red wine on the shag pile carpet.

🚉 It’s all change for the chains at St Pancras, as the promised new branches of Breakfast Club and Shake Shack have both now opened - useful upmarket reliable additions to the local grand concourse F&B offering. Meanwhile, the biggest branch of Benugo, formerly the very lovely (but bust) pre-train picnic pitstop Sourced Market, is preparing to be totally swallowed up by row upon row of the new fingerprint and face scan kiosks that are the latest Brexit gift bestowed upon Eurostar travelers. At least they’ve promised the queues ‘won’t be a shitshow’, so let’s see how that goes later this year…

STAGE

🌳 Al fresco summer stages and uproarious dark basements

Stage highlights come to you each week in partnership with the TownSpot app: your ultimate guide to local events. Join over 1,000 locals discovering the joy of nearby happenings, combating loneliness, and feeling more at home than ever, with the support of Camden Council and Matthew James Estate Agents. Download TownSpot today.

MUSIC

🎶Shake a tail-feather with this lot this week

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