Day 7: Apsley to London, I Predict a Riot

Back on the trail now with my able assistant for the next 10 days or so. Hilariously Maddy needs to get some clothes to London for when she returns from Paris and this has pretty much doubled her load. Not armed with front panniers like myself she has to strap a rucksack on the back covered in a bin bag. This leads to an almost permanent wheely. So out comes the wicker basket on the front and a few items are moved forward into this to create a bit of equilabrium. I too have packing issues as we can't bare to leave any food we might need for our jaunt together at home so pack about 4 kg of pasta and noodles and oats. This has to fit on the bike along with most of the harvest from our small apple tree in the garden, rather than return home to find them rotting on the floor. This leads to easily the heaviest bike I have ever ridden. Ten miles on our way and following the 1885 route we ascend Bushey Hill and this extra load is certainly testing me. However "Mountain Goat" Maddy who grew up in Wales and a had a choice of a 16% hill turning left out of the drive or a 17% hill turning right, has no troubles and zooms up the hill unable to balance at my slow speed and waits for me to catch up at occasional intervals. As we descend into Stanmore we are rewarded with a glorious view over the  North of Outer London and Wembley Stadium's arch glistens in the sunlight like a steel rainbow. We pick up the Edgware Rd and head on the stright line into central London, battling with our heavy loads in amongst the busy London traffic, only stopping for a pre made egg mayonnaise pitta before we turn off the trail and head for Islington where we will spend the night at Mountain Goat's brother's house. We pick up the keys from his office in Kings Cross and weave through the estates parellel to Pentonville Road and end up having to go to jail, we do not pass go, we do not collect £200.
The plan for the night was to meet up with some friends and family for a pizza in Islington however rumours are rife that the riots of the previous few days are spreading and the shopkeepers and restaurateurs of Islington are shutting up shop earlier. MG and I were oblivious to the high police presence as we cruised the Islington streets and were quite taken aback at such revelations. After much conflabbing, checking of twitter and general news info we decide to brave it as the pizza place seems to be risking it too. The night goes off without a hitch and the biggest pizza known to man is devoured by the hungry mob. When we return home and check the news online we hear that a food shop has been ransacked by another Hungry Mob in the street that runs parrellel to the one we were eating on. As the night goes on stories of more disturbances surface. Can I be the first to make the link before any blog readers do so. And that is the fact that I have visited Liverpool, Birmingham, Islington and will be off to Croydon and I am in fact in search of a dead cyclist and not the ring leader of organised chaos across the country during this summer of discontent.