London is for Sprinters

It's been a little while since I last visited London - ok, a long while!  Fifteen years to be exact.  It's slightly different than I remember, some additions to the skyline and more congestion.  In fact, it seems a little more like New York City than I remember, with cars and buses whipping in and out of lanes, cutting each other off, narrowly missing each other, and honking furiously.  Added to that mix are brave - or foolish - souls on bicycles, dressed in everything from professional grade spandex to semi-formal dresses and panty hose.  

What came as a total shock to Mark and I were all of the sprinters darting past us.  Note that I did not say "joggers" or "runners" becasuse neither of those words describes the way these people were bolting towards some imaginary finish line.  Most of them carried small packs on their backs but some were just in button down shirts and slacks.  Mark and I couldn't figure out if they were all training for some kind of race, commuting to or from work, or just late for a train that day.  Regardless of why they were doing it, they were so prolific in number, so fast, and so dedicated, that Mark, with all of his running bona fides, was starting to feel slightly inadequate. ;) 

They were too fast for me to catch on film 

so I had to turn to the internet for this one!