Cycling on Sleech

I spotted the great Cromac Street hole in the road yesterday as I made my way into the BBC to present "Inside Politics". Like many commuters I jumped to the conclusion that the traffic would be chaotic. Normally on a Monday morning I drive into the BBC then back up to Stormont. But today I reversed my usual routine, heading to Stormont first, then taking my bike out of the car and freewheeling past Carson's statue and on to the city centre.

Many other motorists must have changed their ways too as the Albert Bridge Road and the route past Cromac Street was all but deserted. Fortunately I skidded past the hole at such speed that the BBC cameraman on the look out of congestion failed to capture any video of me for our Christmas tape. Nevertheless, my appearance in denim jeans with a hole in the knees caused much mirth at our morning news meeting and earned me a cameo role on Talkback.

I learned a couple of things from this episode.

1. Even with gravity on my side, I am not as fit as I used to be when I cycled to work every day back in the 1980s.

2. I now know Belfast is built on sleech, the sludgy estuarine deposits on the banks of the Lagan. So many Belfast buildings are propped up on timber piles, effectively built on sand. What a shame Stormont is on a hill, it really feels like it should be a sleechy place.

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