Boris's Bikes

I enjoy my short hops on Boris's bikes but today was a nightmare. I appreciate that this week is half term for many children and that fewer bikes will be in use than normal, thus resulting in fuller docking stations. I picked up a bike from the Bourne Street docking station to ride to Mayfair for lunch with the intention of parking in Pall Mall. The docking station in Pall Mall has been full on 2 previous occasions when I've done this and the docking station in St James's Square has also been full on one previous occasion. I then had to cycle on to Panton Street and dock the bike there. Today though the docking stations in Pall Mall, St James's Square, Panton Street, Cockspur Street and Waterloo Place were all full. Exhausted by this time and despairing of ever finding a docking station so that I could take up the lunch invitation to Brooks's I 'phoned TFL's offices where a most helpful young lady told me that there were 3 empty slots at the Grafton Street docking station. There were several other Boris Bikers also circulating around the same docks as myself all looking for somewhere to dock their bikes. As they were younger and fitter than myself and there were seven or eight of them I didn't inform them of the three empty spaces in Grafton Street. I felt somewhat guilty about this but not that much as I am not a martyr. I duly rode uphill to Grafton Street where indeed I was able to dock my bike. Riding around like that certainly gives one an appetite and if that is the purpose of full docking stations then fine but Boris might find user numbers declining as a result. It is clear that extra docking stations in the St James's area are needed urgently. Why not one in Jermyn Street and why not another in Pall Mall? No further bikes need be bought specifically for these new docking stations as they will fill up at lunchtime with bikers from other parts of town and empty again later as bikers return from whence they came.