London commuters - talk to me
Discussion
SteelerSE said:
I may try again during the school holidays when the traffic is (hopefully) slightly better but we'll see.
For you, M3 - A316- a4 to earls court Then take your choice of route from there. Embankment is nice. It's busy of course but it shouldn't be that off putting. I've been doing it for years and am not the most patient person. I'd rather face the traffic and be in control than face the hell that is being ferried around like a lamb on public transport.
I did three years of it down the M1 or A1 before I GTFO of London. It's like an intensified version of the biking experience: it has its incredible highs and a few lows thrown in. Stick with it and I guarantee that you'll become a much better rider for it and develop eyes in the back of your head and a sixth sense for other road users.
I used to park sometimes in that big car park on Lower Thames Street, there's another one at the other end towards the BT buildings that's even better. The train might seem like an attractive option at the moment but wait until the middle of winter when you're stood on a train platform waiting for a Train Driver that CBA to get out of bed or the whole lot aren't running because of a suicide or whatever - you'll be kicking yourself for not being on the bike.
I used to park sometimes in that big car park on Lower Thames Street, there's another one at the other end towards the BT buildings that's even better. The train might seem like an attractive option at the moment but wait until the middle of winter when you're stood on a train platform waiting for a Train Driver that CBA to get out of bed or the whole lot aren't running because of a suicide or whatever - you'll be kicking yourself for not being on the bike.
A quick update.
With the school holidays here I've had another go and the difference is amazing. Door to door in 65 minutes. It helped that I followed somebody through who obviously knew the best way through the traffic but nevertheless it was so much better. I even got a parking space in the bike park about 10 yards from the front of the office.
I'll keep trying this (assuming that the journey home is equally good) but I'm much more positive now. It helped that I'd worked harder at the route too. Thanks to all for the suggestions on the best options. In the end the M3-A316-A4 is absolutely the best, even with the Hogarth flyover closed.
Nice to be back on the bike.
With the school holidays here I've had another go and the difference is amazing. Door to door in 65 minutes. It helped that I followed somebody through who obviously knew the best way through the traffic but nevertheless it was so much better. I even got a parking space in the bike park about 10 yards from the front of the office.
I'll keep trying this (assuming that the journey home is equally good) but I'm much more positive now. It helped that I'd worked harder at the route too. Thanks to all for the suggestions on the best options. In the end the M3-A316-A4 is absolutely the best, even with the Hogarth flyover closed.
Nice to be back on the bike.
Keep at it and it'll get even quicker. I've been riding up the A3 to the Strand for 10 years now. Eventually you learn exactly what lane to be in at exactly the right time to find the gaps. You'll be doing it on auto pilot eventually.
Every couple of years though I have a go at the train (just for a change if nothing else) and soon realise why I use a bike. At least on a motorcycle even on a really bad day you'll only be ten minutes late whereas I've been stood at Waterloo for a couple of hours looking at a blank departure board on numerous occasions.
When winter strikes it's all about the right gear as well. There's no point in freezing hands for the sake of £80 on heated gloves etc. Never mind the weather if you're warm and snug it's always better on a bike than standing on a freezing platform.
On a bike you seem to be in control of your own destiny. On Public transport you instantly become cattle to be shifted from one place to another.
Every couple of years though I have a go at the train (just for a change if nothing else) and soon realise why I use a bike. At least on a motorcycle even on a really bad day you'll only be ten minutes late whereas I've been stood at Waterloo for a couple of hours looking at a blank departure board on numerous occasions.
When winter strikes it's all about the right gear as well. There's no point in freezing hands for the sake of £80 on heated gloves etc. Never mind the weather if you're warm and snug it's always better on a bike than standing on a freezing platform.
On a bike you seem to be in control of your own destiny. On Public transport you instantly become cattle to be shifted from one place to another.
Edited by Harry H on Wednesday 30th July 11:08
Harry H said:
Keep at it and it'll get even quicker. I've been riding up the A3 to the Strand for 10 years now. Eventually you learn exactly what lane to be in at exactly the right time to find the gaps. You'll be doing it on auto pilot eventually.
Every couple of years though I have a go at the train (just for a change if nothing else) and soon realise why I use a bike. At least on a motorcycle even on a really bad day you'll only be ten minutes late whereas I've been stood at Waterloo for a couple of hours looking at a blank departure board on numerous occasions.
When winter strikes it's all about the right gear as well. There's no point in freezing hands for the sake of £80 on heated gloves etc. Never mind the weather if you're warm and snug it's always better on a bike than standing on a freezing platform.
On a bike you seem to be in control of your own destiny. On Public transport you instantly become cattle to be shifted from one place to another.
Thanks Harry - that's absolutely my preference, I just need to get more confidence in terms of where I'm going, other options on the route when it's broken etc. Every couple of years though I have a go at the train (just for a change if nothing else) and soon realise why I use a bike. At least on a motorcycle even on a really bad day you'll only be ten minutes late whereas I've been stood at Waterloo for a couple of hours looking at a blank departure board on numerous occasions.
When winter strikes it's all about the right gear as well. There's no point in freezing hands for the sake of £80 on heated gloves etc. Never mind the weather if you're warm and snug it's always better on a bike than standing on a freezing platform.
On a bike you seem to be in control of your own destiny. On Public transport you instantly become cattle to be shifted from one place to another.
How do you find the wear and tear on the bike? Do you budget to replace it fairly regularly or do you have a 150,000 mile bike?
You have to budget for wear and tear, your clutch will go eventually (mine went at 50k), chains and sprockets need replacing, and I was doing 3-4-5 services a year as a 6k interval will only go so far. Scott oiler is a must if commuting in all weathers same as decent rubber with a bit of longevity. It's all about the gear though.
SteelerSE said:
How do you find the wear and tear on the bike? Do you budget to replace it fairly regularly or do you have a 150,000 mile bike?
I don't plan to change the bike but every so often the "new bike bug" kicks in (usually every couple of years). One tries to fight it off but then it just gets stronger and stronger until the most stupid man maths makes it a reality. The current bike is two years old with 24k on the clock and nothing yet has really taken my fancy so maybe with luck I'm OK for a while. Anyway I've got a severe case of "new car bug" that's keeping me occupied at the moment.In terms of wear and tear tips my two main ones are a decent set of long lasting touring tyres and plenty of ACF50 for the winter. The tyres will get squared off but don't go cheap. Every so often you'll need decent grip in order to stop in a hurry.
Another tip is that everyone is racing even when we're not pretending too but don't get sucked into racing dispatch riders. Yes they'll cut you up occasionally but just relax and let them go. They're nutters, they're usually on a rental bike and they invariably have a death wish. Everyone else is fair game so enjoy the argy bargy.
Edited by Harry H on Wednesday 30th July 13:30
After years of commuting, by two biggest must haves on a bike are shaft drive and heated grips. The good thing about commuting is that it can save you a fair whack and enable you to buy a bike you might not have previously done as it's a saving over the train fare.
Last year I bought a brand new VFR1200 (with heated grips) to commute on and I've just about managed to square aware the costs to make it a sensible thing to have done!
Last year I bought a brand new VFR1200 (with heated grips) to commute on and I've just about managed to square aware the costs to make it a sensible thing to have done!
Harry H said:
On a bike you seem to be in control of your own destiny. On Public transport you instantly become cattle to be shifted from one place to another.
Wintertime you will definitely be a lot heathier if you take the bike. No coughs and colds.Healthier unless you have a crash that is, that is less healthy.
creampuff said:
Wintertime you will definitely be a lot heathier if you take the bike. No coughs and colds.
Healthier unless you have a crash that is, that is less healthy.
Healthier unless you have a crash that is, that is less healthy.
Assuming that the costs do stack up then I may look at stashing some cash away to replace the viffer in a year or two. It's done nearly 40K now but it just keeps going. Another two years of that would see it at about 65K and I expect more expensive bits will start to break at that point.
And point taken re-shaft drive. I have heated grips but may also get some muffs when it comes to winter as over an hour on the bike is a whole different thing from my previous 30+ minutes.
In case anyone is interested I've gone back and forth with train and bike and realised I hate the train. The only way to make it bearable is if you're in first class and can (almost) guarantee a seat but the cost is astronomical.
I still don't enjoy it as such but it's become much easier even though I'm not much quicker. We've also moved office and have parking under the building which is great as I was totally fed up with the scooter scummers in the parking bays. The car park under the Tower Bridge coach park was brilliant though. It's almost worth getting a nice bike for the ride now but I can't find a shaft drive bike that doesn't feel massively too wide so will probably stick with the VFR for a while.
I'll do the sums soon though and see if I'm daydreaming or not but an MT-07 looks like it could work very nicely.
I still don't enjoy it as such but it's become much easier even though I'm not much quicker. We've also moved office and have parking under the building which is great as I was totally fed up with the scooter scummers in the parking bays. The car park under the Tower Bridge coach park was brilliant though. It's almost worth getting a nice bike for the ride now but I can't find a shaft drive bike that doesn't feel massively too wide so will probably stick with the VFR for a while.
I'll do the sums soon though and see if I'm daydreaming or not but an MT-07 looks like it could work very nicely.
It's a solid hour and a quarter for me unless I leave ridiculously early or the kids are off. And if I leave ridiculously early it just means that I spend longer in the office as a I can't leave any earlier. I'm going to experiment with more routes though as at the moment I've stuck with what I know (M3, A316, embankment etc).
Someone earlier on in this thread suggested A3 all the way back to just before the M25 so I might give that a try on the way back tonight.
Someone earlier on in this thread suggested A3 all the way back to just before the M25 so I might give that a try on the way back tonight.
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