M11 commute to Docklands

[snarfy]

Does anyone do this ? We are looking to move out of North London and the Saffron Walden area has been mooted to be a possible location. Public transport looks like 1.5+ hours so the bike seems to be the only possibility. Just wondering if anyone has an idea of how long it would take and what kind of bike would be best for the job. Two bikes would of course be a possibility depending on the time of year/weather :-) I think the mix is mainly M11 and North Circular/A13 but the bit between home and M11 could involve A/B roads.

Also wondering if it gets particularly depressing in winter :-(

[Andy Oh]

Hi mate I commute from Bishops Stortford on a 2005 Yamaha R1 everyday regardless of weather. The M11 from Stortford to Harlow, Junctions 8 to 7 can sometmes fowl up as it did today with 38 tonnes of potatoes all over the road! I normally go through Sawbridgeworth and the out skirts of Harlow and pick up the M11 at junction 7 as I'm based on that side of stortford. Most mornings the bottom of the M11 as it joins the A406 can be a bit congested but you can easliy filter through the traffic. My journey is 33 miles into the City and takes me about 45-50 minutes every morning, so I would have thought your journey would roughly be 15 - 20 minutes longer coming from Saffron Walden. Even in winter the roads (M11, A406, A12 & A11 - my route) seem to be ok so no problems there.

As to what bike the choice is so wide, I use the R1 as I like a sports bike but maybe something like a VFR or one of the many BMW's would be good, what you would want is something that has good economy and a good range from the tank, which would maybe discount any Ducati!

Good luck,

Andy.

Edited by Andy Oh on Wednesday 26th July 12:42

[snarfy]

Thanks for the info Andy. I'm based in docklands HSBC tower right next to the middle entrance off the A13. Will it really be 15-20mins longer than your commute to the city, even factoring in the extra bit of M11 ? I can deal with say 50mins but much over an hour and it could get tedious....maybe....obviously not as tedious as public transport though :-)

[Andy Oh]

I've never done the trip to Docklands as I have always been based in the City but I reckon the extra 15-20 minutes will be the journey from Saffron Walden to the M11 J8. I would assume the commute to the City or Canary Wharf would be very similar time wise from Bishops Stortford.

Realistically you're looking at an hours commute each way.

[sjtscott]

You definately should use M11>A406>A12. A12 is a much quicker and more direct then A406>A13. Just learn where the cameras are!
You would use a tiny bit of the A13 when you leave the A12 before the blackwall tunnel but only to get you to cotton street.
Then its your choice of either Aspen Way or Trafalgar Way to get to HSBC.

Link showing the last bit:
www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=538334&y=180621&z=2&sv=538334,180621&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf

HTH

[snarfy]

OK. Thanks all very much for your help. One last question ........ ;-)

Does the time of day have a disproportionately large impact on the journey time ? ie is a 7am departure going to be much different to a 7:30 or 8am departure.

Thanks

[Exige46]

Although I come in on the A12 rather than the M11, I don't find this to be the case on the way in due to the traffic build up outside the Blackwall tunnel - although this might vary with the time of day. There isn't much in it though, and its nice to vary the route - I tend to come in on the A13 and leave by the A12.

sjtscott said:

You definately should use M11>A406>A12. A12 is a much quicker and more direct then A406>A13. Just learn

[sybaseian]

snarfy said:

OK. Thanks all very much for your help. One last question ........ ;-)

Does the time of day have a disproportionately large impact on the journey time ? ie is a 7am departure going to be much different to a 7:30 or 8am departure.

Thanks

Yes.

The blackwall starts to backup from about 6:30 (the close one lane heading south!) and it can be a right pain to filter past two lorries/buses.

Suprisingly, its clear about 9:15.

I commute outside those times and its never a problem. Just make sure that you know the rat runs to get around any problems near the blackwall as it can backup very quickly if they close the tunnel.

If you see a black speed triple, please move over.........

[snarfy]

Thanks very much for all the info everyone. Much appreciated.

Edited by snarfy on Wednesday 26th July 22:51