London commuting
Discussion
I had to go into London yesterday for a relatives wake at the Bike Shed.
First time riding in central London for a few years (tbh I've only done it a handful of times as I'm usually drinking or my old jon used to pay for train costs).
I cannot understand how those of you who routinely do it cope?
It seems like it's gotten exponentially worse since I last went in via bike with an ever increasing number of 20mph cameras, worse than ever cyclists (with many obviously now being electric powered),infrastructure making roads ever narrower and removing many filtering spots (adv style bike so very wide bars) - the list goes on.
I get the idea of remaining calm (I'm even medicated for it) but it'd put me in an early grave I swear. I thought other cities (UK and Europe) were a pain to ride around.....
I'm curious as to how many of you who work there still go in by bike? Do you do it year round? Regardless of wfh do you still choose the bike when you do go in? I can't imagaine how much of a PITA it would be in the dark and rain of a rush hour evening.
First time riding in central London for a few years (tbh I've only done it a handful of times as I'm usually drinking or my old jon used to pay for train costs).
I cannot understand how those of you who routinely do it cope?
It seems like it's gotten exponentially worse since I last went in via bike with an ever increasing number of 20mph cameras, worse than ever cyclists (with many obviously now being electric powered),infrastructure making roads ever narrower and removing many filtering spots (adv style bike so very wide bars) - the list goes on.
I get the idea of remaining calm (I'm even medicated for it) but it'd put me in an early grave I swear. I thought other cities (UK and Europe) were a pain to ride around.....
I'm curious as to how many of you who work there still go in by bike? Do you do it year round? Regardless of wfh do you still choose the bike when you do go in? I can't imagaine how much of a PITA it would be in the dark and rain of a rush hour evening.
You travelled in during the summer holidays... it's quiet!
Once you know the route and have worked out how best to make progress it's really no bother.
Edit: bike in 3 days a week all year.. if it is icy I'll work from home (1 or 2 days last year). Parking outside the office, I have a locker and access to showers. Speed limits and road markings treated as advisory.
Options:
Train+ parking is ~£70 a day, cramped, unreliable, i have low people tolerance, pretty sure I pick up all manner of colds etc.
Car too slow and no parking near by.
The bike is a no brainer for me fuel per week is less than 1 day on the train and it's the best bit of my day.
Once you know the route and have worked out how best to make progress it's really no bother.
Edit: bike in 3 days a week all year.. if it is icy I'll work from home (1 or 2 days last year). Parking outside the office, I have a locker and access to showers. Speed limits and road markings treated as advisory.
Options:
Train+ parking is ~£70 a day, cramped, unreliable, i have low people tolerance, pretty sure I pick up all manner of colds etc.
Car too slow and no parking near by.
The bike is a no brainer for me fuel per week is less than 1 day on the train and it's the best bit of my day.
Edited by MDUBZ on Friday 29th August 10:31
It's post-covid when the most dramatic changes happened; as you say, the 20mph zones everywhere and low traffic neighbourhoods add a lot of pain to getting around. But that's all still much easier to deal with on a bike than in a car and public transport has got back to being as busy as it was pre-covid so the incentives are still there!
Biker9090 said:
I'm curious as to how many of you who work there still go in by bike? Do you do it year round? Regardless of wfh do you still choose the bike when you do go in? I can't imagaine how much of a PITA it would be in the dark and rain of a rush hour evening.
I go in about once a week on the bike. It's about £50/day if I take the train and my bike owes me nothing. Instead of being 2 hrs door to door IF the trains are working then I have a fairly standard 1hr in and 1hr30 back out on the bike. The traffic does suck but it is key that you have a good route and I arrive by 7am to avoid the worst of the traffic and try to leave early.
Commute all year round (unless it's raining/minus temps).
As others have said the knowledge that if public transport is f
ked you're still getting home helps. I also get into the bike bays before 6:45am and normally leave the office at ~7pm so miss the worst of it.
After a few days you know where the cameras/ok to ride in bus lanes are. 20 speed limits can then be ignored (like 99% of cars).
As others have said the knowledge that if public transport is f
ked you're still getting home helps. I also get into the bike bays before 6:45am and normally leave the office at ~7pm so miss the worst of it.After a few days you know where the cameras/ok to ride in bus lanes are. 20 speed limits can then be ignored (like 99% of cars).
I love riding in London, it's one of the best use cases of a motorbike imo but obviously with parking being ever restricted and the crime it's getting worse and worse. One of my most memorable rides was following a Moto Guzzi le mans as we were both enthusiasticly filtering through the traffic and pulling up at some lights to see a 60+ old boy give me the thumbs up and carry on for another 15-20 mins 
I reverse commute a couple of times each week. Live in central London and need to get 40 miles out into Surrey. Public transport links don't work for the location, so it's car or bike. Always take the bike (CBR600RR) unless the weather is awful, occasional car journeys are the perfect way to remind yourself why bikes are so good in London.
As said before, gaining experience on a chosen route makes the whole process more enjoyable and safer. One regular issue I notice is pedestrians crossing the road between stationary traffic, never checking for bikes, so I filter reasonably cautiously when sight is restricted. Apart from that it's an entertaining game
As said before, gaining experience on a chosen route makes the whole process more enjoyable and safer. One regular issue I notice is pedestrians crossing the road between stationary traffic, never checking for bikes, so I filter reasonably cautiously when sight is restricted. Apart from that it's an entertaining game
I ride in to Moorgate from Kent 3 times a week. A c60 miles roundtrip. TBH once you're familiar with the route it becomes a lot less stressful as you obviously get to know the flow at junctions, the speed limits, restrictions etc. Also, I'm lucky as my commute is mainly on quite wide roads. I ride all year round but now often bail from cJan-April when it's wet, dark and cold as my eyes aren't so good in those conditions.
We could debate whether it's cheaper than the train (about a third of the daily cost, but add wear and tear, depreciation, tyres, servicing etc and it adds up) but I do it because I prefer it. I'm never late, I don't have to leave at a certain time, I have my radio on in the helmet and, most importantly, I don't have to mix with the general public, which is increasingly an appalling experience - phones on speaker, angst, rudeness, snotty sniffing etc etc.
Cyclists in London can be a wind up if I let them - don't obey the highway code, ignore red lights, ride too fast etc etc but I've come to expect all that and usually their poor behaviour is a risk to themselves and pedestrians and not to me so I try not to let it get to me.
Most of the time I'd much rather be on the bike than the train.
We could debate whether it's cheaper than the train (about a third of the daily cost, but add wear and tear, depreciation, tyres, servicing etc and it adds up) but I do it because I prefer it. I'm never late, I don't have to leave at a certain time, I have my radio on in the helmet and, most importantly, I don't have to mix with the general public, which is increasingly an appalling experience - phones on speaker, angst, rudeness, snotty sniffing etc etc.
Cyclists in London can be a wind up if I let them - don't obey the highway code, ignore red lights, ride too fast etc etc but I've come to expect all that and usually their poor behaviour is a risk to themselves and pedestrians and not to me so I try not to let it get to me.
Most of the time I'd much rather be on the bike than the train.
SteelerSE said:
Biker9090 said:
Interesting points.
Yeah, very true re the local knowledge of the camera spots etc. Must be horrendous at peak time if it's quiet now
Yup - will suck as of today.Yeah, very true re the local knowledge of the camera spots etc. Must be horrendous at peak time if it's quiet now
I had my first experience of riding in London a couple of weeks back (visiting friends in south London, and then doing some bike spots after including The Bike Shed and ace cafe etc). I was certainly glad that I wasn't in a car. But I found it a pretty grim trip. Specially the journey from Croydon into the Bike Shed. 20mph limits all the way.
Hungrymc said:
I had my first experience of riding in London a couple of weeks back (visiting friends in south London, and then doing some bike spots after including The Bike Shed and ace cafe etc). I was certainly glad that I wasn't in a car. But I found it a pretty grim trip. Specially the journey from Croydon into the Bike Shed. 20mph limits all the way.
It's a different experience when commuting. I find myself regularly riding with the same people. All of us know the the way the traffic flows, the little back road short cuts, the little jinks to miss the traffic lights etc. Not many motorcycles in rush hour are very worried about the 20mph limits! In fact the slowest vehicles in London by a country mile are the black cabs which are a right pain to get behind in a bus lane if you can't pass them.Gixer968CS said:
Hungrymc said:
I had my first experience of riding in London a couple of weeks back (visiting friends in south London, and then doing some bike spots after including The Bike Shed and ace cafe etc). I was certainly glad that I wasn't in a car. But I found it a pretty grim trip. Specially the journey from Croydon into the Bike Shed. 20mph limits all the way.
It's a different experience when commuting. I find myself regularly riding with the same people. All of us know the the way the traffic flows, the little back road short cuts, the little jinks to miss the traffic lights etc. Not many motorcycles in rush hour are very worried about the 20mph limits! In fact the slowest vehicles in London by a country mile are the black cabs which are a right pain to get behind in a bus lane if you can't pass them.I regularly travel from Reading into London, and prior to that did SE London to Slough for many years crossing central London .... it is what it is ... the 20mph bits have become a bit of a pain, but the real issue of late os the narrowing of lanes to make space for the 3 cyclists that want to use the cycle lanes creating less filtering options, I did make the decision to swop back to a Hyperstrada from a Multistrada as the Multi was just too big to get through properly, the Hyper is way better.
Get the right tool, do it often enough and its just a thing .....
Night time raids into London in summer are still a joy, although I grew up with central London as my playground, i still love the place at night ....
Get the right tool, do it often enough and its just a thing .....
Night time raids into London in summer are still a joy, although I grew up with central London as my playground, i still love the place at night ....
I had to go in 5 days in one week (70 mile round commute) last month and it nearly broke me. Got knows how I used to do it all the time before COVID. 350 commuting miles a week. Sod that!
I actually look forward to my once a week trip now. You get to know the lane positions to get past lights, the rat runs and where to speed traps are etc. Having the right bike is a must.
Fixed cameras aren't a problem, but there has been a copper with a speed gun at the bottom of the old Kent road (by the fly over central London bound) every Thursday for the last month. So keep your eyes peeled.
Looking forward to the colder months as all the fair weather commuters cry off as do half the Tour de France types. Imo cyclists are some of the biggest hazards on my commute.
I actually look forward to my once a week trip now. You get to know the lane positions to get past lights, the rat runs and where to speed traps are etc. Having the right bike is a must.
Fixed cameras aren't a problem, but there has been a copper with a speed gun at the bottom of the old Kent road (by the fly over central London bound) every Thursday for the last month. So keep your eyes peeled.
Looking forward to the colder months as all the fair weather commuters cry off as do half the Tour de France types. Imo cyclists are some of the biggest hazards on my commute.
HairyMaclary said:
I had to go in 5 days in one week (70 mile round commute) last month and it nearly broke me. Got knows how I used to do it all the time before COVID. 350 commuting miles a week. Sod that!
I actually look forward to my once a week trip now. You get to know the lane positions to get past lights, the rat runs and where to speed traps are etc. Having the right bike is a must.
Fixed cameras aren't a problem, but there has been a copper with a speed gun at the bottom of the old Kent road (by the fly over central London bound) every Thursday for the last month. So keep your eyes peeled.
Looking forward to the colder months as all the fair weather commuters cry off as do half the Tour de France types. Imo cyclists are some of the biggest hazards on my commute.
Interesting, that was always a pretty common place for the Police to wait but I haven't seen them there for a while. Actually not post Covid I think. I'll keep my eyes peeled! There's also been a van intermittently this year in the little road that takes you away from that flyover up to Borough High Street (it's a wide quite traffic free road that became a victim of the 20mph limit and it's quite tough to go that slow. I literally was passed on the inside by a cyclist!!!).I actually look forward to my once a week trip now. You get to know the lane positions to get past lights, the rat runs and where to speed traps are etc. Having the right bike is a must.
Fixed cameras aren't a problem, but there has been a copper with a speed gun at the bottom of the old Kent road (by the fly over central London bound) every Thursday for the last month. So keep your eyes peeled.
Looking forward to the colder months as all the fair weather commuters cry off as do half the Tour de France types. Imo cyclists are some of the biggest hazards on my commute.
HairyMaclary said:
<snip>but there has been a copper with a speed gun at the bottom of the old Kent road (by the fly over central London bound) every Thursday for the last month. So keep your eyes peeled<snip>
Interesting, I've not seen him ... what sort of times have you noticed him there?I, like everyone else, do 30 down there until the static camera, slow to 20, and then pick back up afterwards on the way into elephant and castle, and coming down the flyover on the way home tend to sit at 30 unless I get 'that feeling' of something at the bottom.
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