Open Letter to all you London Commuters..........

Fuzz Monkey Five

.....I've been in London all week on a training course, and my hat (or is that helmet) is off to you for the road conditions you have to cycle in.

I saw allsorts of bad driving and optional indicators (particually black cabs) and the cyclists just coping with it.

And I almost got hit crossing on green by a few RLJ's :-(

My daily commute is pretty tame by compariosn - some back lanes, along the sea front in Torquay on a main main road, and then some dedicated (not on the road) cycle lanes.

mediamonkey

Actually I don't think London is a bad place for bike commuting - there are so many cyclists that drivers tend to be more aware of them. I do my commute in two legs - 5.5 miles to the station in Hampshire, then put my bike on the train and ride 3.5 miles at the other end from Waterloo to work near Tower Bridge. I find the driving to be on the whole more considerate in London than it is out in Hampshire! It helps that the traffic is slower, too, so usually you can ride with the traffic flow rather than having cars skimming past you at 50-60mph.

The main thing that annoys me with London commuting is other cyclists, especially the red-light jumpers. It's usually the slow ones that do it, and as I catch up with them and pass them I sometimes point out to them that they give all cyclists a bad name....

Gussio

Ahh...the cut and thrust of commuting through the heart of our throbbing metropolis. It is a wondrous experience, to be sure.

BentMikey

I think London is probably the best and safest place to be riding in the UK.

iainment

mediamonkey wrote:

Actually I don't think London is a bad place for bike commuting - there are so many cyclists that drivers tend to be more aware of them. I do my commute in two legs - 5.5 miles to the station in Hampshire, then put my bike on the train and ride 3.5 miles at the other end from Waterloo to work near Tower Bridge. I find the driving to be on the whole more considerate in London than it is out in Hampshire! It helps that the traffic is slower, too, so usually you can ride with the traffic flow rather than having cars skimming past you at 50-60mph.

The main thing that annoys me with London commuting is other cyclists, especially the red-light jumpers. It's usually the slow ones that do it, and as I catch up with them and pass them I sometimes point out to them that they give all cyclists a bad name....

You're wrong but you're a sweety.

:twisted:

Bassjunkieuk

I have to admit I did miss riding through town last week as I was based out in Thames Ditton which meant that whilst I had a longer ride it was mainly on marked cycle route roads which where all quiet backstreets! It did give me a chance to try and improve my pedaling technique and try out some different gears (I tend to use the middle ring and only switch up to the big one on hills!)

There's nothing quite like the excitement of riding through London, mainly do to the fact that I really enjoy playing with the traffic and finding the quickest route though a jam :-P I do have to agree with the other poster's that the only downer is all the bad riders that give us a bad name - mainly by either RLJ or using the pavement.

squired

You quickly get used to it, but I do find that commuting regularly in London gets to me. My old ride to college, which went in the opposite direction (i.e. away from London) was far more pleasurable and the lack of traffic lights (in comparison) meant you could actually have more fun riding due to not having to stop every 100 metres, while also not having a constant stream of cars around you.

WyS

i love dodging traffic. empty roads are boring.

Chewy Cheeks

I love London - Born and Bred, cycling here is exiting but this is home......

patchy

mediamonkey wrote:

The main thing that annoys me with London commuting is other cyclists,

Surely you mean 'all other road users'? that's the distinct category i've narrowed it down to, anyway...

el_presidente

"When one is tired of bicycle commuting in London, one is tired of life"

saveswalking

mediamonkey wrote:

The main thing that annoys me with London commuting is other cyclists, especially the red-light jumpers. It's usually the slow ones that do it, and as I catch up with them and pass them I sometimes point out to them that they give all cyclists a bad name....

If 100% of cyclists did not RLJ (and thats not going to happen) someone is going to find fault elsewhere to 'give cyclists a bad name' cos they want to ...

sw

Bassjunkieuk

The problem comes from the fact that people only tend to remember the worst parts more then the good bits. So if a driver or ped sees half a dozen cyclist run a red light they just think all cyclist do it. In much the same way I'm sure there are responsible drivers in other groups that are meant to be bad drivers such as young people, white van men and black cabbies - we tend to focus on their bad driving, like when they cut you up or speed past you, rather then they good driving, such as leaving room when passing or letting you out of a junction.

The way I see it is that if I ride responsibly I know I'm doing all I can to promote a good image of cyclist's, regardless of what others might be doing. Unfortunately I have neither the time or inclination to question the dozens of cyclist I see on my commute who RLJ, after all it won't be me who gets a fine or run over.

secretsam

mediamonkey wrote:

The main thing that annoys me with London commuting is other cyclists, especially the red-light jumpers. It's usually the slow ones that do it, and as I catch up with them and pass them I sometimes point out to them that they give all cyclists a bad name....

You speak wisely, there's one I can think of who rides one of those horrible American-style cruiser bikes, he's middle aged, wears a leather jacket and moves at a glacial pace. And jumps every red. Whoever you are, you're a tw$t.

Most of my cycling miles have been commuting, originally in Bristol (nice and flat ) where the driving is insane, and here in sunny London. Which has its own special joys.

Oh - and Mikey - no it's not. The nicest place to ride is down and endless hill with a tailwind on an open road on a sunny day, and the rush you get flying up the hill at the other side, cresting it and enjoying the view...sigh...if only

il_principe

I love cycling in London most of the time. I don't love the numpty RLJ'ing pavement hopping gutter hugging morons that seem to populate our roads. :evil:

snooks

jashburnham wrote:

I don't love the numpty RLJ'ing pavement hopping gutter hugging morons that seem to populate our roads. :evil:

What, buses?...Yeah I hate em as well...LOL

Clever Pun

isn't this getting just a bit elitist about cycling?? where do I sign up?

people will learn as they go along, you soon realise pavements don't save you time and just cause grief (except in really extreme cases)

Gutter hugging is just a nervous cyclist... this will change as they progress

We all started somewhere

il_principe

It's funny how most pf them are so nervous they hug the gutter, but are happy to RLJ all the time... never worked that one out.

Clever Pun

jashburnham wrote:

It's funny how most pf them are so nervous they hug the gutter, but are happy to RLJ all the time... never worked that one out.

true...

I saw someone this morning wag his finger at a car for some earlier misdemeanor I hadn't seen then proceeded to head through the red light the car was waiting at...twat

BentMikey

Dear oh dear!

I think London is just a completely different set of riding challenges to much of the rest of the UK, so what initially seems dangerous and hard to do is actually quite easy once you know how to handle the situation. Moving out to Biggin Hill recently, I've had something of the reverse experience, learning to deal with fast A roads.

My impression is that in spite of the traffic, Central London is still safer to ride in than most of the UK because of the numbers of cyclists around, and the slower traffic. There's a distinct change in driver attitude past, say, Peckham where there are far fewer cyclists.