Bikes on the underground

Cubic

Hi, I've got to take my bike from Putney to Moorgate tomorrow morning and don't want to cycle the whole way. The only way of getting there seems to be using the tube - the District Line and Hammersmith & City Line both say that bikes can be taken on out of peak times.
Has anyone any experience of taking a bike on the tube across London? Is it going to be a nightmare? Are there any alternatives I should consider?

Thanks for your help.

chuckcork

Cubic wrote:

Hi, I've got to take my bike from Putney to Moorgate tomorrow morning and don't want to cycle the whole way. The only way of getting there seems to be using the tube - the District Line and Hammersmith & City Line both say that bikes can be taken on out of peak times.
Has anyone any experience of taking a bike on the tube across London? Is it going to be a nightmare? Are there any alternatives I should consider?

Thanks for your help.

Probably faster to cycle knowing what the district line is like. Check also that you can take the bike through the sections you are travelling through, I believe outer sections are OK but maybe not central London.

Garou

You can take your bike on the overground sections of the tube, but not the actual underground sections. So a lot of the district line is ok, obviously outside of peak hours. As long as the stations you get on and off are overground ones, and it's not busy, you should be ok.

Beer, anyone?

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/bicycle-tube-map-0108.pdf

This shows you where (and when) you can and can't take your bike on the tube.

Out of laziness I've taken mine on the District line before and it was fine. People will look at you like you shouldn't be there though... [/url]

AidanR

You can certainly do it (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/ ... p-0108.pdf) and I've taken my bike on the Tube before (you get some odd stares) but it's a bit or a torturous journey. It's only 8 miles - I'd do it on the bike if I were you. It'll be a lovely ride along the Thames.

jonginge

AidanR wrote:

You can certainly do it (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/ ... p-0108.pdf) and I've taken my bike on the Tube before (you get some odd stares) but it's a bit or a torturous journey. It's only 8 miles - I'd do it on the bike if I were you. It'll be a lovely ride along the Thames.

+1
Or you can take the overland train (off peak natch) to waterloo and cycle the couple of miles to moorgate.

Littigator

HTFU and cycle it you wuss! Jeez if it's a day like today it'll be lovely. If you're worried about arriving sweaty then just take it really easy.

lost_in_thought

Yeah, I'm with litts on this one, it's not that farand if you've got the time to wait until off-peak and travel then you've certainly got time for a leisurely ride in.

Taking a bike on the tube would be a total nightmare. All the stairs and escalators... people everywhere...

jairaj

maybe take the river ferry? Its slower than the train, but a much nicer ride but my first choice would be to cycle it.

sarajoy

Yeah, ride it, it's about as long as my commute (one way) but without the hills!

G'waaan It's not that far!

jairaj

So Cubic, how did you end up getting there?

il_principe

He's clearly still stuck somewhere on the underground...

lost_in_thought

Going round and round the circle line hemmed in by angry commuters...

Cubic

I made it! Unscathed by London's commuters! Took the District Line from East Putney to Tower Hill. I'm sure I got a few odd glances, but was too ashamed to look at anyone on the carriage. It was a bit like a 3D puzzle at times, trying to make a pathway for people to get on and off, but on the whole the experience wasn't that bad. Luckily the Underground planning person designed most of the stations to have the platform on the same side, so I eventually found a free corner and hid there for the journey.

P.s. I'm only a semi-jessie for not cycling there - I was going in for a bike fitting session so sort out a riding injury and didn't want to arrive exhausted. So there!