City Commuting

blu3cat

Christophe3967 wrote:

Its always a hoot - even in the rain and snow (OK, the wind can be a PITA . I consider myself incredibly privileged to be able to cycle around London, passing landmarks that people travel from all over the world to see. I never feel in any danger and feel no need whatsover to have a Play Station.

+1, on the days I go through the west-end (usually after a social stop), there's nothing better than going through Parliament square then along the river, especially if it's sunny, makes your heart sing with joy.

Oh and I have a couple of consoles for rainy days and late nights.

LDN-Flyer

blu3cat wrote:

Christophe3967 wrote:

Its always a hoot - even in the rain and snow (OK, the wind can be a PITA . I consider myself incredibly privileged to be able to cycle around London, passing landmarks that people travel from all over the world to see. I never feel in any danger and feel no need whatsover to have a Play Station.

+1, on the days I go through the west-end (usually after a social stop), there's nothing better than going through Parliament square then along the river, especially if it's sunny, makes your heart sing with joy.

Oh and I have a couple of consoles for rainy days and late nights.

Riding along Chelsea embankment next to the river is great fun! Especially when the breeze from the river smells of sea air.

I'm occasionally forced to take a day on the tube and when i do it always makes me want to get back on my bike. Don't get me wrong i actually think londons transport network is fantastic, you can get almost anywhere at any time of day, but commuting in rush hour is is grime. Even if you do get used to it after a while.

blu3cat

Riding along Chelsea embankment next to the river is great fun! Especially when the breeze from the river smells of sea air.

I'm occasionally forced to take a day on the tube and when i do it always makes me want to get back on my bike. Don't get me wrong i actually think londons transport network is fantastic, you can get almost anywhere at any time of day, but commuting in rush hour is is grime. Even if you do get used to it after a while.

+1 to both points.

In summer, at least the only sweaty b***ard on my bike is me. On the Northern line, could be any number of people on the way home - yuck :roll:

flamite

Great and destressing, opportunity to think things through and clear my head

I love smiling at them, possible give them a wave, followed by the "enjoy the traffic" comment...

Bassjunkieuk

flamite wrote:

Great and destressing, opportunity to think things through and clear my head

I love smiling at them, possible give them a wave, followed by the "enjoy the traffic" comment...

I've started using this on the plonkers who try and kill me as I pass them in the queue a few yards ahead :-)

When I tell people that I commute by bike and they ask the inevitable "motor bike or push bike?" I always wonder why it's called a "push" bike? It's a bike!!! Plain and simple, you know a bicycle? Then when I tell them where I ride to they look at me as if I'm mad :-D I'm not sure if it's the perceived distance or the danger tho, but now as I ride 5 days a week the 10 miles each way for most of the sites I work at I consider an average ride and not a problem to complete.

Mikelyons

LDN-Flyer wrote:

commuting in rush hour is is grime. Even if you do get used to it after a while.

Fully agree , but to get used to it makes me depressed because I feel I have to follow the crowd at every turn & there's no freedom.

Even if I drive to work, that's annoying because my drive home useally means I'm sat in traffic whilst being overtaken by cyclists.

Mike

cjcp

Christophe3967 wrote:

Its always a hoot - even in the rain and snow (OK, the wind can be a PITA . I consider myself incredibly privileged to be able to cycle around London, passing landmarks that people travel from all over the world to see.

Good point.

jimmypippa

Mikelyons wrote:

LDN-Flyer wrote:

commuting in rush hour is is grime. Even if you do get used to it after a while.

Fully agree , but to get used to it makes me depressed because I feel I have to follow the crowd at every turn & there's no freedom.

Even if I drive to work, that's annoying because my drive home useally means I'm sat in traffic whilst being overtaken by cyclists.

Mike

I have become more anboyed by traffic jams when I am in the car no; a couple of weeks ago, I took some rubbish to the tip and spent 20 mins to travel about a mile. *That* is walking pace, not cycling speed FFS.

crosstowncommuter

I wouldn't miss it for the world and hate having to go in occasionally by tube / train.

You really can't beat the de-stressing that a good cycle commute gives you twice a day... sure there are numpties out there, but don't let it spoil the enjoyment.

always_tyred

tardie wrote:

Don't think I've heard it called that before! Are you heading into town from outside then?

City commuting is more interesting than country ride, but a lot less pretty to look at, I guess. I think it's de-stressing because it uses a bit of your brain, while the rest it free to think about something else... Oh, and whizzing through the gridlocked traffic is always good.

PS it was just a bit grey when I left this morning. Am looking out at lowering dark clouds...

Not far out, no. I'm out near Heriot Watt. I used to come in from there, and then head around a bit, along the Reptile bypass up to Colinton. I could come directly in, but its way too busy to be any fun, so I cycle around and head in from the Braid Hills direction.

But with the CX bike, its possible to climb out of Currie, come around a couple of reserviors on a dirt track, and come down into Colinton. Nicer ride.