What's good about urban riding?

Justatheory
Justatheory Posts: 32
edited January 2011 in Commuting chat
We all know the drawbacks of riding in a big city; potholes, glass, smog and busy traffic. Is there anything unique to urban riding that you find particularly enjoyable?

I enjoy bunny hopping off speed bumps and passing stationary rush hour traffic.

Comments

  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    SCR. :D
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • ndru
    ndru Posts: 382
    I enjoy the fact that the bicycle is the most civilized and humane mode of transport for urban areas.
    http://iamnotacyclist.blogspot.com/
  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    I find it gets me to work.

    I'd rather not ride through town but the only Job that fits my cycling requirement is working the tea shop at Box Hill - I hear the package isn't up to top quartile.
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Greg T wrote:
    I find it gets me to work.

    I'd rather not ride through town but the only Job that fits my cycling requirement is working the tea shop at Box Hill - I hear the package isn't up to top quartile.

    Look into whether the tea rooms at Abinger, or the flap jack shop in Peaslakeare recruiting. You never know.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,404
    Maybe a teashop empire based in Dorking, with a spot of MTBing, to the tea shop at the foot of the Leith Hill Tower. Now that would be a ride to work.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • gtvlusso
    gtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    SCR and watching people who drive the same route every morning, in the same traffic queues with their TomTom mounted on their windscreen (for some bizarre reason, they are going the same route to work?!?!)...as I drift by.
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    cjcp wrote:
    Greg T wrote:
    I find it gets me to work.

    I'd rather not ride through town but the only Job that fits my cycling requirement is working the tea shop at Box Hill - I hear the package isn't up to top quartile.

    Look into whether the tea rooms at Abinger, or the flap jack shop in Peaslakeare recruiting. You never know.
    You could change the whole tea stop pricing structure. For example: flapjack prices based on projected times up box hill...
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • coopster_the_1st
    coopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    As someone who has a rural commute I see the follow advantages when I have done urban riding:

    Warmer so less chance of ice: If I had an urban commute I would have ridden today as there is little risk of ice
    Better bail out options: If I ride, I cannot choose the train/bas to get home. I have to ride home
    Bus lanes: I am sure these are positive as well as negative but a whole lane to ride in with a lot less traffic than other lanes
    Traffic lights: Allow you to get your breath back and warm you up so you do not need to wear so many layers(I would wear 4 layers at today's rural temperatures)
  • Extralight
    Extralight Posts: 136
    Camaraderie with other cyclists - it's good to acknowledge each other and say hello when stopped at the lights.

    Expecting the unexpected: if I'm in the right frame of mind, I find rding in busy urban areas quite exhilarating. The concentration and the alertness required to avoid the inevitable suicidal pedestrian or absent-minded or reckless car/van/lorry driver definitely gives me a bit of an adrenalin rush. If I'm tired/grumpy/cold or it's wet, then obviously these things just tend to p_ss me off!

    As others have said, feeling good about getting some exercise, being responsible, and beating the traffic, rather than being stuck in traffic in the car.

    I'd like to say saving money, but for me it's not the case. I spend far too much on my cycling for it to be cheaper than driving! However, once I've done more than c 5,000 miles (which I should do this year), then I may actually be able to claim that it's saving me money compared to driving.
  • Vitessetortoise
    Vitessetortoise Posts: 53
    Between work and home the ride requires so much concentration I've long since forgotten about work by the time I'm home, a sanity buffer if you like.
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    Highlight of my day - unless Mrs Jw's in a giving mood....................
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Extralight wrote:
    Camaraderie with other cyclists - it's good to acknowledge each other and say hello when stopped at the lights.

    Clearly you are not riding in London.
  • Initialised
    Initialised Posts: 3,047
    When I lived in London it was the best way to get around the city. Now that the congestion charge has come in forcing more drivers onto PT and it's harder to hop the tube than it used to be. I guess the argument gets stronger.

    I guess the argument in smaller cities is that it's faster than PT and cheaper than driving (unless you're a brand whore).
    I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.
  • Extralight
    Extralight Posts: 136
    Gussio wrote:
    Extralight wrote:
    Camaraderie with other cyclists - it's good to acknowledge each other and say hello when stopped at the lights.

    Clearly you are not riding in London.

    My daily commute is 15 miles each way from near Slough and Windsor to Ealing Broadway (west London). There are a few friendly folks that I meet along the way, but you're right, most people are too busy concentrating on their own ride to say hello. And then there're the RLJs, and I know better than to comment on an internet forum on their etiquette, but obviously they don't stop to say hello!
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    Not getting stuck in traffic or relying on PT.

    Playing with traffic also keeps your mind busy :twisted:
  • davmaggs
    davmaggs Posts: 1,008
    There's the physical effects of exhilaration on those days that I feel fast (although times are roughly the same), and of whizzing past traffic, as well as the alertness achieved by doing exercise.

    Then there's the big mental boast of avoiding the prisoners shuffle on overcrowded PT, dealing with anti-social behaviour on PT, and the uncertainty of knowing if/when a bus or train will actually arrive and if I have to push to get on it. Cycling brings far more certainty as my timings only vary a little and everything is in my control (bar the fairy of course). In short, not dealing with other commuters
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Extralight wrote:
    Camaraderie with other cyclists - it's good to acknowledge each other and say hello when stopped at the lights.

    If that were true, why do the "other cyclists" look at me like I'm a man possesed when I say good morning / evening on the CS7 every day.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • SpaceBadger
    SpaceBadger Posts: 113
    Vitessetortoise wrote:
    Between work and home the ride requires so much concentration I've long since forgotten about work by the time I'm home, a sanity buffer if you like.
    This!
    "I think the phrase rhymes with Clucking Bell"

    FCN = 4
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    I get my primal rage out in the morning - or at least - I used to.
    _
  • dhope
    dhope Posts: 6,699
    SpaceBadger wrote:
    Vitessetortoise wrote:
    Between work and home the ride requires so much concentration I've long since forgotten about work by the time I'm home, a sanity buffer if you like.
    This!

    Hrm, hadn't thought of this, but I think it's true. I never really get back in a bad mood anymore, unless someone scalps me with 20 yards to go before I turn off, and even then it's just mock annoyance and a mental note to run them off the road next time.
    Rose Xeon CW Disc
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  • EKE_38BPM
    EKE_38BPM Posts: 5,821
    Sanity buffer. I like that phrase.

    I try to be sociable to other cyclists, but if I'm on a fast run I can be a little offish, but this is rare.

    I would say the best thing about urban commuting is not being stuck in traffic.
    In winter its not being stuck in an overheated box and then getting to the office complaining about how cold it is.
    In summer you get to enjoy the weather rather than complaining about how hot the Tube is.
    Not waiting for PT.
    Not having to interact with PT zombies.

    The worst things are not being able to read or listening to music whilst commuting.

    I think urban cycling is a bit like an adrenaline sport. You have to take precautions to keep safe, but what a rush!
    FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
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  • Obie
    Obie Posts: 51
    The best thing is not being stuck on a germ infested cattle trailer, or PT as it's called!! (thereby greatly reducing the chance of getting the winter Bugs!!)
    FCN 8.
  • Stuey01
    Stuey01 Posts: 1,273
    Being in charge of my own destiny, not slave to "signal failure" or unduly hindered by traffic problems. That and it is a bit of a rush.

    Other benefits are extra exercise and arriving at work buzzing, that is not specific to urban riding though.
    Not climber, not sprinter, not rouleur
  • Red Rider
    Red Rider Posts: 93
    Sometimes my rural commute used to get a bit boring. Sure it was purty and all that, but not a lot happened most of the time.

    Dicing with traffic keeps you on your toes - never a dull moment riding through traffic during a dark winter rush hour. In the rain. Wearing black. Without lights. Or a helmet... :lol:
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Greg T wrote:
    I find it gets me to work.

    I'd rather not ride through town but the only Job that fits my cycling requirement is working the tea shop at Box Hill .

    I dunno, reckon you'd get bored of walking up that hill every morning...
  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    Il Principe wrote:
    Greg T wrote:
    I find it gets me to work.

    I'd rather not ride through town but the only Job that fits my cycling requirement is working the tea shop at Box Hill .

    I dunno, reckon you'd get bored of walking up that hill every morning...

    I do it most weekends so I'm used to it . . . .

    Apparently some people ride ALL the way up it! Imagine
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • jonny_trousers
    jonny_trousers Posts: 3,588
    The sexual thrill in RLJing (for safety, of course).
  • getonyourbike
    getonyourbike Posts: 2,648
    The smugness of filtering through loads of cars at traffic lights and generally keeping you on your toes. More general commuting its the feeling of getting out on the bike everyday and arriving at school more alert and I'm also a lot fitter
  • Drysuitdiver
    Drysuitdiver Posts: 474
    catching up, and passing RLJers who have just flew past me while i was stopped at traffic lights. especially if i pass a roadie, as i ride a MTB.

    but for sheer happy factor, filtering past a huge line of cars thinking " 4 months ago that was me in this queue"
    Veni Vidi cyclo I came I saw I cycled
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  • El Diego
    El Diego Posts: 440
    Vitessetortoise wrote:
    Between work and home the ride requires so much concentration I've long since forgotten about work by the time I'm home, a sanity buffer if you like.

    Sanity buffer! I have to pinch that phrase.

    I was thinking something similar the other day. I was thinking that when I leave work and jump on the bike work is over and my time begins, whereas driving still feels like work somehow.

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