To those who ride Regent's Park

jonny_trousers

Do you ever creep through that annoying red light just beyond the mosque at the junction of Hanover Gate? So far I haven't, but I'm sorely tempted to. I did six laps at tea time and must have hit it on red every single time. I was having a fun game of cat 'n' mouse with a couple of riders who were perhaps a touch quicker than me, but as soon as we hit the red and they carefully went on while I stayed put it was over. Despite feeling good today I had absolutely no chance of putting down a PB. If there are no peds around it is a very safe junction to cross on red, but yes, it is an illegal manoeuvre. There's even a further 20 second delay on the anti-clockwise side while the clockwise lot have set off that I just can't understand!

I've added a poll and would appreciate your honesty (no one will ever know who you are to judge you).

jds_1981

Not ridden there in a while but didn't skip the light. Most people do jump most of the lights though.

Made the mistake of riding there middayish during the weekend once (summertime), pedestrians ambling all over the road, crossing after the green man had changed in huge swathes, etc.

jonny_trousers

jds_1981 wrote:

Not ridden there in a while but didn't skip the light. Most people do jump most of the lights though.

Made the mistake of riding there middayish during the weekend once (summertime), pedestrians ambling all over the road, crossing after the green man had changed in huge swathes, etc.

Yeah, you've got to be on your toes. Between the people in expensive cars who clearly think that because they have money, awareness is unnecessary, and the peds who see you coming, yet step out all the same because bikes only travel slowly, don't they, it has the potential to be hairy. It's still possibly the only place to be able to ride at continuous speed in central London, though, so I'm grateful for it.

phil s

OP : you know what? Enough people out there have an irrational hatred of cyclists. Jumping reds just hands them a convenient stick to beat us all with. Yes, it's a pain in the neck to have to stop, especially since they rephased the light by the mosque anticlockwise, but unless you're training for the Olympic road race then perhaps a broader perspective is required.

Headhuunter

phil s wrote:

OP : you know what? Enough people out there have an irrational hatred of cyclists. Jumping reds just hands them a convenient stick to beat us all with. Yes, it's a pain in the neck to have to stop, especially since they rephased the light by the mosque anticlockwise, but unless you're training for the Olympic road race then perhaps a broader perspective is required.

Don't.... open.... pandora's.... box...

jonny_trousers

Don't worry, this isn't another RLJ justification thread. I know all the arguments and I pretty much agree with them. I just wondered how many from here would secretly admit to sneaking through. Right or wrong is irrelevant in this particular thread.

spasypaddy

only once. and it was because i was cramping up and couldnt stop as i'd have fallen over. there was a police car coming the other way. he gave me a bollocking out his window but didnt want to get out so no damage done.

one of only 2 times ive run a red light. the other time i was going too fast and couldnt stop in time due to a yellow painted box on the road and it being wet. again didnt know it at the time but there was a police car directly behind me and as i skidded through the red light with both brakes on i decided it would be safer to just pull through as it was a ped crossing with noone crossing rather than slip and slide. again they couldnt be arsed to get out their car and just drove along side me giving me a bollocking. This wasn't in regents park btw but on my commute

genuinely the only 2 red lights ive ever run.

Ben6899

I ran it once for similar reasons to spasypaddy. However; the policeman waved me down, got out of his car and spoke to me as if I was 10-years old. I just nodded and acted politely so I could be on my way and ramped up to 600W as soon as possible.

As for last night... I was out as well. And the light got me every time. And now the junction is closed at York Gate, it's very... interesting... filtering from two lanes to one with massive Mercedes and BMWs.

And did you see Bradley Wiggins showing off his Maillot Jaune? He's shrunk by 2", put on 20kg and spends more time posing than pedalling!

mrc1

I used to ride there a lot when I lived in North London. That light is a PITA but I always used to stop for it. Used to make it my mission to catch and pass anyone that ran it :twisted:

Ben6899

mrc1 wrote:

I used to ride there a lot when I lived in North London. That light is a PITA but I always used to stop for it. Used to make it my mission to catch and pass anyone that ran it :twisted:

This. And one usually does, which is the saddest thing about all this!

phy2sll2

Whoops - voted yes but meant no. Always stopped, even on the chaingang we used to do there in the winter.

rebs

I go Regents Park quite often.

Majority of time I'll stop. But I do sometimes creep past. Often when no-one is nearby and it's just me waiting at the light. That Ped light is annoying. I do feel guilty when I do cross it!

How often do folks go there? Want to see if I can recognise anyone flying past me.

I'm noting on a black and white Felt normally in Hackney CC kit

jonny_trousers

Ben6899 wrote:

mrc1 wrote:

I used to ride there a lot when I lived in North London. That light is a PITA but I always used to stop for it. Used to make it my mission to catch and pass anyone that ran it :twisted:

This. And one usually does, which is the saddest thing about all this!

Hmm, this just isn't possible in my experience. A conservative 3 minute wait while your riding partners continue on at an average speed of around 20mph makes it damn near impossible to catch them again. Any other set of lights around the ring, sure, but not those buggers.

Of course, this is still no real excuse.

Interesting to hear that the phase has been changed. It used to be that you could find it on green every so often, and then get a really good head of steam going, but sadly it now seems pretty much impossible.

I think my frustration is more that I push myself to keep up with guys who are younger, lighter, and are riding better bikes than me (yes, I take my turn at the front) only to have the challenge suddenly ended by their jumping of that particular set of lights.

jonny_trousers

rebs wrote:

I go Regents Park quite often.

Majority of time I'll stop. But I do sometimes creep past. Often when no-one is nearby and it's just me waiting at the light. That Ped light is annoying. I do feel guilty when I do cross it!

How often do folks go there? Want to see if I can recognise anyone flying past me.

I'm noting on a black and white Felt normally in Hackney CC kit

I'll do Thursday and/or Saturday evenings between around 5:45 to 6:45 most weeks. Gloss black, no decals Genesis Equilibrium.

Ben6899

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

rebs wrote:

I go Regents Park quite often.

Majority of time I'll stop. But I do sometimes creep past. Often when no-one is nearby and it's just me waiting at the light. That Ped light is annoying. I do feel guilty when I do cross it!

How often do folks go there? Want to see if I can recognise anyone flying past me.

I'm noting on a black and white Felt normally in Hackney CC kit

I'll do Thursday and/or Saturday evenings between around 5:45 to 6:45 most weeks. Gloss black, no decals Genesis Equilibrium.

It varies for me, but I am usually there two midweek eveningss and I pop in on Saturday and Sundays to warm down, when I have been elsewhere. I'll always be on the Dolan (black and white, aluminium) for the near future until I move my other bikes down here. Usually in Bike Religion or Sufferfest kit.

spasypaddy

during the winter, often. in the summer im there some sunday mornings. should be there this sunday in fact. but not sure

optimisticbiker

If you mean the red light at the junction of Hanover Gate and Outer Circle, then no , never run that one. The ped light just east of Baker Street junction (thats the one with lego bricks on it at the mo, not York Gate, thats further round) I might have accidentally* done so once in the early hours of the morning. York gate lights, nope. The ped lights just by the Zoo... mmmm maybe again accidentally*....

Think I've seen both J_T and Ben - the Dolan certainly I recall, think I even managed to hold your wheel for a minute once... the Equilibrium less sure, but as there are two red ones at work I know what it looks like so I think i have. I was leading out a guy on a Cervelo yesterday evening from Portland place up towards the mosque until he got bored at 20mph and overtook me on the drag up to Hanover gate but I couldn't stay with him...


*i.e. when no one is actually standing there....

jonny_trousers

OptimisticBiker wrote:

If you mean the red light at the junction of Hanover Gate and Outer Circle, then no , never run that one. The ped light just east of Baker Street junction (thats the one with lego bricks on it at the mo, not York Gate, thats further round) I might have accidentally* done so once in the early hours of the morning. York gate lights, nope. The ped lights just by the Zoo... mmmm maybe again accidentally*....

Think I've seen both J_T and Ben - the Dolan certainly I recall, think I even managed to hold your wheel for a minute once... the Equilibrium less sure, but as there are two red ones at work I know what it looks like so I think i have. I was leading out a guy on a Cervelo yesterday evening from Portland place up towards the mosque until he got bored at 20mph and overtook me on the drag up to Hanover gate but I couldn't stay with him...


*i.e. when no one is actually standing there....

It would be pretty hard to recognise my bike as an Equilibrium by its shape, but the fact that it's without decals should give it away.

I suspect I still won't jump that light, but you know, frustrating and all that. If only it had a 1 minute phase.

mrc1

Don't remember it being a three minute wait so perhaps it has got longer since I was last there (Sept 2010). I'd generally arrive as it was already red though so catching RLJers was certainly possible.

If you hate the lights you can just ride the inner loop. That's normally got an early morning chain gang and is good early on before the peds and parked cars get in the way.

Ben6899

mrc1 wrote:

Don't remember it being a three minute wait so perhaps it has got longer since I was last there (Sept 2010). I'd generally arrive as it was already red though so catching RLJers was certainly possible.

If you hate the lights you can just ride the inner loop. That's normally got an early morning chain gang and is good early on before the peds and parked cars get in the way.

I throw in a few inner loops when we're all bunched - just to put me out of sync with the remainder. If only the road surface was better!

jonny_trousers

I'm maybe exaggerating the '3 minute' thing, but it's still painfully long.

I'm not really looking for justification or confirmation as to whether it is a good or bad thing to carefully glide through that red. It's just become obvious to me that serious cyclists often do and I wondered if there were any here who were willing to secretly own up to it. Perhaps a similar poll would get a different result in one of the road bike forums.

I should probably add that for all I regularly see cyclists riding through it, I see at least as many waiting.

Ben6899

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

I'm not really looking for justification or confirmation as to whether it is a good or bad thing to carefully glide through that red. It's just become obvious to me that serious cyclists often do and I wondered if there were any here who were willing to secretly own up to it. Perhaps a similar poll would get a different result in one of the road bike forums.

I should probably add that for all I regularly see cyclists riding through it, I see at least as many waiting.

I wouldn't worry, mate, your post certainly doesn't come across as though you're seeking justification to jump the red. As for serious cyclists, well I would consider myself to be one of those and I always stop. It is disappointing how many people in club kit just sail through though... I can forgive the odd person on a Boris Bike or BSO, but I have the (perhaps unreasonable) expectation that someone in full lycra and on a couple Ks worth of bike should know better.

PS. when are you at the park next? Tomorrow evening for me.

jds_1981

As previously mentioned I used to cycle around it a bit, enough lights to make it useless for intervals though

jonny_trousers

Ben6899 wrote:

PS. when are you at the park next? Tomorrow evening for me.

I might do Saturday 5:45 - 6:45, mate, but I'm going to do a long ride tomorrow so it depends how I'm feeling.