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Bikes? Bikes? BIKES!?

London cycling is really not that bad... You do need to be very careful around certain things (specifically ones that may not see you), but the traffic generally is slow-moving and relatively predictable. Just remember:

  • always keep your distance with lorries, try to stay where they can see you. Buses too. Never, ever go on the left hand side of a large vehicle. Ever.
  • be wary around parked cars (doors).
  • Keep your road position, signal clearly make yourself as visible as possible.
  • don't be a dick around pedestrians, even if they're doing something fucking stupid. Equally respect other vehicles. Well, as much as you can.
  • Taxi drivers are cunts.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
It's amazing how far some people manage. There's a guy in my club who does nearly 25 miles each way (guess that's about the same as your mate thinking about it), 5 days a week, in all weathers. Seriously impressive.
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a mate of mine (in manor house) gets up at 4.30 in the morning, cycles to regent's park, does 25 laps (100k), then cycles home to take his kids to school. he then jogs to work in Sh Bush. He does that six times a week.
 
littleseb said:
a mate of mine (in manor house) gets up at 4.30 in the morning, cycles to regent's park, does 25 laps (100k), then cycles home to take his kids to school. he then jogs to work in Sh Bush. He does that six times a week.
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Those distances added up are bonkers! :eek:

Six times a week even in heavy rain**?? :hmm:
(**I know we've not had much recently, even in the UK, but still!!! It will return ... )
 
ska invita said:
it is
www.standard.co.uk

1,220 killed or seriously injured on London's roads over three months

A dramatic increase in the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured has sent London casualty statistics soaring.
www.standard.co.uk www.standard.co.uk
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I cycled regularly in London for 15 years... It's a difficult subject. Many of those accidents are avoidable. Would not for a second blame the victims, but the really dangerous situations are foreseeable. Very different from a smaller city with some fast roads, where it's essentially impossible to know whether the next driver is a fucking boy racer idiot/drunk.
 
We've been cycling a fair bit more lately, for our daily exercise. We'll be back on them tomorrow, too.

The increased cycling was at deb's prompting, and I was happy to do the repairs and maintenance of the long neglected bikes! :)
(Not like I didn't have time anyway! :D)

But my normal workplace is a little over two miles away. This would be fine for cycling, except that the hill between our house and my work HQ is a half-mile-long mountain of insane steepness :(

At this time of the year, mind you, I'd seriously look at resuming walking (aka mountaineering :p ).

But not back in the winter when I'd have to leave home in the dark of a morning. Often in the rain :mad:
At least by winter the buses might? be back to normal levels of permitted passengers.
 
Orang Utan said:
It’s way worse in other cities. Feels much safer in London. You’re still more likely to perish in a car crash anyway
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above we had 1,200 cyclists seriously injured or killed in a 3 month period in 2019

for the whole of 2019 the "total number of road deaths caused by a collision in London is 126 "- and that's most likely a lot of pedestrians News from Caroline Russell: Two thirds of 2019 road deaths in outer London

Stats aside, London roads are dangerous for cyclists, I dont think its disputable
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
It's amazing how far some people manage. There's a guy in my club who does nearly 25 miles each way (guess that's about the same as your mate thinking about it), 5 days a week, in all weathers. Seriously impressive.
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One of my best mates goes from Stanwell (Staines side of Heathrow) to Acton and back each day for work. He often cycles to my place for a beer, 40 miles each way and a journey that I’m too slack to make by car very often...
 
ska invita said:
above we had 1,200 cyclists seriously injured or killed in a 3 month period in 2019

for the whole of 2019 the "total number of road deaths caused by a collision in London is 126 "- and that's most likely a lot of pedestrians News from Caroline Russell: Two thirds of 2019 road deaths in outer London

Stats aside, London roads are dangerous for cyclists, I dont think its disputable
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True, that can't be disputed at all.
I was cycling near-daily for work between Walworth and South Kensington and back (roughly 4 miles each way?) between 1991 and 2008 :eek:
But the only way that was manageable for me was by knowing London really well, that is knowing the quietest back-road routes, and how to avoid places like Hyde Park Corner, Elephant, etc., as far as possible.
 
ska invita said:
above we had 1,200 cyclists seriously injured or killed in a 3 month period in 2019

for the whole of 2019 the "total number of road deaths caused by a collision in London is 126 "- and that's most likely a lot of pedestrians News from Caroline Russell: Two thirds of 2019 road deaths in outer London

Stats aside, London roads are dangerous for cyclists, I dont think its disputable
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You really need to look at it in terms of accidents by distance traveled to compare with other places. And there are a lot of inexperienced cyclists in London... You need to know several ground rules (e.g the ones I posted above), and you need to know that an accident might not be your fault, but that that's not going to be much consolation. Anyone starting out cycling in London I would recommend going on a course about these things... But once you're familiar with that limited set of risks, it's not a bad place to cycle.
 
sleaterkinney said:
Cycling isn’t dangerous, bad drivers are dangerous, that’s what needs to be sorted out.
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That's why I'm being cautious around saying cyclists are getting into preventable accidents. But shit drivers are out there. Bus/HGV drivers who don't check their mirrors are out there. And many otherwise decent drivers make mistakes. So, like it or not, every cyclist out there must be aware of how they can minimise the risk of harm to themselves.
 
I mean clearly there are going to be some who cannot cycle no matter the "it's easy" protestations of some :D - neither myself or OH could use it as a mode of transport these days, I have arthritis and he has a fractured back and can barely walk some days, I doubt he could even get on a bicycle tbh and if he could it would be ill-advised as a fall could do him further damage :(
 
Cid said:
And there are a lot of inexperienced cyclists in London...
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the government are about to encourage thousands more on to the roads
and also on electric scooters i gather

im confident on a bike and my odds are far better than most, id still rather not risk it thanks, not on the commute i have to make
 
I have several customers who ride a bike or trike specifically because they are disabled and find it easier than walking. One with cerebral palsy, one with a club foot, one with Parkinson's. Their bikes are their mobility aids.
 
maomao said:
If this is because public transport will only carry ten percent of previous capacity they're going to need a lot of bikes very quickly. I'd happily start riding to work (if I still have a job) but I don't have a bike. Millions of Londoners don't have bikes.
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And the answer isn't necessarily, 'Well, get a bike then!' because storage is an issue, especially in somewhere like London. If you're living in a tiny flat or house share, where do you keep it? If you leave it locked outside, it might get knicked if someone comes along with an angle grinder. For many people the commute might be practicable, but owning and safely securing a bike might not be.
 
AnnO'Neemus said:
And the answer isn't necessarily, 'Well, get a bike then!' because storage is an issue, especially in somewhere like London. If you're living in a tiny flat or house share, where do you keep it? If you leave it locked outside, it might get knicked if someone comes along with an angle grinder. For many people the commute might be practicable, but owning and safely securing a bike might not be.
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I used to keep mine at the end of my bed
 
weepiper said:
Every bike shop in Edinburgh has got more repair work than they know what to do with and you can't get any bike for less than £500 in the city because they've all been bought in the last month. People are queuing up in droves to get bikes here.
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I've just been browsing a few of the big online retailers and it's the same story there - if you want an xs or xxl frame you might find something, but bloody hell, everything else is sold out. Insane.
 
Monkeygrinder's Organ said:
I'd love to be able to cycle to work but it would take some serious changes before I would. It's nearly ten miles and right across central London and I'm not the most confident cyclist tbh. If they genuinely prioritised cyclists then I would but I can't see it.
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Look into getting an electric bike through the cycle to work scheme? I borrowed one before lockdown to get to work before we started working from home, because people coughing on public transport was making me nervous. Admittedly, my ride was only about 4.5 miles, but I'm very unfit and the power assisted ride made it a doddle, even enjoyable. I'm thinking of buying one. I do have a regular bike, but would've been too knackered as I'm too unfit to contemplate a long journey on that, it's got a puncture anyway, but I mainly used it for nipping into town (10 mins) or the shops, etc. I'd go a lot further on an electric one, their range is quite good.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
I've just been browsing a few of the big online retailers and it's the same story there - if you want an xs or xxl frame you might find something, but bloody hell, everything else is sold out. Insane.
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Try finding your local independent bike shop. They've been allowed to stay open as bike repairs & sales were classed as essential. They might be sold out, too, or they might have stock if everyone's been buying online from the bigger chains.
 
AnnO'Neemus said:
Try finding your local independent bike shop. They've been allowed to stay open as bike repairs & sales were classed as essential. They might be sold out, too, or they might have stock if everyone's been buying online from the bigger chains.
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Oh I'm not looking to buy*, was just curious.



*well, obviously n+1 and all that, and a nice 650B wheeled gravel bike would make an excellent commuter, so.... :hmm: :D
 
William of Walworth said:
Those distances added up are bonkers! :eek:

Six times a week even in heavy rain**?? :hmm:
(**I know we've not had much recently, even in the UK, but still!!! It will return ... )
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It rained most days between October and February. There is no way I would have wanted to ride 100k 6 days a week plus a jog into work.

I used to run home from work (which is why I know about the rain) and had trainers on rotation so I always had a dry pair but half an hour to an hour in the rain mostly in the dark is really quite depressing after a few weeks.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
I've come to realise that if it's raining I'll get just as wet walking across campus/crammed in with hundreds of other people on the train/walking home from the station as I would on a bike anyway, so fuck it, may as well ride.
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Aye, I’m just used to it, it’s not a factor in whether I get on my bike or not, unless it’s really icy or there’s a hurricane or something.
People comment when I come to work in the rain, they just don’t get that is just how I get to work
 
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