How was your cycle commute?

[Crispy]

42 minutes Penge>Barbican without breaking any pots or heroics. London Bridge is a bottleneck I will be keen to avoid

Southwark Bridge is a much more pleasant way to cross the river.

I had a quick fiddle on gmaps and came up with this route. Avoids Walworth Road (horribly congested with buses), Elephant (ditto, also a deathtrap), London Bridge (Yuck) and Bank/Moorgate (Yuck, and buggered up by Crossrail all the time).

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/'...6e26675d21f40!2m2!1d-0.093263!2d51.520075!3e1

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Southwark Bridge is a much more pleasant way to cross the river.

I had a quick fiddle on gmaps and came up with this route. Avoids Walworth Road (horribly congested with buses), Elephant (ditto, also a deathtrap), London Bridge (Yuck) and Bank/Moorgate (Yuck, and buggered up by Crossrail all the time).

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/'...6e26675d21f40!2m2!1d-0.093263!2d51.520075!3e1

Thanks for this - the run up Camberwell New rd and R turn looks a tad hairy but avoiding E&C is good. I will try it tomorow.

 

[Crispy]

That right-hand turn onto John Ruskin Street has just been completely rebuilt with very good cycle provision
Alternatively, go a bit further up the road and use the ped crossing to go down Bolton Crescent.
The obvious route is to go up to the main junction at Oval, but by the rules of the road it's No Right Turn onto Kennington Park Road, which makes it a bit tricky. You could get off the road into Kennington Park at that point too.
All these options are better than Walworth Road, which is always rammed and isn't wide enough to get past the buses.

 

[llywmog]

Its not a nice drag through Croydon and before you get out to Coulsdon you have to do the purley way rounabout which isn't nice...but once you turn right up towards Chipstead its a lovely ride. On the way home you have the long drag up Reigate Hill which isn't nice though.

cheers for asking ddraig. i've signed up like instructed ;-p

i'm going to test the following route on wednesday to see what it's like:

through Addiscombe and Purley, and then via Chaldon or Kenley Aerodrome.

if Purley route turns out to be stop/start because of traffic, might going via West Wickham be a better option?

 

[ddraig]

yay! please welcome llywmog cyclists! just watch out for his "humor"

 

[llywmog]

yay! please welcome llywmog cyclists! just watch out for his "humor"

Is there anyone here who is a member of Penge Bike Club. or who go out for long rides?

 

[a_chap]

Chilly this morning. Had to wear a jacket for the first time in months.

Winter draws on, ladies...

 

[Winot]

Yes chilly start, and back on the winter bike (mudguards and hub dynamo/gears) which felt very heavy after the stripped down summer bike.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Is there anyone here who is a member of Penge Bike Club. or who go out for long rides?

No but I know Winston (SE20 Cycles owner) very well and @gaigingirl occasionally of this parish has been out on one of the intro rides and rated Penge CC as a very friendly bunch and were newbie friendly. They are a new club so they're doing everything right.

 

[Lord Hugh]

Chilly indeed the past week or so, wore an extra layer today as I had an early start, and then the sun came out so ended up a very nice temperature

 

[steeeve]

anyone any experience of the bit of duel carriageway going into Guildford on the A246/A25 between Merrow and East Clandon? Trying to work out by streetview if it's safe to cycle

 

[Dogsauce]

Dual carriageways can be pretty decent roads if you're not in busy traffic, people have room to overtake, fewer side roads and usually decent visibility due to the road geometry. In busy traffic where both lanes are full they can be pretty shit. I'll usually take a dual carriageway section on my route into town rather than the officially sanctioned cycle route through an industrial estate with multiple entrances, turning HGVs and a shitty potholed surface. YMMV.

Managed the two-mile ride over to Headingley this morning, still taking it slow but didn't have to walk the hills today (using the walking-speed third gear on the Pashley). Got some De Marchi thermal bib leggings in my size from one of the charity shops for £3, and a craghoppers fleece top same as the one I was wearing when I had my crash earlier this year (and was cut off me in the ambulance). Feel a bit more 'winter ready' now, even if my body has a way to go.

 

[steeeve]

this ones only 2 miles long so thinking I'm going to try it, the alternative is a pretty steep hill

 

[plurker]

Southwark Bridge is a much more pleasant way to cross the river.

I had a quick fiddle on gmaps and came up with this route. Avoids Walworth Road (horribly congested with buses), Elephant (ditto, also a deathtrap), London Bridge (Yuck) and Bank/Moorgate (Yuck, and buggered up by Crossrail all the time).

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/''/Barbican Centre, Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS, United Kingdom/@51.4508821,-0.0731109,3443m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m44!4m43!1m35!1m1!1s0x4876017164e707ab:0xa0b665f21670e660!2m2!1d-0.0517034!2d51.4138764!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1074678!2d51.4814805!3s0x4876048fa5f10dad:0x1034bb57bc69edc1!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1074391!2d51.4868491!3s0x48760490f0656d03:0x588831556b90d9b8!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1021699!2d51.4960183!3s0x487604a25a1ed6b5:0x64499bb42791ec1a!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0988324!2d51.5007071!3s0x487604a696f0c091:0xb615923b1e2f6fcd!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0922268!2d51.5146789!3s0x4876035534470729:0xd9ccbdc792d0d677!3m4!1m2!1d-0.0970862!2d51.5184495!3s0x48761b5452898e2f:0x373f5e95e88a4628!1m5!1m1!1s0x48761b56fb64b275:0xc756e26675d21f40!2m2!1d-0.093263!2d51.520075!3e1

that looks a good route but for it to take 1 hour and six mins i assume Google cycles on a borisbike with flat tyres!

My rides this week have been great; loving this cooler temperature as it means I can get speed up without arriving at work a sweaty mess. Set a number of PBs; but I've lost my (only legitimate) KOM now; by one measly second, which has fecked me off and charged me up to attack it with gusto for a few days!

 

[Orang Utan]

what's a KOM? Damn TLAs!

 

[joustmaster]

what's a KOM? Damn TLAs!

it a thing from that app that times segments of your ride.

 

[Crispy]

King of The Mountain, ie. who can ride a certain stretch of road fastest. Dangerous idea if you ask me. Encourages reckless riding.

 

[joustmaster]

King of The Mountain, ie. who can ride a certain stretch of road fastest. Dangerous idea if you ask me. Encourages reckless riding.

The thing that encourages me to cycle the fastest/most recklessly is a strong wind to my back.

 

[plurker]

King of The Mountain, ie. who can ride a certain stretch of road fastest. Dangerous idea if you ask me. Encourages reckless riding.

I can see the point you're making, but I'd never endanger myself. Others might be more foolhardy.

 

[Orang Utan]

King of The Mountain, ie. who can ride a certain stretch of road fastest. Dangerous idea if you ask me. Encourages reckless riding.

King? Ugh. Don't go in for competing with others. That way lies disappointment and recklessness. Best to compete with yourself. Much more satisfying as you always win.

 

[Orang Utan]

I have no pump and soft wheels. Most bikes shops let you use them for free, don't they?

 

[joustmaster]

I have no pump and soft wheels. Most bikes shops let you use them for free, don't they?

evanscycles tend to have them outside, chained up, for people to use.

 

[Orang Utan]

Some shops in London charge a couple of quid. I won't use them. Totally against the spirit and camaraderie of cycling (#hippybollocks)

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

£2? name and shame

 

[Orang Utan]

£2? name and shame

Can't remember the name but the one in the middle of Peckham on Queen's Road.
ETA better go check that
ETAA: Wilson's on the High Street
I've seen signs saying so in other windows too.

 

[Dogsauce]

There's a free street pump at the north end of Brick Lane near the bike racks (Beigel shop side). Suspect there might be others about too.

 

[a_chap]

There's a supermarket near(ish) to us with a pump, bike work stand and a selection of tools (chained together) outside.

Me, I've made a specific point of buying things from them on the grounds they are clearly good eggs.

 

[sleaterkinney]

What are the local cycle clubs like?. I'm interested in a longer ride than my commute. There's Dulwich CC, do Brixton cycles have one?. Do all their rides start at 8 on a Sunday?

 

[Orang Utan]

Ouch! I'm a lone cyclist myself. Not keen on cycling in a pack.

 

[Pickman's model]

Ouch! I'm a lone cyclist myself. Not keen on cycling in a pack.

i can picture you now, doing a wheelie down the street shouting out 'hi-ho silver' while the william tell overture blasts from someone's stereo