Cycling in London

Cycling In London

I bike almost every working day into central London, for me I bike for a number of reasons:

I don’t like crowed trains.

I want to travel when I want to and not when dictated to by public transport.

I like the exercise (it’s a 20 mile daily round trip)

It saves me money.

I enjoy it (most of the time)

I currently ride my first ‘expensive‘ bike it cost me after making use of the excellent cycle scheme about £375…my very first bike was a £79 Decathlon ‘heavy’ mountain bike, which I rode for a number of years. My ‘Orbea‘ is a lovely bike, its very light, pretty nimble, only has 9 gears (who needs more) and is easy to maintain. I have a suit bag which holds my business clothes and off I go..

I usually leave the house around 5.45am or so and am normally at work an hour later…not fast I know but London isn’t the place to try to bike fast (more on that later). In fact in the summer the early morning is a terrific time to cycle through London.

I’ve tried all sorts of routes to work but currently I’m taking the back roads and side streets as much as possible, even so I still travel through some of the most congested, busy and dangerous roads in the world…. albeit at 6 in the morning it’s a allot easier…more tricky coming back..

My route takes me past some of the best places in London from Brockley to Nunhead to Peckham, Elephant, Waterloo, Aldywch and finally Marylebone. It certainly encompasses the full spectrum.

I bike slowly and carefully, yes I am one of those cyclist that tries very hard to follow the road rules and despair when others don’t..although the best advice is to be patient and cautious, don’t rush around, don’t expect to break any records, keep looking, keep constantly anticipating and don’t assume anything.

Other tips…

I always ‘cover my brakes’..meaning I almost always have my hands on the brake levers.

Use hand signals at junctions before you turn.

Do wear something bright & reflective.

Make sure all lights are working.

Wear a helmet.

Watch out for pedestrians especially if they have headphones in.

Let buses go on their way.

Keep out of way of HGV’s, Cement Lorries, and Demolition lorries. The turning circle right or left of these huge vehicles closes the corner down, simply put you will most likely die if you pass one on the inside on a left hand turn.

Make yourself ‘big’.

Black cabs are your friend, treat them with great respect.

Some private mini cabs be very wary of.

Watch out for anyone on a Boris bike especially during the summer.

Know some first aid.

Don’t undertake other cyclists.

Use your bell.

Watch out for manhole covers etc, in the damp they are lethal.

Try to judge when a bus may be pulling out by looking through the bus to see if anyone else is boarding, hold back if it looks likely its going to pull away, a polite wave also helps, especially if the bus is waiting for you to pass.

Irritations…so many…but is it me but I think there are significant numbers of drivers in London who simply do not know how to drive…its amazing to witness some extremely foolhardy and very poor driving. Quite a number of drivers still block the junction box set aside for cyclists, quite a few drivers think you can stop on a penny on a bike…you can’t..almost every day I’m on the end of at least 2 or 3 potential incidents that have been a drivers fault but because I‘m being careful and cycling defensively I’ve avoided a collision.

I also agree yes there are also a significant number of cyclists who have a direct death wish…and yet get very irritated when their folly is pointed to them by other road users.

But lets bring this back to earth…its not all doom and gloom to cycle in London, its no more dangerous then driving across London, road users who are careful and patient will manage fine. In fact most days it’s the best place you could possibly be especially after a hard days work…it’s a perfect de-stress…..