Cycling in London?

Hi, I'm starting a new life at university this fall and will be moving to London quite soon. So far I have use the bicycle as my major mean of transport, but I'm a little concerned whether it is a good option. It would be great if I could save some time and money by not buying the Oyster card (is that how you call it?), but when I visited London it didn't seem biker friendly: no designated lanes for bikes, much traffic. Moreover, I'm not a UK resident and am not used to left hand traffic.

Could somebody give me some advice? I'll be studying at South Kensington and my hall will be located either at Notting Hill or North Acton if that's any help.

Reply 1

almostmaybe

Original post by Blank_Planet

Whether or not you feel happy cycling in London is a pretty personal thing, and also depends on whereabouts you need to cycle. The city wasn't built for cycling - the street pattern is old and there isn't much space for segregated cycleways. On the other hand, they are gradually improving cycling infrastructure (the cycle 'superhighways' for example) and there are a lot of cyclists - some roads have more bikes than cars at busy times. Cycling casualties are very low considering how many people do it every day, but cycling in traffic safely requires confidence, and be prepared for the occasional bit of cyclists versus driver antagonism.

There are some traffic-free routes in central London, for example The Mall - Green Park - Hyde Park route, but mostly you will be on roads, with occasional on-road cycle paths. The slightly anarchic street patterns tend to mean that there are a lot of quite(ish) back-streets linked together with cut-throughs for bikes, but it may take you a while to work these out. My experience of cycling to new places is that you almost have to stick to main roads to avoid getting lost in a maze of dead-ends.

Cycling from Notting Hall to Imperial (I assume that's where you're going) would be pretty quick, although all on-road unfortunately unless you wanted to rake a long detour through Hyde Park. Acton is a bit more of a serious undertaking, although still doable.

I'd definitely recommend giving it a try anyway. You get a much better sense of being part of the city when you cycle rather than wandering around in tunnels or being crammed on a bus, and you have the freedom to go where you want when you want. Bear in mind the London weather - you might want to invest in a set of waterproofs. I'd also strongly recommend a helmet and a high viz vest.

Reply 2

willock91

I would never even contemplate riding a bike around London. I live in the country though so I wouldn't be used to it. Not that I'm not pretty skilled and confident on a bike (I do alot of downhill) its that I don't have much faith in the attention and skill of the thousands of car and lorry drivers who could kill you in an instant. If you are used to riding in cities though and are not worried about morons with their mobile death traps I don't see any issue 😊

Reply 3

Blank_Planet

Thank you very much for your responses! I guess I will try once I get used to left-handed traffic. Is it possible to cheaply rent bikes in London, like a bicycle-sharing system?

Reply 4

Origami Bullets

Original post by Blank_Planet

I've spent years cycling around Manchester and I occasionally cycle around London.

If I'm honest, cycling in London is actually relatively pleasant - the sheer number of cyclists in the city mean that the drivers are usually pretty aware of cyclists. There are some dedicated lanes, and thing are getting better, but it's not the Netherlands by any means.

There are some things that you need to avoid doing in London - the biggest and most dangerous is going down the inside of large / long vehicles, especially buses, lorries and construction vehicles as they can turn left and crush you (so far this year all but one of the 8 cycling deaths in London has involved lorries).

I'd really recommend going on one of the free adult cycle training courses that are offered in London. It will help to introduce you to cycling in London, point out some of the dangers (and how to avoid them) and give you a bit of confidence. @Blackacre has done it and said he really enjoyed it https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycling-in-london/cycle-training?cid=cycletraining

The other thing to do is to make sure you get a good bike lock (i.e. a D-Lock, ideally something like a Kryptonite) so your bike doesn't get nicked.

Finally, don't forget to come along to Critical Mass (it's lots of fun, and it has a great atmosphere) https://www.facebook.com/groups/2304619551/?fref=ts

Reply 5

Blank_Planet

[QUOTE=Origami Bullets;57935745I'd really recommend going on one of the free adult cycle training courses that are offered in London. It will help to introduce you to cycling in London, point out some of the dangers (and how to avoid them) and give you a bit of confidence. @Blackacre has done it and said he really enjoyed it https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycling-in-london/cycle-training?cid=cycletraining

Thanks, I will definitely try it out!

The other thing to do is to make sure you get a good bike lock (i.e. a D-Lock, ideally something like a Kryptonite) so your bike doesn't get nicked.

I already have one, not exactly a D-Lock, but a thick chain that I bought after my previous bicycle was stolen (they cut my lock :s-smilie:

). Anyway thanks for the advice :smile:

Reply 6

2071067

I've probably cycled on every major road in London and I've never had a problem on any of them.

Reply 7

leahdw

Original post by Blank_Planet

Thank you very much for your responses! I guess I will try once I get used to left-handed traffic. Is it possible to cheaply rent bikes in London, like a bicycle-sharing system?

You could try the so-called Boris Bikes. Although I've never used one so I don't know how cheap they are.

Reply 8

Origami Bullets

Original post by Blank_Planet

Thank you very much for your responses! I guess I will try once I get used to left-handed traffic. Is it possible to cheaply rent bikes in London, like a bicycle-sharing system?

Yes - there are bikes all over central London that are known colloquially as 'Boris bikes' (after the mayor who introduced them) but which are labeled as Santander Bikes.

They're clunky and heavy, but they do at least allow you to try cycling in London without having to buy a bike first :smile:

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Reply 9

laridum

Original post by Origami Bullets

There are some things that you need to avoid doing in London - the biggest and most dangerous is going down the inside of large / long vehicles, especially buses, lorries and construction vehicles as they can turn left and crush you (so far this year all but one of the 8 cycling deaths in London has involved lorries).
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycling-in-london/cycle-training?cid=cycletraining

OP, you've already been given great advice, but to add this bit:

The best advice I can give you is that, if there IS enough space for you to go down the inside of large vehicles, they are almost certainly intending to turn left! Usually there won't be enough space for it to look tempting. The more tempting it looks, the more likely it is to be a terrible idea. :no:

Also, make eye contact with the driver if you are in front. It's actually really hard to see cyclists from the driver's seat sometimes. Making eye contact with any driver, large vehicle or otherwise, is important.

Be wary of parked cars/cycle far away from them. I've been "doored" a couple of times in London. :facepalm2:

London is probably one of the best cities in the UK to cycle (although the bar isn't very high).

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 10

Blackacre

Original post by Blank_Planet

Thanks, I will definitely try it out!

I already have one, not exactly a D-Lock, but a thick chain that I bought after my previous bicycle was stolen (they cut my lock :s-smilie:

). Anyway thanks for the advice :smile:

9/10, would recommend. The course is run by Cycle Confident and is about £30 per hour BUT you can get it free if you live in certain boroughs of London. I had a group lesson that proved a bit easy (it turned out it was for people who couldn't physically ride a bike...) so went straight to a private lesson after. The instructors are all really friendly and willing to give you tips on cycling and bikes generally, and it's a nice way to get someone to take you on routes you'll use a lot. I always said I'd never cycle in London because of the sheer size of the roads and the volume of traffic, so you must be an idiot to take such risks, but actually drivers are pretty aware of bikes. Don't tell Origami Bullets, but I quite enjoy it. :tongue:

The Boris bike scheme is okay, but it's quite expensive. You have to keep putting your bike back and taking out a new one to avoid the higher charges, and I live in East London where there aren't any bike points near my house - so it's not really feasible for me.