Can I bike?

I was about to add Edingburgh to my list of universities to apply to, since it's the only university I've found so far that offers exactly what I want to study (Ancient Civilisations of the Mediterranean & Middle East)... but I just returned from London yesterday and eventhough I loved the city I'd absolutely hate to live there (threw UCL right off the list).

I'm Dutch. I don't like to travel around for 2 hours every day. Cars and busses and trains make me go crazy. I've just got one question now.
Is Edinburgh just like London, or will I be able to bike to school?

Reply 1

Kater Murr

20

You Dutchies really do like your trams and bikes, eh?

In answer to your question: I do not know.

Reply 2

OllyThePhilosopher

11

You can choose to live near the university, in which case you could probably walk to university. Edinburgh isn't as hectic and busy as London (which is why I want to go there) and I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to cycle around the city. I don't understand why you would have to travel 2 hours though... You can get accomodation quite close to your university.

Reply 3

Zenobia

OP

1

Kater Murr

You Dutchies really do like your trams and bikes, eh?

In answer to your question: I do not know.

Not all of us. But I do.
I don't mind big cities. I love Amsterdam. I can handle chaos. But if it's possible, I like to walk or ride a bike. I'd pass out from exhaustion after a month if I'd have to do the whole train/tube/buss thing like I did this week in London. It just seems like such a huge waste of money and time, not to mention the stress of missing everything and messed up timetables etc.

edit:

imtired

If you live close enough to ride then i'm sure you'll be able to, you can ride in pretty much any city how ever large. What was restricting you from cycling in London anyway?

Oh well London was a bit of an exception of course since I was staying with my aunt in Teddington which isn't exactly in the middle of the city. So I can imagine it isn't always that bad. And another reason I don't want to go to UCL is because I saw the archaeology department and it looked really sad...

But I just wanted to make sure there will be a possibility of choosing my bike over riding a buss in Edinburgh. The main reason I doubt I could do that in London is because of the distances and the traffic. It's a huge contrast with the little farm road to my current school.

Reply 4

Kater Murr

20

Zenobia

Not all of us. But I do.
I don't mind big cities. I love Amsterdam. I can handle chaos. But if it's possible, I like to walk or ride a bike. I'd pass out from exhaustion after a month if I'd have to do the whole train/tube/buss thing like I did this week in London. It just seems like such a huge waste of money and time, not to mention the stress of missing everything and messed up timetables etc.

edit:

Oh well London was a bit of an exception of course since I was staying with my aunt in Teddington which isn't exactly in the middle of the city. So I can imagine it isn't always that bad. And another reason I don't want to go to UCL is because I saw the archaeology department and it looked really sad...

But I just wanted to make sure there will be a possibility of choosing my bike over riding a buss in Edinburgh. The main reason I doubt I could do that in London is because of the distances and the traffic. It's a huge contrast with the little farm road to my current school.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's great. It's just that some friends of mine visited Amserfoort in Utrecht for a few days, and one of them nearly got hit by a tram! There are far fewer cycle lanes and places to leave bikes in the UK.

Reply 5

Chew

1

Not really relevant. I just like the picture haha.

Reply 6

Zenobia

OP

1

Ok I'll phrase it differently.
Do students bike? If no one does it's obviously not a very good idea.

Reply 7

michaelnicholson88

Edinburgh's very compact. Most students walk everywhere so distance isn't an issue for biking. However, you have to plan routes carefully because the roads here are hellish busy, and not aided by the constant roadworks at the moment. Ironically, in your case, to make way for trams.

Reply 8

artorscience?

11

Zenobia

Do students bike?

Some do, some walk. The ones who bike do so because they live further out than the norm, or because they have left attending a lecture until very late and need to be there as quick as possible. If you look at a road map of edinburgh and one of the university's accommodation maps you should see how small and close together everything university related and the city centre are. (You'd only ever use a bus if you were heading out into the suburbs, to the beach or of you decided to be really lazy)

Reply 9

nearlyheadlessian

15

I have biked, but when I moved flats I no longer had anywhere to keep it and so I've sent it back to my parents. Edinburgh is full of cyclists, but it isn't really the greatest place for cycling. It's very hilly and windy which means you get some nice runs and some awful slogs up hills. I haven't really missed my bike yet, I live close enough to everything that I don't mind walking, and everything further away is done by bus.

Reply 10

Zenobia

OP

1

Ok well all in all it doesn't sound too bad. Edinburgh can be on my list!

Reply 11

TheeHelenine

Edinburgh is very cycle friendly in my opinion but as said - not when it's windy and you're going up hill!

Reply 12

BiscuitFuelled

8

Edinburgh is small, and not really massively city-like compared to most places in the UK - you can get around pretty easily either on foot, bike, or the extensive bus network, which is genuinely pretty useful. As with any city, you'd do well to pick up a bike that looks like a total piece of junk, as it will be less likely to go walkabout while you're in a lecture theatre!

The tram works are messing up parts of the city at the moment though, notably in the west end and Leith Walk at present, but it will change as construction goes ahead. They don't really make much difference to walking, but I think bus routes get affected by them, and driving can be a bit of a 'mare!

Reply 13

Grum Fox

I've got my piece-of-crap bike sorted for September, so there'll at least be two of us!

I don't know why I need it tbh, because the halls I've applied for are rolling out of bed distance away from George Sq and Moray House.

Still, good for munchies :smile:

Reply 14

michaela_banana

9

I would say edinburgh's full of cyclists compared to most UK cities I've been to. About a third of the medics I know cycle to and from the hospitals, and yes, it can be windy, and there's a couple of nightmare junctions, it's not at all umcommon to cycle. In my accomm in first year there were some guys who were really into it (so much so we nicknamed them) and there's a whole load of specialist bike shops in bruntsfield (well, maybe 3..)

Reply 15

jomo

1

I have to say I wouldn't be that keen to cycle in central Edinburgh. Traffic seemed a bit chaotic, then again it was only a first impression - i'll see what it's like in first year and then decide whether to bring up my bike for the rest of uni.

And then again, I tried to run over a cyclist tonight, so who am I to really comment? :biggrin:

Reply 16

Chaz_Hack_Rabbit

It's alright cycling around the south of Edinburgh (I.E. south of Princes Street) as it's really well ordered street-wise and the hills are quite nice going down to cameron Toll from the university campuses. However, going between kings and George square is a bit hellish on a windy, rainy day, especially with the wind blowing the rain down from KB...ah well, we do have some awesome days for cycling as well...

Reply 17

FTC199

13

you can bike or walk to the uni from the residences. despite edinburgh being the capital of scotland it only has just less than 500,000 people living in the city and has excellent public transport networks as well as being quite a small city so getting arounf by bike or foot isnt a problem. From the catered residences into the main uni campus it would take about 10 minutes on a bike, 15-20 minutes walking

Reply 18

tsparrow

I was thinking of taking my bike, seeing as there are bike spaces on the trains (apparently). Thought it might be useful when I oversleep (which I will). Was just reading on Wikipedia that cycling in Edinburgh is rather dangerous though, due to combined bus and cycle lanes/roadworks etc...suppose I'll have to get used to wearing a helmet :bike:

And then there's the apparent cycle theft problem. Looks like I'll be shelling out for state-of-the-art locks then. Suppose I like the idea of an alternative form of transport...

Reply 19

BiscuitFuelled

8

It's no more dangerous than any other city in the UK, and the again the same can be said about the cycle theft problem. I'd buy a bike that looks like a piece of **** to take to uni, rather than spending a fortune on locks.

You'll also find it virtually impossible to get a bike on a train during rush hour, as the trains are packed out.

Can I bike?

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