cycling in London

AliceBanned

Hmmm. I would avoid cycling during the rush hour in very heavy rain. I cycled for years in London (and still do) but had an accident due to a road being flooded due to a pothole or something. I had to go through it as the traffic was moving fast (morning rush hour in Victoria), and came off straight away, breaking my arm. I try not to cycle when visibility for drivers is poor, ie when dark due to heavy rain. Not one driver even noticed I was on the ground - was lucky they didn't run over me but I got up quickly!

Fortunately two pedestrians did see me and ran over and called an ambulance. I hit my head also but was ok after the fractures healed. Taught me the valuable lesson that it is more dangerous in wet weather - the road surface was really slippery and I had no chance of knowing this, as it was covered in water. Also realised in retrospect that in extreme heavy rain drivers can hardly see you. Otherwise I enjoy cycling in London and use backroads unless impossible - it is really quiet and fun on those. The main roads - be extremely skillful, assertive and vigilant, as others have said.

southern84

I live in Manchester, I tend to travel to London a lot by train and often think to take the bike with me. However, it puts me off big time when I see the amount of traffic (buses, taxis, cars... you name it) mixed in with tons of cyclists. Its like an accident waiting to happen.

I guess us up 'north' are used to quiet roads and nice scenic routes... :rotfl:

AliceBanned

One advantage in parts of central London is that the traffic is moving so slowly that there is lots of stopping time. Also there are so many quiet roads throughout central London - for short journeys it's possible to use these quite a lot. In a sense the more cyclists there are the safer it becomes, as drivers get used to looking out for them. I used to cycle in London years ago when hardly anyone did it, and I think drivers seem a bit more aware now. I agree with a previous post stating that country roads can be more dangerous - I feel terrified on a windy country road as people often speed on them and visibility is poor.

sun-n-moon

I guess us up 'north' are used to quiet roads and nice scenic routes..

You don't cycle in Manchester then?

joolsybools

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but as someone else has already said, I would really strongly recommend cycle training if you are thinking of / already are cycling in London (or anywhere else on road).

TfL has links to free/subsidised training here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11689.aspx

Cycrow

Yeah bikeabilty will teach you how to be safe while cycling as well as give you confidence and most London boroughs offer it for free.

But the main thing to be safe is to be seen by placing yourself in the most visible place, which is usually the middle of the lane.

And never sit to the left of vehicles at junctions (especially HGV's), always either ahead of then (ie in the ASL) or behind.
When coming up to a junction, always move into the centre of the lane.
and never go down the inside of a HGV