First visit to the commute section

[steveindenmark]

Gaz, they must have been memorable experiencies for me ;0)

I used to commute in Hull, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. I am now in Denmark where the bike is King of the Road. I am pleased to see commuting is enjoyed.

Totally different in Denmark, it is as safe as houses. Partly because of our Road systems but also because almost all Road users in Denmark also own a cycle.

Steve

 

[downfader]

Totally different in Denmark, it is as safe as houses. Partly because of our Road systems but also because almost all Road users in Denmark also own a cycle.

Steve

And therein lies the difference - most road users use cars here. Helmet cammers arent out to be aggressive - they just want change, justice, safety. Lets not resort to attempting to cause another round of in-fighting when we should ALL be asking for those three issues to be addressed.

 

[srw]

The only problem I have is one particular dog owner; I won't say 'walker', as his idea of walking his dogs is to walk down the middle of the cycle path while they chase each continuously in a huge circle regardless of cyclists, other dog walkers, other pedestrians, etc etc. Apparently I'm supposed to slow down, even though I get no trouble with anyone else. Right that's off my chest - roads - round here (Blackpool) they're the same mixed bag as most places and most drivers are great - the bad ones can be dealt with. The dangerous bit is the weeks it takes to a) work out which bits of road attract pillocks, b) work out how to deal with them or c) if all else fails, find another route. Get that over with and it's fine.

Yes. You're supposed to slow down. It's shared use, and he has priority as a pedestrian.

 

[Little My]

Just finished my first week of commuting to a new job and I'm surprised how much I enjoy it. The thought of being stuck on a overcrowded tube or bus fills me with dread. Cycling in London is in no way any more scary that cycling elsewhere, providing that you know how to handle yourself on the road and not put yourself in danger. My commute is about 9 miles each way and lots of my colleagues seem to be pretty impressed that I ride my bike to work, because it's "so scary". I was quite surprised how many would like to cycle to work but find it a bit intimidating, especially if they're female.
The first few days were a bit stressful as I didn't know the route and the phasing of the traffic lights, but by Wednesday I could (just) keep up with the fast guys

 

[Quagga]

Add me to the list of happy London commuters.

As for the contents of the forum, surely it's a function of what people are interested in discussing?
Yes, suggesting other things to talk about is useful I suppose, but no substitute for actually adding your voice to move the forum in that direction and seeing who else responds in a similar fashion.

Otherwise it's about as pointless as me continuing my usual lurkerlike profile and then being upset that I'm not mentioning on the Other CCers on the commute thread

 

[Hill Wimp]

I almost never visit this section, because it's full of angry, aggressive posting. I find Current Affairs and Debates much more congenial.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Commuted from Euston to Lincoln's Inn for 14 years and for last six weeks to Westminster.

In that time I've had one contact accident with a car, nudged form behind. One other with a ped, foreign tourist who looked left and stepped out in front of me. Obviously get the odd near miss usually due mistakes rather than wilful dangerous driving.

Enjoy ride almost whatever the weather, stupendous in the morninigs early this week while it was still warm/sunny. No helmet ever; don't see need.

 

[Hill Wimp]

I too am a happy London commuter cyclist ( up until a few weeks ago and i miss it dreadfully). You just need to be a lot more aware as there is a huge amount of traffic plus thanks to Boris we have some fantastic super highways for bikes. Yes things could be better and i am sure they will get there but trust me cycling there today is a huge improvement on what it was a couple of years or so ago.

Also it can't be that bad as thousands of tourists do it everyday on Boris bikes.

 

[HLaB]

If I didn't enjoy my commute, I'd walk the mile and half to work; with most of my commutes in excess of 5.5miles and up to 33miles, I'll let you decide

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I work 5 miles from home and have racked up 7,500 miles commuting this year. I think I might enjoy the commuting a little bit

 

[thefatcyclist]

I love my commute into central London ad sometimes when going out for a long ride at the weekend I head into central London and do a few circuits around the city and west London before heading back to Enfield

 

[wilkotom]

Another happy London commuter here, 12 miles each way plus an extra mile in the morning dropping my son off at childcare.

I've had one incident, a couple of years ago and which happened *on the very first day* I did the commute - an overtaking car clipped my handlebars. Even then I didn't get knocked off, and the guy stopped to make sure I was OK - he was extremely apologetic, having clipped me as a result of taking evasive action to avoid a dangerous overtake on the other side of the road.

 

[Deleted member 20519]

One thing I have learned from being on this site for a few months is that I never, ever want to cycle in London. Ever!
Or drive in London.
Or go to London again!
It sounds a terrifying place.
I enjoy my commute in Harrogate. Cycling alongside The Stray makes me happy every morning. I have very few problems with other road users. Any incidences of bad driving I do witness are generally simple mistakes - we all make the occasional mistake when driving/cycling - you are just a bit more aware of them on a bike because you are forced to concentrate a bit more.

I'm from a fairly small town and I visited London last month. Everyone thought I was crazy for wanting to cycle there but it really isn't that bad. One of the best things about it is that there's so many cyclists there so most drivers know how to drive safely around them, of course there was a few bad drivers but that's not unique to London. I definitely didn't feel scared cycling there and I don't think I'd have a problem commuting.

 

[J.Primus]

Well the off road, weekend racing section and equipment forums are hardly going to have lots of people comparing incidents with lots of traffic are they. Anyway I'm off to a politics forum to complain about people engaging in partisan point scoring.

 

[J.Primus]

Anyway I love cycling into London. I just don't see how it's a surprise that a forum dedicated to cycling (mainly) through city centres at the busiest time of the day involves people discussing altercations with traffic.