I'm not from London, but I drove through it yesterday!!

[davidg]

bloody out of towners clogging up my journey home!

 

[jonny jeez]

Whereas in London if you're lying in the gutter for more than 2 minutes someone will have noticed, nicked your wallet and taken off with your bike

well...it's nice to be noticed

 

[Bollo]

I'm a confirmed country cycling boy I'm afrit, saving the odd quick dash around Embankment and Stratford. I can cope with slithering around in cow crap and the occasional SMIDSY from a deer, but the sheer density of nutters per square metre in London scares me.

 

[joolsybools]

I was born and raised in London, although left a few years back for the joy of a smaller town with one of those handy compact 'town center' things. I cannot for the life of me understand why people insist on driving in central london. Delivery drivers etc I can understand, but if you are just trying to get from A to B it's so congested and public transport is so good (YES IT IS!) I just don't get it.

Probably why I never learned to drive. Turned 31 a few weeks back and have never got further than getting a form for a provisional license. If I want to take a car for a spin I've got Gran Turismo 5

+1. Although my guess is it might be something to do with not having to deal with the rest of the general public by remaining cocooned in their car-wombs.

 

[MacB]

London is daunting to drive or cycle in for the first time, I learned to drive there and have driven through London in everything from a car to a 3 ton tanker. Having not driven there in many years I'd need to reacclimatise and re-learn routes. When I lived in London I never owned a car, I only learned to drive because I needed it for a job.

By bike it's only really scary if you don't know where you're going, or you're not following someone that does Once you're familiar with a route you can then devote all your attention to self preservation.

There is safety in familiarity without overconfidence, the same is true of country roads, dual carriageways etc. Anticipation is a big safety factor, there are unavoidable things but I'd say a lot more are avoidable than some would admit/believe.

 

[hackbike 666]

Yeah agree with what BM is saying.Im sure country lanes can be dodgy with high-speed nutters.I usually find Central London the best most laid back bit of my commute.

 

[semislickstick]

This is all true, it's probably just a different set of routine and 'skills', you'd get used to the 2ft 60mph+ passes on rural roads and I'd eventually get used to what looks like complete chaos on the London roads!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Anything is better than the tube...

"For those of you not from London, the tube is like a cross between transport and prison".

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I don't mind driving in London, and I've done a good bit of it in transit vans and articulated lorries. The thing I do like is that everyone is very switched on and knows exactly where their vehicle's edges are. And there are few vague drivers who don't really know what they're doing; they've long been out competed by the good ones. Some of the two wheelers are absolute nutters though - I remember being on the A40 going out of town next to another artic, at around 40mph, and having a motorcyclist come down the gap between the two trucks at about 60mph.

 

[HobbesChoice]

This is my first year's commute, so my first winter and although it hasn't completely surprised me how few cyclists there are now it's colder, I wasn't expecting the amount of cars to increase so much. I cycle from St Paul's along to the A13 and the traffic is at least twice as heavy as in the summer months.

It can't be all the summer cyclists going back to their cars (I really hope) as the level of inconsideration has also increased, although that's possibly to be expected with the higher level of traffic and subsequent jams!

 

[hackbike 666]

"For those of you not from London, the tube is like a cross between cattle trucks and prison".

Guess that is a correct definition...slightly altered.

 

[Jezston]

I like the tube, even in rush hour - I found the daily crush somewhat invigorating!

Only thing that always pisses me off is the guy running late who just HAS to get on, diving in and crushing the already crushed passengers, then holding up the train when the doors won't close, when he could have just waited ONE MINUTE for the next one. And people who get on before everyone has got off. And people who sneak round the back of lift entrances so they can get on the lift first and ... hmm maybe I don't love the tube so much!

 

[HobbesChoice]

I like the tube, even in rush hour - I found the daily crush somewhat invigorating!

Only thing that always pisses me off is the guy running late who just HAS to get on, diving in and crushing the already crushed passengers, then holding up the train when the doors won't close, when he could have just waited ONE MINUTE for the next one. And people who get on before everyone has got off. And people who sneak round the back of lift entrances so they can get on the lift first and ... hmm maybe I don't love the tube so much!

... and you were selling it so well! My preferred passenger on the tube is the one(s) who coughs or sneezes without attempting to cover their mouth. Closely followed by the people who say "excuse me" in a rude and loud voice when you have absolutely no other space to wriggle into, even if you were Houdini!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

... when you have absolutely no other space to wriggle into, even if you were Houdini!

Didn't Houdini specialize in getting out of tight spaces?

 

[ttcycle]

urgh been confined to the tube for near two weeks now due to illness and the whole screeching of 'can you move down' when the carriageway is clearly jam packed with less then a stamp size of space between each person is my current pet hate. I've taken to gloriously saying back, 'where do you suggest we move to?' wherever I am on the tube even if that involves a shout out - I know, I know breaking a cardinal rule of the tube

rule 1. you shall not address others or make eye contact to those unknown to you, rule 2. you shall squash yourself very intimately next to the commuters, rule 3. you shall not talk about the tube, rule 4. you shall not talk about the tube