Is it really as bad as all that?

[CharlieB]

I will starting to commute into the Regent's Park/Camden Town area from the Wembley direction as soon as my folding bike is delivered.

What little cycling I've done in Cent London in the past - not commuting - just days out, I've really enjoyed and felt safe, because I think that you find yourself on 110% alert by default because of the environment you're in.
Certainly I've felt safer at times than riding around the country lanes where I live, strangely.

But having joined CC only fairly recently and reading all the horror stories here about near misses and actual prangs during routine commutes with increasing regularity, the CC commuting threads are beginning to scare the bejasus outta me.

Is it really that bad out there?
Am I in for a nasty shock when I start commuting 4/5 days a week?

 

[skwerl]

no, it's not. It's fine. I love my commute. I suppose I'm lucky in that i commute through nice parts of town though.

 

[upsidedown]

No i don't think it as bad as all that.

I think we post incidents on here partly to release the stress/fear/anger caused by an incident, and partly to pass on things learned from incidents.

The point is to avoid the big and obvious dangers - left turning trucks, opening doors and pulling out cars, and the rest will pretty much take care of itself.

 

[ianrauk]

No it's not that bad out there, on this forum you are mainly getting people posting about the bad experinces not the good ones. Of course accidents and near missed do happen it's a way of life. But if you keep your wits about you on the road you will be ok. The more you cycle the route the more experienced road user you will become and the more you will enjoy it. Dont get too hot, bothered and angry about incidents, just think *yeah whatever you dickhead*. Just get out there, ride it and you will enjoy it.

 

[skwerl]

on my average commute I'll get a handful of numpties (cyclists included) doing something daft, occasionally dangerous. But what you ignore are the thousands of vehicles of all types that cause no trouble. I know it 'only takes one idiot' etc. but people only post the bad. As a percentage of the 'good/not bad' it's a tiny proportion

 

[MacB]

I've cycled across London a couple of times and only had one idiot in a car but I'd anticipated their move so was on the brakes ready. Actually had more close misses with other cyclists, especially when I stop at lights. I didn't find London all that great for cycling but can see that you'd get used to it. Would say that initially you'll have no probs as you'll be hyper aware. It's when you get too relaxed/confident that things can go wrong. I almost cycled into a ditch on my commute last week, purely because my mind was wandering.

 

[Landslide]

It's a bit bumpy though... bloomin' potholes...

 

[wafflycat]

The short answer to the OP's question is 'No'

Got to remember that being a cycling forum, this is a place where if you've had a bit of an iffy time due to some brain-dead twerp in charge of a motor, this is a place where you're going to find other cyclists. In other words, people who can empathise with you. It's a sort of cyber-shoulder where we can sympathise, offer advice, be a virtual sounding board, without you being leapt on by some Jeremy Clarkson wannabee who is in the mistaken belief that as a cyclist, you have no place on the road. The vast majority of time cycling is bliss, joy, wonderful.

 

[biking_fox]

But having joined CC only fairly recently and reading all the horror stories here about near misses and actual prangs during routine commutes with increasing regularity, the CC commuting threads are beginning to scare the bejasus outta me

What you see are the incidents. Pretty much everyone on here rides 4 or 5 times a week, 45+ weeks of the year, every year.
Hardly anyone has posted more than one or two incidents over the lifetime of the forum. Many haven't posted any.

So although there are lots of incidents posted, there are vastly more rides taking place that are incident free. It's the same reason why newspapers would have you believe you're unsafe stepping out of your door - nobody reports an uneventful journey because these are, by a huge margin, the most common occurance.

Relax, enjoy the ride, but remember cycling on the road requires the same concentration, or more, than driving.

 

[trustysteed]

it never really is. you just get the odd random incident here and there like you do with other forms of travel but some people are so paranoid and anal they think the world has ended if a car passes them by 10 feet and feel the need to upload a video of it! just use common sense and always look well ahead to see what's coming up, be it traffic, junctions, other cyclists etc.

 

[HLaB]

I've never commuted in Central London but I severely doubt its that bad; its just human nature post incidents as they're more interesting, positive stories are usually dull; I think the saying is 'good news is no news'.

 

[CharlieB]

Thank you, people - common sense is obviously prevailing here and it's looking a whole lot better!

 

[beanzontoast]

Thank you, people - common sense is obviously prevailing here and it's looking a whole lot better!

By all means listen to others, but the only person who can decide how safe it is for you is you. Being lulled into a false sense of security is as bad as being scared out of your wits by the accounts of accidents!

 

[purplepolly]

Is it really that bad out there?

No, we're just whinging and having a therapy session. To put it in perspective there's almost 6000 active members on CC but a thread about actual bodily injury caused by a third party is rare.

 

[purplepolly]

I will starting to commute into the Regent's Park/Camden Town area from the Wembley direction as soon as my folding bike is delivered.

Have you already been over the route? It's a lot easier if you can get to do it a few times in lighter traffic so you'll know all your junctions, potholes, pinchpoints etc when you do it with heavier traffic.

I changed offices recently and it was a bit stressful for the first week while I got used to the different roads.