London commuting advice please

[beatlejuice]

I have to attend a three week course in E14 9TS. I what put my bike on the train to Waterloo from Winchester and cycle the six or so miles to Docklands. Will Southwest Trains let me put my bike on the train in the morning? I guess the ride from Waterloo to Dockland will be interesting! The other option is to get a Boris bike but will be any left around 8am, I doubt it? If not then its the underground in the morning rush hour which isn't something I relish.

 

[Beebo]

I dont think you can take a fixed frame bike on trains before 9.30am, it's folding bikes only.

Check whether there is a boris bike docking station at your destination, if not then there is no point taking the bike. They are big and heavy bikes and the ride will take you over the free half hour so it will cost you too.

 

[thnurg]

Just a thought, but do you have an old clunker that you would not mind leaving locked up in London for the duration? It would mean a train trip to London a day or two before the course to take your bike there. When I commuted Stirling to Edinburgh back in the day I found it handy to leave my old bike locked up at Edinburgh station for the week.

 

[beatlejuice]

Thanks thnurg and Beebo. There aren't any docking stations near my destination. So it either leaving my old hybrid at Waterloo or taking a hacksaw to it so I an convince the guard that its a fold up! At this rate I am going to have my nose near someone sweaty armpit on an over crowded tube train! I guess I am country bumpkin at heart!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Just a thought: I think there's some kind of secured bike locking facilities at On Your Bike*, by London Bridge. I've never used it so I don't know how it works. It would mean a quick one-stop train journey from Waterloo East to London Bridge (Oyster card?) and if you could pick your bike from there, it would be a simple ride over Tower Bridge and along the CS3 to Docklands.

Alternatively, if the bike locking at OYB is genuinely secure, I've got a cheap (not so cheap I'd want to lose it...) serviceable aluminium 57cm road bike you could borrow for the duration.

EDIT: here's a OYB link - http://www.onyourbike.com/stylesheet.asp?file=7_1_1_cycle_park. It looks like a £5 a week charge for access between 7:30am and 7:30pm

 

[dellzeqq]

at the risk of, well, being told off big time.........it's a fantastic public transport link. Step on to the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf and walk or do the DLR for a couple of stops. Well under 30 minutes. If you've got time, take the Waterloo and City to Bank and then the DLR from there.

Just a thought.....