New Commute

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Well I've finally got a date for my new job so I'm looking at the new route. I've come up with two options so far:

Route 1
Route 2

They both look reasonably direct. Any comments from people that know the area (to save people time it's SE London to Croydon)

Ta
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
I struggled for ages to find a "better" route but in the end both your routes a re pretty flat and direct.

both are pretty un-interesting though, I'd feel more familiar riding through Blackfen/new Eltham/five ways/ sundridge park/ Chislehurst/West Wickham and into east croydon but I appreciate this is a longer and hilly-er route fro you.

So stick with your route and prepare yourself for the sensory onslaught that is bellingham, catford and grove park.

good luck (our paths may cross as you hit "peter-pans-pool" in bellingham!
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
I struggled for ages to find a "better" route but in the end both your routes a re pretty flat and direct.

both are pretty un-interesting though, I'd feel more familiar riding through Blackfen/new Eltham/five ways/ sundridge park/ Chislehurst/West Wickham and into east croydon but I appreciate this is a longer and hilly-er route fro you.

So stick with your route and prepare yourself for the sensory onslaught that is bellingham, catford and grove park.

good luck (our paths may cross as you hit "peter-pans-pool" in bellingham!

The mere mention send shivers down one's spine. But then again you live in Welling so will be like water off a ducks back for you.

Agree with Johnny, you seem to have the best of an uninteresting bunch there. Can't seem to improve on them either.
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Thanks for the feedback

None of those places can be as bad as New Cross or the Old Kent Road. I don't mind my current route to work but there's a big difference between not minding and enjoying and I'm hoping to enjoy getting to Croydon (not many people have said that!!!)

In the summer months I'm also hoping to turn right out of work and head into the north downs. Quick zip down the A25 to Westerham and then out around my usual routes.
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Well today was the first commute in anger;. It's not too bad a route. The following points were noted:

1. There's a lot of traffic on the South Circ but it's quite straight forward to filter through it all without losing too much speed. Only the same as my old route across Blackheath really.
2. There's bad traffic coming into around Selhurst (I think that's where I was) and some more at the top of Goat something bridge
3. It was very wet and very windy and it was a headwind
4. I didn't see any other cyclist to chase until just before my turnoff for work and he was on a Brompton and passed forthwith.
5. I have to park my bike 100 yards away from my office. It's secure parking but one of those weird racks with a little V thing so you can't actually lock your whole bike up. I'm assuming my front wheel will still be there when I get back!
6. The people who organise bike parking at the Home Office are jobsworths. There are 2 people who use the racks that are actually under my building but because 20 odd people are registered to use the 20 odd racks, I can't have one.
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
6. The people who organise bike parking at the Home Office are jobsworths. There are 2 people who use the racks that are actually under my building but because 20 odd people are registered to use the 20 odd racks, I can't have one.

But do people actualy use the racks or just registered to use them?
What would happen if you just use one anyway?

Did you freak your new work chums out walking in in all your cycling gear? :laugh:
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
But do people actualy use the racks or just registered to use them?
What would happen if you just use one anyway?

Did you freak your new work chums out walking in in all your cycling gear? :laugh:
You can't get into the car park unless you're on the list. You can't get onto the list cos it's full of people that don't use the racks. B*******s. Then the woman in car parking rang me up yesterday afternoon to tell me she was trying to be polite but that emailing me to repeatedly tell me I couldn't have a space (I wasn't giving up easily, and still haven't) was wasting her afternoon
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
You can't get into the car park unless you're on the list. You can't get onto the list cos it's full of people that don't use the racks. B*******s. Then the woman in car parking rang me up yesterday afternoon to tell me she was trying to be polite but that emailing me to repeatedly tell me I couldn't have a space (I wasn't giving up easily, and still haven't) was wasting her afternoon


Well that's just ridiculous... and there was us thinking that our humble civil service where trying to encourage other forms of commuting.
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
The car parking woman I dealt with yesterday was the most obstructive woman I've dealt with in my entire civil service career and I've dealt with some gits in my time. I found someone willing to give up their space to me so I told car parking. "Oh no, you can't have that space. There's a waiting list"
"How many people are on the waiting list?"
"I don't know. We don't actually keep a list but we have turned people away before you asked and told them to use Lunar House (where I'm currently parked)"
"So how will you know who to offer this available space to?"
"No idea but I know that you can't have it as you're last in the queue"
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Well the good news, they decided to wake up and give me a bike space at the building I'm in! Yay!!! The only bad news was I had a blow out when I went to set off for home. Not sure how it happened but a huge hole in the inner tube when I got to the bike.

I also need to find a way to cut out some of the South Circular.
 
Top Bottom