the best place to live in London as a cyclist

[James10]

Me and my girlfriend are planing to move to London in the autumn. Over the last six months I've caught the cycling bug and a large part of that has probably been because the New Forest is right on my doorstep where I can access beautiful, quiet, smooth roads relatively quickly.

I could probably commute through central London on a bike but I can't imagine enjoying it in my spare time. So most likely it will be a case of cycling out of London as quickly as possible to find some countryside. So, my question to you lot is which part of London is best for that?

My thought initially was Richmond borough as you have access to Richmond Park as your little playground and Surrey for longer rides. Richmond borough also has the biggest concentration of cyclists in London, which is a pretty good sign.

Thanks

 

[Brandane]

As close as possible to Euston station. Approximately 4.5 hours later you could be in Scotland; but you will be about £120 poorer.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Me and my girlfriend are planing to move to London in the autumn. Over the last six months I've caught the cycling bug and a large part of that has probably been because the New Forest is right on my doorstep where I can access beautiful, quiet, smooth roads relatively quickly.

I could probably commute through central London on a bike but I can't imagine enjoying it in my spare time. So most likely it will be a case of cycling out of London as quickly as possible to find some countryside. So, my question to you lot is which part of London is best for that?

My thought initially was Richmond borough as you have access to Richmond Park as your little playground and Surrey for longer rides. Richmond borough also has the biggest concentration of cyclists in London, which is a pretty good sign.

Thanks

Anyone moving from the New Forest to London is beyond help - so I can't; sorry.

 

[slowmotion]

We don't have smooth roads in London, just lots and lots of potholes and broken up tarmac. Actually, you could do a lot worse than Richmond. Pootle round the Park or head out to Surrey, as you identified. Also, you can go down the Thames Path and follow the River pretty much all the way to Chelsea Bridge without meeting a car if you wish. West London is great, and the motorists are some of the best in the country when it comes to bike-awareness.

 

[vickster]

Just avoid Hounslow, some of the worst drivers I have ever encountered

I live in Sutton and can cycle to central London in an hour or to Richmond park in half an hour or to box hill in an hour etc...we do have more pothole than road however!

Maybe you are a stockbroker or similar and have pots of cash but have you looked at the price of property in Richmond! Where will you be working, might have some bearing on where you live

W London roads are very busy at the weekends, as are the Surrey hills, you may find cycling rather more stressful than out in the sticks

 

[tiswas-steve]

The Bromley/Beckenham end of south east London, right on top of the North Downs. I'm roughly 30-45 mins from lovely roads that cater for all ya needs...... Including tea and cake !!

 

[srw]

Maybe you are a stockbroker or similar and have pots of cash but have you looked at the price of property in Richmond! Where will you be working, might have some bearing on where you live

This. Where you live will be determined by the trade-off between distance to work, cost of commuting, cost of housing, desired living space and budget.

Are you on a Chelsea palace or an East End slum budget?

Also, don't dismiss living out of London. Richmond to Waterloo is 25 minutes on a (packed) fast train; half an hour on a slow train. For the same commute time you could live within 5 minutes of countryside in the Surrey Hills, the North Downs, the Chilterns or the Essex plains. I can walk to open countryside - no houses visible in any direction - in 5 minutes, but have a 40 minute journey to Marylebone 10 minutes walk away.

 

[vickster]

Might want to check out the costs of travel, but to be further out you'll be probably paying less rent (or to buy)

Zone 5/6 is a decent compromise - Bromley/Sutton/far reaches of the Northern/Jubilee/Central line etc

 

[Globalti]

Beyond being born there and having commuted a short distance by bike in the eighties I don't know much about cycling in London except that it seems that the club and road cycling scene is mainly in the south-east. I guess this may be because of the quality of the landscape and the roads?

For the same reason Lancashire has a great cycling scene centred on the Ribble Valley, Bowland Fells and the flatlands of The Fylde.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

The Bromley/Beckenham end of south east London, right on top of the North Downs. I'm roughly 30-45 mins from lovely roads that cater for all ya needs...... Including tea and cake !!

Yes, Bromley, Bickley, Beckenham are close to the Downs and not too far to commute to central London.

 

[ianrauk]

Orpington.
It's suburban heaven...honest.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Head out west... towards Uxbridge, Ruslip.
Easy access to the west end, easy access to Heathrow and the countryside of Berkshire just five mins down the road

 

[4F]

Personally I would stay in the New Forest

 

[Ciar]

Can't really help as I would prefer to just do a straight swap and try out the new forest ;-)

 

[Kies]

Head out west... towards Uxbridge, Ruslip.
Easy access to the west end, easy access to Heathrow and the countryside of Berkshire just five mins down the road

Like wot he said guvnor