As a keen cyclist, could you take a bike in the back of your car and cycle across London ?
Ok, so the clothing issue is a little difficult, but the push bike is one of the best means of transport in a city and would give a very predictable journey time.
It's also a buzz to get out of the office and get some decent exercise..
Chain the bike to your desk for that extra kudos :-)
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I've thought about cycling and would love to, but last year a friend of mine was killed on the road (he left a wife and two children, killed by a speeding young driver), and another seriously injured (driver left him on the side of road unconscious). Both were careful responisble cyclists whom I have cycled with.
Road's aren't designed for bikes (most cycle lanes are lethal as you give up priority), the law doesn't do enough to protect cyclists and most motorist don't care, further because of a few inconsiderate cyclists we all get labelled lycra louts by Daily Mail readers!
Shame as I would love to cycle. If only I lived in Holland.
WipeOut
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If you can leave at 6 your problems are not serious WipeOut. Traffic doesn't get really thick till about 8, so you should get to work ahead of it. Important to get your route worked out though.
Happy (or relatively unmiserable) commuting!
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"Road's aren't designed for bikes (most cycle lanes are lethal as you give up priority), the law doesn't do enough to protect cyclists and most motorist don't care, further because of a few inconsiderate cyclists we all get labelled lycra louts by Daily Mail readers!"
Very cheap, good exercise etc. But the danger. I think London is especially bad because of ignorant drivers. I ride a motorbike: some areas are great to ride in without incident. Others are very scary. I consider myself a safe rider, and having heard loads of motorbike accidents, people dying on bikes etc etc; My observer when I was doing the IAM said I was very cautious - this guy was a very serious guy, and always made people pass the test first time. Really devoted to the job!
Obviously, being aware of all these things, it is horrible to get tailgaiters, ones who cut you up etc etc. I seem to drive defensively, so have avoided these things to date. Hopefully, I might get hit by a millionaire in his rolls royce, and he'll give my cash for a new motorbike once my bikes kapput!
Greg
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I've commuted into London for 7 years, first living in Cambridgeshire and for the last 3 years in Bedfordshire.
Train isn't too bad if you're early enough, if you can be in the office by 7:45am you'll miss the worst of the rush.
During spring, summer and autumn I take the motorbike - it's a touch faster than public transport (but I chose the house in Bedfordshire for good transport links!) and it's much nicer.
Getting killed isn't compulsary, there's no reason you can't be a very good rider especially with some extra training. Training on bikes after passing the test seems to be much more common than with cars and there are courses to help you be a speed demon on track days or beat the courriers through the city.
I'll probably go back to the train and tube through the winter, but having a choice is quite a nice thing.
Aside from that, I like the suggestion of driving into zone 5 or 6, but don't underestimate the time it takes to cross London by tube either! I can get from Bedfordshire to South Kensington faster than a colleague can get there from Stratford in East London
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Where is this "London"? It sounds very difficult to travel across/through/round.
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Most of it is curled round the eastern and southern sides of Kensington & Chelsea, stevied, with a few random bits on the other sides of K&C.
To put it another way: it lies to the West of Dagenham.
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Ah I know it. That bit at the end of the M1 and M11. I've often thought about popping in to see what it's like. : )
I am of course joking, as you know I spent several years in the East End, sparring with the Krays and suchlike. I rarely drove into the City or West End, but I did enjoy pootling around the outer suburbs. I think "To the West of Dagenham" sounds like a good name for a novel.
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Wipe Out - I sympathise with your dilemma. Even a helicopter would not help you to do that journey every day as even that nice Mr Al Fayed found out.
I recommend the drive so far and then commute way of doing the journey.
I lived in Surrey and commuted to Westminster for years and had a car park space if I needed it in the company underground car park .
Car travel into Central London just was too frustrating and took too long.Really , don't even think of it if you want to keep your sanity.
I think it is even worse now with traffic lights phased to hold you up, bus lane and speed cameras , congestion charges and the roads under Kens tender care.
I worked up there in the eighties at the time of IRA bombings and rail travel was massively disrupted so I bought a motor cycle and commuted .
I now have a twenty minute drive to work in UK and spend the time I save doing what I want to do.
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I think London is especially bad because of ignorant drivers. I ride a motorbike: some areas are great to ride in without incident. Others are very scary. I consider myself a safe rider, and having heard loads of motorbike accidents, people dying on bikes etc etc;
Ignorant drivers? I think the biggest problem on British roads is looney bikers. It's very easy to label everyone "ignorant drivers" and expect everyone to follow increasingly naive "Think!" capain adverts almost like every van, high stance car or car without back windows should have watchtower on the top with co-pilot on a lookout for a biker zooming twice the speed limit between cars in snake patterns.
Since the public view blame was shifted entirely onto car drivers I noticed bikers do a lot of stupid things these days. I see bike couriers putting their feet on bumpers of the cars to hold them down at lights, swarms of 50cc's blocking paths for turning, ride with main beam on (my personal pet hate - when blinded there is no way for driver to tell how far behind the bike is and they will automatically start swearving to avoid the light in their side mirrors), cutting in with "i know you have nowhere to go and will end up braking with your nose on the windscreen but you will let me in or else" attitude or blatant overtaking against incoming traffic in "whaddya gonna do - run me over?" kamikaze style.
Vehicle behind is responsible for their own actions. That includes motorbikes. If you don't leave enough room to brake, if you drive behind 4x4 or van and then suddenly emerge don't expect driver to be aware of your existance. Don't charge ahead presuming everyone is responsible for your safety and will do you favours, just presume noone knows you exist on the road and that everyone hates you. Be responsible for your own safety. Has nothing to do with ignorance of others, has everything to do with common sense.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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Ignorant drivers? I think the biggest problem on British roads is looney bikers. Lots of ranting
Some refreshing new views there :-)
I thought the correct idea was: Car drivers - some are idiots, some are ok, bike riders - some are idiots, some are ok, bus drivers - some are idiots, some are ok etc
One thing's for certain, if you're looking for the lunatic in the BMW / motorbike / white van to do something stupid you'll be caught out by a stupid manouver from the Focus driver.
Anyway, back at the thread...... one other thing to consider is the way your office works. I'm fine to get in by 7:45 but it means everyone gives me black looks when I don't want to go into meetings at 5pm. Suggesting we hold the meeting the following day at 8am doesn't help either. Just something to thing about.
Gareth
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I don't think you can judge all motorcyclists by the actions of couriers (mostly complete loons) and L plated 50cc riders (here's your CBT which your grandmother could pass - off you go sunshine - have 2 years grace)
I agree with Gareth - some people shouldn't have licenses full stop. Most are OK, some are good. That applies to bike, car, PCV, HGV and any other category you can think of.
Cheers
DP
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The truth is that there are many reasons not to do the commute and only one reason (the green folding variety) to do it. Even if you think you have a worthwhile job, you are just a replaceable cog in the machine. London's population is transitory and few stay that long.
My wife an I earn much less than we did two yars ago when we left London but feel much happier. Crime rates are much lower out of London, so you feel safer as well. Up here in th Highlands the air is clean, people have much more space and there are far fewer vehicles on the roads - going for a drive is (shock!) enjoyable............
So its your money or your life
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I'm fortunate in that my office is allowing me to start early and leave early. So I'll be leaving home at 6am to hopefully arrive around 7am and then leave work at 4pm. Luckily I have some business justification in that I work in IT and have to work with some of our teams in Singapore.
I would like to have a job close to home, but unforunately I'm free lance and the rates in Banking for experience IT staff are just too high to say no.
I'll give you guys an update next week on how it goes.
Thanks WipeOut
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leave at 6 to get there at 7? sounds optimistic. I cant see it, but did you say where in london you have to go? I am always amazed by how busy the M25 is at that time of the day, same probably holds true for the m4 and m40 into town.
London is fun by car as long as you dont get stressed by the traffic.
An automatic is probably my best suggestion.
I think its funny that i can get to my customers in Birmingham faster than i can get to the ones in london (i live within the M25)!
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Yep, I was going to suggest an automatic too. I've had to do some monster commutes over the years and I can honestly say that car choice definiteley comes into play for reducing the stress. A big quality relaxed auto makes a world of difference in my view. Armed with Sat/Nav and spending time researching alternative routes/rat runs also makes sense.
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I also fancy an automatic for my commute, the problem is most automatics dont go into "lockup" until about 50mph so are very thirsty at lower speeds. The VW DSG looks interesting though.
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London is fun by car as long as you dont get stressed by the traffic.
I suppose you consider being hit over the head with a crowbar is also 'fun' !
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Just to let you know I've tried a week of driving in and so far it's gone well.
I left my house at 6am and usually got parked at around 7am, which isn't bad.
I leave work at 4pm and usually get home by 6pm.
I generally find it less stressful, except for the odd suicidal motorbiker I've had to avoid.
I'm off to test drive a Toyota Prius, as I now want an economical automatic car. Avoiding the congestion zone is another bonus!
Long term I'm going to have to look for a change of lifestyle, but I've got mortgages to pay.
Wipeout
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"I've got mortgages to pay"
Mortgages plural?
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To pick up on part of another thread
5. Friday evenings are always bad - especially in the Autumn (don't know why).
It is always busier in Autumn regardless of day.
A few reasons:
Many companies run Jan-December holiday periods, by the end of the year most of the holiday entitlement is used up, so people are at work rather than taking leave.
It's the run up to Christmas - winter holidays abroad are not taken as Christmas is an expensive time of year.
Those on holiday are probably Christmas shopping thereby adding to the traffic.
Increased delivery vehicles stocking shops with Christams goodies
After Christmas, new leave period, need to get away, winter holiday season starts etc etc.
The clocks going back - increase in accidents with associated hold ups. Darker, wetter conditions reduce average traffic speed.
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A bloke I used to work with had six mortgages. He jumped on the buy-to-let bandwagon some years ago.
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Ignorant drivers? I think the biggest problem on British roads is looney bikers. Lots of ranting
Whatever the problem, I believe there are bad and good car drivers, bus drivers, lorry drivers etc. It is a gross generalisation to say that all bike riders are looney. That is completely wrong, but does prove that peoples mentality is to blame! Again, ignorance. I think overall, motorbike riders are pretty good riders, and it sounds wierd but a car driver can never really understand the skill and experience needed to ride a motorbike until they do it themselves. Compared, cars are very easy to drive. Just think of one thing. When I drive my car and someone hits me, I will be ok. If someone hits me on the bike, I will have broken bones, fall off bike etc. So, any rider with a brain would know that they need to ride to a very high standard.
I think rush hour drivers in London are good drivers overall, when driving outside these hours do I usually find the insane drivers out there.
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Yesterday (Monday) was very easy with the traffic. Must be the school holiday factor!
Driving so far has been far better than the train and underground.
WipeOut
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Glad (and somewhat relieved) that the prophets of doom have been proven wrong so far.
Do yr employers provide parking and pay the congestion charge for you WipeOut? Because 8 quid plus a day's parking in the City five times a week would start to mount up.
And how did you like the Prius?
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I've found parking nearby in central London which is almost the same annually as parking in central Reading station car park!
I work for myself so pay the CC and parking from my company. The cost doesn't bother me, I would rather be comfortable. I also have a flexible work agreement so can work at home quite a bit. In fact this work I spending most of the week at home. My client is very good with things like that.
My Prius arrives early next week, possible this weekend. I had two test drives last weekend and I think it will be an excellent car for comuting into London. It's a relaxed easy drive and should be ideal. Plus I make a saving on CC. It's not a performance/sports car, but I've got another car in the garage for that, and I don't need a perfomance car in London for crawling in traffic. I really wanted a comfortable automatic car, and originally thought of a Golf. But once you start looking at DSG (automatic Golf's) they get very pricey, and the Prius start to look very reasonable. I also got a very good deal on a Prius.
WipeOut
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What fun. I seem to remember HJ quite liked them (of course he's a car freak and finds something to like in most cars), and I believe shunting through urban and slowish A road traffic is where they are at their most economical, although hurrying down the motorway they are less so.
They are certainly very quiet from the outside. Remember pedestrians can't hear you coming. There are quite a lot about in my bit of London now.
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