Travelling around London

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

Its really pretty much a personal journey, as you might not mind things about the commute that other people hate.
It can be a blast, especially compared to doing it in a car.
A high percentage of the cars in central London itself are minicabs anyway, nowadays.

I've lived in East and West London, and commuted from all points of the compass, the one thing that never changes is that the commute through Fulham is diabolical. No matter what vehicle you are in, it seems that getting through Fulham is always a bitch, there's always "something".

You need really to know not only your route into the office and back, but also the back-doubles that will get you out of a tangle of traffic, so it takes a while to get around efficiently, and even then ...

It's a huge and dizzying place. Most people who get the train only know how to get to their office and back from the train station, and if you put them two streets away from their usual route, they are totally lost.

But I've also had that happen to me in a car - and even on the bike. It's quite disconcerting.

If you wanna live in/commute into London, I say just do it, because until you have done it, you don't know if you are going to love it or hate it.

Personally I feel both.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[c_dug]

[Easy-X]

Something like the one-way system round Hammersmith or the Elephant were always a case of "you need to know which lane before you even get your socks on in the morning" for a car. Either a bike or a TFL mini-cab sticker allow you to dance around the lanes on demand
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[hellkat]

My route is very similar to cdug's, although I'm still dragging my arse around the outskirts of the lesbo zone and not zipping through the City and West End like I used to, as I haven't had the Snarley checked for lesbo emissions. Now that I have an MOT, that's next on my list.

Meantime, I have been mostly scooting through the Rotherhithe tunnel (or across Tower Bridge), dropping down to Bricklayers and back up to Chelsea daft cow
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[MarJay]

[Pete.]

[hellkat]

[Pete.]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

[Cookiemonster...]

[yen_powell]

[Pete.]

Anyone else pass by that godawful smash between the Sun in the Sands and Blackheath this morning? At the lights with Kidbrooke Park Road?
Looks like the bike was heading into town and the car turned right across him. The bike was smashed right back to the engine and it looks like the car had been shunted backwards by the bike's impact. Can't find anything about it online, would be nice to know that the biker made it.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[MarJay]

[struan80]

I'm glad I don't have to commute through a city. when I did I would always get severe road rage as I'd no doubt be late for work and in no mood for suffering fools. It was actually me who was the fool when I look back. If only I'd got out of bed 5 mins earlier than usual and relax into work in plenty time, I couldn't do it.

I would rather live on 40% less pay and starve my kids than have to commute in London.

[thx1138]

I rode through London once, on the way back from France

I was headed for Tower Bridge, I went over Vauxhall Bridge

[reavsie]

Used to do a 20 mile commute into the City from Kent, took around 50 mins. Call it an hour after gearing up/down time. I was lucky enough to have a bike bay alongside the office I worked in.

Train would take 90 mins each way, but at least 2 or 3 times a week you would get delays pushing that time up to 2 hours. So I gained a little time each day, but the main thing was the consistent journey time. It is very rare to hit a meaningful delay on a bike.*

*Except that one time that snow had settled in town and it took me 2 hours of very careful riding to get home. Best bit was having to turn the front wheel into the kerb to slow the bike enough so I could paddle down the hill to home. If I'd had any sense I would have parked at the top of the hill and not screwed myself over for getting up the hill in the morning.
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Previously: GP100U, GP100U, RD200, GT380, GSX400, CX500, VT500, VT500, GS500, R80/RT, ER5, CB500, ER5, CB500, ER5, CB500X
Now: RE Himalayan

[Robby]

[Easy-X]

I would say I used to be able to tell where I was just from the style of buildings but with so much being knocked down and rebuilt...

Battersea / 9 Elms / Vauxhall - it's like the whole area got nuked!
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Pete.]

[baritone]

[quote=That is so awesome what job do you do?[/quote]Rugby pitch green keeper?[/quote]

No, not as mundane as that, yet more mundane at the same time. I'm in the, er, bond market.

[hellkat]

https://media.giphy.com/media/3oEjHNCWpx4iQYytAA/giphy.gif
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.