Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

Fresh air commutes

I got a bike for the first time in some years a few months ago, after Tara decided she was bored of riding her bike around by herself and bought me one as a Christmas/birthday present (oh, twist my arm, do). It's a road bike - a Trek Pilot 1.2. It's red, and I like it a lot. After several months in which the poor thing looked neglected and ignored while I started a new job and dealt with all the accompanying excitement I finally started riding it more a few weeks ago, and it seems to be catching.

Apart from all the usual joys of cycle ownership (buying Lycra bib shorts and falling off in amusing ways while getting used to clipless pedals) I've now started commuting to work by bike most days. It's more pleasant than the Tube (not least because the tube station's a 10-minute walk away, by which time I'd be a third of the way to work by bike) but, more interestingly, it's a lot less difficult than I thought it would be.

London does not really have a reputation as a cycling city, but with a few street smarts it's really not all that difficult. The main thing to remember is that traffic in London, by and large, moves slowly, so especially during peak commuting hours you'll probably be faster than most of the cars anyway. Keep your wits about you and pay attention to what's going on and you'll be fine.

The other thing to remember is that Transport for London and Sustrans' idea of what constitutes cycle routes should be taken with a major pinch of salt. For instance, there's a lovely-looking nice straight bike route right through the middle of Wimbledon Common marked on TfL's cycling maps, which in reality is... gravel. Fine if you're on a mountain bike with knobbly tyres, but not so fine if you're on a road bike with 28mm slicks - and 28mm is actually pretty wide for a road bike. I had to get off and walk after a while, which now I come to think of it seems to be the sole purpose of many councils' cycling initiatives.

While I'm definitely happy with my road bike, the standard riding position (forward on the hoods) isn't all that optimal for commuting, especially for things like cornering on city streets and looking behind me. I'm thinking that I might get a straight-bar urban hybrid with a more upright position for commuting and bumbling around town. The justification for the expenditure here is, of course, "Well, it's money I won't be spending on Travelcards."

Anyway, if you see me around town give me a wave. Should be fairly easy to spot - I'm the one with the helmet and without the iPod who stops at red traffic lights.

More on this subject later. There are rantings and ravings galore to be had on this subject.

Posted by mpk at August 19, 2006 1:40 PM | TrackBack