Rode to London this morning

Rilot · 12 May 2008 at 12:23

I had a meeting in The City this morning. It's a nice day so I thought I'd bike it. I guess I was stupid for thinking that London was any less bike unfriendly than car.

Got to Wood Street and tried to find a bike bay. Found one, full. Ride around a bit found 2 others, both full.
I pulled in to a meter bay (well, what was a meter bay before they did the mobile phone thingie) to be told by a traffic warden that I couldn't park there even if I paid as it was for cars.
I asked her where I should park, she replied (helpfully) "a bike bay" to which I replied that they were all full. "Not my problem" was her response.

I thought the City of London were trying to encourage people out of their cars and on to alternative transport. I guess not.

So my choices are:
Train + Tube = No seat, crammed in, £35 lighter wallet, arrive stinking of sweat.
Bike = No where to park
Car = Stuck in traffic and again nowhere to park

London is just rubbish. Why people like the place I will never know.

pc-modd · 12 May 2008 at 12:27

What was she going to do, Clamp your bike?

Can you get a ticket on a bike? :confused:

Dolph · 12 May 2008 at 12:32

But Ken made it a transport paradise, didn't you know?...

Hopefully the new mayor will recognise that people actually need to travel into London and work towards making it possible, rather than just charging people and doing nothing else.

Rilot · 12 May 2008 at 12:45

And what's with those massive new busses that bend?
They take up twice the road space as a Routemaster. Who the hell thought they were a good idea?

penski · 12 May 2008 at 12:46

London sucks. Avoid at all costs.

*n

Jono · 12 May 2008 at 12:47

Having never driven into london, but travelled in and around on the train/tube/buses - all I can agree with is the last sentence in your post

Anything else above that doesn't really change the fact that you spoke the truth.

nommy · 12 May 2008 at 12:48

I work in the City by Monument and drive my Vespa GTS125 in every day. To get a space in a bike bay near work (of which there are very few) I have to get in by 730am. It is a joke. There used to be a lot of parking in Swan Lane carpark - they demolished it and replced it with the square root of **** all.

They try to reduce congestion and yet bike parking is woefully under-provided. And they should encourage it as it gets people off the already overcrowded tube.

Fireskull · 12 May 2008 at 12:53

pc-modd said:
What was she going to do, Clamp your bike?

Can you get a ticket on a bike?

Yes my sister parked her scooter in a car park bay with another bike because the bike park was full, she got a £50 fine lol.

And yes london sucks, when I rode in I found nowhere to park managed to haggle underground parking guy to £5 for 6 hours parking lol and even then he wanted the bike in down the side where no car could park anyway :/

GeX · 12 May 2008 at 12:55

Rilot said:
And what's with those massive new busses that bend?

they're for killing people on bikes. isn't it something daft like only 10 extra seats despite the massive increase in size because of the bit that bends. stupid

jamoor · 12 May 2008 at 12:55

Rilot said:
I had a meeting in The City this morning. It's a nice day so I thought I'd bike it. I guess I was stupid for thinking that London was any less bike unfriendly than car.

Got to Wood Street and tried to find a bike bay. Found one, full. Ride around a bit found 2 others, both full.
I pulled in to a meter bay (well, what was a meter bay before they did the mobile phone thingie) to be told by a traffic warden that I couldn't park there even if I paid as it was for cars.
I asked her where I should park, she replied (helpfully) "a bike bay" to which I replied that they were all full. "Not my problem" was her response.

I thought the City of London were trying to encourage people out of their cars and on to alternative transport. I guess not.

So my choices are:
Train + Tube = No seat, crammed in, £35 lighter wallet, arrive stinking of sweat.
Bike = No where to park
Car = Stuck in traffic and again nowhere to park

London is just rubbish. Why people like the place I will never know.

Take the bike into the meeting, would have made an interesting talking point

robbiemc · 12 May 2008 at 12:58

I have to travel to London frequently and because I'm a wheelchair user I have to drive. If you think that parking for 'regular' drivers and riders is bad, it's heaven compared to the lack of disabled spaces.

Not only are there very few spaces, but each London Council has different rules on how to use a Blue Badge: Westminster I'm allowed to park in residents bays and have an 'hours grace' (very nice indeed), but Camden won't allow either of those and even has its own 'Green badge' bays that only residents can use.
Who here knows where Westminster ends and Camden begins? It's a nightmare.

Rilot · 12 May 2008 at 13:00

jamoor said:
Take the bike into the meeting, would have made an interesting talking point

Hehe, I could just imagine pulling up to the reception desk at HP Wood Street: "Hi, I've got a meeting with *** ******".

The looks on their faces would be worth it.

The only good thing about my ride this morning is it proved that my F650 is a good bike and that my TomTom Rider V2 with Scala Rider headset is just awesome.

robbiemc · 12 May 2008 at 13:01

Rilot said:
And what's with those massive new busses that bend?
They take up twice the road space as a Routemaster. Who the hell thought they were a good idea?

The Bendy Buses have twice the capacity of a Routemaster (140 versus 72), but at 18m they're also more than twice the length!

jamoor · 12 May 2008 at 13:05

Rilot said:
Hehe, I could just imagine pulling up to the reception desk at HP Wood Street: "Hi, I've got a meeting with *** ******".

The looks on their faces would be worth it.

The only good thing about my ride this morning is it proved that my F650 is a good bike and that my TomTom Rider V2 with Scala Rider headset is just awesome.

More like ride it past reception and into the lift.

I wonder if that counts as smoking in a public place?

andi · 12 May 2008 at 13:57

Eventually I can see a lot of business realising that the only reason to stay in London is that they can have a London address. Sooner they move elsewhere the better.

Rilot · 12 May 2008 at 14:15

andi said:
Eventually I can see a lot of business realising that the only reason to stay in London is that they can have a London address. Sooner they move elsewhere the better.

It still has one heck of a draw though. My last company opened an office in the city which has lost money since the day it was open. t was all because the MD felt we weren't a proper company unless we had a city office :rolleyes:

Tom|Nbk · 12 May 2008 at 14:17

London is a **** hole.

True story.

Griffo · 12 May 2008 at 14:18

I've been up around Nottingham doing my DAS for the last week, and up in cheshire before that with work. Back in Ealing today and JESUS it's half 10 and traffic is standstill all over the place. I've driven into the centre/london bridge area once (a saturday) which was ok on the way in (plus we had private parking) but nightmare getting out in the evening.

London stinks for getting around without using the stinking tube, I don't think i'll ever ride in there by choice.

ironman · 12 May 2008 at 14:29

London is fantastic, you just need to know how to use it properly (and that's not to use your own transport before 8pm).

Rilot · 12 May 2008 at 14:36

gurdas said:
London is fantastic, you just need to know how to use it properly (and that's not to use your own transport before 8pm).

By properly you mean to be fleeced for £35 for a ticket from Twyford to the centre, be crammed in to a small space on the train and tube that would be illegal if we were cattle, finally arriving at one's destination stinking of sweat and exausted.

How people commute to London every day and don't go mad is utterly beyond me. So city wages are higher, but I'd rather have a life.