G
Graham Ashton
Guest
A few months ago I took on a new job and relocated to London. I lived
in London once before and knew that I wouldn't use my car more than
once every few weeks, and the rather novel idea of not actually owning
a car at all rather appealed. It also made a good exscuse for splashing
out on a shiny Brompton (SON hub included, and highly recommended!).
I've had the Brompton for several months now and have done many miles
round the back streets of London. On hearing of my plans to
cycle-commute in London many people have said "oooh, that's a bit
risky" (some Londoners, some not, none of them London cyclists). I
admit to being nervous about it myself at first, but Google lead me to
the London Cycling Campaign site, which convinced me it would be fine.
http://www.lcc.org.uk/
They're right, it's perfectly safe and easy to cycle through London if
you put in a little bit of preparation before hand. It's especially
pleasant if you don't need to rely on road signs to find your way
around (they obviously lead you down main roads), and can stick to
little back streets. The special cycling maps provided by Transport For
London are perfect for finding these routes, and they're free (enter
your name address on the web site and they'll post them off to you):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cycles/routes/london-cycle-guides.shtml
I'm enjoying the journeys to and from work and, even though it's only
30 minutes of light cycling each way, I'm in much better shape than I
was a few weeks ago.
I got rid of the car this morning. I got £10 for it at a breaker's
yard. So far, so good...
in London once before and knew that I wouldn't use my car more than
once every few weeks, and the rather novel idea of not actually owning
a car at all rather appealed. It also made a good exscuse for splashing
out on a shiny Brompton (SON hub included, and highly recommended!).
I've had the Brompton for several months now and have done many miles
round the back streets of London. On hearing of my plans to
cycle-commute in London many people have said "oooh, that's a bit
risky" (some Londoners, some not, none of them London cyclists). I
admit to being nervous about it myself at first, but Google lead me to
the London Cycling Campaign site, which convinced me it would be fine.
http://www.lcc.org.uk/
They're right, it's perfectly safe and easy to cycle through London if
you put in a little bit of preparation before hand. It's especially
pleasant if you don't need to rely on road signs to find your way
around (they obviously lead you down main roads), and can stick to
little back streets. The special cycling maps provided by Transport For
London are perfect for finding these routes, and they're free (enter
your name address on the web site and they'll post them off to you):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cycles/routes/london-cycle-guides.shtml
I'm enjoying the journeys to and from work and, even though it's only
30 minutes of light cycling each way, I'm in much better shape than I
was a few weeks ago.
I got rid of the car this morning. I got £10 for it at a breaker's
yard. So far, so good...
-)
