S
Stephen Harding
Guest
Spent a week in London last week and besides the
fantastic public transport (Tube and bus), I was
most impressed by the bicyclists of the city!
They were everywhere!
And they weren't timid souls poking along desperately
trying to stay a few inches from the curb to
accommodate speeding motor vehicles; they were right
out in the lanes, moving back and forth for left and
right turns, and in every since of the word, behaving
like vehicles with a right to the road!
Very impressive.
The London motorists, while going quite fast IMHO,
seemed to be very tolerant of the bicyclists as well,
so kudos to them too.
I saw only one occasion where a Mercedes laid on the
horn when a very nicely dressed woman in long skirt,
boots and jacket "took the lane" ahead of him.
All the riders seemed to really move along. Equipped
with head and tail lights, they zipped along the sides
of city streets making great progress.
Finally, no "bicycling outfits"! They all seemed to
be wearing fairly nice "go to work" clothes. No jerseys,
no SPDs, no tights or leggings, and no helmets!
They were simply [presumably] commuting to and from work
by the seeming hundreds. Don't know if London has always
had such a large bicycle commuting population or if this
is the result of the city charging cars that come into
town, but it was good to see.
SMH
fantastic public transport (Tube and bus), I was
most impressed by the bicyclists of the city!
They were everywhere!
And they weren't timid souls poking along desperately
trying to stay a few inches from the curb to
accommodate speeding motor vehicles; they were right
out in the lanes, moving back and forth for left and
right turns, and in every since of the word, behaving
like vehicles with a right to the road!
Very impressive.
The London motorists, while going quite fast IMHO,
seemed to be very tolerant of the bicyclists as well,
so kudos to them too.
I saw only one occasion where a Mercedes laid on the
horn when a very nicely dressed woman in long skirt,
boots and jacket "took the lane" ahead of him.
All the riders seemed to really move along. Equipped
with head and tail lights, they zipped along the sides
of city streets making great progress.
Finally, no "bicycling outfits"! They all seemed to
be wearing fairly nice "go to work" clothes. No jerseys,
no SPDs, no tights or leggings, and no helmets!
They were simply [presumably] commuting to and from work
by the seeming hundreds. Don't know if London has always
had such a large bicycle commuting population or if this
is the result of the city charging cars that come into
town, but it was good to see.
SMH