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| The capital's streets can be a battlefield for the biking Londoner |
Put your hands in the air
It’s
a dying art, but do try signalling with your arms. Car drivers
appreciate knowing when you’re going to swerve into another lane, as do
other cyclists right behind you. And never assume that pedestrians are
going to look before they step out – they’re expecting to hear traffic,
and cycles are silent. Add to the mix their hangovers, earphones and
mobiles…
Expert tip ‘The
thing that always surprises me in London is the pedestrians stepping
into the road. They really don’t seem so suicidal elsewhere. Otherwise,
I find London quite safe. Taxi drivers are a pain, but they’re
professionals, and they really don’t want blood all over their wing
mirrors if they can possibly avoid it. Bus drivers can annoy, but they
are much much worse in northern and Scottish cities!’
David Henshaw
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| Get in lane - if you can... |
Don’t pedal myths
People
(particularly more reckless cyclists) will spout all sorts of nonsense
about what you’re allowed to do on a bike. We checked a few of the more
common myths against the Road Traffic Act (1988).
Myth 1: Cyclists don’t have to stop at stop signs, only slow down According to the RTA, section 36: ‘You MUST obey all traffic signs and traffic light signals.’
Myth 2: Bus lanes are also for cyclists Actually, you can only use them if the signs include a cycle symbol.
Myth 3: Cyclists should ride between the traffic and the pavement, even when there’s no cycle lane
Undertaking is illegal by any vehicle. But it is a grey area: cycle
lanes encourage cyclists to do it. If a car is in its lane, it doesn’t
have to indicate if it starts drifting towards the kerb. Some would
argue cars cannot be relied on to indicate when pulling or turning
left, even when the cycle lane is clearly marked.
Myth 4: Weaving in and out of traffic is okay for cyclists as they’re very mobile Not according to section 3 of the RTA. You can be booked for careless and reckless riding.
Myth 5: You can take your bike on the tube. Well, sort of. Only on the surface and subsurface bits (when the tube runs just under the road), and then only outside of peak hours, so don't try between 7.30am-9.30am and 4pm-7pm Monday to Fridays. There’s secure cycle parking at Finsbury Park for 50p a day, a scheme TFL are looking to expand. Fans of Bromptons will be nodding smugly at this next bit: folding bikes are allowed on all parts of the tube at all times. There’s a downloadable cycle/tube map at www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/972.aspx
Lock it up
Avoid locking your bike to shortish street signs – they’re easily unscrewable, so thieves can just lift your bike over the top. A five-quid saddle lock is a lot quicker to use than removing your saddle every time you leave your bike. Also, double your security. A heavy-duty D-lock (the good ones include insurance if someone gets through it) to lock frame and wheel, and a cable lock to chain front wheel and frame to a rack or strong railing. Kryptonite makes some of the toughest on the market, its New York model being a case in point. Quick-release wheels? Lock them both. Register your bike with the police (www.bikeregister.com) and you’re more likely to get it back.
Expert tip ‘Try
to leave as little slack as possible between the lock, your bike and
the object it is locked to. Anything that makes it harder for a thief
to get to work with tools is worth doing. Avoid, for example, a
situation where your padlock could be pulled down to the pavement –
this stops a thief using the pavement as an anvil for his hammer.’
Matt Seaton
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8 comments
UrbanCycleChic.com : bike fashion, velo vogue and bike porn. Bespoke recycled bike advocacy and boutique. Fix it, bling it, flaunt it - join the catwalk on wheels. Fixed, Dutch, road or dumpster? It's just an everyday way of getting around your urban playground, in everyday clothes. Beat the traffic, beat the credit crunch and be inspired.
Re: 'myth 2', the main thing to remember about is that almost all with-flow bus lanes are open to cycles, whereas many contra-flow bus lanes, eg Piccadilly westbound, are not. (Tip: Jermyn Street makes a good alternative to Piccadilly if you're heading west).
Moving to London in September and I plan to bike as my primary mode of transport. Great article! Great advice! Thank you!
I do however worry about the rain. Can anyone recommend proper attire for riding in such conditions? May sound like a silly question, but I've ridden my bike for years in the desert southwest of the United States. Not used to rainy weather. Thank you brothers and sisters.
Peace.
Brian
James Ivy, great tip!
About cycling in the Netherlands, it's more comfortable because it has always been a policy to create a good infrastructure in the Netherlands in the biggest part of the country. It's about much more than only segregated cycycle paths although they are very important indeed!
Other factors which are very important:
1. Limiting the distance to work, shops and recreation
2. Limiting cars in cities
3. Limiting the cross sections for cyclists
4. Choosing for a specific design of roads to limit the number of cross sections
Etcetera
Here is some interesting reading material in Englisch, from the Dutch government: www.fietsberaad.nl/library/repository/bestanden/Cycling %20in%20the%20Netherlands%20VenW.pdf
This literature has been written because they got a lot of questions from foreign governments. It should be olibgated lecture for every urban architect and traffiic politician.
Greets to Eugenie in the NL! Some London councils DO offer FREE cycling lessons aimed all levels of cyclist. Check your local council website, and then go and learn how to play with the multi-lane interchanges! Having last lived in London pre-congestion charge, it was really useful to take up the offer on moving back, as a kind of inner-city cycling refresher course.
Eugenie has one great advantage in the NL as a cyclist - right of way over cars and trucks. A great discovery as a Brit! And with all those segregated cycle paths, no wonder my colleagues there were so chilled. My London commute has different pleasures I guess (namely adrenalin!)
But she is right about the value of the police booking cyclists too: you don't forget your lights often if it's going to cost you 40 Euros each time! That said, having recently being pulled up by a PCSO, for pushing my bike onto the road outside Vict Station, and then getting on to it, the signage needs to be a lot clearer! Apparently this quiet corner of tarmac, with good visibility, controlled by traffic lights, constituted part of the bus station, not the road (??!!!), and was therefore private!
Red lights, are however stop lights, world wide.
An excellent article, very informative and good to read. A great beginner's guide too. Regarding stopping at the lights… I've been cycling for 25 years – no accidents – and have found the safest option is to get away before the traffic behind. If that means me going through a red light then so be it – as long as you still give pedestrians right of way. The cars behind are more of a danger to me than I am to anyone else. By hoing through the lights I don't mean flying tthrough with abandon. Either cross from a standstill – having watched for crossing traffic – or slow down to walking pace before continuing across th junction. You'll live longer that way
I ride a recumbent trike in London a lot, I see all sorts of things and can give the following comments.
Cyclists should stop at red lights, most do but some fools don't, the rest of us get a bad name from them.
Pedestrians are all blind, especially in Docklands and Canary Wharf, they will happily step out in front of a cyclist after first making eye contact, they object to suffering physical contact due to their stupidity.
Cyclists should note hackney licence numbers of any cabs that cut them up, it's actually quite rare, I get a lot of respect from black cabs in general.
Police cars will knock you off your bike, the drivers are blind.
Bus drivers are blind and below average intelligence, make allowances, buses can squish cyclists and not notice.
Don't cycle on pavements and abuse pedestrians, cyclists that do this should be clubbed to death, if I am walking and this happens to me I always make the cyclists get off.
Use lights at night, there is no excuse.
Some cycle lanes are good, most are not, ride the road when the lanes are naff.
Ride a recumbent, it's more comfortable, I think most of the problem cyclists are just miserable because of the extreme pain of having an axe head to sit on.
Love the articles. Have been riding in London for years and worked at Condor. Now back in Holland. Just one thing what I have noticed since July 7: there are more and more cyclists on London roads (positive, of course!), but most "7-July-riders" (as I call them) could do with traffic lessons as many just don't seem to know how to handle traffic (or stop signs!) in London. They are not only endangering themselves but also other cyclists. Maybe Ken should, beside creating a decent cycle network by people who actually know what they are doing, also offer some free lessons for Londoners (or otherwise the Police should be stricter and book them!). Greetings from Amsterdam!