Good luck Thorners.

I did the backstreet way to London Bridge for a while and it is fine - you will probably \ could do a bit through Burgess Park which cuts out another bit on the road.

I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any on the route. London Bridge gets pretty busy but is fine.

My advice for riding on the road - don't feel intimidated to cycle right up to the curb, that's where lots of potholes, slippery road markings and various bits to give you punctures are. If you are use to driving you will know most of this, but pedestrians can't here you and often look the wrong way after getting off buses for some reason. Expect the unexpected as they say!

I'm not sure where you live, if in HOP the cycle up Peckham Rye and then coming the back way is easier than coming past One Tree Hill and down past the station.

Dulwich Park is definitely good practise ground, but watch out for all the park runners (I think every Sunday morning) and the dogs will get you some good practise braking quickly!

Thorners, I think I feel a little jealous of you starting out on your bike adventure. I've been cycling in London since I moved here in 1999 (having before then been used to relatively quiet roads in rural Ireland (apart from the crazy dogs....)).

I love my commute into town (I come in over Blackfriars Bridge) and while you do need to keep your wits about you, everything everyone on here is saying is spot on - get some training and if there is one bit of advice I can give it's this: NEVER EVER EVER cycle up the inside of a bus or lorry. Sit behind and go with the flow - you'll get there just as quickly. And always assume the car in front is going to turn left even if the indicator isn't on.

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for all the advice and encouragement everyone! It's all gratefully received, last time I owned a bike I was a child and lived in Wiltshire where I was more likely to meet a pheasant or a horse than a car, although going by another thread if I head down Sunderland Road I might meet a pheasant there too ! Being a non-driver as well I know nothing of road rules so I really do need all the help I can get!

If you see someone whizzing around Dulwich Park on a grey Tern folding bike with a huge grin on her face over the next couple of weekends it's probably me.

Once I've done the training I'll put some feedback on here for anyone else who's thinking about it.

Thanks again!

Great advice from AMFM there as well. I can't believe I'm writing this, but I've been very fortunate not to get a puncture on the way in to work. sounds like you will be going on a course to learn to change the inner tube, be worth making sure you have a spare inner tube on you and a pump.

Also don't forget lights and of course I'm sure you have a helmet. Decathlon at surrey keys tend to have some things that are not too expensive if you start buying things.

Also if you need anything repaired or advice the guys in Vaidas by Honor Oak Park station are great and very reasonable. You can pay a bit more to buy stuff from there but I find it worth it for the advice, and if you want a new tyre eg they will fit it for you.

Good luck.

Best advice I can give once you've got up to speed with the basics of riding a bike on the roads is to be constantly aware of your surroundings, try and anticipate everybody elses next move. Whether they be car/lorry/bus/taxi drivers, pedestrians, other cyclists, birds, dogs, or any other local wildlife about, always expect the unexpected.

i'm also always very weary of car doors opening when cycling past a row of parked cars, and never cycle too close to a black cab, they will break heavily at any moment. Make sure both breaks work well and some form of bell is always handy.

Enjoy it and have fun

When riding my motorcycle I always treated every other road user as a threat. Pedestrian's the same.

It helped for a good few years.

Also, don't only look at cars etc that are just in front of you, look further ahead.

I have cycled into the city for 2 1/2 years now. In contrast to a lot of people who prefer quieter routes, I actually find that the main roads are easier. You move with the traffic and Bus Lanes are also big Bike Lanes. There are less parked cars with doors flying open (red routes) and it's much quicker all round.

The easiest (shortest) route into the city is over Horniman, Lordship Lane, turn onto Barry Rd, Peckham Rye, cross the High St, along the old canal (no traffic) then up to the Old Kent Rd under the flyover and along to Borough Tube station, then turn right up Borough High St and over London Bridge.

I got bored with that and started going through Camberwell up to Vauxhall then over Westminster Bridge and along the Embankment. Adds 2-3 miles (about 10 mins) but great sightseeing on a nice day.

Aside from that if anyone needs convincing:

Saves train money. Burns fat. Free beer both in terms of cash and calorie offset. Do the maths.

Clausy - I actually agree with you re busy roads but until someone is confident out there, I'd stick to the quiet routes (and even if it takes a bit longer - it's much more pleasant on the quieter roads).

As for quickest route to the City- depends where you are in SE23 - I'm down near the old Fire Station on Perry Vale and the quickest route for me is along Brockley Rise and over the Railway Bridge (turn left just after the Brockley Jack) and then along through Nunhead, down to Queens Road Peckham and up the Old Kent Road (I'm off Fleet Street so I head towards Blackfriars when I get to Bricklayers Arms but if you're in the City proper I'd advocate going over Tower Bridge (I used to be based over that way) as I always found the Tower Bridge approach much easier to navigate than London Bridge - I hate coming over London Bridge - easily my least favourite bridge to cross.

Yes, you're right, definitely start on the quieter routes. For a couple of weeks or so. I do find that the road surfaces are usually worse on sidestreets and the routes are more indirect. Cycle Route 23 is a quiet route into town and also goes through a couple of dodgy estates around the Old Kent Rd, so you take your chances whichever way you go!

Yes the route I described is good from 'west' FH. I sometimes go via Brockley too if I want a change of scene and can't be bothered with the big hill!

I don't agree about London Bridge / Tower Bridge though. Tower is much narrower, London Bridge has the bus lane although you do have to go through the squeeze under the railway bridges on the approach which is the most fun part of the ride :-)

This post was last modified: 04-04-2014 04:48 PM by clausy.

Maybe you're just braver than me - it's the squeeze on the approach to London Bridge that I hate.

And I may well be looking at Tower Bridge through rose tinted spectacles as I haven't worked in that part of town for over 6 years - my abiding memory is the bliss of whizzing past all the stationary traffic on the northbound approach when the bridge was up and being at the front of the queue when it all got moving again - clearly that can't have been an everyday occurrence!

My other half has been using Tower Bridge recently as his approach to London Bridge under the arches has been closed. A while ago the alarms started going off for the bridge to open, but he was waved on to cross. It was just him on the bridge and he had visions of it opening under him. He started pedalling faster in case he needed to do an Evil Knevil-style jump!

Well, I'm now the very proud owner of a little Brompton. I had to go into the office yesterday so I got the train to London Bridge and then took the opportunity to ride in the city when it's like a ghost town. On the way back I got the DLR to Greenwich and did the Walterlink Way to Catford. At times I got off and pushed where it crossed a major road and admittedly I got the bus back from Catford to London Road but it's a start! Just waiting for Lewisham Council to contact me now about the training, I'm sure this is their busiest time. Evans Cycles speak very highly of Lewisham's training, apparently they were one of the first to offer it.

The Waterlink Way is pretty good for anyone who hasn't tried it. Not all picturesque but largely off road or quiet roads and Ladywell Fields is lovely.

Does anyone know about cycling along the Thames Path? I've read conflicting information online but it seems like cycling might not be allowed. Seems crazy to me, it would be great to ride along the river and surely most of it can accommodate walkers and cyclists?

re. Cycling along the Thames Path - it depends on which section. The bit from Greenwich to the Thames Barriers has (mostly) separate cycle paths - but depending on the bank and the section you're attempting to ride through, you might not be so lucky.

I can certainly recommend the Greenwich -> Thames Barriers ride though on a sunny weekend afternoon. Nice pub stop on the way back too.

Thanks ryan, I will definitely give that route a try.

Well done Thorners! It's a great start. And Sunday was a lovely day for a ride.

I'd thought most of the boroughs had contracted out the training to the cycleinstructor company but I did get mine through Southwark so perhaps Lewisham are different.

Thames Path - it's not allowed on most of the bit through Central London (Tower Bridge to Battersea) although unless it's v busy and so long as you go very slowly and get off when it narrows/there are lots of pedestrians, you'd probably get away with it. There are some back roads on the South Bank with decent cycle paths.

@rhsdunlop - the mental image of trying to clear Tower Bridge on a cycle has made me giggle!

Fact: In 1952 a double decker bus jumped over Tower Bridge - it was just after it had started to open and the gap was about 3ft.

I'm happy to report that my OH is considerably smaller than a double-decker bus.

Thorners, you may find this helpful as to why you may want to cycle in the middle of the road sometimes.

Link

Don't bother reading the comments section though, it was end in the usual car v cyclist nonsense!