View Full Version : How do you do it? First Capital Ride.
Jayneflakes
07-08-11, 11:37 PM
My best friend got married this weekend and we went up on the bikes, spending the night in a hotel. The wedding was in London.
The most busy riding I have ever done before was in Bristol, but London made that feel like popping into the village!
In no particular order, this is what scared the life out of me.
Mad Taxi drivers.
Lane changing drivers who switch right back again.
Scooters sitting in my blind spot then undertaking as traffic slows.
Buses that pass with in microns of my bike.
Pedestrians who walk out in front of motorists.
Not knowing where I was going and having to follow Carol who did.
[-o<
It was a brilliant wedding though and I proved that I can ride more that one hundred miles in a weekend. Got a thorough soaking in an Electrical storm as we passed Chippenham on the way home and a short while later, Carol told me off for speeding. It seems that my confidence on the road has increased some what. I am really getting the hang of this motorcycling lark. :smt104
I have driven in London and found it to be daunting. I think you just have to stand your ground when it comes to people trying to push in. Also it's the cyclists you need to be careful of, they think they are gods of the road or something. Loony bunch!
keith_d
08-08-11, 07:24 AM
Riding in London can be pretty stressful. It's the blind bus drivers that p**s me off. I can only assume that because it's not their insurance they see no reason to give way to anyone.
Bristol can be interesting too. I nearly ran into the back of a motorist who stopped to let a pedestrian cross the road. It was completely unexpected, after all you'd never see that in London.
Keith.
My best friend got married this weekend and we went up on the bikes, spending the night in a hotel. The wedding was in London.
The most busy riding I have ever done before was in Bristol, but London made that feel like popping into the village!
In no particular order, this is what scared the life out of me.
Mad Taxi drivers.
Lane changing drivers who switch right back again.
Scooters sitting in my blind spot then undertaking as traffic slows.
Buses that pass with in microns of my bike.
Pedestrians who walk out in front of motorists.
Not knowing where I was going and having to follow Carol who did.
[-o<
It was a brilliant wedding though and I proved that I can ride more that one hundred miles in a weekend. Got a thorough soaking in an Electrical storm as we passed Chippenham on the way home and a short while later, Carol told me off for speeding. It seems that my confidence on the road has increased some what. I am really getting the hang of this motorcycling lark. :smt104Now you know why us london rider are mental and are not phased in the slightest by most stuff. We is 'ard init
You survived, thats the main thing :lol:
Killer Zombie's drive London buses...
And Keith, I stopped at a zebra crossing in London and got passed on the inside and outside... scary place.
Killer Zombie's drive London buses...
And Keith, I stopped at a zebra crossing in London and got passed on the inside and outside... scary place.Yoou have to stop at Zebra crossings! No one told me :lol:
I for one wouldnt have london any other way. Hones the skills you see
Jayneflakes
08-08-11, 01:45 PM
Now you know why us london rider are mental and are not phased in the slightest by most stuff. We is 'ard init
You survived, thats the main thing :lol:
You are right, I survived, but I did have a lot of laundry when I got home! :cheers:
Anyway, I blogged about it too (http://carolandjaynes.blogspot.com/2011/08/congratulations-to-rachel-and-jan-with.html). Sick buckets at the ready for a fabulous Civil Partnership story about my lovely best friend Rachel. :smt008
Iansv II
08-08-11, 03:33 PM
I found riding in london quite fun. but wouldn't want to do it daily...
certainly hones your skills
Go Faster.
This means you don't get overtaken by other things, and is thus less stressful :D
To be honest being lost in a part of London I don't know at rush hour and then hitting a diversion is a pretty stressful, and when I started riding in London I felt pretty intimidated. Once you know where more places are and you get used to it then it gets to be fairly normal, and I find it good fun now :D
Jambo
MisterTommyH
08-08-11, 03:57 PM
I've only done it once, but thought it was brilliant fun.
Admittedly I wasn't making as much progress as some of the locals, but it beats going through in a car.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are bad enough so i can honestly say that i will never ever ride a motorcycle in London, Manchester, Leeds or any other large city down south. i have been to London twice in my life both of which i was not driving and both times i left with a desire to punch people. having said that i have met a lot of Londoners out on holiday and they are completely different people compared to the ones i have met in London.
Sir Trev
08-08-11, 04:38 PM
I have been to London twice in my life both of which i was not driving and both times i left with a desire to punch people.
I had to go the damn place yesterday and got the same feelings very quickly - trouble is it's the f*cking tourists that get to me as I had to walk through the central bit. They get quite irate when you just push them out of the way but as they swear at you in their native tongue I had no idea what they said. Serves them right for assuming that everyone wants to stop and take a picture of the Palace of Westminster Clock Tower NO IT'S NOT CALLED BIG BEN - THAT'S THE NAME OF THE BELL INSIDE IT YOU IDIOTS is what I found myself muttering under my breath, quite loudly...
I had to go the damn place yesterday and got the same feelings very quickly - trouble is it's the f*cking tourists that get to me as I had to walk through the central bit. They get quite irate when you just push them out of the way but as they swear at you in their native tongue I had no idea what they said. Serves them right for assuming that everyone wants to stop and take a picture of the Palace of Westminster Clock Tower NO IT'S NOT CALLED BIG BEN - THAT'S THE NAME OF THE BELL INSIDE IT YOU IDIOTS is what I found myself muttering under my breath, quite loudly...
see it was that attitude that got to me.. i grew up in the centre of Edinburgh so tourists don't bother me as i'm used to them, it was the locals that were complete knob heads barging past like they are the only people on the planet with no regards to other people. i must admit it was mainly 'city slickers' that were the worst and shop keepers were just plain rude.
metalangel
08-08-11, 05:40 PM
It is a London attitude thing... tube arrives in the station, I'm at the end of the carriage where there's just a single door, door opens... and there's a crowd of people standing there, a solid wall of them, wanting to get on. And I want to get off.
...
Oh well, I got off at the next station, and I imagine they got on the next train :p
Virtually 99% of all the riding I have ever done has been in London. I learnt to ride in London during uni. Recently moved back home to MK, and I feel like I can ride with one eye closed here...so much more of a doddle than central London.
My slow speed control benefited hugely, and London aint so bad if you're loud and fast...most importantly loud though.
Cycliststs, scooters and tourist pedestrians are the 3 worst things. These new barclays bicycles hasn't helped matters either.
Now you know why us london rider are mental and are not phased in the slightest by most stuff. We is 'ard init
You survived, thats the main thing :lol:
+1
christian1000
08-08-11, 08:01 PM
My first capital ride was Paris fully loaded 2UP, don't think I have ever been more stressed or focused so hard whilst on my bike. After the initial ride in, and once I turned off the satnav (and the distracting chatty mrs behind me , wittering in my ear "ooo look at that building and how pretty it is", whilst I'm trying to dodge the suicidal pedestrians :smt021) it wasn't too bad. Just got to get used to it and know what to expect
Have you ridden with the Soho bunch recently?
Sid Squid
08-08-11, 08:53 PM
The most busy riding I have ever done before was in Bristol, but London made that feel like popping into the village!
Fun ain't it!
Urban riding is a skill that needs to be honed like any other, some say it's inherently dangerous, I disagree, it's a very specialised skill that I've spent more than thirty years honing.
I love it.
Sir Trev
09-08-11, 04:33 PM
see it was that attitude that got to me.. i grew up in the centre of Edinburgh so tourists don't bother me as i'm used to them, it was the locals that were complete knob heads barging past like they are the only people on the planet with no regards to other people. i must admit it was mainly 'city slickers' that were the worst and shop keepers were just plain rude.
I grew up in the sticks where everyone stopped and said hello and looked out for other road users and other pedestrians. It's one of the reasons why I hate big cities where so many people assume nobody else matters. Hoards of tourists though are something quite evil in their own right - walking five abreast on narrow pavements, stopping to get a good photo angle without caring if they're in everyone ele's way, not looking where they're going and stopping dead in front of you for no apparent reason. After two hours of it I'd had enough, the elbows got used too much, and I hated myself for it afterwards. Thankfully I was finished my errands at that point and heading for home.
The roads in London are just as bad for us Home Counties types. I lived in Kinston-u-T for a year and hated the contant queues and hours it took just to get anywhere. Nowadays I don't mind going inside the M25 as far as, say, Sunbury to get to Spannerman but any trips further in to Town and I take the train. Sorry you London dwellers but you're welcome to the place.
DJFridge
09-08-11, 06:03 PM
Grew up in London and learned to drive there (third day, let's go round the Hammersmith one way system, shall we!). Moved out and then ended up with it on my patch as a rep. I'd need some persuading to ride there though. The combination of suicidal cyclists and despatch riders is bad enough in my motorised cage - I think I'll work my way up to biking slowly! So I don't have to bike slowly!
-Ralph-
09-08-11, 06:13 PM
London's fine, you just need eyes in the back of your helmet, and PAY ATTENTION constantly, to everything!
I'm slower than the London riders that do it every day, but that's the way I'm happy with it, it gives my eyes and brain the time they need to process the information overload and keep me safe.
May be doing it every day soon, so I guess I'll be getting quicker with practice.
Go try Mexico City!
The Guru
09-08-11, 06:19 PM
Dodge the bricks and petrol bombs and I'm sure you'll be fine.
SoulKiss
09-08-11, 06:21 PM
Watch this space for the AR: London 2012 bid :)
DJFridge
09-08-11, 06:24 PM
Watch this space for the AR: London 2012 bid :)
Go for it - much easier for me to get to!!
Sir Trev
10-08-11, 09:46 AM
Watch this space for the AR: London 2012 bid :)
As long as the site is a short walk from Marylebone station...
SoulKiss
10-08-11, 11:04 AM
As long as the site is a short walk from Marylebone station...
Goes to look up campsites in Regents Park...
Watch this space for the AR: London 2012 bid :)Woohoo. M25 rush hour ride :)
Fun ain't it!
Urban riding is a skill that needs to be honed like any other, some say it's inherently dangerous, I disagree, it's a very specialised skill that I've spent more than thirty years honing.
I love it.
This!
In the three years since I passed my test, probably 95 percent of my riding has been in and around Town (I do a year-round, daily commute). In many ways I actually prefer it to riding around country lanes.
Does that make me a bit odd?
This!
In the three years since I passed my test, probably 95 percent of my riding has been in and around Town (I do a year-round, daily commute). In many ways I actually prefer it to riding around country lanes.
Does that make me a bit odd?No. I miss it tremendously. Adrenalin rush like no other.
robbie09
11-08-11, 08:26 PM
Personally i leave with the mindset that im going to get to the front and stay there!
No place for shrinking violets in town! :D
BBadger
11-08-11, 08:41 PM
i miss the rush hour blats into town after awking up abit late. Nice way to wake you up and keeps you awake all day. Ofc it has its risks but i find move quicker than the traffic and peds with a finger ready on the brakes and your fine. ( just watch out for black cabs LEATHAL!!! )
And those who are intimidated you are missing out on traffic light GP and the tourists who stand in the middle of the road when a dozen bikes are hammering it towards them...priceless expression to be seen.
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