Cycle commute across town, route question

razil

Just recently started a new job in Ladbroke Grove.

Want to cycle but unsure best quiet roads to get from Blackheath area to Westminster. Am an experienced cyle commuter just prefer to avoid the nasty stuff. Use to commute to London Bridge and through Southwark Park. Could go that way but it’s longer.

Any tips welcome please

Rothko

From experience, via Peckham, Camberwell and Vauxhall, then up toward and through Hyde Park.

Decent bus lane from New Cross to Vauxhall, where the cycle segregation is massively improved.

razil

Thanks, will give a few routes a try

swords_alive

For what it's worth the tfl journey planner recommends cycling along willow walk, north of the A2 then through Borough, for both moderate and fast route suggestions, (assuming blackheath and Ladbroke grove rail stations as end points).

cafcdave123

just take your bike on the train mate

i_b_b_o_r_g

New Cross
Old Kent Road
Elephant
Back of Waterloo
Westminster Bridge

JorgeCosta

I used to cycle to Westminster from New Eltham via Blackheath. I would go via Deptford market, through the park at New Cross, through Folkestone Gardens along the road that the New Den is in along Catlin Street croas the Old Kent Road and go to Surrey Square. On to the old Heygate estate then straight over Walworth Road. Cross the road at the cycle route along Brook Drive Come out by the Imperial War Museum. Turn right then left up to Lambeth Bridge then straight over into Westminster.

harveys_gardener

Is it not possible to cycle along by the river? You certainly can from Tate Modern. Then Battersea Bridge and Hyde Park.

Baldybonce

I used to go through the Greenwich foot tunnel then turn left. More or less one road all the way.

razil

harveys_gardener said:

Is it not possible to cycle along by the river? You certainly can from Tate Modern. Then Battersea Bridge and Hyde Park.

No and what there is is cobbles or full of pedestrians both of which slow you down if you ride over them..

cantersaddick

cafcdave123 said:

just take your bike on the train mate

Don't fucking do this.

Utter wankers do this at rush hour and deserve to be run over by their own bike.

EastStand

cantersaddick said:

cafcdave123 said:

just take your bike on the train mate

Don't fucking do this.

Utter wankers do this at rush hour and deserve to be run over by their own bike.

You also can't do it - non folded bikes aren't allowed on most TFL/National Rail services into/out of London between 7:30-9:30am and 4-7pm. If you do see people with bikes they'll be there when they're allowed to be, or the plonker at the gate didn't do their job of informing the passenger of this rule.

If I was avoiding large roads I'd do this:

Leroy Ambrose

Avoid side streets like the plague. Far, far more dangerous than main roads, despite appearances. The traffic on main roads in London generally isn't going fast enough to kill you when it invariably pulls out on you without looking - avoid going up the inside of buses and lorries, keep your wits about you and make use of bus lanes wherever possible. If you choose side roads you are much more likely to get t-boned, left hooked or close passed. All this assumes you have a road bike, of course. If you don't, and have something that can withstand broken glass, flints, bits of metal and you don't mind wiping dogshit off the tyres, use river paths and cycle lanes wherever possible. At least until you get used to the roads.

And yeah - don't take your bike on the train at rush hour. That's a massive dick move in London

razil

The whole idea is to ride not train.. take your point on side streets. I’m interested in new cycle lanes /routes though and in areas I’ve not cycled

_nam11

Always wondered about this. Want to cycle from Bromley to St Paul’s, but wasn’t sure the “safest” route,..

golfaddick

If you can't take your bike on the train, why not get a bike rack & attach it to the back of your car.......

simples.

razil

Ok first attempt this morning took 1:40 lot of traffic in and around Trafalgar Square and finding best routes added time - reckon I can do it in 1:30 maybe quicker on the carbon road bike.

Route waypoints were
Start Falconwood, Greenwich Park, Rotherhithe, Southwark park, Waterloo Bridge, Strand, Mall, Hyde Park, Nottinghill gate (now realise why it’s called that) Ladbroke Grove. Over an hour at peak, about 1:30 in cardio.

Think I’ll try Blackfriars/Embankment next time

Red_in_SE8

I ride my bike from Greenwich to Hyde Park 2 or 3 times a week at the moment for exercise/leisure purposes. My priority is to do as much as possible on cycle lanes and river path. I reckon I achieve this with only about 5% of the ride being on roads. And even then those roads are very quiet and safe.

I go under the foot tunnel. Up the river path on the Isle of Dogs to Canary Wharf. Along Narrow Street. Join the CS3 cycle lane that runs alongside the DLR on Cable Street up to Tower Bridge. Join the new completely segregated cycle lane on the Embankment that takes you to Westminster. Cross Parliament Square completely safely using the traffic light controlled cycle lanes. Turn right onto Horse Guards Road, left onto the cycle lane on the Mall, right onto the cycle lane on Constitution Hill and across Hyde Park Corner into Hyde Park. I feel very safe using this route. It is completely unaffected by traffic or weather conditions. The only danger is other cyclists.

Charlton_Charlie

@Red_in_SE8 that's my experience too when cycling in London (daily commute from Greenwich to Holborn)...other bloody cyclists..particularly on the cycle lanes where there can be room for 2 in each direction if both are experienced riders, but there's always some fucking knob head who wants to come belting past you/at you in the wrong lane...

The only designated cycle lane I actually use runs over Blackfriars and then up to Farringdon and it's by far the worst part of the journey...(mainly bus lanes all the way from G/wich to Tooley St, then nice, big, wide Southwark St to B'friars bridge..)

razil

Trekked through Peckham on the way back thanks to the CF that is google maps cycle mode, never again

Huskaris

I go from Westcombe park and go through Greenwich, Deptford, Surrey Quays, Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, then accross Tower Bridge and hit the East-West superhighway. Pretty decent ride.

FishCostaFortune

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

New Cross
Old Kent Road
Elephant
Back of Waterloo
Westminster Bridge

Cycle from Eltham to basically the imperial war museum most days and this is basically the route I take.

Some days the traffic can be a bit rough, especially around New Cross (especially on the way home) and parts of the Old Kent Road, but all in all its not that bad a ride.

You can avoid some of the Peckham/Camberwell traffic by going down the Surrey Canal next to Peckham Library and into Burgess Park.

Taxi_Lad

Whichever route you decide, just stay out of my way. Bloody cyclists!!!!

Leroy Ambrose

Taxi_Lad said:

Whichever route you decide, just stay out of my way. Bloody cyclists!!!!

Just left hook them, let a passenger door them, or do a u-turn in the middle of the road without indicating and knock them off. Bloody taxi drivers

Crusty54

If you go through the City of London don’t be tempted to ride on the pavement or jump a red light. City Police do issue fines.

Leroy Ambrose

Crusty54 said:

If you go through the City of London don’t be tempted to ride on the pavement or jump a red light. City Police do issue fines

It makes actual cyclists who do obey the rules look fair game for whataboutery.

Fixed that for you

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

Leroy Ambrose said:

Taxi_Lad said:

Whichever route you decide, just stay out of my way. Bloody cyclists!!!!

Just left hook them, let a passenger door them, or do a u-turn in the middle of the road without indicating and knock them off. Bloody taxi drivers

I can't visualise this left hook option.
Surely would be a right hook out of a right hand drive vehicle.
Or do they leave their vehicle to deliver the blow?
Or do they get a passenger to do the deed as you pass on the inside?

razil

Took the Greenwich foot tunnel then cs3 option this morning, far more pleasurable but see what you mean about the cyclists.. might join it at Blackfriars instead

Leroy Ambrose

Six-a-bag-of-nuts said:

Leroy Ambrose said:

Taxi_Lad said:

Whichever route you decide, just stay out of my way. Bloody cyclists!!!!

Just left hook them, let a passenger door them, or do a u-turn in the middle of the road without indicating and knock them off. Bloody taxi drivers

I can't visualise this left hook option.
Surely would be a right hook out of a right hand drive vehicle.
Or do they leave their vehicle to deliver the blow?
Or do they get a passenger to do the deed as you pass on the inside?

Left hook in the car. By turning left across you in the cycle lane

razil

noticed this on TFL - quiet route South of the river

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/quietway-1-south-map-waterloo-to-greenwich.pdf

also CS6 is now open

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/cs6-ns-map-september-2018.pdf

and this is the proposed route for CS4 which has got a lot of support in the consultation period

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/cs4/user_uploads/cs4-overview-map.pdf

razil

Took the carbon fibre rb today, lycra'd up.. took longer (went slightly different quiet route through borough, missed Westminster bridge and had to double back from Vauxhall I think).

Might be a tad quicker and was more fun on the big straights, but I stress about damaging the bike on rough city roads, the light steering at high speed and cobbled speed traps some bike lanes have.

Also not much of a work out and barely broke sweat over 16 miles, could be all the stop start though.

Will try the quicker (but longer) route home on cycle routes and see if its worth using the rb rather than my alu commuter..