Yeah tack, do you pass close to where I live or do Shepherd's Bush> Holland Park Avenue > West End?
If it's a proper folder you could get onto the North London Line at Kensal Rise or somewhere even handier and do it in winter too.
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>>bendy buses. It takes ages to pass one when they are at a bus stop, but when half way along, they just pull out
I don't suffer bendy buses, but when local buses pull out like that on me I find a couple of thumps on the side with a fist does the trick. If the driver doesn't hear it, they usually hear the passenger ;>)
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Wood Lane, Shepherds Bush Green, Holland Pk roundabout up, thro' Bayswater Rd, (partially thro' Hyde Park) Marble Arch, Seymour St, Mortimer St, Gower St then through Holborn, down to Ludgate Circus, St Pauls, London Wall and into Liverpool Street.
No idea how many miles that is. Took just about 1 hr....but that is because I obey traffic lights and generally don't ride like a twonk.
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Six miles I'd say off the top of my head, perhaps a bit more.
I thought you might take a more northerly route across the middle of Ladbroke Grove and then to Marylebone Road, but your route is probably better give or take the odd Marble Arch... you may find quieter routes parallel to (e.g.) Oxford St that won't be any bother on a bike. But I've never tried it as a regular thing and doubt if I will now.
Well done, by the way. It should do you good, but for heaven's sake be careful. I agree that the tube in rush hour these days is even more hellish than it was when I used to take it myself every day forty years ago or more. You could smoke on the tube in those days, and people did.
Edited by Lud on 25/06/2008 at 21:30
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The worst thing is getting on the overhead at Liverpool Street, sweating like a pig, T shirt like a wet towel.....blotchy red face, then sitting next to a really attractive and fragrant young lady! Oh dear. No chat up lines I can think of in those circs' other than "I don't normally sweat like a hog, but your fragrant presence is masking my musky arm pits"
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More like seven or eight miles. Sorry, I failed to take in that you normally use Mortimer Street to bypass Oxford St.
If you can find a route through the top end of Mayfair and Gt Marlborough St/Soho you will be more on your correct line, and can just take it from there perhaps even through Covent Garden at the right angle down to the Aldwych and straight through from there. Might take a bit of learning though and be more trouble than it's worth.
I repeat, well done.
Edited by Lud on 25/06/2008 at 21:39
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Tack wrote: '..Took just about 1 hr....
Would take me a lot longer for two reasons.
1) Lack of fitness.
2) I'd be stopping every few hundred yards anyway to look at something, investigate a side street, etc etc.
What an absolutely fascinating journey, and then there's the interaction with others you get on a bike which you never get from the inside of a glass and tin box.
Brilliant, Tack, I don't do envy, but if I did....
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Holland Park Ave/Bayswater Rd has some really interesting looking bars and restaurants which I have vowed to visit. I have walked a few occasions from White City to Marble Arch. I may well take advantage on my next walk.
There is some fantastic architecture in that part of town and the vibe is really good too. You can take advantage on a bike....on foot, but not in a car.
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If you peel off your route by 5 minutes at the right time of evening tack I know a nice bar or two. But I wouldn't want to spoil your training.
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From one Bromptoneer to another - chapeau!.
Tfl produce a useful set of London cycle guides. Should be possible to paralell some of the busier routes but often means zig-zaging about a bit and expermenting. It took the post 7/7 closures round Tavistock/Russell squares to incentivise me to explore Gordon St - Malet St as alterntaives. They're a little slower but avoid the constant accelerate/stop business in heavy traffic and the worst of the dumb tourist off the kerb stuff.
Edited by Bromptonaut on 25/06/2008 at 22:15
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RL Stevenson said "to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive". I do like to experiment and duck and dive here and there to be pleasantly surprised by what I come across. This is the advantage of a bike I suppose. As you know, the city has lots of nooks and crannies you can go down just to see what is there....things you wouldn't do in a car.
My car spends the working week in the garage and only comes out at weekends. Not really sure why I still own a car, especially with fuel costs, tax, depreciation etc. I am tempted to give it up and just cab it, or hire for high days/holidays as necessary. This is a first for me, something I have never considered before.
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Tack wrote: 'There is some fantastic architecture in that part of town...'
Indeed, you pass Tony Benn's house on Holland Park Avenue and Richard Branson lives just off.
Nearer Marble Arch is Tony Blair's house, but that's probably a good reason to take another route.
Speaking of which, are you allowed along Oxford Street? That's direct through to Holborn, but imagine it might be a no-no because of too many pedestrians/buses.
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it all sounds like a game of mornington crescent to me :)
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Had my first touch today. In right hand lane to turn right at lights, Red Merc' sprinter undertook me then turned right in front of me, no indication, squealing tyres, boom boom music, actually touched my handle bar. How I didn't come off I don't know. Followed at discreet distance til I caught up with him, then gave almighty whack on side with my palm and shoved my hot red sweaty angry face in through his window and gave him my best RSM hairdryer treatment! I think he poo'd himself, which is fair punishment to be honest, cos I nearly did when he cut me up.
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I repeat: be careful tack. Give them all a wider berth than they seem to need, and when delivering criticism stay out of reach and on your toes just in case. Or have your own 'sawed-off ten-bore loaded with Blue Whistlers' (Mark Twain) ready in your innocent-looking handlebar basket.
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Bad luck tack, you were doing all the right things - keeping your lane and behaving like a vehicle. IME this sort of thing is pretty rare. Had a close call was with a bus in Kingsway last week; driver was a clown but it was partly my fault as I lost concentration for a second and, too close to the kerb, gave him the chance to ignore me.
Edited by Bromptonaut on 26/06/2008 at 23:21
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keeping your lane and behaving like a vehicle.
Mistake. Bicycles aren't really vehicles, they are rapid wheeled pedestrians. I try not to run over or menace them when I am driving, but it isn't always easy.
A friend who visited China ages ago, when Mao was still alive, quoted someone there as saying that there 'wasn't any traffic' in the West. Turned out that what 'traffic' meant was bicycles.
You have already indicated that you are a law-abiding cyclist, tack. But there may be times when a cautious swoop along a bit of pavement or through a chain store might save a few yards as well as your, er...
Some may object but I don't as long as the machine is conducted with a measure of elegance and decent courtesy to other pavement users. .
Edited by Lud on 27/06/2008 at 02:53
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Bromptonaut - If we ever cross paths, I am the 6'3" 16.5 stone behemoth on the little bright yellow Brommy, blue helmet, rucksack on back, sweaty red face. Give me a tinkle on yer bell.
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I am the 6'3" 16.5 stone behemoth >>
Aah, now I understand why the van driver further up the thread 'poo'd himself'.
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>>>Aah, now I understand why the van driver further up the thread 'poo'd himself'.
yeah, and I don't know how he said he didn't see me, I mean, you don't even need a sign on the back of my bike warning a "wide load"!
Normally, I am quite laid back and wave these things off, but the fact that he actually hit my handlebar made me go get him. All I did was shout at him; must have been the adrenal gland working overtime, but really I wanted to punch his lights out for almost depriving my kids of a father.
Daft sod I am, I felt sorry for him later for having to deal with Mr red faced angry head.
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On a similar note:
I was once driving down a longish road in London looking for a street number, so driving slowly, swerving a bit, etc.
Guy behind starts flashing, waving arms, etc.
I slam the brakes on - making him stop - jump out of my car, charge up to his driver's door and open it...
Trouble is, I've already run out of steam, so I gave him a quick lecture, to which he replies 'yes mate, yes mate' several times.
The encounter finished with me thanking him and closing his door.
Still, better that than a punch-up, because you never know which way that will go and what the consequences could be.
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