This morning's commute and other commuting stories

All the snow melted away and then froze to ice two days later. Everything now covered in 5 cm thick ice. Studded tyres helping a bit but it takes a bit of zen getting used to my commute being 30 mins instead of 15 now. At least the wider range cassette I got has proven useful.

If the people who are responsible for the tunnel, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets Councils decide to permit cycling, then fine.

However, cycling is currently prohibited - and this prohibition is very clearly advertised throughout the tunnel. To ignore this prohibition is quite simply anti-social (ie, you are intentionally flouting or ignoring perfectly reasonable socially-established rules of conduct). If you cycle through the tunnel, you are therefore a cunt. Simple.

(Just to be clear, I am not accusing you, Scrabble, of improper behavior - edited for clarity)

.

I see your point. However I generally object to the fact that "no cycling" or "cyclists dismount" signs seem to pop up everywhere, particularly where a few cyclists would be no big deal or even preferable to maintaining safe cycle routes.
There are two examples near me at the moment. An alley, which is rarely used and wide enough for three abreast, allows you to cut out using either an A road or big diversion. It's only 30 meters long, but has a no cycling sign. I ignore it every day. I've never had any issues and no one has even nearly died.

On the main road by my house they've just dug up the road side cycle path for about 50 meters. In its place is a large "cyclists dismount" sign. Why? There remains a perfectly good road. What is should say is "cyclists merging, do not overtake unless safe".

My beef is, no cycling signs seem very easy to put up, but often don't seem to have been properly thought through or even remotely necessary.

Finally, flagrantly disregarding them can lead to change. There are examples of one way streets being made two way for cyclists because many would go the wrong way up them with no accidents or issues. At the tunnel, they may only be looking at formaly allowing cycling because so many people seem to be doing so without incident.

Ramble babble over.

The thing is, I can think of nothing that can be easier to police / control than stopping people cycling through tho Foot Tunnel.

The thing is, managed permission usually works better than prohibition and enforcement. I don't know yet what the Councils are planning to do, but without doubt they wouldn't have the funding to enforce, anyway. It's open 24/7 and you can't use automated number plate technology, which is the main mechanism for passive-ish enforcement available to authorities.

If the combined might of Greenwich and Tower Hamlets Councils can't stop a few self-important middle-aged fat blokes in bright yellow cycling through a tunnel that's about 6' wide, we don't have a chance of stopping the Jihadists!

Generally, when you prohibit something and don't constantly enforce it, you'll get decent people following the prohibition and those people whom you really wanted to stop will only carry on doing what they've been doing. In cycle campaigning, we've seen that a lot with environments like parks, and the Foot Tunnel is similar in that respect, although obviously a completely different environment. Personally, I'll welcome permission to cycle through and will of course ride carefully and courteously.

I'll start every post with 'the thing is' tonight. :)

There are two examples near me at the moment. An alley, which is rarely used and wide enough for three abreast, allows you to cut out using either an A road or big diversion. It's only 30 meters long, but has a no cycling sign. I ignore it every day. I've never had any issues and no one has even nearly died.

Kynaston Avenue?

As my fellow commuters can't be trusted to follow simple rules, I can't for one second believe that they can be trusted to behave 'responsibly', should they be left to their own devices.

It's not only cyclists who use the foot tunnel, there are pedestrians, tourists, school children, mothers with prams - the full spectrum of human existence. The foot tunnel is narrow, so for comfort and safety, cycling down there is not a good idea.

What I see, every day, is inexcusably selfish behavior, by a large number of people, who cycle aggressively through the tunnel. It's currently prohibited, so responsible people should respect that prohibition, and I don't think there are any valid arguments for permitting riding through the tunnel (unless, of course, you are a cunt).

I like to think "we should be able to cycle everywhere". The issue comes when you think of the huge variety in riding styles from responsible cyclists who will slow/stop when passing people to utter cunts who ride straight at people dinging a shitty bell. It's not great but I can see why they ban everyone to stop the few.

This sounds like you've been bullied into accepting fault for when plod has to explain the dent. You could make a proper police complaint saying you were full of adrenaline and bleeding from a head injury and aren't happy with being taken advantage of.

ACAB

How's the Old Kent Rd in the morning rush? Moving soon, so my commute to Lambeth Bridge area will either be OKR or Peckham/Camberwell/ Oval.

@Antidotes you go that way?

Unfortunately, we cannot be allowed to cycle everywhere.

Just outside the foot tunnel is Cutty Sark Gardens, where cycling is also prohibited.

During the week, Cutty Sark Gardens is a large, flat expanse of concrete, and one would question why one shouldn't be allowed to cycle across it. But at the weekend, Cutty Sark Gardens is packed with people, and cycling can be hazardous.

Leicester Square is the same. You just can't allow individuals (the majority of whom are retards) to make decisions. You have to have socially determined rules, and once you do, you have to enforce them.

Anyway, I am drinking now, so I am going to leave it for a bit.

Unfortunately, we cannot be allowed to cycle everywhere.

The thing is that I quite agree, it's just a question of how to manage shared use (that one will run and run).

The main problem in Cutty Sark Gardens (or 'Cutty Sark Expanse of Paving') is really posed by the steps. If it was a fully-level square, shared use would be much easier.

Good shout @Clockwise

Yep I do the OKR both ways for the 9-5 rush hour. I'm personally a big fan of the OKR, pretty much just one big straight line sprint.

Few things I would say, for a start it's certainly not short of any traffic lights, some days you're blessed and on others you can hit every red light.

Also there is a lot of bus lane to absolutely batter down but do watch out for a few left turnings where cars would have a habit to make a quick turn in front of you. Once you know the turnings are there there you'll always be ready though.

Road surface West bound is lovely, East bound on the other hand is a bit shit in places.

When schools are on, the OKR can start to get busy at about 8.15am, usually its not really a problem for us on a bike but there is a certain point on the lanes next to B&Q that can get a bit tight.

In the evening towards the New Cross end it can get busy, prepare for a lot of filtering and pleases and thankyous with very well mannered motorcyclists.

All of that said, I fly up and down it every week day, it's brilliant for commuter racing and I always get left alone by cars and such.

There's never a dull moment though it's a road that's lots of fun, breaks up the day nicely.

While I'm at it, I used to do Peckham/Camberwell/Oval/Kennington to Lambeth bridge and it was death.

Brace for impact in Camberwell and Peckham because people just stand in the road in the evening.

Dangerous cycle "infrastructure" up towards Oval and in Kennington, also very death, the roads are too narrow and lot of cyclists and motorists just don't have a clue what is going on around them.

I swapped to the OKR route after one particularly bad morning in Kennington where I saw two separate cyclist crash incidents, one nearly taking me out in the process

Awesome. Thanks for the OKR love poem. I currently ride from Peckham through Burgess Park and Portland St, and it's certainly much nicer than the A202.

Thanks for the OKR love poem

Haha cheers, I've already been ribbed via what's app for that post.

Yeah I used to to Rodney St and Burgess Park when I lived in Peckham. I fell off in Burgess park in the pitch black one winter evening, I was doing a grand total of 2mph when it happened and I broke a knuckle and a rib. #funfact #csb

Parks Antidoes has bled in list...

Burgess - tick
Crystal Palace - tick

The cycling prohibition at the entrances to the tunnel, and in the tunnel itself, should go.

These rules are stupid, not people who choose to ignore them. People need to be given responsibility to negotiate space properly and safely. Maybe it's the assumption that WE NEED RULES ALL THE TIME is what makes people ride like pratts, perhaps because once they've already broken the rules by riding, what the hell?

The only enforcement should be to make people not ride like selfish pratts. This is also really pretty easily done given the political will to engender a positive cycling and pedestrian culture in this city. There are rules around shared-use spaces, and they need to be transmitted and if necessary enforced. We must not stop people riding absolutely. BIG difference.

FWIW I sometimes observe the rule there and sometimes I don't. At this point in time, neither approach is satisfying.

Whatever you do in the morning when riding.
Don't lean

I'll start every post with 'the thing is' tonight. :)

Then we get immediately:

Kynaston Avenue?

You've failed already.

Totally agree

enter code here

Just ridden through the woolwich tunnel now, after finishing work. This is my new commute route. Theres no way im walking at this time of night the tunnels desserted. From what I have seen so far (this is day four) its mainly only cyclists that use it anyway, oh and a tramp that sleeps on the steps, south side.

We must not stop people riding absolutely. BIG difference.

Obviously, I do not think that we should stop people riding absolutely. However, to think that in our current society we can rely on individuals to make rational, socially responsible decisions is simply naive.

For example, many cyclists think it is OK for them to ride on footpaths crowded with pedestrians, of through a pedestrian crossing - something you see every day in the city.

For this reason, for better or worse, we need rules and these rules need to be enforced. At the moment, the rules in the Foot Tunnel (Foot Tunnel, the clue is in the name), prohibit cycling, and should therefore be observed.

If the rules change and cycling is allowed, I will be fine with that.

However, for what it's worth I don't think the rules ought to be changed. What I see every morning is not a group of rational, socially motivated cyclists riding carefully through a shared-use space; rather I see a group of vacuous; self-important individualist determined to get through their journey in the least possible time without any regard to the needs of others.

That is the result of decades of Thatcherist ideology, and I can't fucking abide that.

Having to take the bus for the first time since 2014.

How can people do this every day?

(And the trains even worse)