Being Inducted Into The Cycling/Fixed Gear Community And Getting Around London On Two Wheels.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have been/to be in this position and I'm sure there's already a thread for this, but...

I've recently moved down to South East London to attend university and back home I'm a very keen cyclist and I ride both road and fixed. Moving to London and maintaining that 'keen-ness' in cycling has been difficult so far, in part because of how unfamiliar I am with how to get from A to B in this city and secondly because there just seems to be absolutely no one else about at the university I attend (Goldsmiths) who can show me the way and has that same passion.

So my question to all of you who are obviously very experienced in riding around London is:

• What is the best way to learn how to get around London?

• What clubs/groups are there around East/South East London which I can join that will 'show me the way' when it comes to smashing out the miles and/or generally having a good time on the bike?

Thank you in advance for your help!

British Cycling have a ‘club finder’ search function to find your local club(s)

Thank you for your help! I've used that and found Peckham Velo who seem to ride more regualryl than London Velo which is great!

Preotrius Bikes also do regular rides out east and into Essex.

http://pretoriusbikes.com/rides/

You could look into Dulwich Paragon or Brixton Cycles if you want a club, or any number of others that are based in the south east. Or Fixed Beers do weekday evening rides starting from Cycle PS in Camberwell. There's also a regents park laps thread on here where you might meet some people who like riding #lapsnotlanes.

Best way to learn London is to go out and explore. Use your bike for all your travels and keep your eyes open, it all soon links up and become relitivly easy to find your way around.

The official induction is getting drunk whilst attending a compass drinks, riding home and falling off (preferably with mild injuries, bleeding required), then submitting a hand-drawn sketch of your crash. Don't forget to include a turd in your drawing.

This seems like a great club! I'll perhaps think about heading out and finding my way to the meeting point of the club ahead of the weekend and perhaps tag along on a ride!

Thank you for your help! I'll look into whats what with the laps at regents and fixed beers...

Both would be great for safer mid-week riding seeing as we're getting fewer hours of daylight.

Drawing is my forté and you know me too well. turds are very prevelant and integral to my árt so I should smash this induction.

Getting a puncture a few miles from home with no spare tube or repair kit at 5pm on a sunday is a good one.

Go old skool an get an A to Z. Dose help put London together.

Disc and/or spoK front wheel are mandatory. Then just get out and ride tbqfh. Critical Mass on last Friday of the month ought to get you familiar with central.

Both wuld be great for safer mid-week riding seeing as we're getting fewer hours of daylight.

The mid week rides on here regularly head south east, and are well organised.

Which bit of SE London are you in?

For road cycling in a SE direction, worth looking up routes into Kent. The pub at Ide Hill is a good destination if you fancy a chilled out solo ride.

Never, ever, ever, rely on Google's cycling directions in London and/or Kent unless you like cyclo-cross. One day it'll take you down Pitchfont Lane.

Strava route planner is pretty good around London although it has a preference for main roads used by commuters. Those are fine in rush hour but not the best at quieter times.

Enjoy exploring!

The standard way out of town for the countryside is crystal palace, West Wickham straight on and you're there. Kent lanes to explore!

Main thing to learn London is to keep riding and you'll work it out. Always an element of getting lost and finding your way!

Dulwich Paragon, Brixton, London Dynamo are all big clubs in London.

Quiteway 1

I've recently moved SE, Brockley. Just learnt on a Sunday 8am roll out from Vidas bike shop in Honor Oak. Small group apparently pretty open to all comers.

Welcome to London!

The midweek evening rides @Backstop mentioned are discussed over there. Unfortunately I think there's only one or two left as we stop after the clock changes.

The compass drinks all have their own threads there.

The best way to learn routes through London is trial and error. Pick a land mark a good distance away, for example Selfridges on Oxford Street, then just try and get there. You'll have to stop and check the map loads of times. There's a handful of main routes through London, e.g. the Hipster Spice Route ™ East to West through Old Street and Oxford Street. Learning those will help.

e.g. the Hipster Spice Route ™ East to West

It pleases me so much that this phrase is still in use.

I'm located in New Cross! I'll definitely check out some routes to said pub. I'm already aware that the Kent countryside is a very good place to go for road riding on my side of London so I do want to get myself out there!

I ordinarily use city mapper with the 'personal' cycle preference switched on and this seems to already be far more sensible than google's route planner for cycling!

Thank you! And a huge thank you to everyone too for sharing your knowledge on the topic with me so I can begin to settle into city riding as opposed to riding round a suburban little town.

From New Cross, definitely give Q1 a go as @amey suggested - https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/q1-waterloo-greenwich-map.pdf

Maze Hill, Woolwich Ferry, Tower Bridge makes an unusual loop with lots to see.

Forest Hill has lots of hills for a quick (>1h) workout. Up to 18%.

I used apple maps satnav when I first moved to London. 1 headphone in, speaks out the directions to you.

Just get out and ride enjoy the place. It suddenly seems much smaller then first thought. Try and find a few social rides and you'll soon meet like minded individuals.