Moving out of London

Ha, so one of the links on that singlespeed outlaw site mentioned "Fearless Dog Eaters" and that immediately triggered my brain to think "fearlessgearless blog" which if you stick into google brings up my blog and conveniently links to:

http://www.fearlessgearless.com

I found this guy’s site today in some Vancouver blog collection. While I don’t necessarily agree with all his comments, most of ’em are pretty funny/cluey. He’s a singlespeeder/fixer AND anyone who can do this to their cranks gets much hippy respect! 🙂

Behold the Weasel Wisdom:

“Of course being a singlespeeder, not only makes you a sex beast, but it also makes you a better person in general”

So, he was in Vancouver and there was a small animal involved.

Yeah I think you get a test on arrival and wait in the hotel until you get the results. Then you still have to finish the quarantine elsewhere? So I guess we'll find out!

I got out on the bike at the weekend and it was glorious - it was just a pretty relaxed 20 miles but it was so, so refreshing compared to cycling around/from central London. Within 10 minutes I was out of town, some lovely rolling green hills and air that actually felt like it was cleaning my lungs.

i did always wonder about this forum and its affinity for london (obviously the giveaway is in the forum name). but i still find it odd that more people on here don't desire to be nearer good cycling locations. obviously employment in london is a big driver, but i am assuming that may change now post-covid.... I have lived in Guildford now for 3 years (after 7 years in Bristol) but assumed I would end up moving closer to London with work with the next house move. Just can't ever see that ever happening now with such great cycling on my doorstep (and quick train to london if required). Would seriously consider moving back to Bristol if work offered the opportunity though

The cycling proximity thing is an interesting one. Personally (when long rides were more likely and work didn’t prevent) I liked the feeling of riding hot 20 mins in order to break out into the country. It felt more special. Also riding bikes around a big city for pleasure or to commute is fucking brilliant!

I just started at HHV this time last year and it had a massive impact on how i felt about being in London. Genuinely enjoying riding my bike again and meeting cool people made all the other things worth it. If Covid puts a proper stop on it for the next few years it's going to be hard to find bike related (or many other) reasons to stay here.

@Wrongcog i just wish i could enjoy those things more. Most the time i duck out of a road riding because i can't face the Thundercunts for the first and last 30 minutes. I normally commute every day and when lock down kicked in my stress levels reduced notably.

Bristol

Needs a Velodrome

Its hard to live in a place who vote for an openly racist party though ..

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yeah I am jealous of Leeds. I think maybe all cities (Bristol too).

Also riding bikes around a big city for pleasure or to commute is fucking brilliant!

Million

Thanks for sharing this! It looks amazing, and would tick many of the boxes my gf and I are looking at re making our escape. But sadly 2 years too soon probably. If anyone fancies keeping it ticking it over until I can out everything together to make the move I'd be very grateful!

Cheers

I’m sorry to hear that’s how urban riding feels. And I totally get it... weirdly I’m way more nervous about loonies burning up the lanes without a care for cyclists than the brainless hoards crawling around London.

I liked the feeling of riding hot 20 mins in order to break out into the country. It felt more special

fair enough; but that then becomes 40 mins of crap riding per ride. where I live now, I can be in the Surrey hills in 5 mins. Means I can get really nice 1-1.5hr rides in after work when the days are a bit longer. I absolutely love it

Needs a Velodrome

really does!

we almost had a lib dem MP this time round.... stupid FPTP system pushed more people to vote boris in over corbyn last time round; rather than following their beliefs

totally agree. having lived in the middle no where and in a city, I wouldn't dare riding out down country lanes these days, city riding you just encounter idiots and minor incidents like you see all over youtube helmet cam videos + some serious incidents. country riding, you won't get pedestrians in your way ever but you'll probably get killed a hell of a lot easier. city riding is hella easy to deal with in comparison

city riding is hella easy to deal with in comparison

I've actually been saying this for a good while, in terms of actual risk the city at least feels more manageable than the big outdoors. Drivers (even the shit ones) are more use too sharing the roads with cyclists in general. Unfortunately I've just burned out with all the pricks on the road speeding, using there phones, tail gating etc. Even when it poses no threat to me kills my happy vibes.

It's largely to do with me. Growing up with a dad that thinks every other driver is gonna kill someone has made it difficult relax when riding or driving. The city isn't gonna change so unless I can I'm at a point where I'm thinking fuck it, I love London but it isn't good for me.

Francis Cade making the big move up Norf on Youtube. House looks mega, will be interesting to see how the change from London pans out.

Move somewhere where there's good off-road riding and it'll be problem solved! Unless you move somewhere it's incredibly muddy from october until april. Whoops.

As with many, the greatest “digital driver” seems to have been COVID and has proved to my employer that work can be done from (almost) anywhere. Looking for a bit more country side, but within commutable distance of central London. Spent some time in oxford (nice but pricey) and reading (meh), and Cheltenham (time). does anyone have thoughts on or experience of Chippenham?

Seen Stroud gets good reviews from others, but maybe to far away for semi-regular travel into London for now at least.

Mrs upsidedown is from there. It's fine, centre isn't amazing but there's nice villages around, though they're correspondingly expensive. Nice enough countryside, if a little featureless.

Live in Bath atm but looking to move to round Chippenham. It’s nice in terms of houses and has a good range of basic shops, but less on the cafe/restaurant/bar front and high street feels a tad ‘depressed’. Commutability to London is pretty solid with half hourly direct trains that take just over an hour.
If you’re thinking Chippenham, have a look at corsham. It’s a lovely little market town, still very close to Chippenham to get the train (as long as you don’t mind a small drive/cycle), has nice houses and punches well above its weight in terms of restaurants/shops etc. Also a concerted campaign to reopen the train station there.
Stroud and surrounding area is nice but equal parts fancy and alternative - I think Chippenham etc strike a happy balance.

Wait, your name is upsidedown, upside down?

That makes more sense than umop3something

Carry on

^this lol

Thanks Kimchi and @umop3pisdn for the insight. Did a quick streetview of the town centre and the buildings looked nice but it did seem a little tired. Maybe one to visit when we can travel again...

All the things I’d read mentioned the villages nearby. Think it may be a no-go as station access will be key, OH doesn’t drive at the moment.