Do you have a favourite/nightmare place to ride in London?

Down the middle.. :)

Ride over the top of the cars.

Christ, where to start. The Highway @ 5.15 heading towards News International. Commercial Rd heading to the island, numpties are us. Chiswell St, lumpier than Benjys porridge. London wall westbound into a headwind 20 times a day. On the plus front, sweeping left from Shaftsbury avenue into the Haymarket then right in to Jermyn St, just a nice combination of curves when it works. Chiswick to Old St 7 in the morning on a Sunday at about this time of year, beautiful crisp Autumn morning cruising down Oxford St with your hands behind your head. Sweet.

Euston underpass on Euston Rd

Stood in our office kitchen overlooking the underpass on Friday watching a couple of astoundingly lost tourists pulling their suitcases up the island in the middle. It drew a crowd.

That's crayzee!

adoubletap [quote]Euston underpass on Euston Rd

Stood in our office kitchen overlooking the underpass on Friday watching a couple of astoundingly lost tourists pulling their suitcases up the island in the middle. It drew a crowd.[/quote]

They won't be coming back then.

Not alive anyway.. Future Darwin Award entrants?

I am pleased to announce that I was up all night with my wheelbarrow and spade, re-laying a section of Camberwell Church Street for the SE mahoosive.

THE WORLD'S WORST ROAD JUST GOT SHORTER!

It appears the Gods have heard our appeals.
I hope they do the entire stretch of it.

Worst:

E&C roundabout (although sometimes its good to me)
New and Old Kent Road
Weston Street round the back of Guys Hospital, lumpier than even Chiswell st!
Tower bridge (and Tower Bridge Road) - narrow and reverse cambers, hate it hate it hate it

Fav:
Richmond park, in fact any park
by the river between Ham and Weybridge
stretch of Balham high road just after the downhill at Clapham South - used to be horrible but now all lovely and resurfaced, love flying down there after the hill and up to Bedford Hill junction.
Round the City of london on a saturday.sunday night
anything in the middle of the night.

Love: coming along Chelsea Embankment/Grosvenor Road - if you get in behind a moped you can fly into work in no time.

Hate: Rotherhithe tunnel - never again.

After that Halloween ride I have got a new one - Swains lane, damn that is steep.
[img=http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/1386/swainopainzo2.jpg]

I did the Rotherhithe tunnel for the first time last night. I won't say never again....but it was a really godawful. But if anyone goes down there *always* go on the pavement.

Yeah pretty scary.
The full horridness of it only really hits you at the half-way mark when you start climbing.
Trapped exhaust, bad air, speeding cars, rubbish surface, blah, blah, blah.

Nightmare:
+1 for the Elephant & Castle r'bout (~£1k of dental work after a car-bike-tooth-tarmac incident in 2002... still wary)
Kennington Park NE from Oval to Kennington tube (down the white line with 2 lanes of maniacs on either side)
The Wands-way System (all of it really).

Fave:
Upper Richmond Road when it's not too busy
Richmond Park in the dark (but the deer should wear hi-viz jackets)
Kennington Park NE from Oval to Kennington tube (some nightmares are fun. Plus fear makes my legs go quicker)

noggin Nightmare:
+1 for the Elephant & Castle r'bout (~£1k of dental work after a car-bike-tooth-tarmac incident in 2002... still wary)
Kennington Park NE from Oval to Kennington tube (down the white line with 2 lanes of maniacs on either side)
The Wands-way System (all of it really).

Ha the white line of death! I have a love hate relationship with that every morning, similar going the other way when you have to get over to the right hand lane as it splits into 3, then always trying to beat the lights at the Junction outside Oval station - only managed it a couple of times and you have to be going some to do it.

clefty [quote]noggin Nightmare:
Kennington Park NE from Oval to Kennington tube (down the white line with 2 lanes of maniacs on either side)

Ha the white line of death! I have a love hate relationship with that every morning, similar going the other way when you have to get over to the right hand lane as it splits into 3, then always trying to beat the lights at the Junction outside Oval station - only managed it a couple of times and you have to be going some to do it.[/quote]

Oval to Kennington tube, this is how you do it;

1. Wait for the lights at Oval tube to turn green, there's no point jumping the right turn filter.

2. Roll forward towards the lights 25 metres infront of you - no need to go mad, but try and keep a clear line in front of you

3. Keep it rolling and look over to the right for the lights controlling the traffic that comes in from the right. As soon as these lights change start your sprint.

4. The lights in front of you will change as you go through them, you should be approaching 20mph by now - the cars are starting from stationary so you can pull a huge gap.

5. Check your shoulder, give a hand signal and pull right in time to hit the cycle that runs down the middle.

They key is to time your sprint so that you can pull a big gap on the traffic behind you.

Oval to Kennington tube, this is how you do it;

1. Wait for the lights at Oval tube to turn green, there's no point jumping the right turn filter.

2. Roll forward towards the lights 25 metres infront of you - no need to go mad, but try and keep a clear line in front of you

3. Keep it rolling and look over to the right for the lights controlling the traffic that comes in from the right. As soon as these lights change start your sprint.

4. The lights in front of you will change as you go through them, you should be approaching 20mph by now - the cars are starting from stationary so you can pull a huge gap.

5. Check your shoulder, give a hand signal and pull right in time to hit the cycle that runs down the middle.

They key is to time your sprint so that you can pull a big gap on the traffic behind you.

heh thats what I do coming in, got it off to a fine art now, just going back south is a bit of a bitch, actually thinking about it I always get hit by the next set of lights after that. Where the traffic coming from Lambeth North direction comes round.

I just moved to Mile End so am experiencing the joys of the E + C roundabout system on my new route to work. Out of 4 days this week, I've gone past my exit once, gotten off too early once, and gotten it right twice. Hmmm.

Love: The city/square mile on weekends. Going over any of the bridges at night. Hammering it down Constitution Hill and the Mall on the Sunday social rides. It's early days but maybe Mile End Rd from Mile End down to Whitechapel. Riding fast anywhere!

Hate: Bedford road. Worst road ever.

bump

Love: The smooth tarmac path leading down from ponds and basketball court at the top of Finsbury park as it slopes down left, then right, then curls back on itself as it goes uphill to the east. Do it at sunset listening to YouTube - phoenix - lisztomania brat pack mashup
by Phoenix. Rinse. Repeat.

Hate: Essex Road

Love:
– Regents Park, The Outer Circle on the way to work in the morning. Cool breeze, no traffic.
– Camden Road, either way, as long as it's down hill. And trying to get the speed cameras to flash on Parkhurst Road.
– Holloway Road, Bus lane to myself.

Hate:
– Any back streets between Lower Clapton and Highbury Corner.
– Queensbridge Road, long and boring.
– Columbia Road, well just the cobbles at the end.

Love - the whole of London its just sooo flat, dont know what you guys are whining about potholes just add to the fun, you should come out to the countryside sometime.

Love: Your Mum's French lace knickers.
Hate: Belly button lint that just can't be got at.

Love - hippy being my dad
hate - that he tries to touch me

we should nominate the favourites and have a ride of them, one thing is for sure it will be at night

@LPG - docklands is not good for bikes, i know the roundabout u mean. i think lots of that area is shit for cycles, too many lanes of cars with too much speed

ohh a favourite of mine is regents park, the outer circle, busy on the weekend with roadies, but fun to cycle in groups, going round and round and round and...

Yay - and they've re-surfaced the bumpy bit round by the Zoo. It's the only place central you can really get going and hold it there!

HATE - the lights by the zoo on sunny bank holiday mondays.....turned red with lemming peds on each of the last 3 laps of a 15lap sesh last monday! Groaning thighs agogo.

pre 5am putney to hackney.
recommended.
or in fact anywhere, in mid summer. good fun.