Good routes through the city

Having just moved here from New York City, one of things I noticed in my first week of cycling in London is that it is much less obvious what the fast routes. In Manhattan there are certain avenues, like 1,2 and 9, where you can easily ride uninterrupted for 30 blocks at a steady 20 mph. Here traffic seems to be much more stop and go, but I am sure there are arteries that are faster than other roads. What are the main routes that you guys use for getting in/out of the city? One of the reasons I'd like to know is that it might influence where I look for flats.

London is all about picking a line.... there is always traffic, or pedestrians but u get used to seeing the line through them and what they are going to do next

Move south-east, it's where the magic happens.

SE is a huge area. Which neigborhoods or postal codes? I don't want to move somewhere boring.

'Nah mate, I don't go south of the river...'

ducks and runs from south of the river types

get in the east massive e2 e8 e9, pretty close to the city.
btw the trick about london is learning to slide trhu traffic like an eel and master the art of safely skipping lights.

Samsonite 'Nah mate, I don't go south of the river...'

ducks and runs from south of the river types

I agree

come over towards camberwell and brixton, south london is where its at. but then again im probably just saying that. you should really head towards east london, around brick lane and such, thats where everything really happens, but only if you one of those "hipster" types.

oh yeah, as for routes through london, try and avoid oxford street as theres always loads of buses and taxi's on it and nothing goes very fast down it, even on a bike. other than that just skip loads of lights and you should get where you want to pretty fast.

danger joel i agree with you on camberwell and brixton. brick lane is a bike theft black spot especially for fixed bikes as it's getting hip in hipsterland. kids down south are more used to dual suspension or BMX :P

lots of people diss souf london never really experienced it.

but i don't agree with oxford street - it's fun and good training for picking lines and plenty of pavement if you want to break the law (for a bit), loads of peds to scare off and loads of cabbies to piss off! and you can always shoot down soho and back.

run along the embankment north of the thames should normally get you around quite quickly from kensington all the way east, but it could get really boring there's no traffic to play in.

i live in st. reatham myself, but its so close to everywhere in south london so i dont really notice. i see what u mean about oxford street... but i still hate it, one good route is st john street, it cuts straight from the meat place all the way up to the top of city road, really usefull somtimes, another thing to remember is how easy it is to get all the way from blackfries bridge all the way to london bridge and even tower bridge by going along southwark st.

if you ever have to go across the west end, you will love wigmore st.

i like london wall in the city beacuse it reminded me of roads in the usa, big

Thanks for all the advice. Any good routes out to the North?

As far as traffic lights are concerned, I am puzzled because most cyclist here seem to obey them, even in cases like turning on to a roundabout where you can easily slip by.

jonaent (Jon) London is all about picking a line.... there is always traffic, or pedestrians but u get used to seeing the line through them and what they are going to do next

?? Do you mean like the bits in Donnie Darko where he has his future path waving around in front of him all purple and shinny like?? Doesn't really make much sense, I find it doesn't work trying to read pedestrians minds. Ocasionally I do try to tap into there inner soul and ask them to throw £20 notes at me, but agiain, it doesn't seem to work.

risi Thanks for all the advice. Any good routes out to the North?

As far as traffic lights are concerned, I am puzzled because most cyclist here seem to obey them, even in cases like turning on to a roundabout where you can easily slip by.

north where, hampsted road up to camden is pertty good, so is eversholt street, kingsland road to get to hackney from the city is really quick, and it goes up into stokey and tottenham.

i would segust locateing around hackney, or dalston.

oh yeah and thoes things in the hivis vests stopped as trafic lights are comonly refered to as comuters, synomous with poor cycleist. just watch out ffor cops, if you cannot prove uk residency they can arest and deport you over tafic violations... but i never got cought

risi Thanks for all the advice. Any good routes out to the North?

As far as traffic lights are concerned, I am puzzled because most cyclist here seem to obey them, even in cases like turning on to a roundabout where you can easily slip by.

Blimey... That's a can of worms.

As with making tea in a pot, queueing for pleasure and being constanly amazed by the weather, I like to think stopping at traffic lights is one of the marks of a true British Gentleman.

When else does one find time in heavy traffic to light a pipe and smooth down the tweed?

Or we could avoid becoming a cliché cycling forum and just skip the red light debate and put it down to personal opinion. Some debates have no right or wrong answer.

velocity boy Or we could avoid becoming a cliché cycling forum and just skip the red light debate and put it down to personal opinion. Some debates have no right or wrong answer.

seconded.

I propose that every member of londonfgss should sign agreement to always respond to the 'do you jump lights' question with a different answer each time: "yes", "no", "maybe", "only on tuesdays", "23.4567% of the time on a sunday and on alternating third mondays of the month" etc.

that way we could never really get a debate going. Simple.

As for me, I jump lights when a swan is in my direct line of vision, unless the moon is gibbous.

roland [quote]risi Thanks for all the advice. Any good routes out to the North?

As far as traffic lights are concerned, I am puzzled because most cyclist here seem to obey them, even in cases like turning on to a roundabout where you can easily slip by.

Blimey... That's a can of worms.

As with making tea in a pot, queueing for pleasure and being constanly amazed by the weather, I like to think stopping at traffic lights is one of the marks of a true British Gentleman.

When else does one find time in heavy traffic to light a pipe and smooth down the tweed?[/quote]

Oh, in that case I understand everything.

Did anyone see the article in Chap magazine about the Tweed Cycling Club?

Found it:

"For today's cyclist, skin tight lycra may promise a reduction in wind resistance but also in decorum. A reflective yellow vest guarantees high visibility, but who would wish to be seen in such a garment? Certainly not the members of the Tweed Cycling Club. The Club's wheelmen and ladymembers wish for a return to the honest virtues of lugged steel, dynamo lighting and canvas saddlebags. A stout pair of plus fours offer day-long comfort while a Fair Isle vest takes the chill out of a frosty spring morning. Merino wool moves smoothly over a leather saddle. As the Club passes the village green, a jaunty cap is doffed. The only performance-enhancers are warm beer and woodbines. "

http://www.tweed.cc/

I am very much enjoying that site...

"Bicycle technology reached its pinnacle in the early 1970s and everything since then was just marketing."

I live up in Dalston and really like it. Getting a bit arty farty but still a great place. Good value for money too i think, and if you want a bit cheaper go more towards stoke newington or Hackney central. Around mare street / london fields is nice too

Regarding bike routes I commute Dalston - Mayfair every day and I ride:

Dalston - Balls pond road - essex road - Rosebery av - theobalds road - High holborn - Shaftesbury Av - Mayfair

Record times: dalston - mayfair: 22mins, Mayfair - Dalston: 19mins

photoben Did anyone see the article in Chap magazine about the Tweed Cycling Club?

Have any of you read 'The Chap Manifesto' by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood? It looks like they're the ones responsible for the Tweed Cycling Club too, though I couldn't see any concrete evidence of authorship on the Tweed pages. Anyway, I can heartily recommend 'The Chap Manifesto' -- it's littered with pearls of wisdom on such diverse topics as 'dressing for reading', 'the semiotics of smoking' and 'trouser semaphore'.

If I may be so bold as to paraphrase their comments on choosing a car:

"As any Anarcho-Dandy knows, profundity can only be discovered in the surface of things, and when it comes to cycling it is the dash that you and your vehicle cut that is of prime importance.

"When buying a fixed-wheel bicycle forget prosaic notions such as age, condition, etc. and concentrate on important things. That is, its colour, lustre, the presence of chrome and the aesthetic beauty of its lugwork. Bicycle design has hit a bit of a nadir in recent years, and it seems likely that your basic requirements may only be fulfilled by a vehicle that pre-dates 1972, when the art of bicycle design effectively died. An older bicycle also has the advantage of travelling at sedate speeds more conducive to neo-foppist reverie.

[...]

"It is almost certain that you will find yourself at one time or other made an object of ridicule by local boy racers too dull-witted to understand the sanctity of your mission. This should only have the effect of spurring you on to greater heights of aestheticism. [etc...] "

Well, I imagine that such sentiments might find some sympathy on this forum!