You don’t have to be a fitness freak to cycle to work!

by Allan Mertner | 23 Apr 2007 | Permalink | Go Green

When I moved to London more than 10 years ago, I never seriously considered bicycling anywhere.  After all, the roads are narrow, the traffic levels are unbelievable, and the air is thick with diesel fumes from buses, lorries and taxis.  Worst of all, there isn’t much of a culture of cycling, which means that most motorists aren’t used to looking out for bicycles.

Of course, I come from a country where bicycling is a normal thing to do, rather than something that only health-fanatics might do. Admittedly, it helps that the bicycle lanes consist of more than a stripe of paint on a narrow road: wherever possible, Danish bicycle paths are separated from the road, something that benefits all road users.

So imagine my surprise when I joined Tideway and found that I had been wrong all this time: there is a bicycle culture in London and my colleagues have shown me that cycling can be a very nice way of getting to work.  At a guess, close to half of everyone at Tideway has bicycled to work at some point, and on any given day it’s at least 20% or so - more, if the weather is nice and the sun is out.

To try what it is like, you need just a few things:

• A reasonable bicycle.  Tideway uses and supports the CycleScheme, which allows you to get a quality bike tax-free - this can save quite a lot of money if you buy a nice nike.  If you just want to try it, perhaps you can rent or borrow a bike for a few days.
• A comfortable set of clothes. The important thing is that you don’t wear too much clothing though: if you are a bit out of shape, you will get warm when cycling.
• A good cycle map.  Make use of Transport for London’s route planner,  which has a cycle-only option.  The result is a reasonable route that avoids the big, nasty roads and intersections.
• If your sense of direction isn’t the best, also get a compass.  If your route is a bit complicated, it can be invaluable to easily find out where North is when you are a lost.
• You can also choose to get other gear such as reflective clothing, a bicycle helmet, etc, but I wouldn’t bother with this unless you decide to use it on a regular basis.

When you do finally set out, don’t try to beat the world speed record on your first week - you will be surprised at how fast you can get to somewhere even when cycling at quite a sedate pace. After all, you can cycle right past most of the queues of stopped cars and so achieve a fairly steady pace.  The TfL cycle maps assume that you cycle at just 15kph or 10mph.

Initially, I did find it hard to decide to try cycling (I kept thinking it would be too hard work), but I am now very happy that I did and have found it really is quite addictive!  Given the choice to have an invigorating 35-minute bike ride where I set my own pace and get a bit of free exercise in the process, it has to rain quite a lot for me to choose the smelly, congested and expensive Tube (£5 for the day, takes 45 minutes) .  The car is even worse - between the £8 congestion charge, huge parking fee, and congested roads, it just isn’t an option.

In summary, cycling in London is definitely an option, provided you prepare yourself for the experience, plan your route, and approach it with an open mind.  Not only do you save money on gym fees, Tube tickets and congestion charge - you also reduce your personal carbon footprint in the process.