Cycling in London

I cycle to the office in London when I need to go there. It's fun, healthy, environmentally friendly, gives your body a great lift for the day, faster then the train, and cheap. However, I have heard people say cyclists are a nuisance in London. That they cause accidents and that they all 'jump' red lights and so on. This is evidently not the case. Undoubtedly some do behave badly, but the majority [including me] comply with the laws of the road, whilst trying to protect themselves from other road users who are not so considerate. We're not all lycra wearing urban warriors.

It's interesting how the hazards a cyclists faces change as the journey goes through different areas. My route home starts in the City and for the first mile or so pedestrians are the biggest hazard. They step out into the road without looking and often with iPods in their ears so they can't hear your bell, whistle or shout. It's a real problem and is not the cyclists fault. For the next couple of miles it's buses and coaches - especially London buses which seem to think the normal courteousies of the road don't apply to them. They indicate without moving, move without indicating, pull over in front of you without warning and so on. However well they are being driven I always give London buses a wide berth as I'm not convinced they can see me anyway. Further out of London it's white vans who seem to think every cyclist is on a mission to stop them getting home. They often pass dangerously close and try and overtake when there isn't room. Ironically, they never get very far as traffic is so slow in London they come to a stop a few hundred yards down the road anyway.

Anyway, rant over. The main point of this post was to link to the excellent City Cyclists site which conducts a much more thorough analysis of the issue and the response of the City of London police. Well worth a read.