Cycling in heavy traffic

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to

say

Quoted message said:

that I absolutely love it! So far, my only problems have been a couple of bus drivers refusing to
acknowledge that I need at least a *few* inches on the road thankyouverymuch and a couple of Volvo
drivers who have kept at

the

Quoted message said:

same speed as me, not giving me anywhere to go when there's a car parked

up

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ahead in front of me. Delightful.

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go down Holland Park Avenue
briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has been at a near standstill, with barely a foot of
space to the left of the cars. With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about
cycling down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However,

I've

Quoted message said:

noticed a fair few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow speed

is

Quoted message said:

caused by a lack of experience, but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic.
Quite how DO you do it?

If nothing else, I really hate holding up other cyclists whilst I plod along. (I also dislike it
myself, preferring speed over comfort on these journeys).

Many thanks, Thomas, who can't even drive and finds this "highway rules" thingymajig

very

Quoted message said:

intriguing...

You may have seen me flying down the same stretch! But on the pavement. Whether you are a car driver
or cyclist there are always some who will fly. I cycled in to work through Shepherds Bush when we
had that bad weather and I had to give up on sheet ice but still some guys went flying by on their
bikes! The stretch you mention is a fast stretch which sometimes snarls up, yesterday and today
being examples. It's alway due to traffic in Shepherds Bush going down to Hammersmith - the Uxbridge
Road is usually fine. Anyway there are only 2 options there - pavement or on the other side of the
road. I find there's never a clear run down the left hand lane due to buses, lorries and cars well
over or down the middle for the same reason. I prefer to take an average pace on the pavement. Also
had my only accident since I started cycling into central London on that stretch - hit a kid who ran
out in to the road on Halloween a few years ago! It's really not worth going too mad there just to
save a minute on the ride home.

Anyway - I go by there about 6:30-7:00 so if you are there at that time let me know. Would be nice
to meet someone from here on the road not on the computer.

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However,

I've

Quoted message said:

noticed a fair few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow speed

is

Quoted message said:

caused by a lack of experience, but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic.
Quite how DO you do it?

I don't know the roads that you are describing but if there is heavy traffic moving very slowly I
overtake on the right, not the left. Signalling if necessary and only if I can overtake without
coming into conflict with oncoming traffic of course.

Mark

Thomas said:

Hi all,

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to say that I absolutely love
it! So far, my only problems have been a couple of bus drivers refusing to acknowledge that I need
at least a *few* inches on the road thankyouverymuch and a couple of Volvo drivers who have kept
at the same speed as me, not giving me anywhere to go when there's a car parked up ahead in front
of me. Delightful.

I heard a horn close behind me coming home from work today, I looked round to find a volvo
close behind in the bus lane I was in. It's amazing how slow you can go when there's a strong
head wind. :-)
--
Mark

In message <[email hidden]>, Thomas <tom@[at].invalid> writes

Quoted message said:

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go down Holland Park Avenue
briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has been at a near standstill, with barely a foot of
space to the left of the cars. With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about
cycling down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However, I've noticed a fair
few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

Personally I avoid narrow bits of road between the cars and the pavement if I can - and if I can't I
take care - car passengers are liable to open a door without looking behind properly in these
situations, or a car pull over to let someone out without warning. And anyway, usually sooner or
later a bus or lorry ends up to near the kerb to pass.

If there is a cycle lane marked then it's usually better as there is a bit more space.

I go for either overtaking on the right, or filtering between the lanes of traffic, depending on the
situation, space etc.
--
Chris French, Leeds

Thomas said:

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go down Holland Park Avenue
briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has been at a near standstill, with barely a foot of
space to the left of the cars. With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about
cycling down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However, I've noticed a
fair few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

Well, they're stupid and pushing their luck. Each one of them will most likely come a
cropper one day.

You should "understake" slowly and carefully (when safe) like you are doing, or overtake on the
other side, or wait behind, or find another route.

~PB

By the way, don't feel at all guilty about holding up faster cyclists anywhere. They enjoy the
excuse to have a rest for a while! :-)

~PB

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

Quoted message said:

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go down Holland Park Avenue
briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has been at a near standstill, with barely a foot of
space to the left of the cars. With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about
cycling down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However,

I've

Quoted message said:

noticed a fair few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow speed

is

Quoted message said:

caused by a lack of experience, but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic.
Quite how DO you do it?

I go down and up the full length of Holland Park Avenue everyday - downhill in the mornings and
uphill on the way home. You can get standstill traffic in either direction at either time of day,
but mostly I find it tends to be on the downhill Shepherd's Bush direction side of the road. What do
I do? I go past any which way I can, wherever there's the most room - I may go left, right, or
middle - it's two lanes in both directions, and usually do a bit of all three, switching lanes as
necessary. Today it was pretty much standstill in the uphill direction and I mostly rode up along
the chevrons in the middle of the road. The only thing to be aware of is motorcycles doing the same
thing coming either way.

I do not take to the pavement. I generally do not overtake standstill traffic at speed and certainly
not where there's no room to manoevre - kerb side or in the middle between two lanes. Going downhill
you can get quite a good speed up on Holland Park Avenue - I frequently touch over 30mph when
traffic is flowing - but I wouldn't consider it when traffic is at a standstill, even if it were
possible on the outside.

Rich

"Richard Goodman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

Quoted message said:

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go

down

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Holland Park Avenue briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has

been

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

at a near standstill, with barely a foot of space to the left of the

cars.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about cycling down this pit, but I
find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However,

I've

Quoted message said:

noticed a fair few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting

pace

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

down there.

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow

speed

Quoted message said:

is

Quoted message said:

caused by a lack of experience, but I'm also curious about passing

heavy,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

slow-moving traffic. Quite how DO you do it?

I go down and up the full length of Holland Park Avenue everyday -

downhill

Quoted message said:

in the mornings and uphill on the way home. You can get standstill

traffic

Quoted message said:

in either direction at either time of day, but mostly I find it tends to

be

Quoted message said:

on the downhill Shepherd's Bush direction side of the road. What do I

do?

Quoted message said:

I go past any which way I can, wherever there's the most room - I may go left, right, or middle -
it's two lanes in both directions, and usually do

a

Quoted message said:

bit of all three, switching lanes as necessary. Today it was pretty much standstill in the uphill
direction and I mostly rode up along the chevrons in the middle of the road. The only thing to be
aware of is motorcycles doing the same thing coming either way.

I do not take to the pavement. I generally do not overtake standstill traffic at speed and
certainly not where there's no room to manoevre -

kerb

Quoted message said:

side or in the middle between two lanes. Going downhill you can get quite

a

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good speed up on Holland Park Avenue - I frequently touch over 30mph when traffic is flowing - but
I wouldn't consider it when traffic is at a standstill, even if it were possible on the outside.

Rich

That's 3 of us on this route then in this thread alone. How about a meet one evening somewhere on
that stretch?

Quoted message said:

That's 3 of us on this route then in this thread alone. How about a meet

one

Quoted message said:

evening somewhere on that stretch?

I'd be 'up' for it - literally ;-)

Rich

In "]news:[email hidden], Thomas <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot]
uk> typed:

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to say that I absolutely
love it!

I'd noticed from your comments elsewhere. Nice to see you here, especially within 2 weeks of getting
a bike or however long it is.

Quoted message said:

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow speed is caused by a lack of
experience, but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic. Quite how DO you do it?

On the right, if at all possible. As the traffic starts to congest up, there will still normally be
enough room between the two cars to move towards the right hand side of the lane and pass them,
assuming oncoming traffic allows
it.

If the traffic's not moving very fast in the first place, it's probably best to be in between the
cars in the first place, rather than to the left of them.

Quoted message said:

If nothing else, I really hate holding up other cyclists whilst I plod along. (I also dislike it
myself, preferring speed over comfort on these journeys).

If it's narrow enough to be difficult to fit between the cars, then it's almost certainly best to be
going at walking pace. People can step off the pavement or open a car door or walk between two vans
and get in the way and hurt you as well as themselves.

Quoted message said:

Thomas, who can't even drive and finds this "highway rules" thingymajig very intriguing...

That doesn't stop plenty of other people from getting behind the wheel of a car 🙂

Have fun on the commute,

Ambrose

Thomas said:

I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic. Quite how DO you do it?

Anywhere there's space. After a while you'll probably be able to find the "line of least resistance"
without having to think about it, but watch out for kamikaze motorcyclists, especuially at this time
of the year when they haven't quite got Mad Sunday out of their systems yet. The one I overtook this
morning got quite upset about this state of affairs. I imagine he got even more upset when Plod
pulled him over.

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Quoted message said:

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to say that I absolutely
love it!

Ah, but of course. That's the only reason **to** cycle really.

There's a book you should check out of the library, or even buy, John Franklin, "Cyclecraft, Skilled
Cycling Techniques for Adults". The Stationery Office, 1997

Jeremy Parker

Thomas said:

but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic. Quite how DO you do it?

on the right, with the motorcyclists. I quite often see the same m/bikers and I'm sure they're used
to my cycling "style". I very rarely undertake unless there's a cyclelane and then it'll be at a
much slower speed. My latest route from Blackfriars is staying just north of the river all the way
to Wandsworth Bridge ( then wimbledon and Worcester Park ). When the traffic is light and there's an
easterly breeze it's a lovely part of the journey.

davep

Thomas' tom at greysheep dot co dot uk said:

Hi all,

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to say that I
absolutely love it!

Great, wish I had a job where I could!

Quoted message said:

So far, my only problems have been a couple of bus drivers refusing to acknowledge that I need at
least a *few* inches on the road thankyouverymuch and a couple of Volvo drivers who have kept at
the same speed as me, not giving me anywhere to go when there's a car parked up ahead in front of
me. Delightful.

Anyways, on my cycle back to Shepherd's Bush, I have to cross and go down Holland Park Avenue
briefly. On quite a few evenings, the traffic has been at a near standstill, with barely a foot of
space to the left of the cars. With the traffic moving pretty slowly, I'm not too worried about
cycling down this pit, but I find I have to go *very* slowly to do so. However, I've noticed a fair
few of the other cyclists going at a decent commuting pace down there.

I'm at rather a loss as to what to do about this. I presume my slow speed is caused by a lack of
experience, but I'm also curious about passing heavy, slow-moving traffic. Quite how DO you do it?

Legally, on the right. We drive on the left and overtake on the right in this country. But we all
know that this is not always the way things work. Undertaking is fine, if there's room we all do it,
but I'd suggest that when this happens, be careful and watch for those cars turning left, if they
clatter into you with this manovure.. .....tough. Most important thing is to be as *aware* as you
can, and if you ever find yourself in a position where you're just about to 'chance' something -
don't. Hold up, and wait until you feel happier about doing it. Good road sense helps so much. Being
a car driver helps too
- you have insight into 'driving bad habits' :-)

In all honesty, when I think about how many cars have passed me as a cyclist, I find most motorists
to be basically ok, it's a minority that are problematic.

Have a good trip!

bob

"the Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thomas said:

Hi all,

I've now been cycling to and from work every day in London. I've got to say that I absolutely
love it! So far, my only problems have been a couple of bus drivers refusing to acknowledge that
I need at least a *few* inches on the road thankyouverymuch and a couple of Volvo drivers who
have kept at the same speed as me, not giving me anywhere to go when there's a car parked up
ahead in front of me. Delightful.

I heard a horn close behind me coming home from work today, I looked round to find a volvo close
behind in the bus lane I was in. It's amazing how

slow

Quoted message said:

you can go when there's a strong head wind. :-)

Heh, and strangely enough this is one of the things I definately *don't* remember from cycling a few
years back - wind REALLY slows you down... being stoopid, it actually took me a while to work out
quite why I wasn't going as fast as usual the other day. D'oh.

Thomas.

"Stephen (aka steford)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If nothing else, I really hate holding up other cyclists whilst I plod along. (I also dislike it
myself, preferring speed over comfort on these journeys).

Many thanks, Thomas, who can't even drive and finds this "highway rules" thingymajig

very

Quoted message said:

intriguing...

You may have seen me flying down the same stretch! But on the pavement. Whether you are a car
driver or cyclist there are always some who will

fly.

Quoted message said:

I cycled in to work through Shepherds Bush when we had that bad weather

and

Quoted message said:

I had to give up on sheet ice but still some guys went flying by on their bikes! The stretch you
mention is a fast stretch which sometimes snarls

up,

Quoted message said:

yesterday and today being examples. It's alway due to traffic in Shepherds Bush going down to
Hammersmith - the Uxbridge Road is usually fine. Anyway there are only 2 options there - pavement
or on the other side of the

road.

Quoted message said:

I find there's never a clear run down the left hand lane due to buses, lorries and cars well over
or down the middle for the same reason. I

prefer

Quoted message said:

to take an average pace on the pavement. Also had my only accident since I started cycling into
central London on that stretch - hit a kid who ran out in to the road on Halloween a few

years

Quoted message said:

ago! It's really not worth going too mad there just to save a minute on

the

Quoted message said:

ride home.

Thankfully, I'm on the road for barely a minute, I've always experienced heavy, slow-moving traffic
there. For some reason, I find this really messes with my head. Most strange.

However, I'll agree that it's damned good fun powering it down there at the weekends - so far, I've
used it to get to Hyde Park a few times and the journey home is always enjoyable :-D

Quoted message said:

Anyway - I go by there about 6:30-7:00 so if you are there at that time

let

Quoted message said:

me know. Would be nice to meet someone from here on the road not on the computer.

Coincidentally enough, that's usually the time period I find myself cycling down there. Certainly
wouldn't mind meeting up en route for a couple of pints 😉 I'm cycling from Swiss Cottage, so
anywhere around Holland Park / Notting Hill's pretty easy for me if that's any good.

Thomas.

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

By the way, don't feel at all guilty about holding up faster cyclists anywhere. They enjoy the
excuse to have a rest for a while! :-)

Hehe, good then, glad to have some support for my naturally guilty mind :-) Thankfully, I'm only on
that road for a minute or two, but some cyclists (deliberately or not) manage to really put me off.

Had one fella today who went zooming past me as I was waiting for a red light to change. The stupid
thing was that, after about a minute of waiting for the lights, it took me about another minute to
easily go past him. Some people tsk tsk tsk

Thomas.

"Thomas" <tom [at] greysheep [dot] co [dot] uk> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Heh, and strangely enough this is one of the things I definately *don't* remember from cycling a
few years back - wind REALLY slows you down...

being

Quoted message said:

stoopid, it actually took me a while to work out quite why I wasn't going

as

Quoted message said:

fast as usual the other day. D'oh.

The Dark Side is swifter, young Jedi. Wind resistance is futile!

--
Guy
===
I wonder if you wouldn't mind piecing out our imperfections with your thoughts; and while you're
about it perhaps you could think when we talk of bicycles, that you see them printing their proud
wheels i' the receiving earth; thanks awfully.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Richard Goodman
> That's 3 of us on this route then in this thread alone. How about a meet
one

Quoted message said:

evening somewhere on that stretch?

I'd be 'up' for it - literally ;-)

Rich

I'm usually going the other way between 6.30 and 7, on my way form Uxbridge to Rotherhithe, so am always looking for an excuse to have a rest (recently I've been getting punctures just before shepeards bush, so have had a bit of a rest)

Bryan