Sunday, November 13, 2022
This is a guide on Cycling in London (or really any major city for that matter).
The bottom line is: Just Do It (but also Ask for Help and the No. 1 Rule is: Eye Contact).
Individuals that work in bike shops tend to be extremely willing and able to help newcomers cycle in London. I went to Evan's Cycles near St. Paul's and I had a great experience asking all sorts of dumb questions to a chap named <>.
The best piece of advice I got, when I asked, "What is the most important thing about cycling in London?" was simply: "Eye contact." As a rule, if they can see you and you can see them you're good. If not, tread carefully. This includes drivers of vehicles (most notably) but also pedestrians and even other cyclists. You've heard of defensive driving? It is like that - be on your guard and do not assume that they have clocked you. There is a reason the "start seeing motorcycles" bumper stickers exist - and the same goes for cyclists.
For those of you wondering, my cycle kit is as follows:
Always good advise: Wear a helmet when you cycle or motorcycle
Insurance can be good, as bikes bet stolen in London a lot, but also you need to make sure you do things every time you lock your bike such as locking it perfectly and taking a geolocated photo of the bike locked.
You need to get a lock that is compatible with your insurance policy. If you don't have insurance don't worry about it. If you DO have insurance, you need to make sure that your lock is "strong enough" to meet the criteria that, if you bike is stolen, your lock was strong enough such that it theoretically should have prevented the theft. Or, put another way, your insurance policy attempts to reduce the likelihood that they have to pay for your stolen bike by adding a bunch of T&Cs such as lock quality. In my insurance policy it reads:
"TODO"
Pass on the outside, not on the inside.
If you have not yet, you should see if your employer does anything for the Cycle to Work scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cycle-to-work-scheme . I went for £950 all-in, which wound up being plenty for my needs.
In summary, you really need to "dive in" and just do it if you want to cycle in a major city like London.