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Commute into London, UK

nelmo

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I love all the videos of amazing mountain rides etc but 95% of my riding is the commute to work, so that's all I have to show you :(

This was done with a very cheap camera (£15) mounted to the right-hand mirror stalk (with a £3 velcro mount meant for a bicycle :p ), so quality isn't great but pretty impressive for the cost.

Free beer to anyone who manages to watch the whole hour :cool:

[video=youtube;Il8lJKam8Oo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il8lJKam8Oo[/video]
 
Your cars are right hand drive right? The only thing I have to get used to is watch the car drive on the opposite side of the road than what we do. I've always been curious why that was not adopted in the US back in the early days. Thanks for the video. My bike is primarily used for commuting too.
 
I thought the folks in London liked their food fried. Not one time in your hour did I see KFC. Colonel Sanders is everywhere, but in London?

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Sanders.jpg

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There are plenty KFC chicken shops in central London but not sure about Surrey. The bigger fast food "restaurants" are located near to the entrance/exits of motorways. The zig zag lines prohibit overtaking at pedestrian crossings.

David.
 
Wow 26 miles in 1H 10M - I wonder how long it would have taken you if you weren't able to filter! You do this everyday?

I have other route options - a quicker route that goes on the M25 motorway that circles London. That route is 44 miles but takes 15 minutes less (and is VERY boring :( ). Otherwise, yes, every day, which is why I average 14k miles a year on my bike...

SergeantChuck, interestingly (or maybe not), I watched a program about why we drive on the left and you on the right and it's all the fault of those pesky Frenchies - you sitting comfortably?

Basically, it's all down to medieval knights - in England in the 14th/15th century, they fought from horseback, which meant controlling your horse and trying to kill people with your sword. Because most people (then and now) are right-handed, they wanted to use their stronger right hand to draw their sword, while using their left-hand to hold the reins. This meant they all attacked from the left-hand side, striking the enemy on their right. In England, this convention extended to drivers of stagecoaches, who used their whip in their right hand, so they sat on the right of the coach and thus passed other coaches on the left.

However, in France in the 18th century, Napoleon came to power and he was left-handed, so he forced all his troops to fight with their left hand; they all started passing each other on the right instead and left-hand drive was born. I guess you guys took after the French just to annoy us? :cool: :p
 
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I always freak out at the beginning of UK videos. What are you doing……you’re on the wrong side of the road…….you can’t make a left on red!!!!
After 3 minutes into the video you have seen more cars than I see all day. Then I’m yelling brake, brake!!! You are going to hit the car!! What are you doing weaving between cars!! OK, OK, settle down, they can filter. After 15mins I had to take a break. My nerves are shot.

I like the wavy lines at pedestrian crossings. We could use that over here. Also like the drag strip Christmas tree lights but that wouldn’t work over here with all the people that like to run red lights.
 
Your cars are right hand drive right? The only thing I have to get used to is watch the car drive on the opposite side of the road than what we do. I've always been curious why that was not adopted in the US back in the early days. Thanks for the video. My bike is primarily used for commuting too.

Just a minor fact for you. The reason we drive on the left here in the UK goes back to medieval times - jousting and sword fighting. As most people are right handed the sword was carried on the left hand side, but you would draw your sword across your body with you right hand in order to defend or attack. Napoleon, was left handed and was also a bit of an egotist and forced his army and the lands he occupied to change over to the right. So most of the world now drive on the right thanks to Napoleon.
 
Just a minor fact for you. The reason we drive on the left here in the UK goes back to medieval times - jousting and sword fighting. As most people are right handed the sword was carried on the left hand side, but you would draw your sword across your body with you right hand in order to defend or attack. Napoleon, was left handed and was also a bit of an egotist and forced his army and the lands he occupied to change over to the right. So most of the world now drive on the right thanks to Napoleon.
So were the French the ones that put the throttle on the right? Old Indian motorcycles had the throttle on the left to leave the right hand free for a pistol.
 
So were the French the ones that put the throttle on the right? Old Indian motorcycles had the throttle on the left to leave the right hand free for a pistol.

Ah yes I remember being told that about the old Indian motorcycles, so a police officer could draw his gun and aim.....:) Re the French, well they and the Germans were early pioneers of motorcycling - so probably.....:D.
 
I thought the throttle was on the left so you could give the finger with the preferred hand.

The throttle on the left saved Fonzi from going to jail because the real thief road off holding the purse in the left hand.
 
Made it to 30 mins. I'm catching up!

30 mins and not a single jacked up pickup. Weird. Unless I missed it don't think there were any pickups at all. Very weird.

Do some of the roundabouts have traffic lights?

How many different roads were you on?

And thanks, I was wondering why you were in the bus lane.
 
I live about 1 minute from you, off Lesbourne Road - I Commute in to Chelsea every day, I take the hill rather than the back route as I find it quicker - my average is 45-50mins. Only takes about 25 mins max to get to Wimbledon, then depends on traffic.

Go 217 - South Wimbledon - Tooting - Balham - Down through Clapham Common - Latchmere Road - Battersea Bridge - Sloan Square
 
Made it to 30 mins. I'm catching up!

30 mins and not a single jacked up pickup. Weird. Unless I missed it don't think there were any pickups at all. Very weird.

Do some of the roundabouts have traffic lights?

How many different roads were you on?

And thanks, I was wondering why you were in the bus lane.

Pick-ups fairly rare here - they're too big for our roads and uneconomical. Yes, some roundabouts have lights as well...

I managed 52 seconds, what do I win?

The Concentration Span of a Gnat Award, 2014? :D

I live about 1 minute from you, off Lesbourne Road - I Commute in to Chelsea every day, I take the hill rather than the back route as I find it quicker - my average is 45-50mins. Only takes about 25 mins max to get to Wimbledon, then depends on traffic.

Blimey, small world....:rolleyes:
 
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