London - or we face stereotypes

The stereotypical London is perpetual rain and drizzle—meaning slippery concrete and perpetually wet clothes. That wasn't my experience. I commuted to work in London every day for about 18 months. I got soaking wet twice. I also drove through a thin layer of snow. Yes! Driving on the left. Yes. This can be a problem if you're going to London for the weekend and haven't gotten it right. Recently (during a short weekend in London), while turning right (the most dangerous of all cross-traffic turns), I almost collided with another cyclist turning left. He probably also usually rode on the right, so it took us a few dangerous moments of passing before I realized I had to yield and move left. Living there, driving on the right doesn't occur to me. Who does? Mostly students, so people from all over the world, but also businessmen on their Brompton folding bikes, packing them onto the tube and then cycling sections of their usual route. There are hipsters on "fixies" in Shoreditch, the artistic class with mudguards made from plastic bottles and wearing mismatched socks. Those who can't afford the tube, and those for whom cycling is a lifestyle, a healthy alternative, ride.

  Running red lights? A perennial topic in London. Is it slow? No. Is it safe? Yes. There was even a discussion in the local press about whether it shouldn't be officially allowed, because after all, it's a low-risk approach, and sometimes by running a red light, we improve traffic flow. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-views-of-the-week/cyclists-red-lights/ I once witnessed a speeding cyclist, most likely going through an early red light, while a pedestrian stepped onto the road before the light turned green, unfortunately seriously injuring her. Such situations happen, and unless we're completely focused on everything around us, it's always better to stop. A red light for late-night returns, when there's no one around and no traffic, is different than during rush hour. Drink-driving? Yes. Slow? No. Will the police stop us? Not either. The police once stopped cyclists after dark. My Eastern European instinct was to hide from the police. Meanwhile, these men were marking bikes for free – and they set up a special spot along a heavily used bike path to make it as convenient as possible for us cyclists to take advantage of this program. Do they steal them? Absolutely. Sometimes, we saw just the frames attached to the bike parking rails. Or just the frame and the rear wheel. We're familiar with these images from Warsaw and Krakow, too. My bike was "sleeping" in the kitchen. But London is a safe city – I left my reflective vest in the basket when I locked my bike. I once left my bike parked and locked on Liverpool Street for three whole days while flying to Poland. Upon my return, I found a note in the basket complimenting my bike. Once, I parked my bike in Soho for two hours, and the vest disappeared. My fault.

Bikepacking - what is this action?

Infrastructure – there are bike racks everywhere. Besides the most popular "twist bikes" in Poland, the most common are "by design" bike racks designed for two bikes. I learned in London that you can lock four bikes to such a double rack without bothering anyone! Cycling in the city isn't a sport. It's an alternative. An alternative to overcrowded tube cars, traffic jams, and the morning crush. Especially in a city like London, where a monthly pass for two zones is a staggering sum. Back then, it cost me about 120 pounds, and I managed to buy a used bike in working order for 70 pounds. It was a Royal Enfield (an American ex-soldier friend later told me it was a brand that made rifles and motorcycles in the 20th century). The bike probably weighed as much as I did, but it remained faithful to me throughout my London cycling career. Beautiful, black, with gold lettering, a white Brooks saddle, and a wicker basket. The mandatory helmet was given to me by my London flatmate, who also cycled everywhere and had two helmets. Bus lanes are painted red and serve a dual function – a bus lane and a cyclist lane. Before each traffic light, a dedicated area for cyclists allows them to start from the traffic lights before cars and buses depart. The number of cyclists is such that before a legal line forms along the curb – bike weight and tire thickness are a factor – whoever has a racing bike or road bike will be first, and clearing this pseudo-traffic jam takes a surprisingly long time. I always started last on my Enfield. But there's no pushing; everyone simply starts at their own pace and politely moves into the available space. It's worth noting that car traffic consists mainly of taxis and delivery vans. London has had a congestion charge since 2003. Expensive. And less smog. Previously, I was used to getting everywhere by tube or train. London is a very sprawling city. And thanks to cycling, I've experienced it from a completely different perspective. So what if I'd lived in London for over four years beforehand, knowing the city only fragmented – in places where I'd crawled out of stuffy tube stations, stuck together with other commuters? If it weren't for my cycling adventure, I'd return to Poland knowing London like an island. Cycling has given me a better understanding of no other city. The city is essentially flat, although riding from south London to Old Street, the so-called Silicone Roundabout in east London, was a bit of an uphill climb. I climbed across Southwark Bridge, past the then-headquarters of the Financial Times. I cycled through the Square Mile, the historic City guarded by dragons on every corner. But returning across London Bridge, with the Shard (then) under construction – a dream; a smooth descent! In London, the day begins later than in Warsaw. I associate this with the fact that the sun rises later and sets later. Cycling to work at 8 a.m. provides a glimpse of how the capital comes to life. My route led, among other places, through next to Smithfield Market, which was just then filling up with trucks carrying goods. At the 7 a.m. traffic lights, you can strike up a conversation if it's just the two of you, and a helicopter lands right next to us with a huge noise. My neighbor at the lights told me it was a delivery of diamonds to the bank located there. Maybe it's true, or maybe it's a made-up story. But it brightens the day. In summer, at the themed café "Look Mum! No Hands!", which is combined with a pub, a bicycle repair shop, and a themed shop (with cycling jerseys, socks, etc.), the Tour de France is shown on large screens. Look Mum! No Hands! ( https://www.lookmumnohands.com ). London has a place for everything. Both for brands such as Rapha ( https://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/ ) and Cyclechic ( https://www.cyclechic.co.uk ) with clothes and gadgets for all weather conditions and styles, as well as for regularly organised tweed bike rides - "Tweed Run London", where special etiquette and clothing are required ( https://www.tweedrun.com ).

Worth a look - Amsterdam by bike, tips and tricks

I experienced the 2012 Olympics in London. The advantage of a bicycle – every barricade can be bypassed, avoided, and enough space found to pass through. Something that would be impossible with a car or motorcycle. Besides, the bicycle glides by silently and almost unnoticed. Commuting to work, to social gatherings, to the shops, to concerts during the wonderfully mild London winter and pleasantly cool summer taught me that I need a hat on my head below 15 degrees Celsius. Cycling gives you freedom, because leaving the house you don't have to wonder whether to take the tube, the bus, or what the traffic jam will be today. Traffic jams don't affect us. Because you can bypass every traffic jam, dismount if necessary, shoulder your bike, and walk where you can't ride. After my last visit to London, when I rode a Boris bike (the equivalent of Warsaw's Veturilo, its name stems from the program's introduction when Boris "Brexit" Johnson was mayor and was seen riding one), I know that many new paths have been created in the meantime, already painted blue – thus, exclusively for cyclists. I recommend exploring London from the saddle of a bike – you can see much more than the traditional way, such as by tube or bus. And safe cycle paths can be found on the maps available on the official Transport for London website. Epilogue What did I return from London with? With the dream of my own custom-made bike – fast and with thin tires... (Although after several bike-packing trips around France and its wonderfully developed cycling infrastructure, I changed my dreams somewhat to a fast, stable, and lightweight bike, but with more versatile tires, but that's another story). I naively believed that cycling in the city was absolutely safe, and that no rain (or even a small amount of snow) would scare me. For now, I'm riding Warsaw's paths and gravel roads on a 40-plus-year-old aluminum Kettler, a city bike whose huge advantage is its weight, and its drawback is its limited gear range. But dreams of a new second bike are meant to be fulfilled... written by Julia Blondoner https://blondoner.wordpress.com https://www.instagram.com/juliaxix

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