How to be slimmer, richer, greener and the envy of your friends! (Bicycles (private))

Member Name: Walli10

Product:	Bicycles (private)
Date:	03/05/01 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast, healthy and green

Disadvantages: More dangerous than the tube

Now, bear in mind that having had a bike for less than two weeks, I'm a bit of a novice at this cycling in London business. I lived in Cambridge for three years where there's really no other sensible way of getting around, but hung up my helmet when I came to London due to a fear of London traffic. The only thing that got me over that was cycling in Java - if you can deal with Indonesian traffic, London traffic's a walkover.

Having said that, cycling in London is not for novices. London drivers are not patient folk and will cut you very little slack. Many are also not used to looking out for bikes and do daft things like pull out in front of you. And of course, cycling is, like everything else, something with inherent risks.

These, however, can be minimised. Getting a helmet and getting lights should be mandatory - you're daft to cycle without them. A bell also helps as pedestrians, like cars, have a way of editing bikes out of their vision and walking out in front of you. Kids are especially bad, in particular the ones that stand in the gutter to cross the road. On top of that, I would highly recommend a Sam Brown belt - one of those reflective things that goes round your waist and across your chest, and if you can get it, a bike wing mirror. I have one of these and it's a godsend - no more looking over my shoulder for me.

Now to the good stuff. Travelling in London is exhorbitantly expensive. Even a short hop tube ticket is £1.50 these days. By the time you've bought your ticket, waited for a train, got stuck in a tunnel and battled your way onto the street again, it's not very fast either. For short hops, cycling is the business. Its much faster than driving as you can weave past cars stuck in traffic jams - a great feeling - and will get you from a to b much faster than you imagine for zero pence. Nor need the bike be expensive (mine was £80) - in fact, getting a second hand bike is actually a very good i
dea, as spanking new ones are much more likely to be nicked.

And, of course, it's good for you. I've only had a bike for ten days and already I've lost a couple of pounds, my legs feel stronger, I have more energy and I feel great. No expensive gym fees or time consuming exercises - cycling is the perfect way to incorporate fitness into your day to day life without taking time from anything else. And you're doing your bit for the environment too. So long as you don't act like an idiot, you can't go wrong. Invest in an A-Z, a good bike lock and off you go.

UPDATE

Um, just wanted to ram home that get a helmet thing I was banging on about earlier. I witnessed an accident just yesterday involving a pedestrian walking out into the road without looking and getting hit right behind me - ten seconds earlier and it could have been me. An intact head is no small reward for enduring a squashed hairdo.

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