On 27 Jan, 14:48, congokid wrote:

In article
,
Mizter T writes

I wasn't really expecting you to jump at the chance of cycling on a
Brompton to Finchley Road!

Believe me, I didn't even consider it! I've commuted 13 miles each way
by bike before and those days are firmly in the past.

Ha! I wasn't of course saying it was an impossible mission - indeed
not considering what you've did in days gone past - but my reading of
your original post suggested that it was a bike ride up to Baker
Street that was under consideration, as opposed to something that's
more of a cross-London mission!


It doesn't jump out at me as an ideal
location to leave a regular bike locked up all day either.

I'd never leave a bike locked up outside all day - that's probably how
I've managed to hold on to my regular bike since I bought it in 1986,
and it has had almost daily commuting use in London.


It's funny this whole thing. I've owned the same bike for 10+ years,
and it sees fairly regular use though certainly not "almost daily
commuting" use. It looks a bit bashed up - scratched paint work, with
a little bit of rust on a component or two - but that's rather
deceptive, as it runs very well and I've pretty much replaced every
component on it over time and spent far more on it than original cost
of the bike. The point is, it's obviously not attractive to thieves -
in the vernacular, it's not very 'nickable'.

Generally speaking I don't really get too fussed about locking it up
on the street for lengthy periods. I've long used a 'Kryptoflex'
security cable to secure the seat to the frame, and fairly recently
fitted some 'Pinhead' locking skewers on my wheels and seat post
(highly recommended) - before that they were only secured with Allan
key skewers, though if I was leaving it for some time I'd use a long
Kryptonite cable and thread it through the wheels.

I did used to have a quick-release fitting on the seat and I recall
once or maybe twice coming back to find that it had been dismantled by
wannabe thieves who were seemingly thwarted by the Kryptonite cable.
I've some vague notion that I was prompted to put the Kryptonite cable
on because of the theft of a 'quick-release' seat, but I can't
remember if it was me or someone else I knew who suffered that.

All that said, if I had a fancier bike - one that was more 'nickable'
- then I would definitely be rather less laissez-faire about leaving
it around places, as indeed are my friends and acquaintances who own
such two-wheeled conveyances.

I'd also certainly think twice before routinely locking my bike up *on
the street* outside a station (as opposed to using the stations own
cycle racks) and then leaving it there for the whole day. It would
depend on what the neighbourhood was like, whether it was in view of
lots of passing people or a shop or cafe or whatever. Some places may
well be ok in my books.

Point being, Finchley Road is not one of those places!


Regarding Chiltern trains, in fact it appears that you *can* take a
regular bicycle on their trains in the contra-peak direction - i.e. in
your case that's against the predominant flow of people into London in
the morning and vice-versa in the evening.

I took my regular bike on Chiltern trains off-peak once before, though
the return leg on Sunday afternoon was as crushed as during peak time
and had all the ambience of a refugee camp on wheels.

When was this? If it was during one of the recent west coast mainline
weekend blockades, many of the passengers might have been refugees
from Virgin Trains (the line from Birmingham to London was basically
blocked).

In general Chiltern has a pretty glowing reputation. The line has been
rather successful in attracting passengers so there's always the
danger of it becoming a victim of its own success of course.


If this possible commute becomes a reality, I'll check with station
staff about getting regular bikes on board peak time trains going
against the flow.


Sounds like a very good idea. As I said elsewhere Chiltern staff
generally seem to be pretty helpful and friendly, so you should get a
decent answer out of them.


One other (slightly cheeky) possibility, should you wish to retain the
option of travelling on the Met line, is that you could cycle your
regular bike into Marylebone then leave it and lock it up there in the
safe cycle storage place

But part of the point of taking the bike is for the 1-mile stretch at
C&L end. I walked this in about 15 minutes, but it makes more sense to
cycle if I've already cycled to Baker Street.


Understood!


, then either travel onward to C&L by Chiltern
train or alternatively by the Met line from Baker Street station which
is just around the corner (I'm not getting muddled this time, it
really is!).

I used to live between the two stations.

Thanks again.