Oxford to London commute
 

In article , (Someone
Somewhere) wrote:

Does it matter who cycles or not? I work from home overlooking CS3
between Tower Hill and Canary Wharf. It is absolutely obvious that
the number of cyclists drops during bad weather.

You appear to be so blinkered about cycling to the point of implying
I am lying about what I see - is that really your intention?

You are so blinkered about cycling that you say it isn't a viable means of
transport when it's raining, despite telling us there are still lots of
cyclists when it rains, even if not as many as when it's dry. THAT'S what I
call irrational anti-cyclist prejudice.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Oxford to London commute
 

In message , at 01:41:27
on Sun, 15 Oct 2017, remarked:
Does it matter who cycles or not? I work from home overlooking CS3
between Tower Hill and Canary Wharf. It is absolutely obvious that
the number of cyclists drops during bad weather.

You appear to be so blinkered about cycling to the point of implying
I am lying about what I see - is that really your intention?

You are so blinkered about cycling that you say it isn't a viable means of
transport when it's raining, despite telling us there are still lots of
cyclists when it rains, even if not as many as when it's dry. THAT'S what I
call irrational anti-cyclist prejudice.

It's not a hard cut-off when the rain reaches a specific intensity.
People make a range of decisions based on their own individual
circumstances. What matters is that rain *does* cause contingency plans
to kick in for many people, in a way it doesn't so much, if they are
using other forms of transport.

Thus cycling is *not* a one-size-fits-all solution.
--
Roland Perry

Oxford to London commute
 

On 15/10/2017 07:41, wrote:
In article , (Someone
Somewhere) wrote:

Does it matter who cycles or not? I work from home overlooking CS3
between Tower Hill and Canary Wharf. It is absolutely obvious that
the number of cyclists drops during bad weather.

You appear to be so blinkered about cycling to the point of implying
I am lying about what I see - is that really your intention?

You are so blinkered about cycling that you say it isn't a viable means of
transport when it's raining, despite telling us there are still lots of
cyclists when it rains, even if not as many as when it's dry. THAT'S what I
call irrational anti-cyclist prejudice.


I did not see anything which amounted to a statement that cycling "isn't
a viable means of transport when it's raining".

Would you argue that my observation that the number of people in London
who walk to work falls when it rains shows my irrational,
anti-pedestrian prejudice?


--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

Oxford to London commute
 

In message , at
10:13:57 on Sun, 15 Oct 2017, Robin remarked:

I did not see anything which amounted to a statement that cycling
"isn't a viable means of transport when it's raining".

It's not viable for everyone. I gave up cycling from home to the station
when I was living in Cambridge because there was nowhere to store
helmets and waterproofs at the station, and both my regular clothing and
'hand baggage' weren't expendable enough to get wet.
--
Roland Perry

Oxford to London commute
 

On 15/10/2017 07:41, wrote:
In article , (Someone
Somewhere) wrote:

Does it matter who cycles or not? I work from home overlooking CS3
between Tower Hill and Canary Wharf. It is absolutely obvious that
the number of cyclists drops during bad weather.

You appear to be so blinkered about cycling to the point of implying
I am lying about what I see - is that really your intention?

You are so blinkered about cycling that you say it isn't a viable means of
transport when it's raining, despite telling us there are still lots of
cyclists when it rains, even if not as many as when it's dry. THAT'S what I
call irrational anti-cyclist prejudice.

I worked in an organisation in Cambridge where 'probably' the majority
cycled to work. I knew of nobody who changed their mode from cycling in
bad weather. {There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing} I
did have different shoes & sandals at work, and if it were raining hard
I'd take a spare pair of socks. Yes 'optional' trips by bike will drop
in bad weather. I'm now retired so would change shopping day if weather
bad. A higher percentage of trips than you might expect are optional. I
know from a previous job that congestion is worse on wet days, even in
towns/cities with few commuting by cycle (eg Sheffield). Getting
accurate data is difficult. I tried... Both the rain gauge and cycle
counter data I was given were clearly in error when closely examined.
Getting better data to repeat excercise is on my 'to do ' list.

Oxford to London commute
 

Jim Chisholm wrote:
I worked in an organisation in Cambridge where 'probably' the majority
cycled to work. I knew of nobody who changed their mode from cycling in
bad weather. {There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing} I
did have different shoes & sandals at work, and if it were raining hard
I'd take a spare pair of socks. Yes 'optional' trips by bike will drop
in bad weather. I'm now retired so would change shopping day if weather
bad. A higher percentage of trips than you might expect are optional. I
know from a previous job that congestion is worse on wet days, even in
towns/cities with few commuting by cycle (eg Sheffield). Getting
accurate data is difficult. I tried... Both the rain gauge and cycle
counter data I was given were clearly in error when closely examined.
Getting better data to repeat excercise is on my 'to do ' list.

It's a bit easier these days because you can look at the detailed forecast
and the rain radar and say 'I'll go now before it rains' or 'I'll wait half
an hour for it to pass', in the same way you can look at live departure
boards before setting out and adjust your journey if there are delays.

Theo

Oxford to London commute
 

In message , at 17:51:28 on Sun,
15 Oct 2017, Theo remarked:
I worked in an organisation in Cambridge where 'probably' the majority
cycled to work. I knew of nobody who changed their mode from cycling in
bad weather. {There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing} I
did have different shoes & sandals at work, and if it were raining hard
I'd take a spare pair of socks. Yes 'optional' trips by bike will drop
in bad weather. I'm now retired so would change shopping day if weather
bad. A higher percentage of trips than you might expect are optional. I
know from a previous job that congestion is worse on wet days, even in
towns/cities with few commuting by cycle (eg Sheffield). Getting
accurate data is difficult. I tried... Both the rain gauge and cycle
counter data I was given were clearly in error when closely examined.
Getting better data to repeat excercise is on my 'to do ' list.

It's a bit easier these days because you can look at the detailed forecast
and the rain radar and say 'I'll go now before it rains' or 'I'll wait half
an hour for it to pass', in the same way you can look at live departure
boards before setting out and adjust your journey if there are delays.

That assumes a degree of flexible working (and flexible family life)
which not everyone enjoys.
--
Roland Perry

Oxford to London commute
 

On 15/10/2017 13:56, Jim Chisholm wrote:
On 15/10/2017 07:41, wrote:
In article , (Someone
Somewhere) wrote:

I worked in an organisation in Cambridge

And we're back talking about Cambridge again - this is uk.transport.LONDON

Oxford to London commute
 

On 15/10/2017 07:41, wrote:
In article , (Someone
Somewhere) wrote:

Does it matter who cycles or not? I work from home overlooking CS3
between Tower Hill and Canary Wharf. It is absolutely obvious that
the number of cyclists drops during bad weather.

You appear to be so blinkered about cycling to the point of implying
I am lying about what I see - is that really your intention?

You are so blinkered about cycling that you say it isn't a viable means of
transport when it's raining, despite telling us there are still lots of
cyclists when it rains, even if not as many as when it's dry. THAT'S what I
call irrational anti-cyclist prejudice.

Well that will teach me to argue with the someone who I correctly called
out as blinkered - I never made a statement of that type, all I did was
state an observation that the number of cyclists on a particular route
(which, according to statistics, is the busiest in the UK) drops
dramatically during inclement weather.

For the record I am neither anti-cyclist (please cite where I said I
was, or even that I'm not a cyclist?) or irrational - the only
irrational person here appears to be someone else.

Oxford to London commute
 

On Tue, 10 Oct 2017 17:30:57 +0100, GeorgeK
wrote:


Thank you all for your replies. My wife doesn't drive but we are willing
to live on the suburbs of Oxford provided that she can take at least the
bus to work which is at the city center. We are mainly interested in
living near a city with certain amenities (restaurants, bars, shopping
street, etc).

The idea of staying at Headington doesn't sound bad as it seems to be
less than 30min from the city center by bus. From your replies, it
seems that the 6th zone (Ickenham, Hillington or Rickmansworth) is the
closest I can get by car to London before being stuck in the jam.

When I checked the commute from Didcot to London by train it wasn't
faster (or cheaper) compared to Oxford. You reckon that Didcot would be
more convenient though?

I wonder if taking the Oxford/London bus as far as Hillingdon and then
the tube would work?

Alternatively, find somewhere to live within easy reach of Hillingdon.
OK, that area isn't the most interesting part of London but it does
have restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and it's relatively easy to get
to Oxford or London for an evening out or shopping. Then both of you
could go to Hillingdon and commute in opposite directions.