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congokid January 26th 09 04:38 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
I travelled today from FB to C&L via Baker Street and my Oystercard was
charged GBP6 for the outward journey at about 7.45am, and GBP3 for the
return journey at about 11.15am.

First of all, are these the correct fares?

Secondly, this may become a regular commute for me for a while, and I
wonder what my most economic option would be for a season ticket (weekly
or monthly - I don't see it going beyond 5-6 months). I asked at a
ticket office, but the TFL person wasn't able to tell me offhand and I
wasn't able to wait for him to spend lots of time checking.

The first part of my journey would be a walk to the nearest tube and the
last part another walk - each about 1mile. I'm thinking of taking my
folding bike for these bits, assuming there's room for it on the first
leg of the tube journey, but I imagine I could also cycle straight to
Baker Street to take the Metropolitan line.

Not only would I enjoy the exercise, but I think I could also cycle this
stage faster than the tube takes, especially if I use my regular bike.
The Met train to Amersham this morning was virtually empty, so I presume
there'd be no objection to taking a bike on board.

This leads me to question 3 - is it OK to take a regular bike on board?

And fourthly, would travelling from Baker Street instead of FB make my
season ticket more expensive?

Many thanks in advance.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

Paul Terry[_2_] January 26th 09 05:42 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
In message , congokid
writes

I travelled today from FB to C&L via Baker Street and my Oystercard was
charged GBP6 for the outward journey at about 7.45am, and GBP3 for the
return journey at about 11.15am.

First of all, are these the correct fares?


Yes. C&L is Zone 8. The Oyster single is £6 peak (your outward journey)
and £3 offpeak (your return).

Secondly, this may become a regular commute for me for a while, and I
wonder what my most economic option would be for a season ticket
(weekly or monthly - I don't see it going beyond 5-6 months).


If you are working normal hours and travelling peak time in both
directions, it will be £12 a day on PAYG Oyster. I don't know what a
season would be, but I'm sure somebody will.

This leads me to question 3 - is it OK to take a regular bike on board?


Only out of peak hours (but you could take it all the way from FB if
going via Baker Street).
--
Paul Terry

David Jackman[_2_] January 26th 09 06:57 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
Paul Terry wrote in
:

If you are working normal hours and travelling peak time in both
directions, it will be œ12 a day on PAYG Oyster. I don't know what a
season would be, but I'm sure somebody will.



£ 228.10 per month (see http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/your-guide-
to-fares-and-tickets-Zones-7-9-plus-watford-junction.pdf)


Mizter T January 26th 09 11:52 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

congokid wrote:

I travelled today from FB to C&L via Baker Street and my Oystercard was
charged GBP6 for the outward journey at about 7.45am, and GBP3 for the
return journey at about 11.15am.

First of all, are these the correct fares?


Paul Terry's already answered this so sorry for covering the same
ground, but just in case you want it to check this or any other fare
for yourself you can query the TfL Fare finder online he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tickets/faresandtickets/2009/farefinder/

As it explains, the higher (Peak) fare applies Monday to Friday from
0630 to 0930 and from 1600 to 1900, the lower Off-Peak fare at all
other times including public holidays.


Secondly, this may become a regular commute for me for a while, and I
wonder what my most economic option would be for a season ticket (weekly
or monthly - I don't see it going beyond 5-6 months). I asked at a
ticket office, but the TFL person wasn't able to tell me offhand and I
wasn't able to wait for him to spend lots of time checking.


Again, sorry for retreading David Jackman's earlier answer - as he
said a zones 1-8 Travelcard will cost £228.10 for a monthly and £59.40
for a weekly. You can also buy a season Travelcard for any period up
to a year - the price will be calculated on a pro-rata basis. There
isn't an option of a point-to-point season ticket on London
Underground and there hasn't been for quite some time.

The Travelcard you get needs to be valid for all the zones you travel
through, so cost-wise there's nothing to be saved by starting your LU
journey at say Baker Street as opposed to Fulham Broadway. See the
Tube Map marked with the zones he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-Tube-map.gif

You could also travel on a Chiltern Railways train from London
Marylebone to Chalfont & Latimer - for fares purposes the Chiltern
line is basically regarded as an Underground line as far as Amersham,
so the same Oyster PAYG fares apply and a zones 1-8 Travelcard would
also be valid. As a result of this fares arrangement there isn't a
separate Chiltern trains only season ticket for this rail journey, so
cost wise it's no more economical.

The only other way I can see to make this journey cheaper is to avoid
travelling through zone 1 altogether - this would mean you would only
need to get a zones 2-9 Travelcard at £172.80 monthly and £45.00
weekly (a zones 2-8 Travelcard is not available) [1].

From Fulham a non-zone 1 route this could involve taking a West London
Line (WLL) train from West Brompton to Willesden Jn, then a Bakerloo
or London Overground train to Kenton, alighting and nipping round the
corner to Northwick Park station on the Met line and continuing your
journey from there.

OK, that sounds fairly insane - but if one was instead to cycle to a
Bakerloo line station in zone 2 - i.e. one north/west of Warwick
Avenue, then that could work. I haven't checked cycle routes but off
the top of my head you could head to say Kensal Green or Queen's Park
or even Willesden Junction.

Despite the fact that Kenton and Northwood stations are almost
literally around the corner from each other, there is an issue with
this masterplan - fast trains heading for Chalfont & Latimer don't
stop at Northwood, as shown on this Met line diagram:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/metropolitan.pdf

But all Met line trains, including the fasts to Amersham, stop at
Finchley Road - so if you really wanted to save money you could cycle
up here. Plus the Oyster PAYG fares from Finchley Road to C&L are £4
Peak, £2 Off-Peak - so five Peak return journeys (i.e. a weeks worth)
would come to £40, less than the £45 cost of the weekly zones 2-9
Travelcard.


The first part of my journey would be a walk to the nearest tube and the
last part another walk - each about 1mile. I'm thinking of taking my
folding bike for these bits, assuming there's room for it on the first
leg of the tube journey, but I imagine I could also cycle straight to
Baker Street to take the Metropolitan line.

Not only would I enjoy the exercise, but I think I could also cycle this
stage faster than the tube takes, especially if I use my regular bike.
The Met train to Amersham this morning was virtually empty, so I presume
there'd be no objection to taking a bike on board.


This leads me to question 3 - is it OK to take a regular bike on board?


Unfortunately I'm about to repeat stuff Paul Terry posted earlier, but
only to elaborate on it - as he said, regular bikes cannot be carried
anywhere on the Underground network, specifically they are totally
verboten between 0730-0930 and 1600-1900 (Mondays to Fridays) - see
the Bicycles on the Underground map here (PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/bicycle-tube-map-0108.pdf

Folding bikes can however be carried at any time:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/9049.aspx

This is also the case with regards to Chiltern Railways trains.


And fourthly, would travelling from Baker Street instead of FB make my
season ticket more expensive?


No difference whatsoever - note that fares are calculated based on
what zones you pass through, as opposed to where you start or finish
your journey. Therefore there's nothing to be gained by starting a
journey outside of zone 1 if it subsequently passes through zone 1,
for example. (The Oyster system 'knows' if a journey passes through
zone 1 - more precisely, it is programmed with a number of presumed
routes between A&B. Most of the time the system just applies 'common
sense' logic.)

Indeed if you were to travel on the Underground between Baker Street
and FB that journey would effectively be 'free' if you had started
from Chalfont & Latimer - likewise it would cost you nothing extra if
you were to continue down to Heathrow, for example.


-----
[1] Travelcard season prices including zones 7-9 are on page 10 here
(PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...d-junction.pdf

David Biddulph January 27th 09 07:58 AM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
"Mizter T" wrote in message
...
....
Despite the fact that Kenton and Northwood stations are almost
literally around the corner from each other, there is an issue with
this masterplan - fast trains heading for Chalfont & Latimer don't
stop at Northwood, as shown on this Met line diagram:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/metropolitan.pdf



Perhaps you've got confused between Northwood and Northwick Park, Mizter T?

5 stations along the line; quite a long walk.
--
David Biddulph



Mizter T January 27th 09 09:58 AM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

On 27 Jan, 08:58, "David Biddulph" groups [at] biddulph.org.uk
wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote:

Despite the fact that Kenton and Northwood stations are almost
literally around the corner from each other, there is an issue with
this masterplan - fast trains heading for Chalfont & Latimer don't
stop at Northwood, as shown on this Met line diagram:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/metropolitan.pdf


Perhaps you've got confused between Northwood and Northwick Park, Mizter T?

5 stations along the line; *quite a long walk.


Indeed, over 5 miles walk actually. Sorry, that's an utterly,
ridiculously daft error to have made! Earlier in my post I did manage
to correctly state that it was *Northwick Park* station that was
around corner from Kenton station earlier, but somehow later on in my
post it has transmuted into Northwood later on in my post. Quality
control was evidently seriously lacking when I wrote that.

Just so as to attempt to clarify what I meant (as opposed to what I
said!) here's a street map showing just how close Northwick Park and
Kenton a
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/oldmap.srf?x=516727&y=188161&ar=N

Silly, not least because they're rather different places as well - for
example Northwick Park has a big teaching hospital, whilst Northwood
notably plays host to the tri-service military headquarters.

congokid January 27th 09 11:12 AM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
In article
,
Mizter T writes

Thanks Mizter T, and also to Paul and David x 2 for your replies.

I think I'll stick to the simple route I did yesterday, and bite the
bullet. Looks like an expensive commute whatever I do.

It's a pain not being able to take a regular bike on an empty Met train,
though - that bike is a smoother ride over 5 or so miles than the
Brompton.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

Mizter T January 27th 09 01:03 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

On 27 Jan, 12:12, congokid wrote:

In article
,
Mizter T writes

Thanks Mizter T, and also to Paul and David x 2 for your replies.

I think I'll stick to the simple route I did yesterday, and bite the
bullet. Looks like an expensive commute whatever I do.

It's a pain not being able to take a regular bike on an empty Met train,
though - that bike is a smoother ride over 5 or so miles than the
Brompton.


Sorry about adding in the large dose of confusion there!

I wasn't really expecting you to jump at the chance of cycling on a
Brompton to Finchley Road! It doesn't jump out at me as an ideal
location to leave a regular bike locked up all day either.


Can I confess to making another mistake (this isn't going very well is
it?!)...

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. See their webpage he
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/tr...ing-your-bike/


So, that would be one option, though Chiltern trains to and from C&L
are basically only half-hourly. Their timetable is available as a PDF
from this page:
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/pl.../download-our-
timetable/

Alternatively you can look up train times on the National Rail website
he
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

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, 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!). That would mean you wouldn't have to wait around in order
to catch a half-hourly train.

However one thing I'm not clear on is where the cycle storage place is
at Marylebone (I've a vague picture in my head of it but that's not
helpful!). It's possible it is beyond the gateline, i.e. you would
need to pass through the ticket gates to access it (or through the
manual side gate). *If* this is the case and *if* you had a season
Travelcard I don't think there would be any problem if you were to
pass in and then back out of the automatic gates, the issue would be
more whether staff might take affront at their hospitality -
specifically their cycle facilities - being 'abused'. If you were to
aim to travel out on a Chiltern train then this might make it a bit
less of an issue.

I will endeavour to find out where the cycle parking is at Marylebone
and report back - if it's outside the gateline then there wouldn't be
any practical problem with you doing this (I suppose morally speaking
you could 'justify' it by at least heading out on a Chiltern train
every now and then!).

Paul Terry[_2_] January 27th 09 01:18 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
In message
,
Mizter T writes

I will endeavour to find out where the cycle parking is at Marylebone
and report back


Platform 3, and available only to season-ticket holders, according to:
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/st...ne/facilities/

(I guess that's behind the gateline, but it's not stated)
--
Paul Terry

Adrian January 27th 09 01:19 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
Mizter T gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

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, 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!). That would mean you wouldn't have to wait around in order to catch
a half-hourly train.


TBH, once you're at M'bone, it's rarely worth walking to Baker St
(5-10min) then catching a c.15min interval Met which'll take 15-20min
longer to get out to civilisation beyond the M25. You might as well hang
about, and get a comfy, fast train. It's different when you're travelling
with rush-hour, since the Chilterns can remind you of photos of Japanese
rush-hour trains... (although, tbf, Chiltern haven't started to employ
people to push passengers through the closing doors. Yet.)

However one thing I'm not clear on is where the cycle storage place is
at Marylebone (I've a vague picture in my head of it but that's not
helpful!). It's possible it is beyond the gateline


It definitely is - where platform 4 used to be, before they moved it half
way to Harrow.

Mizter T January 27th 09 01:40 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

On 27 Jan, 14:18, Paul Terry wrote:

In message
,
Mizter T writes

I will endeavour to find out where the cycle parking is at Marylebone
and report back


Platform 3, and available only to season-ticket holders, according to:
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/st...ne/facilities/

(I guess that's behind the gateline, but it's not stated)


Thanks - I'm not doing a very impressive job of utilising the tools at
hand to find the required information at the moment!

That fits with my vague recollection that the cycle racks they are
indeed behind the gateline, also there's not a lot of spare space on
the public side of the concourse outside the gateline. And I've just
seen Adrian's reply, in which he confirms they are situated behind the
gateline.

The webpage specifically says:
"Storage of cycles is only available for rail season ticket holders."

Which is perhaps a little ambiguous, because there aren't any rail-
only season tickets available for journeys on Chiltern from/to
stations shared with the Metropolitan line (i.e. Chalfont and
Latimer), only Travelcard seasons. The intention however is fairly
clear - they are for the use of Chiltern passengers.

That said, I don't think there would be any real problem were one to
occasionally pass through the gateline to *fetch* one's bike, though
if someone was to do this routinely the staff might take umbrage with
it (though if one had a season Travelcard one would still be holding
an appropriate season ticket).

Adrian January 27th 09 01:45 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
Mizter T gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

The webpage specifically says:
"Storage of cycles is only available for rail season ticket holders."

Which is perhaps a little ambiguous, because there aren't any rail- only
season tickets available for journeys on Chiltern from/to stations
shared with the Metropolitan line (i.e. Chalfont and Latimer), only
Travelcard seasons. The intention however is fairly clear - they are for
the use of Chiltern passengers.


Thinking about it, I seem to recall that bikes are required to carry some
kind of permit - bikes without a current permit gain a snottygram then,
presumably, disappear.

If you've got an LU season (even a weekly) that covers a Chiltern-served
station, I can't see how they could claim "rail season ticket holders"
didn't include you - at least, without any additional Ts&Cs, which almost
certainly do exist somewhere.

congokid January 27th 09 01:48 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

, 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.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

Mizter T January 27th 09 01:55 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

On 27 Jan, 14:19, Adrian wrote:

Mizter T gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

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, 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!). That would mean you wouldn't have to wait around in order to catch
a half-hourly train.


TBH, once you're at M'bone, it's rarely worth walking to Baker St
(5-10min) then catching a c.15min interval Met which'll take 15-20min
longer to get out to civilisation beyond the M25. You might as well hang
about, and get a comfy, fast train. [...]


I think you possibly overstate things a little with regards to the
time difference. Marylebone to C&L is timetabled at 31 minutes (35 on
the return but that's because of added recovery time), whilst Baker
Street to C&L on the Met is timetabled at 40-41 mins. I agree that
Chiltern trains certainly have their attractions (though there's a
vocal fanbase of the old A-stock trains on the Met!). One particular
attraction for the OP is that he's allowed to take his regular bike on-
board.


[...] It's different when you're travelling
with rush-hour, since the Chilterns can remind you of photos of Japanese
rush-hour trains... (although, tbf, Chiltern haven't started to employ
people to push passengers through the closing doors. Yet.)


But surely not for contra-peak journeys - the OP will be travelling
*away* from Marylebone in the morning, and towards it in the evening.


However one thing I'm not clear on is where the cycle storage place is
at Marylebone (I've a vague picture in my head of it but that's not
helpful!). It's possible it is beyond the gateline


It definitely is - where platform 4 used to be, before they moved it half
way to Harrow.


Thanks for the confirmation of that.

Mizter T January 27th 09 02:06 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

On 27 Jan, 14:45, Adrian wrote:

Mizter T gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

The webpage specifically says:
"Storage of cycles is only available for rail season ticket holders."


Which is perhaps a little ambiguous, because there aren't any rail- only
season tickets available for journeys on Chiltern from/to stations
shared with the Metropolitan line (i.e. Chalfont and Latimer), only
Travelcard seasons. The intention however is fairly clear - they are for
the use of Chiltern passengers.


Thinking about it, I seem to recall that bikes are required to carry some
kind of permit - bikes without a current permit gain a snottygram then,
presumably, disappear.

If you've got an LU season (even a weekly) that covers a Chiltern-served
station, I can't see how they could claim "rail season ticket holders"
didn't include you - at least, without any additional Ts&Cs, which almost
certainly do exist somewhere.


No, I can't imagine they either could or would claim that either.
However I can also imagine that they wouldn't be at all happy with
Travelcard-holders simply making use of their station as a convenient
bike park if they weren't also travelling on their trains at all.

Interesting info about the bike permit - perhaps parking space is
limited and rationed there, or maybe it's simply there to show that
the bicycle owner has agreed to the rules and has provided evidence of
holding an appropriate ticket. I suppose it might possibly help one's
case if one were to buy the required season Travelcard from Marylebone
ticket office itself - my general impression of staff at Marylebone is
that they're very friendly and helpful.

Mizter T January 27th 09 03:15 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 

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.


congokid January 27th 09 04:39 PM

Fulham Broadway to Chalfont & Latimer
 
In article
,
Mizter T writes

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


I have a quick release on the seat post and always take my Brooks saddle
and the post with me, unless it's a very quick stop and I can see the
bike through the shop window.

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


At one of the stations I passed en route yesterday, I noticed dozens of
bikes chained to the fence round the car park and thought it was a shame
there was no decent bike parking (if there was I couldn't see it - or
the provider may have priced it out of use).


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?


Early October last was when I had the bike, but it's been like that at
other times as well. The main problem is they don't put on enough
carriages, in either direction.

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com


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