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  • 2 weeks later...

Re: Rotherhithe Tunnel


I've cycled through it occasionally. The road is very thin (built for horse and cart I guess?) so affords little overtaking space and unless you can keep a constant 20mph (easier going down, very hard going up) then I'd stick to the pavement. Normally I wouldn't condone pavement cycling but everytime I've been through, I've never see a foot pedestrian, though I stand to be corrected. There are some blind corners so caution is advised and the heat/fumes make it fairly unpleasant and a generally bicycle unfriendly environment. Time seems to slow down too and 5 mins seems a lot longer.


I've never been through at rush hour though but I'd try it and see, might be okay? Depends if you can face Tower Bridge I suppose? How about the Greenwich foot tunnel (walking the bike through of course) and up that way?


Please no flaming for the pavement advice :-$

Unless you live at the top of DOg Kennel Hill - can't see why you would go up it to get to Clapham Common - surely the many parks ramble ride is much nicer - ie through Dulwich Park (or if not at least through Dulwich Village) through Brockwell Park, cross Brixton Hill and wiggle through to Clapham Common ...

You should be able to get free cycle maps from the Sustrans website - I managed to get a few. The back roads behind E&C are quiet but see my new post "Cycle danger area" - I was attacked there, so I'd be very cautious. It's a very easy place to nick a bike.


As for road rage. I try not to get sucked in, but sometimes you can't avoid it. A young bloke cut me up horribly and dangerously a while back as I was doing 30mph (yes I have a computer on the bike) down the hill towards the Harvester. All I did was LOOK at him to express disapproval for the fact that he nearly had me off - so he followed me up the road, eventually caught up with me at the Plough traffic lights, gobbed out of his window at me and screamed that I should be shot. Yes..."shot". Nice. Very rational. Not at all disturbed. *Sigh*. What can you do?

As has already been mentioned about the cycle maps - the best place to get them in Karavan on Lordship Lane. They have the best and most reliable selection in London - much better than TFL!


On road rage, I had a bit of a nasty ride in yesterday. First I saw another cyclist hit a pedestrian on Peckham High Street. This turned nasty as the cyclist gave the pedestrian an earful (it was his fault, but he was only a kid, I would have given him a break), and peaked with a lorry driver shouting "I'm going to chop your head off in a minute" as the cyclist went off.


Then, five minutes later, I was hit by a driver who wasn't looking where he was going at the junction in Camberwell. He was going very slowly and I just have a couple bruises (didn't even ladder my tights) but it did leave me feeling slightly persecuted with that lorry driver's voice ringing in my ears.


That said, there were lots of lovely pedestrians who helped me at Camberwell and a great chap who intervened to stop a fight starting in Peckham.

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