[ Continuing OT onto the Barclays Hire Bikes in London... ] The Barclays Bike Hire coverage is good in central London but not good for the 'burbs. I'd consider

[ Continuing OT onto the Barclays Hire Bikes in London... ] The Barclays Bike Hire coverage is good in central London but not good for the 'burbs. I'd consider using one every day for my commute however:- * my commute would be right on the edge of 30 minutes (it's ~8 miles) and those bikes aren't the fastest (but that's good for training!). To be safe I'd have to break it up into two journeys with a 5 minute break in the middle to avoid being charged for £1 a usage on top of access. Or I can split it up into a cycle and then a run (good except that I sometimes I have to lug my work laptop with me which isn't idea for running). * even with the upcoming (Spring 2014) extension to SW London I'm still going to be a 5 minute run from the nearest bikes. Right now it's a 4 mile run to the nearest docking station. * no way to mount panniers, limited carrying space in the front 'basket' area, for bigger loads I'd need a rucksack and I much prefer panniers to a rucksack £90 for annual Barclays Bike access (and no hire fees) is roughly comparable to the wear and tear costs for my current bike (~4000 commuting miles a year, proportional costs for brake blocks, chains, chainrings, sprockets, rims, hubs, bottom bracket, [carbon] forks). It's certainly cheaper than ~£900 for the annual train ticket. Not having to worry about theft is a major plus, nor is having to carry good locks to lock up the bike should I have a mechanical that I can't fix quickly (I do the nursery run so I can't be home late). I would also be helping the distribution problem as I'd be dropping off a bike near a major rail terminus in the morning, and using one from there to go home.