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Where did you have that experience? It's very unfortunate for sure. I've found the drivers in London to be better in general than the rest of the country. Ther

by mdpye 13y ago

Where did you have that experience? It's very unfortunate for sure. I've found the drivers in London to be better in general than the rest of the country. There are cyclists EVERYWHERE. No car is surprised to share the road with one and they all know what to expect from them. I'm not saying everyone gets along, but I've never felt particularly unsafe, and I used to ride 27 miles total commute a day. Contrast that with other cities I've lived in where cyclists are more of a rarity. The motorists simply don't expect them, so they don't factor them in to decisions like how much stopping distance they'll need, whether they'll bother to look left before turning, whether there could be something behind that bend (when you can see 1/3rd of the road and so expect to see something as wide as a car). They also expect to average a much higher speed, and so IME get aggressive much more quickly when they feel they're being held up. Don't even get me started on countryside drivers, with their 70mph round blind bends on two way roads not wide enough for two cars...

alexkus 13y ago
> I've found the drivers in London to be better in general than the rest of the country. There are cyclists EVERYWHERE. No car is surprised to share the road with one and they all know what to expect from them. I'd definitely agree with that (I commute 8 miles each way in London). It was made very obvious to me when I had to go into the office one weekend. The standard of driving from the weekend drivers was dreadful as they seemed to spend most of their time looking at road signs and wondering if they're in the correct lane(s) rather than looking out for other road users.
nkoren 13y ago
I moved from Oxford to London five years ago. In comparison to Oxford (and my previous hometown of Portland, Oregon), there were hardly any cyclists and the drivers seemed outright homicidal. I didn't get onto a bike during my first few years here. But lately I've noticed that things seem to be improving tremendously. There are a lot more cyclists on the road, and driver behaviour seems distinctly less homicidal than before. I'm really encouraged by these trends. Actually, London is improving on almost every front. My chief complaints when I moved here were the scarcity of good coffee, the total absence of burritos, and the lousy cycling conditions. Now there are "cycle highways" growing like kudzu out of the city centre, and you can't throw a rock without hitting a burrito joint or a yuppie-calibre independent coffeeshop. Go, London!
- drakeandrews 13y ago
  Out of interest, where'd you recommend getting a decent burrito? I used to go to Adobo on High Holborn, but as I spend less time in central and more time in east london, it seems like a little far to go.
  - tomblomfield 13y ago
    Freebird Burritos near Liverpool St Station aren't terrible
  - nkoren 13y ago
    My absolute favourite is Picante Mexican Grill near Victoria. Unfortunately it's been knocked out of commission by a flood recently and won't be back online for a couple of weeks. Not very familiar with the East London burrito scene, although I'm about to spend a lot of time there, so I need to explore it better. I've heard good things about Daddy Donkey but can't vouch for it personally.

by mdpye 13y ago

alexkus 13y ago

> I've found the drivers in London to be better in general than the rest of the country. There are cyclists EVERYWHERE. No car is surprised to share the road with one and they all know what to expect from them. I'd definitely agree with that (I commute 8 miles each way in London). It was made very obvious to me when I had to go into the office one weekend. The standard of driving from the weekend drivers was dreadful as they seemed to spend most of their time looking at road signs and wondering if they're in the correct lane(s) rather than looking out for other road users.

nkoren 13y ago

I moved from Oxford to London five years ago. In comparison to Oxford (and my previous hometown of Portland, Oregon), there were hardly any cyclists and the drivers seemed outright homicidal. I didn't get onto a bike during my first few years here. But lately I've noticed that things seem to be improving tremendously. There are a lot more cyclists on the road, and driver behaviour seems distinctly less homicidal than before. I'm really encouraged by these trends. Actually, London is improving on almost every front. My chief complaints when I moved here were the scarcity of good coffee, the total absence of burritos, and the lousy cycling conditions. Now there are "cycle highways" growing like kudzu out of the city centre, and you can't throw a rock without hitting a burrito joint or a yuppie-calibre independent coffeeshop. Go, London!

drakeandrews 13y ago
Out of interest, where'd you recommend getting a decent burrito? I used to go to Adobo on High Holborn, but as I spend less time in central and more time in east london, it seems like a little far to go.
- tomblomfield 13y ago
  Freebird Burritos near Liverpool St Station aren't terrible
- nkoren 13y ago
  My absolute favourite is Picante Mexican Grill near Victoria. Unfortunately it's been knocked out of commission by a flood recently and won't be back online for a couple of weeks. Not very familiar with the East London burrito scene, although I'm about to spend a lot of time there, so I need to explore it better. I've heard good things about Daddy Donkey but can't vouch for it personally.