London commuters arriving stressed and late – unless they travel by bike

Yeah cycle commuting is fine until you get knocked down, seriously injured or killed. Then there are the punishment passes, the abuse, threats, the fear of assault, stuff being thrown at you and fuckwits trying to run you off the road.

There's one thing better than the cycle commuting and it is
motorbike commuting on a nice big bike. Even quicker and far less grief. I don't get any of the shit I encounter when I cycle to and from work it is stress free and total ear to ear grin factor. It is the quickest - public transport would take days literally as last bus back is 5pm so I would have to walk the remaining 12 miles home or take a taxi if I could find one out in the sticks plus it would cost a fortune. Car all the way can take easily more than 2 hours as the A14 and approach roads are gridlocked at peak times. But drive half way, park up, then cycle the rest whilst taking around 2 hours, means you still stay fit but spend 4 hours a day in total travelling, but I am seldom late. Riding my motorbike 1200cc Honda Blackbird at worst takes an hour if traffic is really really bad on the A14 as you have to filter slowly. If roads are clear i.e. late start or finish then I can do the journey in 25-30 minutes, literally door to door, which gives me hours and hours of extra time each day I would not otherwise have. Major grin factor.

So cycling has it's good points but it's NOT the panacea, the easiest or least stressful as this survey seams to suggest. Get a motorbike for the best commute.

the best thing about cycle commuting is that you hand the control over your journey back into your own hands (or legs!), rely than relying on someone else, or random events that afflict public transport

having no control over your journey when you need to be somewhere on time - for your daily job - is extremely stressful and frustrating as you are powerless to effect the outcome

the only stress I feel on my daily cycle commute through London is from interactions with dangerous, incompetent or negligent drivers, but that can be mitigated to some degree by the choice of route and a keen, constant awareness of those around you

For me it depends. I generally feel better after the hour or so cycle from Surrey into central London, but it can get pretty stressful from Zone 2 onwards. Overall though, it's the guarantee of knowing I'll be at work +/- 5 minutes from an hour that I love the most.

Yep, similar: 1 hr 15 to 3+ hrs by car, 1 hr 30 by public transport and 1 hr 20-40 by bike (depends on traffic!). I always go by bike, unless I really really need to wear a suit or have a massive amount of kit to transport. Then, I take public transport. I never drive - couldn't handle the frustration and ensuing stress!

My 5-6 mile commute by bus or tube to work across central London is a 60-90 minute lottery, often fraught with stress as I wonder if I'll be in time for an early meeting. Luxuries such as boarding the first tube to arrive, or getting a seat on it, or having space to relax, are unthinkable.

Things are slightly better by bus - I can almost always get on board and find a seat, but it is slow, slow, slow, and the service often abruptly terminates for no obvious reason.

Taking the bike instead has transformed the journey, whose duration rarely varies beyond 30-35 minutes depending on whether I want to press on or take my time, into a reliable and stress-free experience. Knowing all the other benefits I am reaping along the way is another mood enhancer.

more roads are NOT the solution... better allocation of space is.