Swimming against the tide

[John90]

The RLJ is verboten, pavement riding is an anathema, wearing a helmet .... well, let's not go there, but where do you stand on going up one way streets against the traffic? I have to confess to doing this every day on my commute on a wide, quiet, shortish (500 meters) street that cuts maybe five minutes off the journey between London's Old Kent Road and Jamaica Road. I do feel a bit guilty however.

I am also occasionally led up a one way street in the wrong direction by my GPS.

Should I be ashamed of myself?

 

[downfader]

The RLJ is verboten, pavement riding is an anathema, wearing a helmet .... well, let's not go there, but where do you stand on going up one way streets against the traffic? I have to confess to doing this every day on my commute on a wide, quiet, shortish (500 meters) street that cuts maybe five minutes off the journey between London's Old Kent Road and Jamaica Road. I do feel a bit guilty however.

I am also occasionally led up a one way street in the wrong direction by my GPS.

Should I be ashamed of myself?

Plan your route better and avoid doing something which may get you fined or in court (and the latter can happen).

If you feel a particular road is suited to cycling in contraflow then campaign for it, write/email to the council explaining why and how you think it could be done. Write to the local campaign group to see if they support the idea and can help.

And 500 metres aint that far, it could be walked. I have similar length roads on my commute and just planned it to ride the correct way. It doesnt work out too much longer, maybe an extra minute of time.

 

[xpc316e]

Plan your route better and avoid doing something which may get you fined or in court (and the latter can happen).

I'd recommend planning your route to avoid something which may get you time in A&E, or half a day out with an undertaker.

 

[downfader]

I'd recommend planning your route to avoid something which may get you time in A&E, or half a day out with an undertaker.

Can be the case. People do tend to drive and ride in autopilot on oneway routes.

 

[Matthames]

There is one section I ride where I have come across quite a number of cyclists cycling contraflow to a one way system. This is just out of pure laziness as they would only have to cycle probably no more than an extra 400m to use the legal route.

 

[Archie_tect]

Never knowingly done it. Only time in a car was visiting Dundee years after leaving the place, drove down a street that I used to use to find all the traffic lights facing the wrong way and three lanes of traffic pointing at me... never done a 3 point turn faster in my life!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Plan your route better and avoid doing something which may get you fined or in court (and the latter can happen).

If you feel a particular road is suited to cycling in contraflow then campaign for it, write/email to the council explaining why and how you think it could be done. Write to the local campaign group to see if they support the idea and can help.

And 500 metres aint that far, it could be walked. I have similar length roads on my commute and just planned it to ride the correct way. It doesnt work out too much longer, maybe an extra minute of time.

Seconded.

 

[fossyant]

Yes the OP should be ashamed for taking a short cut. Can't be a proper cyclist then, we always take the long route.

 

[clarion]

Downfader's covered it.

 

[fimm]

I've been tempted to start a thread something like "I don't RLJ but..." in order to confess that I often cycle the wrong way up a 10 meter (if that) 1-way section of road in order to avoid a 700m ride the long way round - at the start of what will either be a 16 mile commute or a training ride which will be even longer! I do sometimes walk it, but I don't think I've ever cycled the long way round!

People are strange...

 

[onlineamiga]

I also generally avoid swimming against the tide. As cyclists, we are road users and as such should adhear to the road rules.

My commute to work involves a one way system and I go round it which adds time to the journey. Coming home is faster though!

When I was touring i got stuck in a town centre and could not get the hell out of there. Spain love closing roads and not putting diversion signs down. There was this one road which one side of it was closed so they put no entry signs, and i was going round in circles and kept coming back to it and just couldnt get it right at all. Eventually I thought f*ck it and went through.