The best cycling streets in London (Part 6)

Now, I realise that after a day as glorious as today, every street seems like the best cycling street. With the wind at your back, the sun on your face and the very faint first scent of spring the city is a wonderland on two wheels. And The Aldwych is not at first glance an obvious choice- three or four lanes of traffic at most points, weaving buses and dopey tourists on their way to see Dirty Dancing The Musical. However, ever since seeing Happy-Go-Lucky with the amazing Sally Hawkins, in which the lead character Poppy comes zooming round the semi-circle of Aldwych in the first scene I'd had a soft spot for it. (Incidentally, if you've ever had a beloved bicycle stolen you will also appreciate that film). Obviously, the traffic is cleared for her but not for us quotidian cyclists, but if you're feeling brave and willing to get your weave on you'll love it. In the summer it is one of the greenest roads in central London, lined with majestic trees. On bright winter days like today the bare branches reveal some of the grandest architecture we've got to offer- the towering columns of Bush House, sturdy St Clement's Dane and the imposing back entrance of Somerset House. On one end of the island there is the Indian embassy, always decorated by a queue of people wanting visas dressed in glorious technicolour. I may be biased because I know that just the other side of Somerset House the Thames, the soul of the city, surges past, changing colour and freshening the air at the bottom of Kingsway. Perhaps if I battle with the buses on a grey and rainy day I will change it to the 'worst cycling' streets list, but I don't think so. See what you think.

Image by Ben30

The best cycling streets in London: Part 5

I've been hesitating about adding Pentonville Road to my list of best cycling streets, mainly because it is butt-ugly. Pleasing aesthetics are really a key criteria for this list- one of main reasons for not being underground  or peering out of a steamy bus window is so you can take in London's glorious architecture and natural beauty. However, there are other criteria, for example a lack of traffic, and a long, steepish incline to freewheel down, both of which this road has in spades. All except the top third is closed to general traffic, and despite it looking like a major route, very few buses and taxis seem to run down it. Almost every time I ride it the wide, long hill is all mine, and I love every minute of it. The other day I came out of Penton Street and turned right onto it on a bright, frosty morning, peeling off from the mass of neon bikers heading straight-on into the city. The sensation of sun and wind on my face as Trusty and I picked up speed reminded me strongly of skiing. I don't think I'll get to the slopes this year, so joyfully bombing through the cold air, making the most of the speed before hitting the snarling junctions around King's Cross,will have to do for now. Just goes to show, looks aren't everything.

The best cycling streets in London (Part 4)

I'm really talking about two streets here- The Mall and Horse Guards Road. To be honest, there isn't much reason for you to ride them in succession- if you are coming from Buckingham Palace and heading for Victoria there are far quicker routes. None compare, however, in grandeur. Beginning at the Palace roundabout you can easily turn your back to the building's squat, beige form and face down the Mall. I'm sure it is very impressive, but something about the architectural style has echoes of the Third Reich for me- too heavy, too...bossy. It might be some latent republicanism, but I can't help thinking that no-one needs that many rooms. 

The road that leads away from it is another matter. The proportions are perfect.  In the distance you can see the glorious swoop of Admirality Arch and a tiny glimpse of Trafalgar Square beyond, getting clearer as you pedal. The wide, wide road is lined with flag poles, often colourfully swagged to honour some visiting dignatory or national celebration. It always feels festive. Most pleasingly The Mall cuts right down the edge of elegant St James Park. In spring and summer the colours of the flowers are exuberant and in autumn the same can be said for the turning leaves. Even in winter the skeletal silhouettes of the trees in the frosty river are more bittersweet than bleak.

Once you've enjoyed zooming along the straight, usually empty street, hang a right before you get to the Arch into Horse Guard's Road. This is where the changing of the guard happens once a day. There's a curvalicious bend for you, more grand buildings, some ungainly pelicans in a pond on your right, and if you're lucky a phalanx of men in red uniforms and big furry hats. All in all, a ride that always reminds even un-patriotic me just how odd, but also brilliant, it is to be British.

Image by Trevor Harris

The best cycling streets in London (Part 2)

My next street isn't technically a street (I don't think)- it's a bridge. Waterloo Bridge. I'm sure most of you have walked across it and marvelled at the view. It feels like the central point of the city, clustered with landmarks as far as the eye can see, in all their diverse shapes and colours. To the east, St Paul's pale dome sits calmly in front of that glossy thrusting upstart of the City, the Gherkin. Looking west you've got the mismatched pair of the white swooping  London Eye across from the dark gothic squareness of Parliament and Big Ben. And on the edges of the bridge itself, grand old Somerset House and The Savoy's Deco lines shame the car-park-carbuncle of the National Theatre on the other bank. Even that building adds beauty to the scene, though, when dusk falls and it's illuminated in pink and teal and cyan. The wide Thames connects them all, changing colour with the sky and catching their falling lights at night. I never bore of it.

The reason that I think it counts as a great cycling street is that, unlike many of London's bridges, it is actually pleasant to cycle across. It has a little slope, for one thing, down to the IMAX on the south side. Traffic is generally light and the lanes wide, which means that at off-peak times of day (which wonderfully often co-incides with dusk and dawn) you can have the whole bridge to yourself. Though it's a great walk, I think it's an even better cycle- you emerge from the crowded streets of Covent Garden or the hustle of Trafalgar Square into wide open space, a brief interlude of water and sky and wind in the midst of the city.

This cycle is so joyous sometimes I make up reasons to go south just to do it.

Image by ChrisLikesCake

The best cycling streets in London (Part 1)

My life is a complex, enjoyable jigsaw of part-time, freelance jobs and post-graduate study. One of the side effects of this is that I often work from home, and thus miss out on the joys of the daily commute. During these periods invites to social occasions on the other side of town are seized on with joy in order to get my daily Trusty time.

It also means that when I am working away from home I get to explore lots of different parts of the smoke. One particular job which I started back at today takes me on my very favourite route- Great Percy Street. If you don't know it, it's a short residential road lined with grand Georgian houses not far from King's Cross. What raises it far above the average is the fact that it is a) on a hill of the perfect incline for freewheeling and b) includes a wonderful, treelined roundabout half way down said hill, which, importantly, never has any traffic on it. This divine combination means that I can pull off Amwell Street (a rather nice long sloping hill itself), pick up some speed on the first stretch of Great Percy Street so that by the time I hit the roundabout the momentum takes me round in one big, long, fast glorious swoop. If the sun is out very often I can't help making racing car noises out loud, and I'm not even ashamed. That is how good this hill is, and in any case if you can't let out your inner child on the back of a bike bombing down a hill then when can you?

If you could bottle those endorphins this whole city would look more cheerful.