For reasons beyond me, I’ve been rather excited about this whole scheme – far more excited than the appearance of 3-speed heavy bikes should really elicit from a fully grown man who has never really been that keen on cycling. Maybe it’s simply the newness of it all. Maybe the nonchalance of cycling into a dock and walking away carefree as others fiddle with combination locks. Or perhaps the feeling of being in a secret ‘club’ as you exchange knowing looks when passing fellow Boris bikers.
And as well as serving the very practical purpose of getting me to and from work each day, the bikes have also started to make me think about leisure/sport/fun applications. As a regular jogger, I’ve been gradually integrating the bikes into my morning runs. It’s a great way of extending my trips beyond my regular routes, and providing a bit of variety in addition to just running.
So I started to think about having some fun with these bikes:
- How many docking stations could you visit in one day?
- How fast could you cycle a Boris?
- How far could you take a Boris outside of London and back in 30mins / 1 hour / 1 day?
- Could a Boris Bike duathlon (running/cycling between docking stations) be organised?
With a free day yesterday, I embarked on my first ‘Boris Bike Challenge’. The rules I set myself were very simple:
- Visit one docking station in each ‘village’ (as defined by the docking station names)
- Incur no usage fees
The result was a rather bizarre mix of running, cycling and orienteering. I had sketched out a rough route, but outside of the areas I know well (central/West/South West), there was a lot of planning ‘on the fly’ (and a lot of getting lost…). One thing is for sure though, I wouldn’t have survived with just a paper map – my android app was absolutely essential. Also essential was my £4.99 Casio digital watch which made sure I was adhering to the ‘five minute rule’ between stations.
All in all, it was a brilliant way to see the city, and far more interesting than my usual jog. The results in brief:
- Number of docking stations visited: 61 (Shad Thames was not working, and I couldn’t get a bike out of either of the ones in Monument.)
- Total time: 7.5 hours (a lot of messing about, especially in the City. Some good planning would cut this right down)
- Approx distance: 32 miles
- Cycle Super Highways used: 1 (CS7)
- Explanations given to strangers about the fee structure: 3
- Number of insults received: 1 (From a passing van. I think he was just jealous)
I would love to know if anyone else has had similar thoughts or done anything like this? Any other ideas for similar applications for the bikes?
Results from my day out in full below!
14:13 14 Aug 2010
14:26 The Tennis Courts, Regent’s Park Warwick Avenue Station, Maida Vale Hire £0.00
13:55 14 Aug 2010
13:58 Doric Way , Somers Town Eversholt Street , Camden Town Hire £0.00
13:45 14 Aug 2010
13:50 Belgrove Street , King’s Cross Endsleigh Gardens, Euston Hire £0.00
13:27 14 Aug 2010
13:40 Wells Street, Fitzrovia Tavistock Place, Bloomsbury Hire £0.00
13:09 14 Aug 2010
13:15 St. James’s Square, St. James’s Broadwick Street, Soho Hire £0.00
12:58 14 Aug 2010
13:03 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden St. Martin’s Street, West End Hire £0.00
12:48 14 Aug 2010
12:53 Milford Lane, Temple Wellington Street , Strand Hire £0.00
12:29 14 Aug 2010
12:36 Chadwell Street, Angel Stonecutter Street, Holborn Hire £0.00
12:19 14 Aug 2010
12:23 Berry Street, Clerkenwell St. John Street, Finsbury Hire £0.00
12:08 14 Aug 2010
12:11 Museum of London, Barbican West Smithfield Rotunda, Farringdon Hire £0.00
11:56 14 Aug 2010
12:00 Fore Street Avenue, Guildhall Newgate Street , St. Paul’s Hire £0.00
11:20 14 Aug 2010
11:25 Finsbury Square , Moorgate Bank of England Museum, Bank Hire £0.00
10:58 14 Aug 2010
11:04 Falkirk Street, Hoxton Baldwin Street, St. Luke’s Hire £0.00
10:44 14 Aug 2010
10:52 Devonshire Square, Liverpool Street Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch Hire £0.00
10:23 14 Aug 2010
10:25 Leman Street, Aldgate LMU Commercial Road, Whitechapel Hire £0.00
10:13 14 Aug 2010
10:17 Tower Gardens , Tower Vaughan Way, Wapping Hire £0.00
09:37 14 Aug 2010
09:51 Union Street, The Borough Tooley Street, Bermondsey Hire £0.00
09:29 14 Aug 2010
09:31 Colombo Street, Southwark Bankside Mix, Bankside Hire £0.00
09:19 14 Aug 2010
09:23 Lambeth North Station, Waterloo Stamford Street, South Bank Hire £0.00
09:10 14 Aug 2010
09:14 Hampton Street, Walworth Geraldine Street, Elephant & Castle Hire £0.00
08:56 14 Aug 2010
08:59 Kennington Cross, Kennington Kennington Road Post Office, Oval Hire £0.00
08:44 14 Aug 2010
08:50 Regency Street, Westminster Kennington Lane Tesco, Vauxhall Hire £0.00
08:31 14 Aug 2010
08:36 Elizabeth Bridge, Victoria Rampayne Street, Pimlico Hire £0.00
08:21 14 Aug 2010
08:24 Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge Eaton Gate, Belgravia Hire £0.00
08:03 14 Aug 2010
08:11 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington St. Luke’s Church, Chelsea Hire £0.00
07:54 14 Aug 2010
07:57 Abingdon Villas, Kensington Bramham Gardens, Earl’s Court Hire £0.00
07:34 14 Aug 2010
07:44 Palace Gardens Terrace, Notting Hill Kensington Olympia Station, Olympia Hire £0.00
07:23 14 Aug 2010
07:27 Cleveland Gardens, Bayswater Black Lion Gate, Kensington Gardens Hire £0.00
07:09 14 Aug 2010
07:18 Speakers’ Corner 1, Hyde Park Eastbourne Mews, Paddington Hire £0.00
06:57 14 Aug 2010
07:02 Mallory Street, Marylebone Green Street, Mayfair Hire £0.00
06:45 14 Aug 2010
06:51 Warwick Avenue Station, Maida Vale Lisson Grove, St. John’s Wood Hire £0.0
) – instead, it’s pop into the gym, get changed and pick up abike from Sun Street or Christopher Street and go exploring for 20 minutes or so before looking for a docking station to drop off and spend 5 mins or so looking for the next station for the next leg.
