London to Brighton

Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London - I can't do the London to Brighton
run this year - yet again. What has been other ex-L2Bers experiences of
the alternative arrangements - heaping the bikes in a pike in a lorry?
Have bikes been damaged, lost, stolen using this? CJB.

CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London - I can't do the London to Brighton
run this year - yet again. What has been other ex-L2Bers experiences of
the alternative arrangements - heaping the bikes in a pike in a lorry?
Have bikes been damaged, lost, stolen using this? CJB.


I've not done the L2B, but have used the truck + coach option to get
back to the start of the London to Oxford and Oxford to Cambridge rides.
I had no problems (and didn't hear of any) with bikes being damagaed,
mishandled or lost.

However, the truck took an hour more than the coach to get back from
Oxford to Cambridge, so it made for a lot of hanging around.

Doug

CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London

What's wrong with using your own transport - ie the same vehicle you
are using to get to Brighton in the first place?

d.

davek wrote:
CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London

What's wrong with using your own transport - ie the same vehicle you
are using to get to Brighton in the first place?

you can't return via the outward route; there are alternatives but they
take a lot of working out, the A23 cycle path as far as Crawley is OK
but it's pretty awful after that especially with all the returning
cars. I wouldn't want to do it.

CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London - I can't do the London to Brighton
run this year - yet again. What has been other ex-L2Bers experiences of
the alternative arrangements - heaping the bikes in a pike in a lorry?
Have bikes been damaged, lost, stolen using this? CJB.

Why is it incompetence? May be they can't be bothered because it
wouldn't be cost effective to transport a couple of bikes around the
countryside. Just because an organization doesn't do what you want it
doesn't make them incompetent. Maybe you are incompetent for being
unable to arrange an alternative.

Have a nice day

George

On 13 Jun 2006 09:19:11 -0700, "MartinM" wrote:


davek wrote:
CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London

What's wrong with using your own transport - ie the same vehicle you
are using to get to Brighton in the first place?

you can't return via the outward route; there are alternatives but they
take a lot of working out, the A23 cycle path as far as Crawley is OK
but it's pretty awful after that especially with all the returning
cars. I wouldn't want to do it.

NCN route 21, goes from London to somewhere on the south coast (poxy
Sustrans website isn'tthe easiest thing to navigate).

Anyway, Brighton to Crawley cycle route (mostly alongside the A23,
other bits on the "old" A23, some country lanes), then NCN 21 back up
to That Lunnon.



Tim

James Esq wrote:
CJB wrote:
May be they can't be bothered because it
wouldn't be cost effective to transport a couple of bikes around the
countryside.

I agree with the can't be bothered part - it's been suggested that the
old Royal Mail wagons/trains be used to transport bikes while
passengers board a normal train and pay a contribution for the bike
train. This would bring extra custom to the train company and generate
some good publicity.

I think it could be cost effective if the train was filled with bikes,
and each cyclist paid something towards the cost. I've no idea how
much this would have to be but if it's approaching the cost of the
passenger fare then it probably isn't worth it.

peter

In article . com,
MartinM ) wrote:

you can't return via the outward route; there are alternatives but they
take a lot of working out, the A23 cycle path as far as Crawley is OK
but it's pretty awful after that especially with all the returning
cars. I wouldn't want to do it.

The last time but one that I dun it - in the late 80s - I rode all the
way back to Streatham on the A23, but I was young and foolish in those
days...

--
Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
It is impossible to eat a banana without looking like a tw*t.

CJB wrote:
Solely due to the railways total incompetance in being able to organise
any transportation back to London - I can't do the London to Brighton
run this year - yet again.

Why not? Can't you cycle home? Get a lift in a car with a bike carrier,
in a van..?

Did the train operators ever promise to carry tens, or hundreds, of
bikes? Can you not book your bike on board in advance (sure, you'll
have to plan ahead - but that's your lookout, not theirs)?

I fail to see why you accuse the railway of incompetance, when you must
have known they won't take your bike. Thus, why are you even
considering them in the first place? What about the incompetent
airlines and coach companies?

It would be great if a TOC considered laying on a dedicated goods train
to ship the bikes back to London in one go - with owners going on an
ordinary passenger train before/after. Everyone using it would of
course have to pay separately for the service, and it would mean
securing a path for ECS or whoever ran it. If that could be done, I'd
suggest asking whover organises the L2B bike run to try and arrange it
next year.

Jonathan

naked_draughtsman wrote:
I think it could be cost effective if the train was filled with bikes,
and each cyclist paid something towards the cost. I've no idea how
much this would have to be but if it's approaching the cost of the
passenger fare then it probably isn't worth it.

Well, I just posted a similar idea (great minds think alike and all
that!) and whatever the cost is, it must be a good idea if it solves
the problem.

When I've needed to move a large number of people about, I've hired a
people carrier, as my car is too small. I pay a premium for this, but
it solves my problem.

If I have a drink and can't drive home from the station, I take a taxi.
I pay extra for this, but it solves my problem.

Thus, if you cycle to Brighton and need to get home and the train
operator can do it for a premium with a dedicated train, it solves your
problem.

I am sure it can be done, but if people have the attitude that it
should be subsidised to generate good publicity, then it will almost
certainly fail. Especially as the people the TOC is supposedly trying
to impress are the kind that start threads saying how incompentent they
are the rest of the time! Hardly much incentive to do anything as a
goodwill gesture!

If hundreds of people are affected, and there's an official organiser
for the event, then it seems the accusation of incompetence is with
them for not solving a problem that occurs every single year.

Jonathan