Cycling to work, commuting, Horsham, West Sussex

In late 2016, I moved my workplace from a home office to a coworking space in the centre of Horsham. Living about two miles from the new office, the decision to start cycling to work every day was an easy one. Here are my thoughts on cycle commuting over much of the past three years.

I don’t cycle every single day, but I do ride into Horsham and back during rush hour—between 8 and 9am and 5 and 6pm—on three or four days each week. On other days I sometimes walk, sometimes take the train (just one stop, but it means arriving dry when it rains), and sometimes drive. Yes, I do drive, and on those days I’m contributing to Horsham’s traffic. But mostly, I cycle.

Routes

At first, I assumed the most direct route into Horsham would be best. For me, that meant Rusper Road, King’s Road and North Street. But the Rusper Road and King’s Road roundabouts carry heavy traffic, and cycling over the bridge near Horsham Station feels dangerous, with narrow lanes and cars often queued behind. I abandoned that idea.

The second route I tried was Coltsfoot Drive, North Heath Lane, Wimblehurst Road and North Parade. I soon found that turning left at Richmond Road was preferable to braving the Wimblehurst Road traffic. Turning right from Richmond into Hurst Road was sometimes tricky, but still better than Wimblehurst. North Heath Lane is also very busy and backs up daily.

My preferred route now is Coltsfoot Drive, Heath Way, Pondtail Road and North Parade. Although longer than the alternatives, it carries less traffic overall until the Pondtail–North Parade junction. That junction can be busy, but it seems less problematic than others. Often the traffic lights at the Wimblehurst Road and Hurst Road junctions are synchronised, allowing me to cycle through two junctions at once.

On the way home, I use the second route, which has an easier, traffic light-controlled right turn into Wimblehurst Road—simpler than the turn into Pondtail Road. Wimblehurst is narrow and busy, but usually less so than in the mornings.

All my routes are roughly ten times quieter during school holidays.

Is cycle commuting dangerous?

I’ve had a couple of near misses. I avoided one accident by slowing and stopping at a mini roundabout where I had priority but a driver thought otherwise. In another incident, a car pulled out of a junction in front of me. There have also been plenty of close-passing overtakes. I’m definitely more wary when cycling now.

Overall, my commutes haven’t been dangerous, but they aren’t always easy or pleasant either.

Cycling on the pavements

I’ve seen plenty of cyclists avoiding traffic jams—and cars generally—by riding on pavements. My preferred route includes a short footpath cut-through that takes me from one road to another.

Perhaps I should cycle on pavements more often. It would be safer for me, avoid cars, and be quicker than riding on roads. Yet it doesn’t feel right to me. I simply don’t have the habit, so I rarely think to do it.

Yes, I know it’s an offence to cycle on the pavement.

Cycle lanes

Cycling into the centre of Horsham mostly means taking your chances with cars. There’s very little cycling infrastructure—cycle lanes, shared-use paths—and what exists isn’t always of a high standard.

For example, I could take a longer, rather circuitous route to reach an underpass beneath North Street and enter Horsham Park, where cycling is permitted on some paths. If that significantly improved my commute, I would do it. It doesn’t. It’s a no from me.

There have been some limited improvements to cycling infrastructure, such as along King’s Road heading north, and I hope these continue.

The Horsham District Cycling Forum campaigns for better cycling facilities and infrastructure in the town. They work hard in a tough environment to make cycling safer and easier.

Cycle parking

Horsham has plenty of cycle parking: larger stands for ten or more bikes at various locations, and many groups of two, three or four Sheffield stands. The latter are more convenient for my office, and that’s what I use.

I would guess Sheffield stands are easier and cheaper to install and maintain, so my suggestion for cheap infrastructure improvements would be more of them.

Walking

Some days, walking seems far preferable to cycling. Walking gives me time for my own thoughts, and a walk into Horsham on a nice spring day is most pleasant. On the other hand, it takes about an hour out of the day, whereas cycling takes 20 to 24 minutes.

Overall

I’m lucky to have the choice of walking, driving or cycling into Horsham for my commute. Cycling is my preferred method of travel. It isn’t always easy—routes are tricky, it can be cold and wet, and it is sometimes stressful—but it’s healthy and cheap, and I like how it feels on a good day.

I plan to continue.