Commuting with a folding bicycle

As I mentioned in a previous post, my commuting regime has changed considerably.
Not only I am cycling a longer distance on a very busy route through Greater London; I am also making use of what is commonly known as intermodal commute, using a Dahon folding bicycle.

In essence, when I take a train, I use my folding bike to cycle between train station, office, and home.

I stay at different locations at the weekend and during the week, so I use both South West Trains and Southeastern Railway services.

Travelling on the train
When I travel on South West Trains between Wokingham and London Waterloo, I board the very early 5.53AM train. I am therefore one of the first passengers to get on board. I usually sit in the very last carriage and occupy a seat that allows me to place the folded Dahon Mu P8 next to me without causing trouble to other passengers:

(In these pictures, you can also see the set of Marathon Winter tyres I recently bought)

When the train is full, or can't get a seat next to the bike, I usually park my bike by the side of doors:

I usually park my bike on the side of the doors matching the direction of travel: if the train brakes suddenly, my bike will not fall onto someone's feet!

Bicycles on trains policy

Other passengers are generally accommodating of me taking my folding bike on the train. And both Soth West Trains and Southeastern have bicycle policies which allows folding bicycles at any time of day.

One thing to keep in mind is that some train companies insist the bike is folded before entering the station. I have been asked a few times, at London Waterloo, to fold my bike before going through the manned gate; this only happens during peak times (i.e. before 7PM).

Saving time

The greatest advantage of combining trains and bikes is the incredible flexibility that this offers. Train journeys are mostly quite pleasant, unless a train is delayed or overcrowded.

When taking a folding bike, not only we reduce the total time to destination, but we also gain the flexibility of choosing different routes or simply cycle a bit longer and reach other destinations.