Cycling in Glasgow

[FindoGask]

Hi - we're hopefully moving to the Glasgow area over the summer, from Edinburgh. We've decided on the Rutherglen/King's Park area.

In Edinburgh, cycling is my main way of getting around if I'm on my own. Be great to hear from cyclists in Glasgow about your experiences but also other road users - do you see many cyclists on the roads? I know there's not the same infrastructure, not as many cycle lanes/advanced stop boxes at traffic lights etc. However the road surfaces are often dreadful here so it's not all rosy, and drivers can be as impatient here as anywhere (I drive too so not having a go at drivers...)

Ideally I'd still like to be able to cycle as much as I do now - I'd really miss it if I had to give it up, but I don't want to be taking my life in my hands every time I go to work!

[kaffkooks]

We used to live in Edinburgh (before having children) and now live just north of Glasgow. Glasgow is awful for cycling so now both my husband and I commute on public transport. Glasgow is wetter and hillier than Edinburgh and the drivers are not as used to cyclists so they often don't give you enough space. We have a childback tandem which we use on weekends for trips on cycle paths. I don't know the Kingspark area very well but I don't think it's very bike friendly.

Sorry to be so negative but this is one of my main gripes about Glasgow. For example, the other day I was in the west end and considered using a nextbike to get along Great Western Road but decided against it as I didn't have my helmet. I am a very experienced and confident cyclist but I just did not feel it would be safe.

Hope your move goes well.

[Borderterrierpuppy]

Lots of people cycle in Glasgow, lots of people commute by bike. I have found most drivers fine as long as I make myself visible and my intensions clear!

[prettybird]

I used to commute to work on the other side of the river. Was able to find a route over Bells Bridge that avoided most of the busy roads.

Now work from home and my cycling is restricted to going across to the West End from the south side for a Pilates class - but again, I have a route that avoids most of the busy roads (I cross Sauchiehall Street and only have to cycle on Argyll Street for about 50m). I have a wee quirk of always counting the number of other cyclists I see. When I was still working in an office, I noticed the number of cyclists increasing over the years (and the infrastructure has improved significantly since then). Now when I go to Pilates (at 10am) I usually see c10 cyclists on the 3.4 mile routes - mostly over Bells Bridge and then in Kelvingrove Park.

My son(17) cycles regularly from Pollokshields to the Gorbals to go to the gym there and has worked out routes he is happy with.

There is an app/web sid#te called Bikehub which can show you routes between different places, based on a choice of (iirc), quickest, flatest, shortest, quietest. There are some surprising "hidden" cycle paths.

[FindoGask]

Just wanted to thank you guys for responding - for some reason this didn't pop up in my active threads when I got replies! A mix of experiences by the sounds of it. prettybird I will check out Bikehub- thanks for the recommendation. I haven't even moved yet and I've already virtually 'cycled through a few different commute routes on google street view - actually quite excited to try them out for real.