Those who follow me on Twitter or Facebook - that's probably everyone reading this - will know that around June last year I got on a (pedal) bike for the first time in 14 years and haven't stopped going on about cycling ever since. Originally I planned to stay off-road (there are plenty of nice bridleways around Croydon, and extending into the Surrey countryside), but as my utter terror at the thought of riding in traffic reduced, my on-road mileage increased.

Last week I started taking the bike on the train to and from work in London, intending to reduce the time wasted on the slow, bumbling walk to and from the station at either end. This involved a morning ride from London Bridge to Aldwych, and an evening ride through Trafalgar Square and along the Mall to Victoria.

However, on Friday I got impatient waiting for 7pm to roll around (when the bikes are allowed on the train), and asked my colleague if he minded me tagging along on his commute back. It's OK, he lives fairly close to me - I didn't just follow him home!

I thought I'd jot down some thoughts on the journey, which took in some interesting bits of good and bad cycle infrastructure, which many cyclists have to deal with every day. I thought I'd jot down some thoughts on my experience - maybe it will help others, maybe people will have different views. Should be interesting in any case!

Full disclosure of my experience: my on-road experience so far is confined to quietish roads on the Isle of Wight and in the Lake District, and a bit of pottering about in Croydon (admittedly, with a fair experience of dodging trams and buses). I have a mountain bike (for the bridleways!) which I recently put onto city tyres. It's a much more pleasant experience on road now. I'm not outrageously fit, but I can do a 13 mile ride after work without worrying too much.

So, here are my thoughts!

1. Aldwych to Trafalgar Square via Strand

Anyone who regularly visits this area will know what a joke Strand is. It's usually clogged with buses and taxis (and pedestrians!).There are some token narrow cycle paths on pavements in the area, but they're slower than weaving through the stationary vehicles. The trick down here is not to be intimidated by the traffic - a lot of it is large (buses), but it doesn't go very fast, and won't get too grumpy if you sit in the middle of the lane. It's rare to see anything doing more than 10mph anyway.

We could have used Embankment but our original plan was to use CS8. Also, Embankment has lots of fast, scary coaches, while the buses on Strand are rarely moving. Other options included crossing Waterloo Bridge and down the A23, but the roundabout with the IMAX is big, fast and dangerous.

Trafalgar Square itself is not for the faint-hearted, as it is several lanes wide and there seems to be traffic all over the place. Like all roundabouts, it's important to be aware of what is to the right of you - if going several exits there will be traffic trying to cut across. My general experience here is that most of the traffic from the Strand direction heads all the way round to Pall Mall, so there isn't that much conflict if exiting onto Whitehall or the Mall.

2. Parliament Square

Due to Millbank being closed, we didn't go across the square, but instead turned left from Whitehall onto the bridge. That's quite a relief, as I've only used Parliament Square twice before and it wasn't terribly pleasant. The main problem is having to cut across lanes. You have to behave like a car or motorbike here, sit in the middle of the lane you want and get round it. To do otherwise (by hugging the pavement all the way around) seems fairly deadly to me. If you're not confident enough to do that yet, probably best to avoid it until the London Cycling Campaign get their way.

3. Westminster Bridge / Lambeth Palace Road / Albert Embankment

Westminster Bridge has a cycle and bus lane, if you can cope with the poor road surface. However, once 'south of the river' you have to cut across a few lanes to turn right. Not ideal, but it is traffic light controlled so there's an opportunity to nip ahead of the stationary traffic and change lanes then. This would be easier if it wasn't for imbeciles who think the green box with the white bicycle means "it's OK if you can't judge your stopping distance, there's this big green zone to aim for".

Lambeth Palace Road and Albert Embankment are alright - a cycle lane of reasonable width keeps the traffic out of the way for the most part.

4. Vauxhall Cross

This is a contentious junction, because there is a form of cycle provision here. A say 'a form'. It's fine for leisure riders or beginners - the lanes are on pavements shared with pedestrians. However, they are too narrow for the volume of cyclists coming through, and the amount of time required to cross at toucan crossings around the junction would negate any advantage the bike had. We stayed on the road with other cyclists and used the junction as any normal traffic would - however, this includes crossing busy lanes of traffic. As Boris might say, definitely need to 'keep your wits about you'.

5. Cycle Superhighway 7

Drum roll, please! After a bit of arsing around with junctions designed for motor vehicles (Parliament Square) and cycle facilities designed for children on bikes (Vauxhall Cross), we finally came to the centrepiece of London's cycling infrastructure: a cycle superhighway.

First impressions: the low grip surface is great, if a little un-nerving at first. There are parts where the wide lane helps give confidence. However, in many places it's just a bit of blue paint in half a bus lane, so there are buses to contend with too. In a few places the cycle lane is narrow, while the neighbouring traffic lanes are wide enough to be narrowed and still have space for motor vehicles. In the dark, it wasn't always clear what was a cycle superhighway, what was just a bus lane and what was a normal cycle lane.

Is it better than cycling on an unmarked road? Yes. Could it be better? Yes.

6. A23

Crossing from the A3 to the A23 is a good run - fairly quiet and the traffic seemed well behaved. Once onto the A23, it's fairly easy going - moderate traffic and traffic lights, with some cycle lanes. 

Probably not for beginners, but nothing to be terrified of. The quality of the lane through Streatham is disappointing though - potholes galore.

6. In to Croydon!

As I got to Croydon and onto home turf, I experienced something which I had been led to be believe was rather strange. I was trying to cycle straight on when I saw the taxi on my right indicating left (to turn across my path). I backed off as he was a touch ahead, but he stopped and waved me through. Very nice of him, and a pleasant surprise!

The roads in Croydon are mixed - a good number of cycle lanes, but not always well maintained. I had one guy overtake me on a blind hill with temporary traffic lights, only to sit in the queue I sailed past at the other end.

There's a particularly bad piece of infrastructure on the eastern end of Lower Addiscombe Road/St James Road, where the A222 goes round Hogarth Crescent. This is a two or three lane gyratory with high walls on either side and a cycle lane around the edge. I came into the cycle lane at speed from the surrounding roads, then immediately had to change into the main traffic lane. The road was covered in debris, most of which looked like broken tarmac and glass. As is so often the case, this was particularly bad in the cycle lane as the debris gets thrown into the gutter.

Home!

After all of that, I got home safely! I was buzzing for hours after such a long ride, which lasted until I had a refreshing Bulmers to round off the week.

Overall, I found it a positive experience. If I was less experienced on the bike I think I would have found many bits quite terrifying, so if you are planning to commute long distances or on busy roads, make sure you get some practice first. I didn't know the route, but had someone with me which helped a lot.

It's something I'd be happy to try again when I'm a little bit fitter - I found myself very tired later in the evening, so couldn't do the 26 mile round trip every day at the moment. Time to get training!