Anybody use a motorbike to get to LHR?
 

I'm due to start commuting to LHR and as I live along the A3 corridor am contemplating getting a motorbike at least for dry days to reduce the amount of time spent sitting in traffic.

Does anyone here actually use a motor-bike to get to work?
How hair raising is it?
Do you regularly encounter traffic issues working a BA shorthaul roster?
How much time should I realistically allow from Guildford?
Can you park a motorbike at T5 as staff or are you still forced to use the bus from the crew car parking?

Grateful for any views - especially from bikers.

Lots
Depends on your riding
Yes so filtering is a god send
20min-40min depending on riding style
T5 motorbike car park but buy a GOOD lock as lots of thefts, no bus required as less than 5min walk to crew report centre
Long waiting list but BA provide lockers to store gear

I go to t3, not crew but varying times of day. Yes it can be scary but the old adage of assuming everyone is trying to kill you helps keep you on your toes. T5 has a similar bike Park area,near the bus station area I think? Itll save you a lot of time at rush hour,just depends how much luggage you have and how easily you can store your riding gear. On the whole I'm glad I do it, i reckon my total time saved on my commute over the last year must be about 30 hours,no exaggeration!

You've doubtless already seen this during your enquiries:

Heathrow Commuter: Heathrow Commuter: By motorcycle

I've haven't read it and it's possibly of not much use, but the best of luck anyway!

Thanks guys
 

That's great and I really appreciate the replies. Just being able to park at T5 chops a good 20mins or so off the commute I guess because otherwise you're into parking at Compass and catching the bus. I reckon on congested roads the bike might knock another half hour off so perhaps it makes a lot of sense despite the hassle of changing clothes etc.

Anybody know how long the waitlist is for BA lockers at T5? As for the thefts you'd have thought they'd have CCTV and police keeping a close eye on the entire T5 area so I can't understand why this is happening - what the heck are the police doing?!!

Many thanks for the replies and no I hadn't seen that page on the T5 website. I think I need to get quite competent at riding before I would be brave enough to try this and if I'm commuting outside peak hours and not expecting a hold up I would certainly take the car but it's an interesting line worth pursuing I think.

Don't really wish to be a naysayer but...
Factor the 30 hours a year saved (out of how many hours in your life?) against the real possibility of
having to deal with consequences of one of those pre-occupied and possibly frustrated 'motorists' getting you.

An enforced stay in hospital, months of rehab and the legacy of a lifetime disability (if you're lucky).
These days, the cards are stacked against you if you mix it with commuter traffic.

Having said that, I'm still a keen biker (Triumph Thruxton, currently) but keep my riding for the right times and places.
Motorcycling would have to be one of the purer forms of enjoyment and satisfaction (behind flying, of course).

In my ever-so-humble opinion, commuting on two wheels is a dangerous activity and a false economy, in terms of both time
and money, when one looks at the big picture.
Leave a little earlier and enjoy some good music in the comfort of your motor car while thinking of your forthcoming biking weekend.


p.s. It brings to mind the exchange between an oldie and a youngster: "Do you know where you're going?" - "No, but if I don't hurry, I'll be late!"

Locker wait list is a pure luck thing not time, lots of us have been complaining and movement is happening as the main problem was crew commuting from Europe etc and storing their uniform in said lockers for weeks at a time.
You can opt to share a locker etc and now the ops team are requiring a copy of v5 and insurance to prove bike use so it is improving.

As for theft.... it was the heathrow airport police who gave me that advice!

Stanwell you make a valid point, and some days if im too tired or its too cold the car doth beckon, however I wouldnt ever get back in time to put first born to bed if I always drove. Granted you could argue im running the risk of not making it back at all,maybe as I get older and wiser this will change! Safe riding everyone, if there was more of us there would be less congestion and hopefully more awareness...

Safer than it was !
 

Using a motorcycle during peak traffic times has got a lot safer, I started riding in the late 70's when things were bad, the press had spent a decade painting bikers as the scum of the earth and most people in cars subconsciously took the same attitude that wiping out a motorbike was a civic duty.

Things have changed and the Monday to Friday car driver is by and large bike aware and gives you room to operate. The problems come with the weekend numtys who take to the motorways with a brain that has then firmly glued to the middle lane and totally transfixed in their own little world.

My advice is get some very good kit to ride in, electric gloves and inner jacket for the winter as all this keeps you comfortable and the mind on the task in hand, keep the speed down when filtering and double your caution at the weekends when the truly inept take to the roads.

Remember that as you get into the airport other drivers will be more likely to do stupid things as they try to find their way around a place they don't know very well and are also likely to be under stress because of time pressures.

Good post, A and C.
There is ,though, a high percentage of numtys out there in 'peak-hour'.
As you'd noted, this kind of motorist is quite often in a world of his own (I'll get around to the women some other time).

It's a big subject and subject to many variables - the trick is staying upright and in one piece while you learn about it.