The last day when I was in London I decided to try their public bike rentals. I was worried it was going to be a bit complicated riding around a city I didn’t really know but it actually turned out to be a lot more fun that way. First of all the bike are very cheap to rent costing one pound for 24 hours and no other costs if you use the bike for 30 minute intervals. The rental process is automated using a touch screen and credit card and once you’re done paying for the bike you get a code which you punch into the bike to release the lock.
Me and Nat picked up our bikes from the corner of Hyde Park and rode across to the other side before returning the bike to another bike dock. We then crossed the street to shop a bit and when we were done we picked up new bikes from a different bike dock further down the street. Since I had already paid for 24 hours worth I just placed my card in the machine which recognized me right away and printed out new codes to release 2 new bikes. We then rode down passed Buckingham Palace where we stopped to watch a ceremony and then proceeded to head down towards the river.
Because we were on bikes we were covering a lot of area much more quicker than if we were walking. We also rode in areas we would usually skip by taking the subway so that allowed us to see and discover new things. The fact they have a lot of bike docks all over makes it easy to pick up a bike when you need one and drop off the bikes when you’re done. So next time you’re in London try renting a bike, it’s worth trying out.