England : Warwickshire Ride to Warwicks 2014?

[gbs]

31/05, 0700 at HPC - I will be there subject to reasonable weather (absence of Nly gales and ice) and of course some evidence of form in April/May.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I test-rode the first leg of this yesterday. Route here

Quite pleased with the route but for a couple of question marks.

I started at Charing Cross at 7. From HPC I went to Paddington, and then 9km of badger/arse interface along the canal. I really liked this, but there are problems. At 7-8am on a Saturday it's quite quiet, just a few runners, dog walkers and cyclists. But if there were several of us, we'd have to be very widely spaced, to avoid irritating snarl-ups. Surface is mainly concrete with some asphalt.

The big advantage is that provides crossings of the A40 and the N Circular, both of which are monsters the like of which we SE Londoners do not see. I'll give some thought to a non-canal alternative.

Next up is Sudbury Hill, which goes up, then down. Then duck underneath a big roundabout system at Harrow. Up towards Watford. Traffic was quieter than I expected - quieter than SE London at that time. Maybe the presence of nearby the big monster roads has an effect? On towards Watford.

Off road onto the Ebury way S of Watford. A nice smooth compacted earth surface for about 3km. Then another funny bit. A walk of about 500m over Croxley Common Moor. I did try cycling a bit, but even with my 28mm tyres I was wheel-spinning and sliding around all over the place. So I chose to walk and enjoy the sound of the Woodpeckers.

Then onto small lanes over the M25 and on to Berkhamstead. It was 55km/34mi and it took me 3.5 leisurely hours, with frequent stops. Probably about par.

Afterwards I continued on as far as Leighton Buzzard, where I got the train home in time to watch the rugby.

 

[martint235]

I know this may not be popular (and I haven't had a flick back through the pages to see who is coming along) but the quickest (and to me safest) route out of London NW wards is straight down the A5. It's not too busy at the weekend, particularly early in the morning (Sat afternoon can be a bit of pain) and it'll drop you in a convenient place to head over to S of Watford.

 

[ianrauk]

Agree with Martin. A5 will be fine early morning, be much quicker too and less faffing/walking.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I had the feeling as I rode along that I'd over-complicated matters a little. Then again, Park Lane, Marble Arch and Staples Corner are pretty low on my list of must-see places.

There's a choice between making it tolerable and interesting, and going slowly, and just accepting the inevitable horribleness of cycling in London and getting it out of the way as quickly as possible.

I really enjoyed the canal bit on my own (I commute out of Paddington by train - nice to get another perspective) , but I did think, each time I squeezed past an oncoming cyclist or a dog walker, how awkward this would be with several cyclists.

I'll try an A5 based version another weekend. Once you're past the N Circular route finding is no problem, but it's such a barrier. I'm so glad that the South Circular is still crap. (Crap at carrying lots of cars that is. But not crap at being an ordinary road.)

 

[martint235]

On the A5, the North Circular is crossed by going straight over the flyover. It's fine, if there's a big group just string it out into single file. It's a bit similar to Bow in that as you drop off the flyover you have a lane coming up your left but iirc it's a give way or light controlled, I've never had an issue with traffic coming up it anyway.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Thanks. I'll go up there and have a look. It sounds a bit like the N end of the Old Kent Road. (Which, incidentally, I have filed away under "places I'm never, ever going to cycle again")

Alternatively there are a couple of footbridges just to the E of Staples Corner which could make for a less stressful escape. I'll ride up there and have a look.

 

[Tim Hall]

FWIW, LonJoG of a couple of years ago went more or less up the A5, except for those bits that were no long the A5 and had been demoted to $SOME_OTHER_NUMBER. Ok, it was at the dead of night (and getting applauded by the hookah smokers as we went up the Edgware Road was a hoot), so traffic levels might be different. Ask dellzeqq where we went. Alternatively, Flying Dodo did a couple of training runs from Northampton into London, at least one of which came in from that way.

 

[ianrauk]

Thanks. I'll go up there and have a look. It sounds a bit like the N end of the Old Kent Road. (Which, incidentally, I have filed away under "places I'm never, ever going to cycle again")

Alternatively there are a couple of footbridges just to the E of Staples Corner which could make for a less stressful escape. I'll ride up there and have a look.

Early morning it really won't be a problem. At the weekends it's near deserted.

 

[StuAff]

FWIW, LonJoG of a couple of years ago went more or less up the A5, except for those bits that were no long the A5 and had been demoted to $SOME_OTHER_NUMBER. Ok, it was at the dead of night (and getting applauded by the hookah smokers as we went up the Edgware Road was a hoot), so traffic levels might be different. Ask dellzeqq where we went. Alternatively, Flying Dodo did a couple of training runs from Northampton into London, at least one of which came in from that way.

LonJoG night one route here http://connect.garmin.com/activity/192463757

...And here's one of FD's training rides http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177469594

 

[Flying Dodo]

The A5, in or out of London, even when busy isn't too bad from a cycling point of view at any time of day or night, as it's generally quite wide. And in fact in North London there are a number of nice stretches of bus lane. Navigation wise, it makes it very easy. The route I used for my HS2 ride is quieter from a traffic point of view, heading out to Harrow, Ruislip, Harefield to Amersham and beyond, but it's a lot of navigating, meaning you're constantly checking the GPS and stopping in order to waiting for other riders. So I'd use the A5 for simplicity.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Follow the A5 too far and you miss Berkhamsted tho, by going E of H Hempstead. Next ride I try I'll go up the A5, then peel off L at Stanmore, head for Bushey, then join my route from yesterday, or a variant thereof.

 

[martint235]

Follow the A5 too far and you miss Berkhamsted tho, by going E of H Hempstead. Next ride I try I'll go up the A5, then peel off L at Stanmore, head for Bushey, then join my route from yesterday, or a variant thereof.

Follow the A5 too far and you end up at Holyhead I think. But that's a ride for another day......

 

[Dogtrousers]

Recce 2 done today. Track here http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2318227

We started from Charing Cross at about 6:55. Up to HPC, bypassed Park Lane and Marble Arch by going through the park and a wiggle through back streets and on to the A5. Well, it is straight, and it goes in the right direction. It's a right slog, and the frequent traffic lights never let you settle, but it was over soon enough, after about an hour.

Then up and over a hill at Stanmore, where we spent about 20 minutes fixing a malfunctioning front mech using the tried and tested method of random twiddling, and on to Bushey. We passed through Watford largely on cycle paths. It would have been quicker to stick to the main roads, but we deserved a bit of pleasantness after the A5. Nice, well surfaced cycle paths in the main.

North of the M25 the roads were showing signs of recent flooding, with lots of sand and gravel and mud slicks, much to the disgust of my riding partner who was taking his new carbin bling out for its first spin.

We rolled into Berkhamsted at about 10:05 and stopped for breakfast. We left Berkhamsted on the main 4251 to Tring, rather than one of the gratuitously hilly alternatives. From Tring to Mentmore, where we stopped for second breakfast. Then Wing, Stewkley, Mursley, Horwood, Nash and Beachapton. This was lovely country, nice weather with a slight tailwind. Fantastic. We followed, initially, the route of @CharlieB 's Bucks ride from last year.

Much happier with the practicality of this route. Maybe the cycle path wiggles through Watford are a bit fiddly, but I do like them.

At this point we peeled off and headed to Milton Keynes for the train. As Wild Willy Barret sang "How can you ever find your way, when the roads don't go nowhere? 'Cos there ain't nowhere much to go ... in Milton Keynes"

 

[Kies]

That route looks great, and not too lumpy. What was the general road condition?