Alternative routes from East to Central London?

[Alan Whicker]

Hello fellow London commuters,

I cycle daily from Leytonstone to The City, though the Olympic development works are making this increasingly difficult, if not downright dangerous.

The main routes are through Leyton>Ruckholt Road>Eastway>Victoria Park or Stratford>Bow>Mile End. Not much of a problem in daylight, but coming back in the dark often feels quite lethal, even when i'm lit up like Blackpool illuminations. The roads are a mess, full of HGVs and ever-shifting barriers and roadworks, especially the Leyton route.

I'm a confident, assertive rider with more than 20 years city cycling experience - but even I get the heebyjeebys on these roads. Does anyone have any quieter routes that they've discovered?

Cheers all!

 

[her_welshness]

I sympathise Alan, the Olympic works are completely screwing access to the canals and the Greenway has also been affected I gather?

I know that there is the CSH/BoJo route that runs between Barking and the City which might be worth intercepting.

If no other route advice comes through then its well worth joining your local LCC yahoo-mail group, where I am sure that folk on there will be able to give you some excellent advice.

Good luck!

 

[Alan Whicker]

Hi, her_welshness,

Yes, I think I may have to explore CS3 a bit more - maybe getting off at Newham Way instead of Shadwell and going up Manor Road to Stratford. There just don't seem to be any better, direct routes without going down hundreds of backstreets. The big problem is crossing the Blackwall Tunnel approach.

I read yesterday that whatever's going on at Eastway/Ruckholt road "should" be finished by the end of november, anyway.

 

[Dan B]

Plus there are only so many places to cross the Rier Lea or Lee (or is it "Lee or Lea"? I always get those mixed up)

How far north in Leytonstone are you? If you're anywhere that makes it sensible to take the Lea Bridge Road, the route the other side (Lower Clapton Rd, Clarence Rd, Mare St, cycle path round the back of Hackney Town Hall, London Fields) is pretty civilised. But if you're on Leytonstone High Rd it's a long way north

 

[Tynan]

this is my route albeit from the Green Man rab direction

yes, it's not great although the home leg in the dark is better and most recently much improved, a dodgy section is suddenly replaced by a long 'extra' lane in immaculate tarmac

going in is bloody hellish mind

not sure there are any obvious alternatives if you start in Leytonstone and don't want back roads, Lea Bridge Road is one of the options I moved on from a few years ago

 

[Alan Whicker]

@ Coruskate: Sadly, Lea Bridge Road's rather out of the way for me - I live at the Stratford end of Leytonstone.

@ Tynan: Which is the bit with the new tarmac? On the Eastway? There was a very handy cycle path nearly all the way from Ruckholt Road to Hackney Wick until this phase of construction started - I hope they'll replace it.

Thanks all, for your help.

 

[Tynan]

blimey, erm, it's only a few hundred yards of lane that's been closed off for months, I think E of the Greenway where all the L turns are blocked off for the Olympic

it's is mad down there, the roadworks seem to change every few days and they're set up in a rather casual way with no real thought for cyclists

I watched with interest two chaps cutting paving stones with a bloody great circular saw, with the paving stone balanced on another, the second bloke holding it steady from time to time with one boot, it screamed industrial injury

cycle path? shudder

 

[Alan Whicker]

Well, it was more a shared path all the way from 'Suicide Bridge' at Ruckholt Road, to the bridge over the canal before you get to Hackney Wick. It wasn't perfect but it was better than mixing it with the HGVs and East London's limitless stock of rubbish drivers.

The only peds were the unfailingly polite ex-Gurkhas they use for security on the Olympic site.

 

[dellzeqq]

I've always found the Mile End Road to be a complete breeze, and, while I take your point about the darkness, the streetlighting is pretty good all the way out to Stratford.

 

[Alan Whicker]

It's the stretch from the flyover to Stratford that's my problem - it's effectively a road through a construction site. Maybe i'll start walking

 

[dellzeqq]

It's the stretch from the flyover to Stratford that's my problem - it's effectively a road through a construction site. Maybe i'll start walking

I see what you're saying. I've only ever done this via the flyover, but the eastward route seems to me to be OK because you have sufficient speed off the flyoever to get in to the 'fast' lane and from there in to the cycle/bus route that cuts out the loop road.

Westbound not so good, though.