Anyone from Cambs area. Route advice.

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GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
What's wrong with the Hinxton one, and why does the 505 cycle path have the same problem? I've used both. They seem ok to me and better than the road option, and have resulted in a four fold increase in the number of people cycling to work in my department. That's 4 less cars on the road. A good start no?

It's a genuine question.
Not enough space if there's a ped or another cyclist, rabits, dogs, foxed, HGVs habitually being parked on the pavement meaning you have to go into the road & the white line can be absolutly leathal. I'm aware of 5 semi-serious off this year due to wildlife & another 2 offs due to pedestrian/cyclist interactions. The A505 one is exactly the same width & so will suffer from the same problems.
 

Stephen C

Über Member
I find it's actually worse off-peek. The traffic is usually travailing a few mph faster & wider spaced.
At times like that I don't find it too bad, there is enough time to get to the centre, then onto the road, and once you are over the crest you can be seen, and with not much traffic, there is no trouble for the car to move to the other lane.

Now I'm cringing as that's the worse place to cross. Actually there's quite bad visibility there, you just don't realise it! I'm aware of a number of near misses there when people have ended up being unsighted & as I said before you don't realise you're unsighted.
Really? To the left, you can see all the way to the bend (by the middle road to Abington), and to the right, even though there is the crest of the hill, from the time you can see the car to it passing is a fair amount of time, enough time that if you can't see anything you have enough to to cross the road, especially on a bike.
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
At times like that I don't find it too bad, there is enough time to get to the centre, then onto the road, and once you are over the crest you can be seen, and with not much traffic, there is no trouble for the car to move to the other lane.
Ah, being a recumbent rider I tend not to be able to fit in the middle island area & not have to do silly manoeuvring to pull away in the right direction so I have to do both lanes in one go.

Really? To the left, you can see all the way to the bend (by the middle road to Abington), and to the right, even though there is the crest of the hill, from the time you can see the car to it passing is a fair amount of time, enough time that if you can't see anything you have enough to to cross the road, especially on a bike.
Here? Yeah, it's very deceptive it looks like you have good visibility but it's all to easy to miss vehicles with them being masked by other vehicles.
 

Stephen C

Über Member
Here? Yeah, it's very deceptive it looks like you have good visibility but it's all to easy to miss vehicles with them being masked by other vehicles.
That junction, but from the other way, so here (although this is a bad photo of it). I do understand what you are saying, but this is the one bit of my commute that I don't rush and don't mind waiting for the perfect gap, certainly wouldn't recommend it to a novice!
 

Stephen C

Über Member
It's very smooth now (apart from a small bit), I might go an cancel the MTB I had ordered to take that section :thumbsup:
 

oldandslow

Über Member
Bit of an old thread, but lots of relevant stuff. I'm planning a one-off trip into Little Abington from the south west (I could come via Fowlmere or maybe Duxford, but south of the A505 is hillier). Looks like there's a route from Thriplow to Whittlesford, and then pick up the A505 path discussed above? Presumably it underpasses the A505 at the TL515489 minor road bridge? The alternative seems to be a long bridleway from Great Chesterford to Linton, but that's bound to be muddy and I'll be on a road bike, though not with lightweight tyres. And again, Great Chesterford from the south west means more hills than the more northern route.
 

robjh

Legendary Member
Bit of an old thread, but lots of relevant stuff. I'm planning a one-off trip into Little Abington from the south west (I could come via Fowlmere or maybe Duxford, but south of the A505 is hillier). Looks like there's a route from Thriplow to Whittlesford, and then pick up the A505 path discussed above? Presumably it underpasses the A505 at the TL515489 minor road bridge? The alternative seems to be a long bridleway from Great Chesterford to Linton, but that's bound to be muddy and I'll be on a road bike, though not with lightweight tyres. And again, Great Chesterford from the south west means more hills than the more northern route.
The bridleways from Great Chesterford can certainly be muddy and are not good on a road bike. The A505 cyclepath (north side of road, starting from A1301 roundabout is good. Sorry I haven't checked your map ref, but it does take you under the main road and you're almost at the Abingtons there.
You mention Thriplow to Whittlesford - the road goes via Newton, but there's a decent-enough gravel bridleway too, with just one muddy bit in the middle - i don't know which you were thinking of.
 
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