Best way to plot a long cycle route? London to Southend

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PoisonIvy

Active Member
Hello,

New member here so apologies if this is in the wrong place.

I'm thinking of cycling from south London to Southend (well, Shoeburyness) this weekend. Does anyone have suggestions for plotting a route that:

- utilises quiet roads (can do some A roads but prefer to avoid for the most part)
- mostly paved (I'm on a road bike)
- can be used to navigate on a smartphone

Last weekend I did London to Oxford using google maps after I failed to understand how Strava maps work (the route planner map was pretty much unreadable). While I did get to Oxford eventually, it took ages because much of it was along gravel paths and towpaths, and a particularly terrifying A road outside of High Wycombe. The NCN route 57 was lovely though. It would have been easier on a hybrid, but I am training for a London-Paris ride in 4 weeks and I'm trying to get in as many hours / miles on the road bike as possible.

Suggestions appreciated, and even better if someone has a route they like.
 

Supersuperleeds

Legendary Member
Location
Leicester
Ridewithgps is what you need. You can search for existing routes as well

Linky >>>>>>>>>>> https://ridewithgps.com/
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
For that journey, search this forum for FNRttC threads, although be aware that the rides go along some quite big roads in the middle of the night.
 
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PoisonIvy

PoisonIvy

Active Member
Thanks for all the tips! I've downloaded ridewithgps and found a decent route on cycle-route.com. Hopefully a combination of the above will sort me out.

(The night rides sound like a laugh. I'm normally fast asleep by 11 most nights, don't know how they manage.)
 
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PoisonIvy

PoisonIvy

Active Member
I've just seen a yellow warning for wind for the east of England starting early afternoon today, so I might postpone this. Should I? I'm pretty new to this and the only long solo ride I've done was London-Oxford last weekend.
 

snorri

Legendary Member
I've just seen a yellow warning for wind for the east of England starting early afternoon today, so I might postpone this. Should I? .
No, don't postpone, all cycle tourists get caught out in poor weather now and again, sometimes much further from home than the distance between London and Southend! It's not as if you are going to be in a blinding snowstorm in that area in August, just allow for extra time on the road and keep an ear open for further forecasts in case there really is going to be a BIG STORM.. There is no shame in turning around or spending a night somewhere if you feel the weather overpowering, just keep in touch with family or friend to let them know of changed plan.
.Gaining experience in adverse conditions is all part of the fun.^_^
 

vickster

Legendary Member
I've just seen a yellow warning for wind for the east of England starting early afternoon today, so I might postpone this. Should I? I'm pretty new to this and the only long solo ride I've done was London-Oxford last weekend.
It probably depends if you feel safe and able to ride in strong winds. There's rain potentially with it too

It's v windy here already and 40mph or stronger are forecast. I wouldn't do a long ride in those conditions if I didn't have to but it's up to you. It'll be hard training if nothing else. Tomorrow is going to be nicer if you can wait (are you getting a train back to London, if so check no Sunday engineering works)
 
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PeteXXX

Cake or ice cream? The choice is endless ...
Location
Hamtun
Would the London Southend BHF route be any good? I'm sure you could grab a GPX file from somewhere.
 
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PoisonIvy

PoisonIvy

Active Member
It probably depends if you feel safe and able to ride in strong winds.

It's v windy here already and 40mph or stronger are forecast. I wouldn't do a long ride in those conditions if I didn't have to but it's up to you. It'll be hard training if nothing else. Tomorrow is going to be nicer if you can wait (are you getting a train back to London, if so check no Sunday engineering works)

Are you near the coast? The wind is picking up here in south London now.

Taking my bike on the train to Shoeburyness today and cycling back to London tomorrow might be the better option in that case. I'm not keen on the sound of 40 mph winds. Not to be a wimp but I don't fancy getting blown off my bike on a dual carriageway (it looks like at least part of the A127 is unavoidable). I do need to train and while I've done a few rides of this distance over the past four or five weekends, I'm still very much a beginner and not that fit yet (that extra 3 stone I need to lose isn't doing me any favours, though it is starting to come off).

I want to get in a 50 mile ride this weekend but it doesn't matter which day I do it. And if I can combine it with visiting friends then it feels like a nice way to combine training and socialising. I'll just have to go easy on the wine tonight.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Nope, I'm in SW London

You could do a nice 50 mile loop down into the Surrey hills or Kent instead, still going to be windy, or as you say see your friends.
It'll be breezy still tomorrow but not as windy as later is forecast

Good luck for London-Paris, are you riding supported or training with the luggage you'll be carrying which is important
 
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PoisonIvy

PoisonIvy

Active Member
Would the London Southend BHF route be any good? I'm sure you could grab a GPX file from somewhere.

I've seen a few of those in my google travels. Is it safe to assume I can do the journey in reverse? I'm thinking of taking my bike on the train and then cycling back to London tomorrow to take advantage of the nicer weather forecast.
 
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