Brixton/ Feltham to Heathrow safe commute?

[nice_n_tidy]

I've recently started commuting from Brixton in zone 2 to Heathrow. I get the tube or drive, but the tube is about 2 hours and my average driving speed can be as low as 7 mph in traffic.
It's about 18 miles by the route I drive but could be faster if I didn't use A roads and motorways.
I'm considering either getting the train to Feltham and cycling from there, or doing the whole lot by bike if I didn't have to do major junctions and three lane roads. Has anybody got any experience of these routes or am I being completely over-optimistic and naive?

Advice appreciated.

 

[style over speed]

I don't go as far as heathrow but for Brixton to the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 I cycle the following route: around the top side of Clapham Common to Lavender Sweep, down to St Johns Road, under the rail bridge between Clapham Junction and Asda then left behind the train station and on to Wandsworth Bridge, from there its a nice route around the Hurlingham Club under Putney Bridge, through Bishops park by the river, then along some quiet roads past Fulham soccer ground and on to Hammersmith. From there I use the riverside path to Chiswick Mall, you can't go too fast but there is a fantastic view.

hope that helps a bit

 

[DJ]

I don't have any experiance of the routes, but depending on how fit you are, get the map out and work out the easiest route, and if you don't think you can do the whole thing then work out a way of doing part of it by train and part by bike.

Clapham junction is near you and you could cycle to there and then go by train or summat!

Enjoy your commuting, it's a distance you could get your teeth in to.

 

[dellzeqq]

my route comes with a health warning - well, actually, two health warnings. The basic premise is that riding city streets for twenty or so miles is hard work - add up all those dodgy junctions, all those parked cars (is he about to open the door?) all those waits at traffic lights, and you'll arrive at work wrung out - and the journey home will be gruesome - especially in winter.

I've been to Heathrow a fair few times on a bike, and, other than the time that I took the Brompton from Clapham Junction (you might go from Vauxhall) to Feltham (I don't think SWT take non-folding bikes on the 'reverse' route in the mornings or afternoons) I've ridden via Clapham Common, Battersea Bridge, taken the A3220 north and then the A30 (terminal 4, and, I suppose, 5) or the A4 (terminal 1, 2, 3 or the climate camp) straight there......

Now this is not neccessarily for the faint-hearted - the A30 in particular is a bit 'sportive', and the bit under the Hogarth flyover coming back in to town takes a bit of determination. So please don't try this if you're of a genteel persuasion.

Having said this I've never come back in to town in the dark, and I'm not sure that I would.

 

[nice_n_tidy]

Thank you

Wow, thanks for the really fast and helpful responses. You're great.
I think cycling the whole route might be a bit much for me, but I like the idea of the slower route with nice views (more my scene). Might give it a try one weekend and see whether it'll work all the way.
Apparently from Waterloo to Feltham you can take bikes even in rush hour, so I'll give the partial ride a try and see what happens! Don't fancy 18 miles of busy urban cycling, even at 6am. Ended up with 7 stiches last time I came off. ;-)
Thanks again!

 

[Ergle]

I used to get the train to Feltham and cycle to an office on the North Perimiter Road next to the (Heathrow Visitor Centre). There is a fairly quiet route from Feltham to Hatton Cross, after that I had to mix it with the perimeter road traffic - initially a little scary because everyone is desperate to go just as fast as they possibly can - but actually no worse than most London suburbs. I agree with previous poster and find that long journeys in suburbia are difficult to enjoy on a bike.

 

[dellzeqq]

Lifted from the SWT website...it depends on your time of travel...

In the area bounded by Hook, Alton, Guildford, Reading and Dorking, cycles may not join or alight from services due to arrive in London between 07:15 and 10:00 inclusive, and departing London between 16:45 and 19:00 inclusive. A small number of services extending beyond the area will also be restricted. This will be advised at local stations. In addition to the restrictions above, cycles are not permitted on morning peak services out of London in the area bounded by Clapham Junction, Feltham and Strawberry Hill, and on services timed to leave Clapham Junction between 07:45 and 09:00 inclusive

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWT...=%3C%2FFONT%3E

 

[style over speed]

My workplace is moving to Stockley Park next year, and searching for route advice on google gives me this thread I've already posted in!!… have been considering getting a brompton but it looks like the 9.02 train from CJ to Hounslow is fine with a full size bike, as is returning at any time. Does anyone have experience of how many carriages or busy the trains on the CJ Strawberry Hill loop are? Is the idea of getting a full size bike onboard everyday practical or would the brompton be a better idea?

Then its about 6 miles from Hounslow to Stockley Park, I figured on using the Grand Union Canal, again is this a sensible idea? the bike route planner doesnt seem to want to use it.

If anyone is interested in an update to the Brixton to Hogarth roundabout route, thanks to the riverside path finally going under Wandsworth Bridge its now much nicer to go from CJ down Winstanley Road to Cotton Row and from there take the riverside path all the way to Putney Bridge, lovely commute.

 

[Norm]

Before too many opinions are offered on the OP's request, this is a 3 year old thread.

The trains on the Strawberry Hill loop should be full length (8 carriages), although I haven't used them for a couple of years.

The Grand Union is a very slow option there, IME. Lots of pedestrians and some parts have a high volume of cycle-unfriendly gates and barriers.

There are a few alternative routes but, IMO, I'd steer well clear of the roundabout just north of the M4 junction and the dual-cabbageway from there to Stockley can be a bit of a nightmare. I'd go west, through Harlington or east through Harmondsworth and West Drayton, but expect a lot of traffic as that's where the M4 blocks up most days, so everyone takes to the rat-runs.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I would head from heathrow into harlington, then into hayes town, up dawley road and into stockley park via the back through the bus only gate as this has less traffic than go into stockleys main gate

 

[leemo]

I get the 7.08 CJ to windsor and eaton riverside with full size bike. There's a chap on the train who gets off at Wrasbury and cycles to heathrow - look at the map that might be a fairly safe low traffic route. On the 7.38 you can take a full size bike, but I think the 8.08 is restricted (but maybe not if you get on at vaxhall or Waterloo for some strange reason)