Cycle Routes

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BigF

New Member
Hi,

I'm really sorry if this is a basic question, but I'm a bit new to this... I want to start cycling to Canary Wharf from NW London (up near Willesden Green).

Can anyone either:

1) Recommend a decent route that isn't too crazy on traffic.

2) OR recommend a good website that will generate a good route (some of the other websites I found kind of ask you to plot your route, which implies that you know the route you want to take in the first place)

Again, apologies if this is a bit basic, but any help would be really, really appreciated.

Thanks All
 
Don't apologise mate,you are welcome here.:tongue:

Although I probably can't help too much.:blush:
 
My technique (Manchester, not London though, sorry!) has been


  1. ask around at work and see if anyone else has tips (sometimes the roads shown on maps or websites look great, but are not that nice to cycle on for various reasons)
  2. find some printed maps - in Manchester there are a set which are pretty good - shows both cycle lanes, routes, recommended quieter roads etc
  3. use something like mapmyride.com to check out the route you're thinking of after the first two points - as pointed out elsewhere on this forum, mapmyride isn't really a cycling plotter (it'll only pick up streets, not cycling paths if offroad) but is pretty easy to use, and I like that it shows the elevation - it'll also calculate distance so you can compare two options.
Just looked at cyclestreets and, for Manchester at least, it seems they only show numbered 'routes' so far, not cycle lanes, recommended roads, etc - but hopefully that'll improve.
 

PBancroft

Senior Member
Location
Winchester
mr_cellophane said:
I use http://www.cyclestreets.net/ since I found them I have shaved 10 minutes off my route.

That's pretty neat. I put in the details of my commute and it came back with the Quickest and Quietest options - exactly what I use as my quick and quiet choices depending upon what mood I'm in. Deffo bookmarking that one.
 

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
cyclestreets looks like it will be a really useful resource. At the moment it is limited to 30 miles, and the GPX export doesn't seem to work (produces an invalid file), but once it's all working it should be very handy.
 

scouserinlondon

Senior Member
Twanger said:
Totally a basic question! A crucial question! If anything gets to the heart of commuting, this is it!

I don't know Willesden. I once visited Dollis Hill as a kid, but since then the NW has been a fabulous here-there-be-dragons place.

I have found the transport for london cycling guide maps absolutely excellent
as is the 'your routes' section of the TFL site.
 

cyclestreets

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Hi, I'm one of the two developers of CycleStreets. We're both local cycle campaigners based in Cambridge (it's definitely not a big business or government project!) and one of us is a professional cycle trainer.

I've posted a bit of background about the project at:
http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=46132&page=2
in case that's of interest.


SavageHoutkop said:
Just looked at cyclestreets and, for Manchester at least, it seems they only show numbered 'routes' so far, not cycle lanes, recommended roads, etc - but hopefully that'll improve.

The map cartography can be a bit misleading! Things like NCN or LCN routes are highlighted, but the planner works on the basis of all street/path data available. The system doesn't unduly favour cycle facilities, since we all know what cycle facilities are like in the UK in the vast majority of cases..


Ben Lovejoy said:
cyclestreets looks like it will be a really useful resource. At the moment it is limited to 30 miles

Thanks! Yes, we've unfortunately had to put that limit in for now - basically we don't (yet) have the server resources (currently just a single machine!) to handle longer routes, and the routing engine needs some further optimisation before we can get to that. However, we definitely do want to release that limit when we can.

Ben Lovejoy said:
the GPX export doesn't seem to work (produces an invalid file)

Please do give it a try now. The GPX export was quite a new feature when you posted and I think we've got rid of most of the bugs in it now. Do post a feedback item if it doesn't work on your GPS or could be improved, so we can check that out.
 

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Thanks for the update. Just tested it on a local journey, and GPX export worked fine. Also, the Quietest Route was the one I would have chosen, so all looking good!

Please update this thread once the 30-mile limit is removed (50-60 miles would do me) as it'll then be something I'll start using.
 
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