Cycling on the A14

[GrasB]

Well today I ended up riding on the A14 between Dry Drayton & Bar Hill... With loaded panniers on my bike wouldn't go between the P stands on the cycle path & I'd be damned if I was going to lift the thing fully loaded with shopping above my head or go almost 5 miles out of my way on a 10 mile journey.

 

[Cardiac]

Well today I ended up riding on the A14 between Dry Drayton & Bar Hill...

Not so bad there - you have the benefit of an additional lane - back to two west of Bar Hill. I am not aware that there is any alternative approach to Bar Hill, even for cyclists - would be good if there was.

 

[lukesdad]

Well today I ended up riding on the A14 between Dry Drayton & Bar Hill... With loaded panniers on my bike wouldn't go between the P stands on the cycle path & I'd be damned if I was going to lift the thing fully loaded with shopping above my head or go almost 5 miles out of my way on a 10 mile journey.

Glad to see Cambridge has at least one hard man GB . The moral is.. if the thought of cycling on any of these roads makes your underpants curdle then dont do it ! You know it makes sense.

 

[Glow worm]

Not so bad there - you have the benefit of an additional lane - back to two west of Bar Hill. I am not aware that there is any alternative approach to Bar Hill, even for cyclists - would be good if there was.

It depends on which direction you are coming from. I once had to go to Bar Hill (shudder) to drop something off at the Council offices and cycled there from Dry Drayton along the bridleway. Must admit I don't remember any barriers, but it was a couple of years ago now. Seemed like a decent route to me.

 

[GrasB]

Not so bad there - you have the benefit of an additional lane - back to two west of Bar Hill. I am not aware that there is any alternative approach to Bar Hill, even for cyclists - would be good if there was.

I made it to Bar Hill down the cycle path but was a little concerned about the P stands. It was on the way back towards Dry Drayton that I had the problem. The alternative route is into Longstanton, past the Oakington barracks into Oakington, turn back towards the A14 & over the Dry Drayton flyover into DD. It's a 4-5 mile detour iirc.

Glad to see Cambridge has at least one hard man GB . The moral is.. if the thought of cycling on any of these roads makes your underpants curdle then dont do it ! You know it makes sense.

I certainly won't be making a habit of this. 38 tonn lorries less than 5' from your shoulder at 55mph is not pleasant experience, thankfully it only lasts about 1 mile.

It depends on which direction you are coming from. I once had to go to Bar Hill (shudder) to drop something off at the Council offices and cycled there from Dry Drayton along the bridleway. Must admit I don't remember any barriers, but it was a couple of years ago now. Seemed like a decent route to me.

The Bridle way is now a mud bath & unnavigable by an M+ shod cycle, about 1/2 way along you turn left & go through a little wildlife like area marked as a cycle path but a right pita to cycle through.

 

[dellzeqq]

Cycling is prohibited on the A120 between Stansted Airport and Braintree, although I have sen the odd cyclist going along it.

 

[Glow worm]

The Bridle way is now a mud bath & unnavigable by an M+ shod cycle, about 1/2 way along you turn left & go through a little wildlife like area marked as a cycle path but a right pita to cycle through.

Ah fair enough. Seems completely crazy to me as that is literally the only way out of Bar Hill (shudder) without using seriously busy roads like the A14. That route should be upgraded immediately for cyclists. Just shows policy makers are not really serious about getting traffic off the A14 at all.

 

[nmcgann]

The bit of the A14 that the E2 25 mile TT course near Cambridge uses is the 3 lane bit between the A142 junction and the A11 (it then uses the A11 down to the Four Wentways roundabout).

It's generally pretty quiet when used for races (Sat 2pm or Sun 6am are the usual start times) and it can't be used in the school holidays at all.

Personally I wouldn't ride on there every day, but I'm OK with a few races per year.

 

[Nick Frankau]

Yes there is a lovely route by Stourbridge common. It does take ten minutes longer than the A14. I vary, myself, sometimes using the A14, sometimes the pretty route. There is risk in everything, and if you ride down the hard shoulder of the A14 you need to be aware of the gottyas ... tyres coming off lorries, people in laybys opening their doors, lorries swaying over to the left, lorries carrying houses, deep set drains, detritus on the hard shoulder ... I spend most of my time on the A14 checking my mirror. On top of this many concrete brained motorists think that it is illegal to ride on the A14, so will honk at you and call you a twat.
We really need a good east west cycle route that crosses the Cam near Fen Ditton and provides a path through to the science park. Apparently nearly 25% of Cambridge commuters are cyclists so it might not be such a big ask. I shall not, however, hold my breath!

 

[pshore]

Since this thread is resurrected ...

I spotted that as part of the Northstowe build there was/is going to be some rights of ways created that might in the future provide an alternative route.

There are a series of tracks that run parallel to the A14 but on the North side opposite to Bar Hill. They are not quite joined up. They run from the B1050 SE to Girton.

See OSM and page 42 of this 1.5Mb PDF Northstowe Rights of Way Project.

Not sure if they will be tarmac though - if not they really be hi-jacked.

 

[totallyfixed]

The bit of the A14 that the E2 25 mile TT course near Cambridge uses is the 3 lane bit between the A142 junction and the A11 (it then uses the A11 down to the Four Wentways roundabout).

It's generally pretty quiet when used for races (Sat 2pm or Sun 6am are the usual start times) and it can't be used in the school holidays at all.

Personally I wouldn't ride on there every day, but I'm OK with a few races per year.

A relative term Neil

 

[biggs682]

brave or stupid