escape and return - from Reading

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gbs

Guru
Location
Fulham
Next Tuesday we will arrive by train at Reading and want to go Northwestwards to Peasmore and return from the Southwest following the A4 Bath Rd or the K&A path NCR4.

This is totally new ground to me so any local knowledge/tips will be helpful:
  • Fox at Peasemore looks good for lunch
  • the NCR4 and rideability on road tyres. I imagine it will be dry and so should be manageable.
 

PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
Next Tuesday we will arrive by train at Reading and want to go Northwestwards to Peasmore and return from the Southwest following the A4 Bath Rd or the K&A path NCR4.

This is totally new ground to me so any local knowledge/tips will be helpful:
  • Fox at Peasemore looks good for lunch
  • the NCR4 and rideability on road tyres. I imagine it will be dry and so should be manageable.

Lots of the K&A path is not suitable for road bikes. The immediate stretch into Reading is fine, but there are earlier stretches that are across rough fields. I can't recall how close some of those are to reading. Even the stretch close to reading has some loose/ large gravel sections.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
My memory of trying to do the K&A path is fading a bit as it was over 3 years ago and I am not familiar with the geography of the area, however:
This was my most disappointing venture on a bike ever, bar none. I set out to cycle London to Bristol but gave up at Hungerford. The cycle "path" west of Reading slowly deteriorates to a rut through fields. Add in frequent gates which involve having to remove panniers to negotiate and you begin to get the picture.
I met some other cyclists doing the same route in the other direction and asked them if I could expect things to improve further west. Their information did not encourage me to continue so I got a train back to London. I was riding a Tricross with 32mm width tyres!
 
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