Hello from Grace

[Luke Redpath]

Plan on cycling to work from Elm Park/Essex to London Bridge. (about 30 miles round trip) Any tips/advice will be most welcome

Hello Grace. I replied to your other thread but if you're planning on taking the CS3 route you shouldn't have many problems, although I haven't personally done the last leg of your journey from Tower Hill to London Bridge.

To be fair, if you're likely to have any issues at all, its at the home end of your journey; some pretty terrible driving around Dagenham I must say and some really horrible residential dual carriageways that its best to avoid (the sort with two lanes on each side with the left hand lane normally full of parked cars and a central reservation forcing you to choose between strong primary and potential for abuse or the door zone). Porters Avenue and Valance Avenue are two good examples if you know them!

Once you get to the cycle path that eventually becomes CS3 its pretty plain sailing all the way; I find the A13 stretch of CS3 pretty dull to be honest and its annoying having to navigate your way over each junction with the A13 using lights etc. I quite enjoy the central part of the route even though it gets a bit confusing just after you come off the A13. Watch out for poorly timed overtakes from other cyclists on some of the narrow stretches!

If you ever fancy an alternative (more challenging) route into central London, then you can always head from Elm Park to Beacontree Heath (via Rainham Road or Rush Green Road depending on where in Elm Park you are) and then take Green Lane all the way up to Ilford, along Romford Road to Stratford and then on to CS2. I say more challenging because it involves: bad drivers, poor road surface especially on Romford Road, the Ilford ring road/one way system and of course Bow Roundabout (unless you take the flyover). But hey, its a bit more interesting!

If you're new to cycle commuting and want some more general advice, my biggest tips would be to take strong primary position on narrow roads, keep out of the gutters and don't let drivers bully you. If you're not comfortable with a driver behind you as they are tailgating, its often better to let them go in front of you but only if you can let them past safely. Stay out of the door zone at all times and try and enjoy it. If you do encounter bad driving, try to avoid conflict if you can - its very easy to get angry when somebody threatens your safety and sometimes getting angry is justified but more often than not its not worth it.

 

[Brains]

Tower Hill (end of CS3) to London Bridge, I do daily.

From Royal Mint St (end of CS3) turn right and go under railway bridge (Mansell St)
Then follow cycle road to Minories, Up Cross Wall, down Crutched Friars, into Mark Lane, Gt Tower St, Cheap Side and then over London bridge
It may look a bit illogical on a map, but its the best route.

 

[ladygracie494]

Hello Grace. I replied to your other thread but if you're planning on taking the CS3 route you shouldn't have many problems, although I haven't personally done the last leg of your journey from Tower Hill to London Bridge.

To be fair, if you're likely to have any issues at all, its at the home end of your journey; some pretty terrible driving around Dagenham I must say and some really horrible residential dual carriageways that its best to avoid (the sort with two lanes on each side with the left hand lane normally full of parked cars and a central reservation forcing you to choose between strong primary and potential for abuse or the door zone). Porters Avenue and Valance Avenue are two good examples if you know them!

Once you get to the cycle path that eventually becomes CS3 its pretty plain sailing all the way; I find the A13 stretch of CS3 pretty dull to be honest and its annoying having to navigate your way over each junction with the A13 using lights etc. I quite enjoy the central part of the route even though it gets a bit confusing just after you come off the A13. Watch out for poorly timed overtakes from other cyclists on some of the narrow stretches!

If you ever fancy an alternative (more challenging) route into central London, then you can always head from Elm Park to Beacontree Heath (via Rainham Road or Rush Green Road depending on where in Elm Park you are) and then take Green Lane all the way up to Ilford, along Romford Road to Stratford and then on to CS2. I say more challenging because it involves: bad drivers, poor road surface especially on Romford Road, the Ilford ring road/one way system and of course Bow Roundabout (unless you take the flyover). But hey, its a bit more interesting!

If you're new to cycle commuting and want some more general advice, my biggest tips would be to take strong primary position on narrow roads, keep out of the gutters and don't let drivers bully you. If you're not comfortable with a driver behind you as they are tailgating, its often better to let them go in front of you but only if you can let them past safely. Stay out of the door zone at all times and try and enjoy it. If you do encounter bad driving, try to avoid conflict if you can - its very easy to get angry when somebody threatens your safety and sometimes getting angry is justified but more often than not its not worth it.

Thanks Luke for the tips. I think the first route I'll try will be: from Elm Park to Upper Rainham Road (A125) , turn right at the Newtons Corner roundabout towards Dagenham, (cycle lane), then at the Bull rounadbout take the first exit and then immediate right onto Church Lane. Then keep following this road, straight over lights at Dagenham Heathway, (into Hedgeman Road and then into Woodward road), past Becontree station until i get to the T junction and then turn left into Lodge Avenue follow along to the roundabout onto the A13.

After that, I'll experiment with others

 

[Luke Redpath]

Good luck. The only other tip I'd recommend is watch out down Church Lane. I've cycled down there once before after dropping my car off for repairs (and then to pick it up again). It's narrow and you definitely need to take a strong position to avoid close passes, especially if it's busy. Don't let anyone bully you, they'll only be joining a queue of traffic at the junction with the Heathway.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I think it is Church Lane with a few single lane pinch points. Had one driver aim at me there because I didn't go though the 2 inch wide cycle path. Never again.

 

[ladygracie494]

Hi Guys, Finally completed the trip today and I really enjoyed riding the BMC. (My first road bike :-). ) On the way to work, I went through Church Lane and it was not too bad. (maybe because i left 6am so not much traffic) And then went onto Woodward Lane, Lodge Avenue and then A13. When i got to Canning town, i sort of lost my way a bit, but another cyclist kindly pointed me on the route, CS3 to tower gateway, and then i went through tower bridge, onto Long Lane. All in all its about 15 miles and I did it in just under 1hr 20mins which is not too bad considering its a new route. On the way home i went through Goresbrook Road, off the A13 and again, route was pretty straightforward.

Thanks for all the tips and advice, really appreciate it. ;-)

 

[Luke Redpath]

Thanks for reporting back, glad it went OK. Yes, Church Lane probably is very quiet at that time - its probably at its busiest in peak shopping hours for the Heathway.