HOw do you do it?!?!?

[HLaB]

Its part of the battle for me, i love being on my bike,, but its always where to go, i quite like cycling alone aswell, which doesnt really aid me when attempting to find out about good routes.... i guess i am my own worst enemy....

Although cycling on your own there is more freedom to go and explore your own routes.

 

[Jmetz]

This is true, i cant recall many rides where i have actually ended up taking my intended route throughout, in all honesty however that is more down to me continually missing turnings , but the flip side is i have experienced many new roads, which often tend to include great inclines !

 

[on the road]

Get an OS map, the paper version and look at it, it will give you an idea of where to go.

 

[Crankarm]

Get an OS map, the paper version and look at it, it will give you an idea of where to go.

+1.

I have numerous OS Landranger 1:50,000 for around my area and further afield of other scenic areas I have ridden or would like to ride. I have the four OS covering an area up to a radius of 50 miles from where I live. I also have maps for Norfolk including the coast as well. Other areas - pretty much the whole of Wales, the Peak District, the Lakes and Devon. There is so much info on an OS map. Planning a route is just as much fun as riding it IMHO. Taking a couple of OS maps, in a bag to stop them getting wet, in your back jersey pocket is so easy. After you have planned and done a ride a few times you get to know an area quite well and then can ride without a map, but it is always good to have one just in case I find. Proper maps are never going to fail because they lose signal in a remote area or the battery goes flat .........

And there will always be some one you meet on your ride who is lost who you can help easily by opening your map. If you stop of course and don't blank them .

 

[youngoldbloke]

Get an OS map, the paper version and look at it, it will give you an idea of where to go.

Good advice - worth remembering that you can often borrow OS maps from your local library. I find them too big and unwieldy to carry on the bike so having decided on a route go online and home in on the route and print off maps as required, both an overview and more detailed. (Streetmap) For a 40 mile route one sheet of A4 will often cover it, sometimes both sides - depends on the scale and detail required. Longer routes, more sheets. Fold and put in jersey pocket in a plastic bag if required.

 

[battered]

I use a normal Morrison's road map for basic planning then refine it using the OS map etc. There's good country round BB, a glance at the map suggests Ribble valley to the N, to the S there is a backroad loop through Rivington then across to Ramsbottom without hitting major roads, then minor roads back N. Further afield I'd be exploting the coastal area by Formby. You'd have to work out a loop avoiding the A road there but it could work well.

You can carry a photocopy of the map of the route in your back pocket, laminated if you want to be posh. Highlighter pen is good for showing the line without losing the detail.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Local clubs have the knowledge. Also the best cafe & pubs en route often inherited from the founding fathers ... consider joining to share the secrets or checkout their websites - some do post routes.

Just be careful to choose a touring or hybrid club. Get on a TT ride and all you might see is buttocks!

sound advice. i'd never know all the little cheshire lanes if it wasn't for the saturday club run.

prior to that, i tended to ride on the roads i'd drive the car on (within reason).

 

[battered]

prior to that, i tended to ride on the roads i'd drive the car on (within reason).

What, the M6? Wouldn't fancy that.

 

[Matthames]

I have done some rides where I have planned it from a train station to home. All I do is then buy a one way ticket to that particular station and ride home. Can be great fun doing this.

 

[Globalti]

Yes, I want to do more rides where you ride to a destination. For some reason I've got an idea I want to ride the 57 miles from home to Windermere and finish with an ice-cream at the steamer pier. Gonna do that soon, most of it will be flat up the A6. Got to drop a car at the end first though, I might even hitch back.

 

[on the road]

You can carry a photocopy of the map of the route in your back pocket, laminated if you want to be posh.

Or just cover it both sides with clear sellatape, that works for me and it's more flexible.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, I want to do more rides where you ride to a destination. For some reason I've got an idea I want to ride the 57 miles from home to Windermere and finish with an ice-cream at the steamer pier. Gonna do that soon, most of it will be flat up the A6. Got to drop a car at the end first though, I might even hitch back.

Why not take a scenic route and ride there and back?

 

[youngoldbloke]

Laminate, cover with Sellotape? - beginning to sound a bit like Viz top tips (no offence meant, I hasten to add!) The great thing about printing off maps from online is that they are effectively disposable - all you need to do is put them into an A4 plastic pocket - like one of these - http://www.euroffice.co.uk/i/68d/5-...t-Sleeves-Pack-100-Ref-297013?AFF=FRprd297013 - thin plastic, easily folded with map, cheap, readily available and can be re-used numerous times. My top tip: I keep the opening at the bottom which protects the map to some extent from inclement climatic conditions.

 

[on the road]

When I print off bits of map, I cover both sides with sellotape, then I can fold them up and put them in my back pocket, they are about 90% waterproof.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Yes, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and lots of ways to skin a rabbit ....... some ways take more time than others (and use lots of Sellotape!)