The roads coming off the bridge are probably signposted M25/London, expecting london traffic will leave the m25 in a mile and join the a2.
Is cyclists allowed on the motorways?
- Thread starter Bhitucyclist
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- cycling on motorways
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OP
OP
Bhitucyclist
Senior Member
Thanks for all the fantastic tips.. i have been cycling inside london for quite a few years.. the usual commuting to work and wondering around. All fine with that. All the links had great info that i will use.
But this year i am practicing for l2p so having to do longer practice rides ... which staying within london becomes repetitive and boring..so looking to up my road sense when i venture outside london. I usually just follow the road and after a few hours turn back to find my way home.. not great with reading maps hence making all these mistakes of getting into wrong roads. I think i need to learn reading maps better.
Any tips on that welcome
But this year i am practicing for l2p so having to do longer practice rides ... which staying within london becomes repetitive and boring..so looking to up my road sense when i venture outside london. I usually just follow the road and after a few hours turn back to find my way home.. not great with reading maps hence making all these mistakes of getting into wrong roads. I think i need to learn reading maps better.
Any tips on that welcome
OP
OP
Bhitucyclist
Senior Member
Yes you are right ...i was just following the signs to london
OP
OP
Bhitucyclist
Senior Member
Yes thinking of joining a club ... did a few with dirty weekend last year. But they are a bit more advanced than myself.
Looking for a club for slower cyclists
OP
OP
Bhitucyclist
Senior Member
Ha ha ha ! Yes i am a bhitu ... but thats no reason not to do want i want to do !@Bhitucyclist I Googled what your username means
I'm a bhitu cyclist too
If you don't want to end up like the ghost in the cartoons, stay away from busy roads, get some UK adult cycle training before your long ride, actually, no, get some training right now!
All the best!
OP
OP
Bhitucyclist
Senior Member
I actually wrote to them for my council area, Never got a reply ...will try other training camps. Lets see
vickster
Legendary Member
vickster
Legendary Member
https://www.cyclinguk.org/local-groups
or you could try Breeze women's rides
https://www.letsride.co.uk/groups/breeze-bike-rides-london
Feel it is time to confess - I know of two experienced cyclists cycling on motorways.
OK the first was me. I was riding a 10 on the Rainford bypass course. Now this was my local course when I was teen, so I know it very well, but in the years in between, they built the M56. The turn now goes round a huge roundabout and in my concentration, miss counted the exits and before I realised, I'd ridden 100 yds on the motorway. Sheepishly, I dismounted and walked back and rejoined the course.
Second was an old clubmate in the days when the motorways were new. He was returning from a race, with his bike strapped on the roof rack. He suffered a mechanical and was forced to stop on the hard shoulder. No mobiles in those days, so he was faced with a long walk to the emergency telephone. But he had a bike on the roof rack, so what did he do - he took it down and rode to the next emergency phone! Can't remember if he was caught by the police, but his argument was that pedestrians are not allowed on a motorway either and a bike would have meant less time spent on the hard shoulder.
OK the first was me. I was riding a 10 on the Rainford bypass course. Now this was my local course when I was teen, so I know it very well, but in the years in between, they built the M56. The turn now goes round a huge roundabout and in my concentration, miss counted the exits and before I realised, I'd ridden 100 yds on the motorway. Sheepishly, I dismounted and walked back and rejoined the course.
Second was an old clubmate in the days when the motorways were new. He was returning from a race, with his bike strapped on the roof rack. He suffered a mechanical and was forced to stop on the hard shoulder. No mobiles in those days, so he was faced with a long walk to the emergency telephone. But he had a bike on the roof rack, so what did he do - he took it down and rode to the next emergency phone! Can't remember if he was caught by the police, but his argument was that pedestrians are not allowed on a motorway either and a bike would have meant less time spent on the hard shoulder.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Doesn't sound like OP was on M25 just the A road round Dartford way thankfully.
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
I once ended up on the M1 on a Honda C70 with L-plates.
Terrifying!
Terrifying!
Another good way to find a long ride is to pick a SusTrans route and follow it:
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/map-ncn
For example Dartford way has National Route 1 which goes from Sadwich through Caterbury, Faversham Sittingbourne, Dartford, Woolwich, Hackney, Walthamstow, Harlow, CHelmsford etc all the way up to Edinburgh!
Alternatively once you get into London you have the Route 4 which follows the Thames path. If you can travel to south London, the route from Putney Bridge down to Windsor is lovely and mostly traffic free (although it can get a little off-road at Windsor).
The main thing is to try and plan your route first. Google maps isn't too bad for keeping you on the right route. As others have said, roads you can't go down are usually indicated. You definitely can't go on a Motorway and a few major A roads also have prohibitions. With a bit of planning you can usually follow a fairly nice, car free route.
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/map-ncn
For example Dartford way has National Route 1 which goes from Sadwich through Caterbury, Faversham Sittingbourne, Dartford, Woolwich, Hackney, Walthamstow, Harlow, CHelmsford etc all the way up to Edinburgh!
Alternatively once you get into London you have the Route 4 which follows the Thames path. If you can travel to south London, the route from Putney Bridge down to Windsor is lovely and mostly traffic free (although it can get a little off-road at Windsor).
The main thing is to try and plan your route first. Google maps isn't too bad for keeping you on the right route. As others have said, roads you can't go down are usually indicated. You definitely can't go on a Motorway and a few major A roads also have prohibitions. With a bit of planning you can usually follow a fairly nice, car free route.
Agreed. No way he/she got on the M25 either north of south of the river at Dartford. Probably just saw the signs for the M25 and hit one of the A roads in Dartford. The A206 Bob Dunn Way for example which is pretty hairy at times for cycling. With the amount of traffic police based in the area due to the tunnel and bridge they would have been there like a shot and stopped them.
