Is cyclists allowed on the motorways?

[bladderhead]

Years ago I rode on the A12 near Stratford. I do not know if that is classed as a motorway. I was on another bit of the A12, which is definitely not a motorway and a cop car stopped me and told me not to ride there. He said I was not going fast enough. Well! I was doing my best.

 

[MontyVeda]

I recall in the late 90s, being the back seat passenger in a car going south down the M6, I noticed a motorcycle cop stood on the hard shoulder of the north bound carriageway, facing the oncoming traffic. I wondered what he was looking at, then a hundred yards later I saw a bloke cycling along the hard shoulder

 

[bladderhead]

When I was stopped by Dibble on the A12 I was on my daily commute. I got my bike off the road and started pushing it. He drove off. I got back on the road and carried on riding. Slowly. I think he was winding me up.

I rode that road twice a day for several years. Some cars would go by at about 100mph and not pull out at all. That was a bit scary. All the articulated lorries always went into the right-hand lane and then back into the left. All of them. Even the Polish ones.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Indeed the A12 is just an A road. It would have to have a specific order and signs banning you from it. The only A roads I see banning cyclists and pedestrians are ones about to go into tunnels etc.

 

[rogerzilla]

I've ridden on the old A40(M) Westway and the old M41 West Cross Route in London. On a Brompton. At night.

They're not actually motorways any more but there are "no cycling" signs, which I missed. Easy to take the wrong turn out of Paddington.

Edit: there is no "no cycling" sign at the Gloucester Terrace entry on Google Maps, and once you've followed "A40 Ealing" you are committed!

 

[srw]

Somewhere on here you can probably still find a claim to have ridden on the Tring bypass when it was still the M41.

 

[Dirk]

On reading the OP, one could well be forgiven for invoking Poe's Law.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

 

[Dogtrousers]

Indeed the A12 is just an A road. It would have to have a specific order and signs banning you from it. The only A roads I see banning cyclists and pedestrians are ones about to go into tunnels etc.

Just after you come off the Redbridge roundabout going S on the A12 pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited. I don't know how long the restriction lasts. I suspect it may be all the way down to the river. Google streetview link

Plus bikes aren't allowed in the Blackwall tunnel, as you mention, but I don't think the road is still called A12 at that point.

Come to think of it I don't recall any "no cycles" signs on the Blackwall Tunnel approach, so perhaps they are already restricted by then (possibly the restriction in the picture above is still in force)

I'm quite good at A12 signage trivia having driven it a zillion times. For example, did you know there's a minimum speed limit of 10mph on the Blackwall Tunnel approach? I often find myself inching along through that zone and fear instant arrest for breaking the limit.

I can't recall ever seeing a cyclist on the stretch of the A12 between the tunnel and Redbridge in either direction.

 

[Moodyman]

I briefly rode on the A1M outside York once.

I missed the start of a FNRttC and desperately tried to catch up to the group based on the mental map* from the previous year.

I realised something was amiss when the slip road was ending into a three lane road and the light traffic seemed unusually fast.

* I had no electronic gadgets and there was no street lighting.

Edit: it was the A19 (not A1M) which is a motorway in all but name.

 

[bladderhead]

Many times have I driven from Redbridge to the Blackwall tunnel and then out the other side. I think it is classed as motorway all the way from the sign in the Dogtrousers picture. Many times have I cycled past that sign. I go onto the slip road that leads to Cambridge Park.

Several times on the tunnel approach there was traffic jams. They can't arrest us all for going at 0mph.

 

[bladderhead]

I really like to ride the bit that goes from Cambridge Park to Redbridge. Downhill and almost always downwind. Smooth surface and rarely enough traffic to impede my progress. 35mph, then the underpass under the roundabout where I try to go through the barriers without putting my feet down. Challenge for a recumbent.

 

[wheresthetorch]

On reading the OP, one could well be forgiven for invoking Poe's Law.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

Too many negatives in the definition for my small brain.

 

[Mr Celine]

I rode my Dawes Kingpin on the M90 from junction 10 to junction 9.




It was still under construction.

 

[DCLane]

I briefly rode on the A1M outside York once.

Edit: it was the A19 (not A1M) which is a motorway in all but name.

I time trial on that road quite frequently. It's a bit busy at times.

 

[Aravis]

My very first century ride (in 1982) included 9 miles of what is now the M25, between Rickmansworth and St Albans. It seemed a lot more comfortable than the alternatives. I was heading for Harpenden on a Friday afternoon.