Maidenhead to Portsmouth

[oldfatsloq]

My wife and I will be visiting friends in Maidenhead, UK next week and are planning to do an over night trip to Portsmouth via tandem bicycle.

We have found the ridewithgps.com site (thanks to this forum) and have put together a route. That said i was seeking an advice or council which would make our trip safer and more enjoyable.

We are an experienced tandem team who have done many multiday loaded touring trips (this one will be super light given the over-night duration and our intention to stay at a hotel eliminating the need for camping gear).

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[andym]

We have found the ridewithgps.com site (thanks to this forum) and have put together a route. That said i was seeking an advice or council which would make our trip safer and more enjoyable.

A couple of pieces of general advice would ne to stay away from A roads if you can, an use country lanes where you can. The National Cycle Network is a useful resources - both because it uses quieter roads but also because it often takes the most scenic route and goes to places of interest. In your case there's no direct route but you might be able to use bits of the network. It's also well worth looking at sites like bikely/mapmyride to see where locals go for Sunday morning rides.

But if you want more specific advice why not post an outline of your route eg "via Little Something, Greater The Other, Chipping Bishop" (posting links to Google Maps etc rarely produces a useful result).

 

[Norm]

I did a similar-but-not-quite-the-same route from Maidenhead to Chichester and I pretty much followed the route I take in the car.

From Maidenhead, through Ascot to Windlesham then pick up the A322 down to Brookwood. After going under the railway bridge, take a right towards Pirbright then follow the A324 to Normandy where you turn left through to Wanborough and slog up the Hog's Back to Puttenham. Down the hill just after Puttenham gold club, take a right through Shackleford to the A3. Follow that down the hill to come off at Milford where I followed the A286 to Chi.

For Portsmouth, that would also work but it would leave you a 5 mile run along the A259 coast road.

However, I've just gone to Google Maps and put in Maidenhead as the start, Portsmouth as the end and used the pedestrian option and that has also produced a pretty good alternative. I'd probably go through Moss End to Bracknell, then through College Town to pick up the A30 at Blackwater, follow that down to Hartley Witney then left towards Winchfield and onto the Alton Road. Out of Alton onto the A32 to Privett then pretty much due south through East Meon to Waterlooville and pick up the A3 into Pompei.

There are a couple of busy roads on both of those options (A322, A30, A32 and A3, for instance) but I had no worries cycling them. Other than getting over the South Downs, of course.