Manchester Death wish?

[Hicky]

Rach I commute the routes being suggested here......my road route is Castleton(where I live)/Boarshaw/Greengate/Moston/Oldham rd....I also use the canal(safety has never been an issue however the have been a few muppets on mopeds and drunks(all who seem quietly satisfied)).
From Midd I'd use Grimshaw lane to get to Greengate or the canal....you'd avoid the large hill at Alkrington !

If you want any help with the routes let me know or I'd offer to ride into Manchester with you either road or canal.....I commute each day to the Uni.

Any later than 7am and you'd struggle to get a bike on the train at Mills Hill I've given up on the trains

 

[shouldbeinbed]

I've cycled nearly daily in North Manchester for 20 years and can count on one hand the times I've been hurt, genuinely frightened or raging angry at the actions of other people.

If you look on our local news teletext any day, especially at weekends. its almost entirely reporting people dying or being badly hurt, usually passengers and drivers in car crashes and serious acts of violent criminality. Are people also begging you to live your entire life in a suit of armour fortified in your own home with a can of pepper spray in each hand deter the rapists and murderers that are clearly roving around in their thousands? bad news is news, good news isn't.

 

[BentMikey]

Rach, lots of people are frightened by the idea of cycling, but it's actually more dangerous not to cycle than it is to cycle. Across the UK, regular cyclists have two years more life expectancy on average than the general population.

Most of all, it's darned good fun, you'll end up hating the times you have to drive or bus in. Then you get a second use of your time for just the travel, and a third use of your cycle time for the exercise.

 

[fossyant]

Have a look at GM Transport as they do have some recommended 'cycle' routes - i.e. roads where there are 'lanes' or traffic lighter.

There are certain roads that are just grid locked, so try and avoid these. Worth checking out a few routes and having a good look on google maps. Traffic is generally OK - 99.9% of drivers are OK - it's the 0.1% that are bad for cyclists/motorists.

You may find you prefer certain roads to others. I have a number of routes into Manchester, and 99.9% of the time take a slightly longer route via the A34 (dual carriageway) as the road is nice and wide, if quick, and there are very few side junctions. The A6 past Levehshulme is just lethal, I sometimes just take the A6 to Levenshulme and then turn off for the A34, rather than carry on in.

 

[fossyant]

Try this site as mentioned above.

http://www.tfgm.com/cycling/

 

[biking_fox]

There's also various cycleApps that will help you plana route. CycleStreets works for me give three options balanced between faster on the roads and slowest, as off-road as possible.

As above Cycling is safer than not doing so, and with the proviso that you basically follow the rules of the road, even safer that. Don't treat the bike as if you were a pedestrian, think more along the lines of being a car, stopping at lights, giving other road useres respect and roadspace and you'll be fine.

 

[I like Skol]

. Don't treat the bike as if you were a pedestrian, think more along the lines of being a car, stopping at lights, giving other road useres respect and roadspace and you'll be fine.

This is what I was alluding to above when I asked Rachnewbie if she was a driver. I guess it is a difficult concept to grasp for someone who has never piloted a big metal box on wheels?

Rach, once you have your bike sorted (I would still be happy to give it a look over if you want to pop down with hubby) and an idea of the route you want to take I suggest you try the route out on a sunday morning when traffic is a bit lighter and you don't have a deadline for finishing the journey. That way you can make sure you are happy with the route, the junctions and the areas you will travel through. I know what you mean about being concerned for your personal safety on the canals, most of them are secluded spots where it can be quite intimidating having to pass some of the fine and upstanding citizens that Manchester has to offer!

 

[fossyant]

pass some of the fine and upstanding citizens that Manchester has to offer!

 

[potsy]

And you only see the day time ones, they're more on night shift.

 

[I like Skol]

And you only see the day time ones, they're more on night shift.

I thought you weren't going to insult me today

 

[Jdratcliffe]

No the roads are not that bad. Far from it.
The bad experiences that you read on here are a tiny drop in the ocean out of many many thousands of good bicycle commutes.

+1 this just where we can rant moan and discuss espesh when some of our other halfs dont want to know its a place we can let of steam and talk cycle stuff that some ( me i know ) are not allow to talk about in the house.