need help plotting a route to stay alive

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i'm riding down from rossendale to birmingham for the cycle show next saturday (riding friday tho) (staying in central birminham at the backpacker place).

i know the roads from home to manchester really well for riding. i've used google maps on the walking setting to get the mileage and a route, but it puts in a lot of main roads.

so help me plot a more interesting route, i'm planning doing it on my fixie. i don't mind it being longer but not silly longer.

cheers

shaun

 

[Globalti]

I would use A roads; they are direct enough that you won't waste too much time and where they parallel motorways they aren't too busy. They go through towns and being mostly old turnpikes are well enough engineered.

 

[ColinJ]

I thought you were ill!

If you aren't heading straight for Birmingham then you are probably going to have to go west of Stoke-on-Trent. If you go east then the rather fixie-unfriendly Peak District gets in the way!

I'm working on an idea which I will report back on much later this evening!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i am ill but improving. a week off placement, salt water and sudafed seems to be doing the trick.

i am heading straight for birmingham.

i await your plan.

 

[ColinJ]

i am heading straight for birmingham.

If you are heading straight for Birmingham than draw a straight line on the map and take the nearest A-roads as suggested by Globalti. If you are looking for reasonable alternatives then you cannot be heading straight for Birmingham!

My route is basically curved taking you out into Cheshire and then swooping back round between Telford and Wolverhampton and coming in via somewhere like Dudley. I'm using the route profile on Memory Map to watch out for climbs and am rerouting where possible to go round them. I'd guess that it will come in at about 95 miles from the centre of Manchester to the centre of Birmingham.

I'm off to get something to eat. Watch this space!

 

[potsy]

At least if you follow CJ's route there won't be any traffic lights to slow you down

Burnley to Birmingham? Out of the frying pan springs to mind

 

[Norm]

I can't help through Manchester but I stick to the A515 when travelling the other way (Birmingham to Ashton under Lyne) on a motorbike. Glorious scenery and, from what I can remember, most of the roads would be ok cycling. The main benefit, though, is that even I can remember Lichfield > A515 > Buxton > Glossop.

However, as Colin suggests, I'm not sure how that would be on a fixed. bikehike suggests you'd be looking at 3,500 feet of climbing between Glossop and Lichfield.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

If you are heading straight for Birmingham than draw a straight line on the map and take the nearest A-roads as suggested by Globalti. If you are looking for reasonable alternatives then you cannot be heading straight for Birmingham!

My route is basically curved taking you out into Cheshire and then swooping back round between Telford and Wolverhampton and coming in via somewhere like Dudley. I'm using the route profile on Memory Map to watch out for climbs and am rerouting where possible to go round them. I'd guess that it will come in at about 95 miles from the centre of Manchester to the centre of Birmingham.

I'm off to get something to eat. Watch this space!

oh i get what you mean....explain yourself proper next time!!!

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm, with all the twists and turns on my route, it is 108 miles from Victoria station in Manchester to Digbeth in Birmingham which is where I think the hostel is.

It is a complicated route which you'd need your GPS to navigate or you'd have to draw up a very detailed route sheet.

90% of it looks to be on pretty quiet roads or even lanes. It should be very fixie-friendly until you get to Dudley when there is about 3/4 mile at ~6% so that might be a walker and there is another smaller hill after that, but then it is about 6 miles slightly downhill to Digbeth.

I've just guessed at what looks a reasonable route into Birmingham from my OS mapping but you'd really need to get a local to check the last bit from Dudley to Digbeth and advise you on the best way in.

If you like the sound of the route, I'll tidy it up and stick it on Bikely tomorrow.

 

[HLaB]

I don't know Manchester or Birmingham at all but when I've been unsure of a journey I've consulted cyclestreets first, good luck.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Hmm, with all the twists and turns on my route, it is 108 miles from Victoria station in Manchester to Digbeth in Birmingham which is where I think the hostel is.

It is a complicated route which you'd need your GPS to navigate or you'd have to draw up a very detailed route sheet.

90% of it looks to be on pretty quiet roads or even lanes. It should be very fixie-friendly until you get to Dudley when there is about 3/4 mile at ~6% so that might be a walker and there is another smaller hill after that, but then it is about 6 miles slightly downhill to Digbeth.

I've just guessed at what looks a reasonable route into Birmingham from my OS mapping but you'd really need to get a local to check the last bit from Dudley to Digbeth and advise you on the best way in.

If you like the sound of the route, I'll tidy it up and stick it on Bikely tomorrow.

sounds ok. i'm struggling with online mapping to flatten out the route getting around stoke on trent.

 

[&roid]

i'm riding down from rossendale to birmingham for the cycle show next saturday (riding friday tho) (staying in central birminham at the backpacker place).

i know the roads from home to manchester really well for riding. i've used google maps on the walking setting to get the mileage and a route, but it puts in a lot of main roads.

so help me plot a more interesting route, i'm planning doing it on my fixie. i don't mind it being longer but not silly longer.

cheers

shaun

I live down in Bramhall and have some friends who are about to move up to Crawshawbooth. I quite fancy riding up there when they do, any tips on a good route?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

or click here, it's pretty straightforward.

if you want a prettier more fun route, you can use ncn 6, which i really like but in wet weather it's a bit iffy with slicks.

edit: the oldham, royton, rochdale is do able but oldham is shite to ride thru.

 

[&roid]

Great, thanks

don't think I've ever been on a forum that stuff gets answered as quickly and as well as on this one!

 

[ColinJ]

Okay Shaun - here's my route.

Some people find that my routes on Bikely don't work properly in their GPSs. Too many trackpoints perhaps, I don't know? If you decide to use this route it would be a good idea to check it carefully first, maybe even replot it in smaller chunks.

Definitely double check the bit from Dudley to Digbeth. HLab's suggestion of using cyclestreets is worth looking at. It comes up with a lot of cyclepaths through into Birmingham. I just picked the quietest looking city roads using an OS map which doesn't show one way systems etc.