Riding on fast dual carriageways.

[ianrauk]

Check out cycle route maps at https://cycle.travel/map
The cycle path is actually 20m to the North of the A299, behind the trees, so it cant be seen from the road.
It crosses the road on a footbridge, it's a surprisingly good path.

Note: if you are following it from West to East then ensure you follow the signs when it suggests you go up a little path alongside the road, otherwise half a mile later you will be lifting your bike over a gate

View attachment 466709


Cycle Path is on the left (North) side of the A299
There is a ditch, fence and trees between the path and the road, so you cant move between one and the other

View attachment 466710

@Trickedem and myself did that path a couple of years back on an Audax. Surprisingly good surface for cycling.

 

[Ian H]

It depends.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Check out cycle route maps at https://cycle.travel/map
The cycle path is actually 20m to the North of the A299, behind the trees, so it cant be seen from the road.

Cheers.

At the time I was riding flat out (something I very rarely do) with snot dribbling out my nose and steam coming out my ears and was also a bit lost. As it turned out I ended up on the DC which was actually not all that bad. I rode on the white line to the left, with a big shoulder area to escape onto and the traffic was quite light. I did catch up with my friend eventually.

But next time I'm up that way, if it's a planned ride, I'll be tootling along little yellow lanes, not big red A roads. (OS map colours)

 

[Reynard]

It was actually ok, as it wasn’t too busy, had a good gap between carriageway and verge and the road surface good and slightly downhill. Wouldn’t repeat though. Actually preferably to some fast moving single country roads like the A10 towards Cambridge

The A10 this side of Cambridge has its hairy bits as well. You do see some cyclists using parts of the stretch between Ely & Cambridge, but not that often. I certainly wouldn't - and besides, there are quieter alternatives.

I do use a few short stretches around Ely and Littleport when there's no other option, but they're less busy than the A10 south of Ely, mainly because a lot of traffic then turns onto the A142.

Speaking of, the A142 can be a tad hairy as well. Although there is a cycle path (albeit a not very good one) heading to Witchford, Sutton and beyond, and on the other side, the bit to Soham has changed thanks to the new bypass. The local cycle club uses the stretch of the A142 between Witchford and Ely as part of their 25k TT course.

 

[classic33]

I could boast that I've actually cycled on all the single digit A roads in England (1 to 6; 7 to 9 are in Scotland and I haven't done them).

However it's a little bit of a cheat because for three of them, I've done it near their beginnings in central London, when they are still single carriageway 30mph roads (and one of them had a bus lane to ride in anyway), and another two I only rode on them for less than a hundred yards, at what were basically little more than staggered crossroads; out of one side turning and into another just a bit further down on the opposite side. Only one have I ridden on for any distance outside of London and that was the A4 out of Maidenhead for about a mile, which wasn't that bad.

Which A5?

 

[screenman]

It used to be my commute and I'd echo that a dozen times. The closest I've got to actually cycling on the A1 are converted footways (substandard cycle ways) alongside and they are scary enough.

I have raced on those roads many times.

 

[mjr]

The A10 this side of Cambridge has its hairy bits as well. You do see some cyclists using parts of the stretch between Ely & Cambridge, but not that often. I certainly wouldn't - and besides, there are quieter alternatives.

Yeah, if you like the gravel on National Route 11 The B road through Cottenham is quieter than the A10 but still has far too many bad drivers close-passing. It's disgraceful that the Ely-Cambridge A10 has a cycle path - and again a not very good one - that still has a clanking great gap in it from Little Thetford to Waterbeach. Government is building another farking motorway to Cambridge when the cycleways (or cycle-friendly roads - I don't mind which) are still incomplete, demonstrating yet again that cycling is the lowest-priority opion.

I do use a few short stretches around Ely and Littleport when there's no other option, but they're less busy than the A10 south of Ely, mainly because a lot of traffic then turns onto the A142.

Isn't there always another option for that bit? The main unavoidable bit north of there IMO is to get to Brandon Creek or between Hilgay/Southery and Denver without the huge detour round the sluices.

Speaking of, the A142 can be a tad hairy as well. Although there is a cycle path (albeit a not very good one) heading to Witchford, Sutton and beyond, and on the other side, the bit to Soham has changed thanks to the new bypass.

Still unchanged and very very unpleasant between Stuntney and Soham, isn't it?

 

[Reynard]

Yeah, if you like the gravel on National Route 11 The B road through Cottenham is quieter than the A10 but still has far too many bad drivers close-passing. It's disgraceful that the Ely-Cambridge A10 has a cycle path - and again a not very good one - that still has a clanking great gap in it from Little Thetford to Waterbeach. Government is building another farking motorway to Cambridge when the cycleways (or cycle-friendly roads - I don't mind which) are still incomplete, demonstrating yet again that cycling is the lowest-priority option.

Especially when you've got decent east-west routes along the guided busway... Seems the north-south bit has been ignored. Although the busway's not without its problems either.

Isn't there always another option for that bit? The main unavoidable bit north of there IMO is to get to Brandon Creek or between Hilgay/Southery and Denver without the huge detour round the sluices.

I don't tend to go that far north. Most of my riding is around the Littleport / Welney / Coveney / Mepal area. The two short stretches of A10 that I use are at Sandhill (where it joins up with bits of the A1101) and the bit between West Fen and the B1411.

Still unchanged and very very unpleasant between Stuntney and Soham, isn't it?

Can't say to be fair, as I haven't ridden beyond Ely Station since they opened the new Southern Bypass last October. But there's a heck of a lot less traffic coming from Stuntney - it's very noticeable whenever I go to the station or to the Tesco at Angel Drove.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I've ridden the last 15 miles of the dual carriageway of the A470 between Merthyr and Cardiff just once when I was in a hurry to get home. Never again. If you get off the main carriageway on to the fairly wide hard shoulder to avoid the speeding traffic (50-70 mph) you find that it is full of debris e.g. stones, twigs, cans that is just as dangerous to cyclists.

I drive that route at least once a week and now I appreciate why I never see cyclists on it.

 

[vickster]

I have raced on those roads many times.

This millennium? Traffic has got significantly heavier in the last 20 years

 

[screenman]

This millennium? Traffic has got significantly heavier in the last 20 years

Wow! Where has that 12 years gone.

 

[steverob]

Which A5?

Wasn’t aware there was more than one to be honest (or is it the same one but a large chunk in the middle has been reclassified like the A41?)

The short bit I did was on a section between Milton Keynes and Towcester (around the village of Potterspury).

 

[classic33]

Wasn’t aware there was more than one to be honest (or is it the same one but a large chunk in the middle has been reclassified like the A41?)

The short bit I did was on a section between Milton Keynes and Towcester (around the village of Potterspury).

There's one in Northern Ireland as well.

 

[screenman]

Roads are not dangerous.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It depends.

On the phase of the moon