Road riding in Cornwall

[13 rider]

In July I'm off on a family holiday in Cornwall and I'm allowed to bring my bike. I will be based in Holywell bay near Newquay and am looking a doing some milage ( to escape the family ) to avoid the main roads this will mean riding the narrow Cornish lanes around Newlyn East .What are the pitfalls of these narrow lanes or do any locals have any suggestions of routes .I've done things like the Camel trail and coast to coast and looking for rides from Holywell bay .

 

[MisterStan]

I took my bike to Newquay last year, the ride along the coast from Newquay to Padstow is nice, I cycled the same route back and did the whole trip twice. For a Fen Dweller like me, there was plenty of climbing as each town along the way is down in the bay.

I found the traffic really well behaved, only two close passes in a week.

 

[snorri]

I went to Cornwall for a cycling holiday once, never again, it was so hilly that after just 24hours I changed the plan and took the shortest route to Bristol then carried on to complete a LEJOG, much more relaxing.

 

[Ian H]

The coast roads south towards Gwithian are good if a little challenging. Going inland will get you away from the emmets (grockles) and their caravans. It's not too far coast to coast in Cornwall.

 

[helston90]

Main pitfalls of the narrow lanes are the lack of visibility from our proper hedges and the poor road surface (although this is a problem everywhere) short of that there's not much to be concerned about.
We do have a very undulating landscape so make sure you've got the right gears.
I'm a bit further west so can't help with routes- someone will be along in a minute who will. But I hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[Ian H]

In the lanes ride out as far as you can without hitting any gravel strip. Never move in for oncoming vehicles until they start to slow. If you do they'll often just barrel past and you'll start to feel paranoid.

 

[totallyfixed]

We went to Gwithian 7 years in a row and as Ian says some of the roads are challenging but we love cycling in that area. Head to Porthtowan or even Portreath then head inland and loop back crossing the A30 then through Chacewater for example. For several years we used to meet up with a club and ride with them, discovered some great routes.

 

[briantrumpet]

In the lanes ride out as far as you can without hitting any gravel strip. Never move in for oncoming vehicles until they start to slow. If you do they'll often just barrel past and you'll start to feel paranoid.

... and if you can (i.e. if it's not to gravelly) ride over to the right hand side of the lane when going round a left-hand bend, to make yourself visible if there's a driver coming the other way - if you hug your left-hand hedge, a driver might assume that there's nothing around the corner, as they haven't seen the bonnet of a car.

I'll admit I do find some lanes a bit hairy if they are used by motorists as cut-throughs, as they rarely anticipate bikes coming the other way. Often I'd rather use a rather mainer road that leaves space for a bike AND a car. Not that I'm paranoid or anything.

 

[Fubar]

In July I'm off on a family holiday in Cornwall and I'm allowed to bring my bike. I will be based in Holywell bay near Newquay and am looking a doing some milage ( to escape the family ) to avoid the main roads this will mean riding the narrow Cornish lanes around Newlyn East .What are the pitfalls of these narrow lanes or do any locals have any suggestions of routes .I've done things like the Camel trail and coast to coast and looking for rides from Holywell bay .

I do the same (take bike to Cornwall) and tend to do the same route - have had some close passes on the lanes. Last year I went out with a local club (One And All) and it was a great way of finding new, quiet routes. As said above North to South isn't too difficult.

 

[13 rider]

Thanks for all the replays Gwithian area looks nice been to the beach at Godrivy. So I have an about the area .The one and all club looks interesting might contact them nearer the time.

 

[gaz]

I went to falmouth last year and didn't take the road bike out once. The roads in and out were all +60mph lanes with not much visibility around corners and narrow roads. MTB was a better option for me.

 

[helston90]

I went to falmouth last year and didn't take the road bike out once. The roads in and out were all +60mph lanes with not much visibility around corners and narrow roads. MTB was a better option for me.

Which is funny because I've watched some of your vids and they scare the bejesus out of me- the concept of riding along through busy traffic at 20-25mph alongside a lorry doing the same thing sometimes 3/4 lanes wide? No thanks! I'll take my blind bend into a steep climb any day!

 

[Smokin Joe]

... and if you can (i.e. if it's not to gravelly) ride over to the right hand side of the lane when going round a left-hand bend, to make yourself visible if there's a driver coming the other way - if you hug your left-hand hedge, a driver might assume that there's nothing around the corner, as they haven't seen the bonnet of a car.

I'll admit I do find some lanes a bit hairy if they are used by motorists as cut-throughs, as they rarely anticipate bikes coming the other way. Often I'd rather use a rather mainer road that leaves space for a bike AND a car. Not that I'm paranoid or anything.

Funny, I was thinking exactly along those lines today. Descending a steep narrow single track I often use and for the umpteenth time thinking "Why the hell do I come this way?" Less than a metre of gravel free tarmac either side of the centre, a surface that hasn't been repaired since the Romans did it and seven foot tall hedges either side. My arms were aching from holding the brakes on all the way down.

 

[briantrumpet]

Funny, I was thinking exactly along those lines today. Descending a steep narrow single track I often use and for the umpteenth time thinking "Why the hell do I come this way?" Less than a metre of gravel free tarmac either side of the centre, a surface that hasn't been repaired since the Romans did it and seven foot tall hedges either side. My arms were aching from holding the brakes on all the way down.

I do remember someone from DCC saying that some Devon lanes have only been done once or twice since tarmac came in in the early 20th century - some of the back lanes really are back lanes. I do like the fact that Devon, with 8,000 miles of roads, has more miles of roads than the whole of Belgium. But some of those 8,000 miles are best avoided on a road bike, if you want to go at any speed. I suspect that Cornwall is the same.

 

[gaz]

Which is funny because I've watched some of your vids and they scare the bejesus out of me- the concept of riding along through busy traffic at 20-25mph alongside a lorry doing the same thing sometimes 3/4 lanes wide? No thanks! I'll take my blind bend into a steep climb any day!

I guess it is just down to what you are used to. I'm often on country lanes but nothing quite like what I found in Cornwall. Off road however down there was fantastic, although i almost through my self down a rather steep hill with an error on my part.