Roads you can ride on, but really shouldn’t

[bikingdad90]

There’s no hard shoulder on that bit of the dual carriage way just lay by’s every few miles, there’s a solid white line then a gap of about 0.75 meter between the road and grass verge, where they were there is one exit left to the A168 to Boroughbridge/Dishforth Airfield or next stop is the A1/M

I know the bit you mean now, originally thought you meant further north towards Northallerton as quite often there is a TT that goes from Crathorne.

 

[Chief Broom]

Nearest busy road to me is the A9 and I don’t like even crossing it. I would never contemplate riding on it.

Got me worried now Mo! I ride regularly on the A9 between Golspie and Brora but im guessing that its more hazardous where you are. Generally i dont have a problem apart from a dodgy overtaker carving to close but thought thats par for the course for cyclist on any road anywhere. I always wear a sam brown and if i see something about to run me over in my mirror i'll take to the hedgerow! I do choose my time i ride on it though and avoid when boy racers are out on weekends, will be on it today....wish me luck

 

[Baldy]

Not much more fun driving it, but still see some intrepid cyclists giving it a go. I quite often try and plot a safe route that would take me to Inverness as I fancy giving that a go some time.

There's a half decent cycle lane alone most of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

 

[figbat]

I live on the A34 in South Oxfordshire and it doesn't half get in the way of making cycling routes. If I dared to use just a short section then it would make life much easier, but I just won't. The stretch here is notoriously dangerous, with numerous accidents and fatalities. A friend of mine has ridden this stretch but I won't.

A couple of years ago I was heading south on the A34 just south of the M4 and saw a bikepacker with huge trailer cycling along the opposite carriageway. Not for me, thanks.

 

[wiggydiggy]

We've had busy roads, how about surfaces unsuitable for most bikes?

This is Broom Field Lane in Kirklees, the top picture is 2009 and so it was in better condition a few years back. However as the bottom picture shows it's unpassable for most bikes (and Audis!) now due to being washed away by rain.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I often ride over the Widnes-Runcorn bridge (the old one) into Runcorn
Once there you have to be careful about signposts - they all try to direct all traffic around Runcorn itself on the Expressways that form a sort of Ring Road - and another of up the middle

Thing is - these are the only signs if you get lost - hence, if you are unsure, then you follow the signs and then find yourself on one of the ExpressWay - which are basically like a Motorway with a narrow hard shoulder - not really a good place to ride a bike!

The problem is that there is no other signs or indication that these routes are only suitable for cars and above - I wouldn;t be very happy on them in once of those small Quadricycle things like the Citroen Ami!

Several times I have ended up on one and ended up walking back the "wrong way" up the hard shoulder pushing my bike to get back to the junction. where I joined it - in one cases this was quite a long slip road that didn;t appear to be going to a major dual carridgeway!

I have learned to follow signs to the main Railway station in Runcorn rather than signs for Liverpool or Widnes - this seems to work as it is not close to the ExpressWays.
There is no indication that bikes are not suitable for this route unless you actually are starting to get onto the new toll bridge - but even then only when you actually get to the charging zone!

So - my point (you knew there would be one in the end???) is that sometimes signs should give an indication that bikes should use a safer route rather than just put up signs for cars and lorries - and everyone else has to work it out by magic (or a map??)

 

[oldwheels]

The A828 north of Oban has a cycle path most of the way now but there are short bits I need to take the trike on. Traffic in summer can get pretty busy so hazardous to put it mildly. To get to Connel from Oban there is a cyclepath and a footpath people use as far as Dunbeg but from Dunbeg to Connel there is currently nothing but the main A85. Not nice and I would not contemplate it myself. You can use "the back road" from Oban to Connel but not everyone knows about it.

 

[Mike_P]

Komoot annoyingly routes using that dual carriageway section of the A168 whenever I plot a route via Asenby; the quieter alternative to Dishforth is via Rainton. Anyone unfamiliar with the area is not going to realise it's two fast moving lanes of traffic with largely no hard shoulder or bridleway like edge to it

 

[BrumJim]

A625 between Castleton and the A623.

Condition of the tarmac is terrible, and the potholes need to be seen to be believed.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Also FNRTTC went through the Rotherhithe tunnel which isn’t advisable.

I've done an FNRttC through the tunnel. Possibly even the same one as you. At FNRTTC time of night it's not at all busy, and so it's not dangerous. And there's a footway if you feel it necessary.

But it's still not advisable because it's absolutely horrible and stinks.

My least favourite road is the A249 Sittingbourne road that runs NE across the Kent Downs from Maidstone to Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey. It's a dual carriageway with very fast traffic and no hard shoulder to ride on. And the worst thing is, it's in the way. There are almost no roads that cross it. It divides the Kent Downs in two. If it's in your way you have to join it, ride along it for a bit, then cross the carriageway to get off the other side . It's just plonked in the landscape and really awkward.

The A249 divides the village of Detling in two. A dual carriageway through the middle of a village, with no crossing. The inevitable result was a tragedy and there is now a footbridge called Jade's Crossing, that was built only after campaigning by the bereaved parents of Jade Hobbs, who was killed along with her grandmother on the road.

Another road like this is the A127 Southend Arterial, which connects Basildon to the M25. It just forms a big E-W barrier across the landscape and if you're going north there are not that many crossing points. Roads that were formerly cross-roads are just blocked off. So you can follow a lane that meets the road, and if you wanted to continue the route on the other side you'd have to climb over the armco in the middle. Thank goodness for Google Streetview when planning routes.

 

[Slick]

There's a half decent cycle lane alone most of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

Yeah I've driven it many times but it does seem to dump you in the most awkward of places and the road works from Perth northwards look awkward to negotiate.

Lots in-between look awesome, which is why I've thought about doing it for a while now.

 

[cyberknight]

nearest stretch is the A38 from burton to Derby , i wouldnt dare attempt it as they are just to many nutters about these days , even middle of the night convoys of lorries nose to tail could wipe you out before they even notice you .

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A625 between Castleton and the A623.

Condition of the tarmac is terrible, and the potholes need to be seen to be believed.

😹

 

[Beebo]

My least favourite road is the A249 Sittingbourne road that runs NE across the Kent Downs from Maidstone to Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey. It's a dual carriageway that sometimes thins down to one lane each way. Very fast traffic. No hard shoulder to ride on. And the worst thing is, it's in the way. There are almost no roads that cross it. It divides the Kent Downs in two. If it's in your way you have to join it, ride along it for a bit, then cross the carriageway to get off the other side . It's just plonked in the landscape and really awkward.

I dont even like driving the A249, especially the narrow down hill winding dual carriage way section just past the Kent show ground going south. I couldn’t imagine cycling down that section.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I dont even like driving the A249, especially the narrow down hill winding dual carriage way section just past the Kent show ground going south. I couldn’t imagine cycling down that section.

If it's the same bit I'm thinking of I once went wrong and found myself on a lane that joined the A249 at the top of that hill. You are almost in the village of Detling there, it's less than a mile, but I looked at the road and decided that I may not make it there alive, so I doubled back. Unfortunately there's no real way to continue on a bike. I had to take a steep, extremely muddy footpath to eventually get on to the road and continue my ride.