Routes

[bruce1530]

just wondering - when you set out for a leisure ride, as opposed to a group ride or commute, do you always know where you’re planning to go?

Sometimes I set out with a particular target in mind, but other times I generally know whether I’m going to turn left or right at the end of the road, but nothing more specific.


Also - is it just me, or do you tend to form “habits” regarding routes? There’s a quiet country road which runs from here to the next town. Very few cars, advisory 30mph limit, a selection of hills and some good views. I quite like cycling along there. I’ve done it at least 20 times in the last few months - but I realised today when I was out there that every trip has been from south to north. I’ve never done it in the other direction - that somehow seems “unnatural”....

 

[DaveReading]

The great thing about cycling, as opposed to running, is that you can go out and make up a route as you go along secure in the knowledge that, however far from home you end up, you can normally bank on being able to make it back, albeit slowly, without your legs giving out on you.

 

[raleighnut]

I normally set out with a destination in mind but vary the route.

 

[dim]

I recently got an Edge 1000 .... I will be going for a ride soon, with nowhere in particular planned .... I will ride on roads that I have not been before, until I feel I have gotten half way, then hit the 'take me home' button

 

[mjr]

just wondering - when you set out for a leisure ride, as opposed to a group ride or commute, do you always know where you’re planning to go?

Yes, but not always the exact route. It can be a bleeding long way between places out here in the fens and I feel there's little point riding simply to take the longest route back home after visiting nowhere. There's too many nice places to visit to miss them all.

 

[RMurphy195]

I usually have a destination in mind, and a likely route. Always involving a tea/coffee shop. But I can change my mind ...

In my yoof I used to just go out somewhere and find y way back, goodness knows how many miles I did on Sunday afternoons like this, with no prep, few tools, no maps, just a couple of choccy bars and a bottle of water stuffed in the saddlebag on the old 3 speed, originally!

 

[Supersuperleeds]

My destination is usually home

 

[Sunny Portrush]

I really enjoyed it and was amazed to see how far back in his family tree Alex Haley got..........

 

[steverob]

I usually have two or three routes that I plan to do saved in my Garmin at all times and will pick from those on the actual day as to which I fancy doing. Occasionally I'll not bother and just go out on one of my favourite routes (usually one involving quiet roads and little to no climbing) but I find that when I do this, I tend to skimp on the mileage and end up coming home a lot quicker than I really should. By choosing one of the pre-planned routes I can force myself to do a decent distance or tackle a tough climb just because that's what I said I'd do. I still do vary these planned routes from time to time when I see an interesting detour or if conditions aren't good, but I'll still probably keep to the route for 90% of it.

One thing I am lucky with in where I live is that I have plenty of choices of routes. My home town has three major roads running through it, giving me six possible directions to head out in (actually seven, as there is a minor road in one direction as well), much like the spokes on a wheel. So long before I got my Garmin and was able to plot routes online, I used to choose a road out, decide how far along it I wanted to go, then pick a road back in to town and work out a way of getting from one to the other via the country lanes inbetween. I still don't think I've covered every possible combination even now about 20 years after I started cycling in this area.

 

[GuyBoden]

If I set off with no route in mind, I usually use similar routes I've used for years.

I still like browsing the OS maps for routes, combined with a nice cuppa tea, they're only £6 each or £10 for laminated (laminated is my preference).
https://dash4it.co.uk/catalog/product/view/sku/OSA268
https://dash4it.co.uk/catalog/product/view/sku/OSA268

 

[Will Spin]

I usually have a destination or rough idea of the route in mind, but I vary it as I go along. I do tend to do some rides in a particular direction, perhaps to avoid a steep climb, though every now and then I'll do it in the opposite direction just to make sure that I can!

 

[freiston]

Yes, but not always the exact route. It can be a bleeding long way between places out here in the fens and I feel there's little point riding simply to take the longest route back home after visiting nowhere. There's too many nice places to visit to miss them all.

I grew up in the south Lincolnshire fens and would say that in order to make routes up, you need to know where the drains and their crossing points are.

In the part of Warwickshire where I now live, and with my levels of unfitness coupled with lack of opportunity, I tend to make relatively short rides. I do like to keep away from busy roads and I am lucky enough to live where I can almost completely avoid them and still get a few miles done. I have only recently started cycling again, there are loads of lanes to explore round here and I don't know my way around them. I tend to stick to single track lanes (or not much bigger); several of which have grass or gravel banks down the centre. I create routes using online maps and google earth, and then write a turn-by turn route guide that goes on top of my handlebar bag. I try to introduce new areas and roads each time. As time goes by, I am learning enough of the locale to rely less on the preparation and to be able to make spontaneous changes to the route. I cannot stress enough though that I border on the obsessive in trying to do almost the whole journey on the sort of narrow lanes that most motorists would avoid.

When I was younger, I would not concern myself as much as I do now about getting lost or about knowing where I was. Nowadays, if I end up losing track of where I am, I tend to spoil the ride with too many map-reading stops.

 

[Sandra6]

I set out thinking I know where I'm going, but invariably a side road or lane will grab my attention and I'll make a detour.
Sometimes I'm not entirely sure where I am, but you know cyclists never get lost, just explore alternative routes!

 

[wonderloaf]

I found some great new routes the other day. Well, actually they were the same routes as before just ridden in the opposite direction, couldn't believe the difference it makes. Also confirms that I'm a creature of habit and nearly always ride in the same direction.

 

[dim]

I found some great new routes the other day. Well, actually they were the same routes as before just ridden in the opposite direction, couldn't believe the difference it makes. Also confirms that I'm a creature of habit and nearly always ride in the same direction.

Research/check the wind for the day of your ride.

then use a route (or plan a route using Ride With GPS and Strava heatmaps), and choose a course accordingly. i.e. if there is strong wind, try and ride sideways of the headwind if you are doing a loop back home, or if there are loads of hills, check the course and see where the hardest climbs are, and get the wind behind you for these (if possible) ....

I've been doing this recently for my long rides and it makes long rides a lot more enjoyable ... I recently purchased a Garmin Edge 1000, so I'm now venturing to areas that I have never been

so, moral of the story: the Wind needs to be checked before choosing a route...

I normally have a clockwise aswell as anti-clockwise for the same routes, and I choose which one after checking the wind on the morning of the ride. (I use https://www.windytv.com )and its pretty accurate and easy to understand (you can set it to show a map wth arrows showing which way the wind is blowing and it tells you the estimated speed of the wind hour by hour for the day)