Talk us through

[Browser]

Hokay, here's my route to work;
Leave house, left to top of road then left into Croyland Way. Follow road round then left into Wyche Avenue, follow road 'round left into The Chase. Try and keep pace sensible along this straight stretch whilst leg muscles decide to start working, switch Walkman on. Follow road round Crowland Abbey into Abbey Walk, then carry straight on at next junction onto Thorney Road. Cross A1073, once a lethal dice with death but much easier now that new A1073 relief road is open this is easier, much nicer than it was on a wet and dark morning when one is less than 100% awake! Cross into B1040 Thorney Road and then negotiate shiny-new but pi55-poor staggewred junction on previosuly mentioned relief road, the continue on through Nene Terrace to Thorney. Watch out for Barn owls, kingfishers, herons, rabits, rats, kestrels, buzzards and other various fauna all spotted along this route. Also watch for new sections of damaged road surface and potholes, which are increasing on a weekly basis. At roundabout turn right onto A47, varying from reasonably busy to 28 Days Later empty, and mog on, flashing courteous truckers in and shouting "OI!" at those less than well-mannered. After approx 1.5 miles turne left onto the cratered battlefield that is Willow Hall Lane, having just taken strong secondary to negotiate the pinch point outside the Lafarge Quarry entrance. Make my way at best speed, avoiding broken surface, potholes, narrowing carriageway, passing cars, oncoming cars, mud on road etc etc to T-junction with Pearces/Northey Road, turn right into Northey Road then left into Storeys Bar Road. At traffic lights left continuing along Storeys Bar Road, then left after approx 500 metres into workplace.
Reverse order for homeward journey, but add 12 hrs workplace-induced tiredness

 

[CharlieB]

It was very interesting to read Aperitif's route, which from A to B, equates to a substantial part of mine, but with a completely different route. It looks far too suicidal for me, though.
For what it's worth, a 32 miler, from Chesham to London Zoo, with a bit of historic embellishment here and there:

Check toolkit attached to saddle, spare tube, pump, phone, clean shirt, shreddies, socks, tie, all in backpack. Slip out of house, 6 am. Hold front door in one hand and look at keys in other before closing door (OCD thing).

Brisk warm up ¼ mile down my street before footpath shortcuts for a further ¼ mile. If no-one about, ride down the footpaths, otherwise walk like a good citizen, in either case swerving past last night's foil trayed chinese, paper-wrapped kebabs, and pavement pizzas. ½ mile walk up Eskdale Avenue - far too steep to ride up at that time in the morning. At the top, through Chesham's more affluent suburbia to Ley Hill (two cracking pubs, the Swan and the Crown, next to each other), bear left into open countryside, steep drop where 44mph can be achieved before it comes up again equally steeply, and a right-hander to Flaunden. A narrow, scenic country lane for 8 miles, through Belsize, Commonwood and Chandler’s Cross, dodging rabbits, badgers and deer. The 2 mile stretch on Rousebarn Lane through Whippendell Wood is quite scary after dark, the Hope Vision 1 stabbing through the night casting shadows of the trees, hearing the odd rustle in the silence, and trying not to think about the Blair Witch Project.

Eventually I arrive with a culture shock into Croxley's neat broad suburban streets.

Left into the mêlée that is the main A412 road into Watford, and up Whippendell Road toward the town centre, a bit of zigzagging through urban streets to get past Vicarage Road stadium, and turn away from town toward the little green area called Watford Heath. A triangular area of grass bordered by two more good pubs (one the Load of Hay, the better of the two's name escaping me now) and right onto the busy and fast A4008 Oxhey Lane.

Rapid progress for a few miles steadily up and down into Harrow, up to this point, I'm showing an average of about 19-20mph.

Beyond here, the pace has to slow, where suddenly the road into town is shared with singly occupied 4x4s, WVMs, red buses and the usual motorcade. Left onto Greenhill Way at the lights, and a right hander at the end onto Station Road.

This is the point at which my normal 11 mile commute would start.

The mad venture of getting across three lanes of traffic on the Northwick Park roundabout, most of which is travelling right to left across where I want to go is achieved with only minor heart palpitations.

Rapid sprint down the shared footpath on the A404 toward Wembley, and a left hander into the quiet and genteel North Wembley estate along Norval Road brings me to the subway under the railway at South Kenton train station.

Right up the hill, sharp left on to Carlton Avenue East, across Preston Road, and a dogleg at the end across Forty Avenue to get to Brook Avenue, at the end of which is a fine view down Olympic Way of Wembley Stadium. Left over the bridge and right into the area that 25 years ago was one of the most notorious local authority estates in North London, Chalk Hill. The prefab tower blocks have been replaced by neat rows of modern houses and flats, giving a much more community feel than the urban wasteland it was a quarter of a century ago.

A sharp right hander drops down through a park bordering the River Brent and where there is a definite micro climate of a couple of degrees colder than anywhere else on the ride. It is where I had a black ice incident last December. Round the back entrance to Neasden railway depot, dodging the numerous WVs disgorging men in orange hi-vis and white helmets. From a helicopter I’m sure it would look like clutches of eggs heading for the depot.

Up Chesham Street, passing streets named after other remote Metropolitan Railway destinations of days gone by, Quainton, Aylesbury, Verney, when the houses were built for the railway workers, and over a footbridge crossing the busy Neasden Lane North, under a subway that crosses the North Circular (why do the peds insist on using the shaded cycle side of the subway?) and up past the multi-cultural row of shops (cheek by jowl, the Galway Hooker Irish bar, the Halal butchers, the Polish supermarket and the Kebabishi Original ‘The Thrill Of The Grill’ take-away) that is Neasden Parade.

Drop down and up again over Dudden Hill and a left hander into narrow Chapter Road (avoid on Tuesdays, when they collect the rubbish) with its Victorian terraces that runs immediately alongside the Metropolitan line for a mile or so before becoming at Willesden Green train station newer, broader Chatsworth Road, its very name suggesting altogether more substantial housing stock. A fast run down into Kilburn, crossing the appropriately named Shoot Up Hill into Maygrove Road to West Hampstead.

By now I’m aware that the quality of the motoring has diminished considerably, and that the use of direction indicators is sporadic at best. I’m especially aware that the indicators do not function at all on black cabs and BT Openreach vans and that they exist for cosmetic purpose alone.

The pothole count has increased exponentially now and peaks by the time Broadhurst Gardens are reached, (please make it stop, I already have a headache) and brings me out onto the A41 beside Finchley Road train station.

Right into the scrum of RLJers, buses, heavy lorries, lots more singly occupied 4x4s, and psych myself up for the crossing of the Swiss Cottage interchange, where the most bizarre set of traffic light timings releases traffic simultaneously going right to left and vice versa from two arms of a y-shaped junction. Doesn’t help much when all you want to do is go straight on into Avenue Road. This would be a 30-35mph 1 mile stretch down to Regent’s Park were it not for the sheer volume of traffic (did I mention that nearly all the vehicles are singly occupied?) and the long term building site that spills its delivery vehicles across one carriageway day and night.

Left onto the Outer Circle for a final sprint on the flat, showing some envy at the others on their circuits of the park in the opposite direction as after ½ mile I’m going to turn right into London Zoo.

If it’s the Brompton, zoom past the sleepy penguins, through the visitor subway under the Outer Circle, fold it outside the office and carry upstairs, where it lives on the balcony for the day.

On the Bianchi or the Saracen, the covered bike sheds are a secure option.