The King John Way.

[oxoman]

Well I am the route designer and find it disappointing that when someone tries to do something positive for cycling, some other has to be negative. The fact is that, regardless of some important NCN routes, Lincolnshire has been overlooked in the scheme of UK cycling routes. I am an accredited British Cycling Route Builder, so when Cycling UK didn’t have the budget, or interest, to create this route, I decided to spend a year putting one together myself. I involved local cyclists from each area to refine the route. Places of interest were researched and plotted as points of interest. There was no funding available for building a website so I built it myself. Initially a touring route, NCN’s were an important element. However, road cyclists expressed a desire for a road only route, so this was designed. And then what about those wanting shorter circular routes? With help from local cyclists, I added a number of interesting themed rides. The Marmite ‘tyre lever’ you mention is the Tyre Glider. I was the first to bring the Tyre Glider to international attention, and it was an immediate success. My relationship with its inventor encouraged him to sponsor the web hosting. In return, but not a requirement, I added a page advertising the product. And as for promoting a YouTube channel, it’s doing very nicely without needing promotion.

I've actually been watching various YT clips of you recently. Plenty of info so thankyou for your work. Will be doing it via B&B,s first then hopefully camping. Will be riding from south derbyshire to a suitable point on the route before following it and returning home.

 

[mjr]

Well I am the route designer and find it disappointing that when someone tries to do something positive for cycling, some other has to be negative.

I didn't have to be negative: my opinion was made negative by your grumpy words about the work of other route-makers, and the vagueness of your route information ("local rules may say no cycling" - shouldn't you find stuff like that out before suggesting people cycle there and possibly get in trouble unexpectedly?) which made it look like the route is a means to some other end, not an end in itself.

I also think it's disappointing when someone is so negative about other people's work, so I'm disappointed that you're continuing to be so negative about the results of the time and money the NCN and NB volunteers and workers have put into several useful signed cycling routes in Lincolnshire, despite your unsigned route actually piggy-backing on them. If you don't like any criticism, maybe don't be so harsh on those who worked on real-world-signed routes long before you plotted your online-only one?

I am an accredited British Cycling Route Builder,

What is this? I can't find this qualification on https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/education-course-finder or how I can validate this claim of accreditation.

I did find British Cycling used to do an "Online Route Planning Award" but that's just a 3 hour course last offered 2023 which looks like it covers less than many typical tourists would do (no checking photomaps or anything) and only covered their "affiliated partners software".

The Marmite ‘tyre lever’ you mention is the Tyre Glider. I was the first to bring the Tyre Glider to international attention, and it was an immediate success.

Good for him and hopefully you. I wrote "marmite" because it wasn't a success for customers who broke theirs before the limit on rim thickness was added to the website small print, but my bikes are tourers so at least I knew then not to try it.

My relationship with its inventor encouraged him to sponsor the web hosting. In return, but not a requirement, I added a page advertising the product. And as for promoting a YouTube channel, it’s doing very nicely without needing promotion.

So if neither of those things are the reason, maybe it's just presented badly as I suggested, unless you'd like to reveal the aim.

 

[mjr]

I didn’t route the KJW via Sutton Bridge, the reputed crossing place, as it’s just a noisy main road with nothing to see. It does cross at Fosdyke, which could be the spot. No one has ever found any of the treasure so maybe Sutton Bridge it was a misdirection

I think it's wildly inaccurate to say the swinging metal 1897 Cross Keys Bridge is "just a noisy main road with nothing to see". There's also the RAF memorial by it and the paired old lighthouses along the river. I could understand it more if the reason for ignoring most of South Holland was there's not much left connected with King John since the old King John pub closed, as the Cross Keys Bank of his time (one of the possible routes) has been obliterated and replaced by the more modern straighter Cross Keys Bridge Bank.

Fosdyke Bridge is surely far less interesting, being a plain 1990 concrete bridge and I think a long way from old ferry alignments that King John may have used. I've no idea why it's considered interesting.