bike rides you have enjoyed.

run_time

Well-known member
there's an old abandoned rail line between Finsbury Park and Highgate that's been turned into a walking/cycling path. Really nice escape London as you don't have too many signs of being in London...just wouldn't advise cycling down it at night (trees block most of London's light pollution) after a rain (hard pack turns to mud)
 

Woebot

Well-known member
cycling around the country around windsor, datchet. reading books in the fields. that was the best way i found of escaping boarding school.
 

bun-u

Trumpet Police
Grand Union Canal is a nice cycle…pick it up around Victoria Park, head up past Stanford Hill, Tottenham, North Cicrcular and head out past the M25….then get a train back to Bethnal Green or Liverpool Street

The Greenway is also pretty good Hackney Wick out to Beckton

I did also did a good route that went from Hackney Marshes out to Leyton, Epping Forest and then over to Enfield and back down the canal.

I’ve tried a few variations on my Hackney to New Cross cycle to work, but I’ve yet to find an idyllic one. Cycling through Rotherhithe Tunnel is an experience.
 

Jim Daze

Well-known member
Hackney to White City (BBC Deathstar) is not a great ride, the only way around it is quite long and have not tried it but would involve Grand Union to Westbourne Park or somewhere like that and then go across to Shephards Bush.

What about cycle lanes ? some kind of joke.
 
bun-u said:
Cycling through Rotherhithe Tunnel is an experience.

Did you take breathing apparatus? The air down there is like loosely-packed ash.

Cycling from Little venice to limehouse along the canal is good. Lots of changes. You have to up-periscope a few times - at the tunnel under maida vale, camden lock, caledonian road, but the last stretch is long and mostly unbroken. The non-repeating variation that can only exist in cities is laid out left and right. Just watch out for gangs of kids who try to back-kick you off the path around east of camden on your way back.
 

bun-u

Trumpet Police
HMGovt said:
Did you take breathing apparatus? The air down there is like loosely-packed ash.


Absolutely my experimental route-to-work via the Rotherhithe didn’t last very long.

Whilst on the subject of tunnels, are you familiar with the weird etiquette/rules about cycling through the Greenwich foot tunnel? You are not allowed to sit on your saddle and cycle, but you are allowed to (unsafely) perch yourself on the pedal from the side and freewheel through ?!
 

jenks

thread death
a few:
Dungeness and out to camber sands - all very odd round by jarman's old place but good easy cycling

Aldebrough to southwold (go over on a little row boat) via dunwich and then on and out round the country lanes out that way - again pretty low intensity cycling

last year i did a ride out from worthing up a steep slope called the steyning bowl and out to christs hospital school via a converted railway link called something like the downs link, back in a figure of eight past lancing (like a tour of whopping great big public schools) into steyning itself for a fine cream tea and back into worthing along the sea front, approx 50 miles

these have been some of the most enjoyable ones, i've also done some organised rides like the london to southend which takes you out of hackney via chigwell and stock to battlesbridge and into priory park - very odd having people applaud you for riding a bike!

next aim is to try a longer ride, something involving a few days on the go - thinking paris or a'dam
 

luka

Well-known member
the section of the thames path i did with jim (west to richmond on the south side) is a joke its true but greenwich to dartford, also on the southbank is fantastic. i well reccommend it. i want to go further next time, into jencks territory, leigh-on-sea sort of thing.

i find a lot of the canals are too crowded and the bridges are a real pain. worst of all are the commuters trying to sho how fast they can go, towpaths not the best place for a time trial in my opinion. limehouse cut is usually alright but regents canal, particularly in rush hour is nightmarish. they're alright after dark though. someone i know did actually get pushed into the canal there. wiles disease awaits... i do want to make it up to little venice some time though.

if you do the greenway make sure to surmount beckton alp but watch out for all the broken glass. they've also fucked up the little dirtbike trail with mechanical diggers which is a bit kiljoyish, i like scaring myself there.

i like epping forest, its a laugh so long as the mud hasn't got too bad. eastway cycle track is fun too. i used to go there as a boy back when the world was all in black and white and playstations didn't exist.

greenwich foot tunnel i always push my bike for the sense of moral superiority it provides.

lea naviagtion hackney to waltham abbey is good, then a ride around lea valley park. i worked out a nice one where you go through near enough the whole of epping forest then join the lea navigation back home.

the old railway line i think works better as a walk as its so short but its a great place to visit.
 

jenks

thread death
cycle paths almost non-existent down my end of teh thames - a poxy couple of miles on the sea front and lots of militant anti cycling coppers about to stop you cycling in the ridiculously wide pavements (certainly wide enough for a bike lane).

will second my respect for sustrans (particularly their maps) - haven't gone so far as to get a clip to hold my map in place on my handlebars (there's probably a technical term for that).
 
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