I wish the UK was not cycle unfriendly

fishdisco

How do you all manage your fitness, leisure and commute rides? Where do you all ride?

I bought myself a road/hybrid bike which I want to use for fitness. Around where I live (20 miles radius) there are no cycle lanes whatsoever. I want to ride the bike to my health club which is about 5 miles. It's along 2 main A-roads, one of which there are major roadworks on, and a narrow flyover which is really difficult to ride on. Me or anyone I know have never seen any cyclists riding on these roads I think because it's too dangerous? You see the odd cyclist on the footpath occasionally. So I tried out the ride going on the footpath due to the roadworks. It's so annoying and difficult as the path is not even. I had to keep stopping whenever the kerb was not lowered or other hazards. There is shrapnel, broken glass, stones, pot holes, all sorts. I'm also worried that going up and down the kerbs constantly is going to ruin the bike. So I went on the road a bit and I was even riding in the drains, and so scared. It's impossible.

What shall I do? I want to ride about 10 miles a day. I am average fitness. How can I find somewhere to ride? The UK is a joke? Am I likely to find anywhere with a road cycling route or somewhere safe to ride and if so, how? Or shall I take a cycle holiday? I am new to this, but I don't want to give just because the UK is so cycle unfriendly..............

Thanks in advance.

mercurykev

In town you can often plan less direct routes which use quieter streets. The more you cycle on the roads the more use to it you get and your confidence riding in traffic grows. Now, I very rarely use cyle paths as it's often quicker using the main roads. however, I still tend to steer clear of the 40mph dual carraageways - too many crazy drivers in a hurry.

If I want to go on longer rides (over 20 miles) I head out of town to the B roads and unclassified roads. These tend not to have much traffic and have the bonus of being in nice countryside.

A lot of people swear by a book called 'Cyclecraft' by John Franklin.

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/

mossycp

We also have very few decent cycle lanes around here. The off road ones are short but reasonable to ride if you don't want to go fast. The on road ones are generally awful. I must be lucky though, living in Suffolk there are loads of quiet roads right on my doorstep and I find the major towns no problem even on the main roads. The only roads I avoid are the major trunk roads.

I find riding on the road is far easier and quicker. "Take the lane" by riding at least 1m from the kerb. Ride confidently and become part of the traffic. Do not be intimidated by motorised traffic. As Mercurykev says, Cyclecraft is well worth reading. Learn all about the primary and secondary riding positions.

Whereabouts do you live? There must be some back roads within a 20 mile radius?

Hackbike 6

Im amazed at the difference here in [plug]Japan[/plug] where I am on my hols.Cyclists cycle on the pavement and it's no big deal.Bit of a shock on the first day though.Glad I didn't say anything.

bahzob

I would advise getting in touch with local cycle club and perhaps joining one of their club runs. I have done so and been amazed by the number of roads/routes that I have discovered.

colonel

I agree.
I have a different problem, I live in London.
Its quite easy to ride on weekends but junctions are risky during weekday rush hours, people convert into Aliens pent on the destruction of humans, and then they convert back to normal people after the rush hour LOL.

On the other hand, when I am driving in London I hate cyclists who jump red lights and occasionally try to run over pedestrians.

My mate has the best commute. He lives north of regents park and has devised a root through regents park and a number of back alleys to get to the city of London for his daily commute. I take my hat off to him.

In summary, I think the government should have a national plan of cycle path building (like roads), and not leave it up to the local councils. On the other hand they should make sure that adding a cycle path is done on extra land and does not compress the road size, making it too narrow. Like w*****r livingstone does in London.

I am definitely skitso!!

nicklouse

fishdisco just curious where are you comparing to?

fishdisco

Thanks to all. I live in Walsall bordering on Birmingham, West Midlands. NickLouse - I have been to Denmark, Amsterdam, Norway, Sweden, Vietnam, Laos where I personally think it is easier for cyclists.

I really appreciate all the tips. If anyone can recommend any routes or clubs, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

nicklouse

Fish, i know what you mean. Living in Sweden is heaven. Till the winter comes.

studded tyres and face masks.

fishdisco

Oh, you do? How lucky you are! I just pmd you too. Right, I am off to attempt another bike ride now. Rain is expected so with that, and the bad roads near me, I better brace myself! Wish me luck!

Evoke

do what i do and go out at 5 in the morning. Nice quiet roads are all yours.

fishdisco

Hey that is not a bad idea. Except that the roads are still quite heavy with lorries near me as I live right by the M6 junction. I will try this.

wolvesandy

I live in wolves which aint far from walsall, theres loads of quiet roads if your just looking for a fitness run, have a look on google maps, ive discovered loads of roads that i never knew existed until i started cycling. cant help with your trip to the health club tho

jibi

fish
Have you had a look in www.bikely.com to see if there are any routes near you?
Are there no canals near you , and use the tow paths to get out of town.

good luck

george

fishdisco

WolvesAndy - can you suggest any? Even though I now live in Walsall, I worked/lived in Surrey and London for the past 8 years and have not even got accustomed to this neck of the woods since just moving back. Hence I am not sure whether to just go out and about....but then again maybe I should. Actually I bought my bike from a shop in Wolves.

George - yes actually there are a few canal tow paths near me!! I have been thinking of going down one and seeing where I end up. Will have a look at a few maps and go out tomorrow! Thanks!!

richard_l

Not sure which side of walsall you might be based, but for starters - these may be of help as well. There are a mass of lanes to the north of Walsall, and heading up towards Cannock Chase, so if you are able to persevere and increase your distance covered, those should start to come within your easy access.

http://www.walsall.gov.uk/walsall_cycle_map.pdf
http://www.walsall.gov.uk/index/cycle_s ... ations.htm

wolvesandy

I dont know of any specific routes but ive had a look on google maps and if you head up to walsall wood then cannock theres a network of country lanes
www.maps.google.com just find your house and work it from there

scapaslow

Just a thought but if all else fails you could always put the bike in the car/bikerack and drive to the start of a safe local route thus avoiding the busy traffic in the immediate vicinity.

Perhaps this defeats your purpose? It can be a bit of an extra time consuming pain to get organised.

I do this with my younger kids to get us to the start of a safe route avoiding busy A roads that i'm scared to take them on

fishdisco

Thanks scapaslow. I have thought about this and will probably do this at some point. Don't have a car at the moment though so it's a bit difficult. I'm sure there are much better routes elsewhere once I can drive there.

Ste_S

Try on the roads around Cannock Chase maybe ? and if you feel like going a bit further there's miles of flat country lanes in Staffordshire

domtyler

Canal paths are not good for fitness riding, they are strewn with dog muck, dogs and their walkers, kids, broken glass etc. Impossible to get up a good speed and not friendly for thin racing tyres.

I have had a very quick look on Google maps and there are plenty of routes from Walsall, for a start you could head out toward Aldridge along Aldridge/Walsall road and then get lost in the lanes for a few hours past Druids Heath Golf Club.

If you cannot find a decent club I suggest getting a Garmin Edge which is basically a GPS enabled bike computer, you can plot your own routes and never have to worry about getting lost or reading maps.
________
Kawasaki Kx85

fossyant

You will get more confident on the road the more you do - it soon becomes second nature. One thing with being on a bike, is because of the physical activity, the brain is totally switched on - you notice a lot more - you'll soon use this to stop worrying and be able to predict drivers actions, or position yourself in a good position to stop drivers cutting you up before you make a turn (for example).

It's all too easy to get in a car half asleep. One a bike you soon wake up !

BeaconRuth

The Walsall Roads Cycling Club is an excellent club with lots of very experienced cyclists and lots of encouragement for newcomers. There will be a wealth of knowledge about good routes in and around Walsall amongst the members. Their president is Lynne Taylor, national champion and record holder, who works at Bridgetown cycles in Cannock - I doubt there's much about cycling in the area that she doesn't know and she's very very friendly, encouraging and helpful. I'd strongly recommend visiting Bridgetown Cycles and asking Lynne about the club and cycling in the area. The shop is worth a visit anyway - they've got tons of stuff there.

acorn_user

I grew up in Walsall. There are parts of the Arboretum you can cycle through. If you start by the Lido, you can get all the way out to a canal (name eludes me). Part of that trip is on a bridleway though. You can also use canal towpaths a lot. We got all the way to Shrewsbury doing that. Another good bet would be the train. You can take trains out to Cannock and towards Worcester. As far as purely road riding goes, I use to ride out to Aldridge via the arbo and that road that goes past the TI plant.

bigjim

Totally agree. Where I live just north of Manchester it is hard work to find decent cycling areas that you can access from your front door. Although if I chuck the bike in the car there is a lot of choice within 20mins drive, but that for me defeats the purpose. The government is useless at looking after cyclista and I think this hardens the general publics attitude. I have just been out walking and on the main A road there is one of these so-called green cycle lanes for 500yds. Then there is a sign that says cycle lane ends. Doooh. So then what are you supposed to do. The green lane is useless anyway. Motorists totally ignore it and it gives you absolutely no protection at all. They probably claim it in some figure somewhere to say thay provide facilities for cyclists. Just back form a trip with my bike to Majorca and totally spoilt. Out every day on quiet lanes where i can cycle for twenty miles at a time and only see 6 vehicles. In the middle of the day! Ahhh Bliss.

Jim

fishdisco

Wow, to all above, thanks a lot for replies. I will check out the shop in Cannock. Actually I found a few people recently who told me to do the aldridge arbo route. I agree about those green so-called cycle lanes, they are so dangerous.

I just wanted to add I am so overjoyed with discovering my new hobby. I wish I had discovered it before!! I cancelled my gym membership which was a rip-off and I never use it. Cycling makes me feel more fit than anything, even swimming, and I am a swimmer. I just wanted to ask - has anyone ever had a fitness goal (like losing 'x' inches off waist, and achieved it through cycling and if so, how long did it take you to achieve?

ricadus

wolvesandy wrote:

ive discovered loads of roads that i never knew existed until i started cycling.

This is a great aspect of cycling that often doesn't get mentioned when peple discuss the benefits. The usual things get mentioned – improved fitness, more predictable commuting times, etc – but also just pottering about can really put you in touch with the place you live, as it's so much easier to explore by bike than by walking or driving.

Jeremy Parker

fishdisco wrote:

How do you all manage your fitness, leisure and commute rides? Where do you all ride?

I bought myself a road/hybrid bike which I want to use for fitness. Around where I live (20 miles radius) there are no cycle lanes whatsoever.

[snip]

.

I would say that you are lucky. Painting a white line on the road doesn't make the road any wider. Bike lanes make you invisible, they don't make you invulnerable.

Bike lanes make the motorists pass without thinking, without deviating from their path to give you more clearance. They make cars go faster, by removing the "friction effect" from being in the kerb lane.

Bike lanes entice novices into the door zone - being doored is the most common cause of serious injuries to cyclists here in London

Bike lanes entice novices into the "coffin corner" inside left turning lorries. That's the most common cause of cyclist fatalities here in London, with the proportion being about a quarter of all cyclist fatilities, and rising

Bike lanes collect the broken glass, and keep out the cars whose tyres would otherwise sweep the glass away.

Bike lanes encourage cyclists to approach traffic lights in the wrong lane.

Bike lanes make overtaking a stopped taxi or an unloading van into a major crisis for novices, rather than something hardly noticable

Novices almost always get into trouble from riding too close to the kerb, rather than too far away. Bike lanes send out exactly the wrong signal to both novice cyclists, and to motorists

Bike lanes make it more difficult to turn right

Mind you, sidepath cycle tracks are even worse, and with the terrible reputation they have deveoped over the two thirds of a century they have been around, tracks have become the facility that dare not speak its name. People invented euphamisms like "protected lane" , with the result that novices have now started calling tracks lanes,too, creating general confusion

I hate lanes, they are just margins for marginalised, ghettos in the gutter, bicycle bantustans proving that separate but equal never is.

Jeremy Parker