What roads can i cycle on?????
dogllabtoof
Posts: 52
Hello everyone,
I am tyring to plan some new routes, and wanted some advice as to what kinds of roads i cannot cycle on, for example can i cycle on the 50mph A66 road in middlesbrough?
I am tyring to plan some new routes, and wanted some advice as to what kinds of roads i cannot cycle on, for example can i cycle on the 50mph A66 road in middlesbrough?
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Pretty much anything but motorways and certain dual carriageways which specifically tell you not too.
A 50mph A road, sounds just like a normal road...so i dont see any reason why not.0 -
Just because you can ride on them doesnt make it a good idea though.0
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Cheers copper, thats what i thought, but just thought id check.0
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Just because you can ride on them doesnt make it a good idea though.0
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As cooper michael says, pretty much anything that doesn;t have a blue motorway style sign is fair game I believe. However, whether you will enjoy or feel safe riding on a busy dual carriageway or A road is another matter entirely, esp if it is popular with our friends in the road haulage industry ........0
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sometimes dual carriageways are quite safe, especially ones with a hard shoulder type of area.
I always ride here (just watch out for road rubbish like glass and hub caps) and the police never seemingly mind. In many senses in my area its about the best you get in terms of cycleways!0 -
I personally avoid any roads which are likely to have big lorries on them. I'm clench every part of my body when I hear a roaring great engine coming up behind me. :shock:
I stick to cycleways, country lanes and b roads wherever possible.
Having said that, the most fabulous big mobile home passed me on a cycle way on Sunday. I heard it coming from ages away and then naturally started clenching and wondering what the hell was going to pass me. I've worryingly developed an interest in mobile homes and I could only admire it as it went noisily by.0 -
there are A roads that say 'cyclits are advised to find alternative routes' however these seem to be in the middle of no where and dont give another route - as far as i'm aware it is legal to cycle the route, but someone somewhere decided it was a dumb idea to do so.
but as already said, stay off motorways and roads such as the A1 MMy signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
I used to commute from Darlington to Stockton and the A66 was the quickest route, but I only used it twice in three years.
It's a nightmare of a road - the 50mph limits mean nowt, and the whole road swarms with enormous wagons charging back and forth from Teesport. The memory of having some massive car transporter whooshing past about 6 inches from my right elbow isn't one I treasure.
Saying that, I've known people do it :roll:
What's your journey? I know the Stockton end pretty well.0 -
I work at wilton, and live in Billingham.
I rode it today, but found a route that doesnt include the A66.
I used the Trunk Road (through brambles farm and grange town :shock: ). It was a little busy this morning, but fine on the way back this afternoon.
You in any cycle clubs SKUHRAVY? I am thinking of joining the Stockton Wheelers. But they do 55-60 miles on a sunday morning. The furthest i have done is the 25 mile round trip today.0 -
My sometimes commute to work see's me riding up a stretch of the A40 that used to be called the A40(M).
Technically it is okay to cycle up but a relatively steep incline mixed in with a 3 lane ex motorway and trucks of varying sizes makes things a bit of a nightmare.
On the bright side though after about 8am it's notmally stationalry so it's great fun filtering up past all the cage drivers!!!FCN 7
FCN 4
if you use irrational measures to measure me, expect me to behave irrationally to measure up0 -
This is why I think being a motorist makes somebody a better cyclist and vice versa.
Before I cycle down any road I ask myself "how much of a menace am I on this road?"
If it's a quiet residential road with very little traffic the answer is "barely a menace" and I will use that road.
If it's a fairly major road but the speed limit is 30 or less the anwer is "a bit more of a menace", but I'll still use the road.
If it's a busy road with a high speed limit, blind bends, and too narrow to allow overtaking opportunities because of traffic in the opposite direction the motorist in me starts putting expletives into the statement of menace and I'll find an alternative route.
Just because I have a right to be on the busier roads on a bike doesn't mean I have a license to be inconsiderate. "Consideration for other road users" works both ways.
That's my view of things anyway."A recent study has found that, at the current rate of usage, the word 'sustainable' will be worn out by the year 2015"0 -
dogllabtoof wrote:I work at wilton, and live in Billingham.
I rode it today, but found a route that doesnt include the A66.
I used the Trunk Road (through brambles farm and grange town :shock: ). It was a little busy this morning, but fine on the way back this afternoon.
You in any cycle clubs SKUHRAVY? I am thinking of joining the Stockton Wheelers. But they do 55-60 miles on a sunday morning. The furthest i have done is the 25 mile round trip today.
My God you're a brave fella cycling through Brambles farm and Grangetown. Did you have someone riding shotgun? The Trunk Road is a nightmare. As bad as the A660 -
just remember the road number is the target speed when you're on a bike, so on the A1 you try for a constant 1mph without falling off, on the A66 you've to try for 66mph none stop :P
sorry, i'm slightly bored.My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
based on that I better keep off the A303 near me.Random Vince wrote:just remember the road number is the target speed when you're on a bike, so on the A1 you try for a constant 1mph without falling off, on the A66 you've to try for 66mph none stop :P
sorry, i'm slightly bored.
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I tend to agree with Parkey, if the roads a bit ify I find an alternative route.
Mind you in a few days time we've got the RAC rally going right past our house, what a pain that is, the roads closed off all day and we have to have passes to get in and out, We can't carry on with our busness for the whole day, :evil: but do we get any compensation?? corse not . The road is only 8 foot wide and cuts through from the A40 to the A4067 ( Swansea road ) it's not part of the rally but the way the drivers use it you would think it was, o'dear I'll just have to get the old tractor out and plod up and down the road a bit.....0 -
chunkytfg wrote:
On the bright side though after about 8am it's notmally stationalry so it's great fun filtering up past all the cage drivers!!!
Thats probably one of the best feelings on a bike, even when its p*ssing it down, filtering past (literally) miles of trafic and grinning stupidly to yourself...0 -
personally I try to go on country lanes as much as possible.
Whilst you can ride on dal carriage ways I certainly wold not advise it.
Someone said it is ok if hardsholder present, but normally you get all the crap off the cars swept into it which means lots of flints for pnctures.
In addition to this it can be dangeros going past exits and cars go much faster than bikes and most of the time they would not see you going 200 yards past the exit!!
I sed to cycle down the exit a bit on some bad ones, then go ack onto dal carriage way, but these days stay off them.
I did once cycle 10 miles on the M4
I was leving Cardiff on the A48 and this becomes the A48M and you have to leave to go on old A48. being on a bike I did not notice and went straight ahead.
I ws getting beeped a lot so I then realised what I had done :-)
This was a long time ago though.0 -
dogllabtoof wrote:I work at wilton, and live in Billingham.
I rode it today, but found a route that doesnt include the A66.
I used the Trunk Road (through brambles farm and grange town :shock: ). It was a little busy this morning, but fine on the way back this afternoon.
You in any cycle clubs SKUHRAVY? I am thinking of joining the Stockton Wheelers. But they do 55-60 miles on a sunday morning. The furthest i have done is the 25 mile round trip today.
Errr.. is the Trunk Road the 1085? If so, you must be bonkers! I've been along there a couple of times on the way back from Redcar, and I usually bottle it and nip down through lovely Grangetown into Eston, then back through Yarm.
BTW, I'm not in any clubs - they all kick off at about 9 in the morning, and on the weekend i don't like to crack the curtains until at least half past. I have seen the Stockton Wheelers around tho - I think they meet at Hartburn shops.0 -
The Stockton Wheelers meet at Sainsburys at Whitehouse Farm (I have no idea where that is personally) at 9am on Sundays.
Cleveland Triathlon Club meet opposite the Fox Covet at 10am. Usually covering about 45 - 50 miles."A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
Although in theory you can ride down major dual carriageways, I'd avoid anything where traffic joins on a slip-road where you're on the main carriageway. Drivers approach at speed and often are more concerned about what's approaching from behind rather than checking for slow moving traffic in front. I know of at least 3 fatal collisions on the A3 near Guildford involving cyclists.
Your only resort in such situatuations is to take the exit slip and re-join, making sure you're on the far left of the carriageway.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
If you look at statistics, i think you find the A roads are a damn sight safer than back country rural roads.
On an A road the traffic is well managed and the sight lines are quite far, on tight rural roads all you need is Mrs Smethington-Peters a bit late going to pick up young Miles from the local Grammar school in her range rover coming round a blind corner at 50mph and you are a gonna.
I live in a semi-rural area around 20miles from the city and to be honest both environments have different dangers...however i have to think my local dual-carriageway is one of the safer places to cycle.0 -
The Trunk road is indeed the A1085, and its not bad at all. It even has a green cycle lane for about a third of it.
I must admit i rode quite quickly through certain areas
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Busy /fast roads are fine in themselves. Narrow roads can be more dangerous even if they are quiet. The main thing is the junctions and roundabouts - this is whare over half serious bicycle accident occur.'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0
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I have two options on my commut to w**k; either ride on the 60mph (Yeah, Right! More like 80) A412 from Slough to Iver (Uxbridge) where vehicles drive too fast and sometimes too close too or a 30mph minor road into Langley that winds narrowly around blind bends.
I used to take the latter but felt more in danger where idiots would not wait a few seconds until I was into the straighter sections and would overtake right on the bends and often too close. I know exactly who'd come off worst if someone was coming the other way and they had to take evasive action.
I now feel safer on the main road as at least they can see me from a distance and do not have to worry about on-coming traffic or tight/blind bends.
There will always be some idiots who don't see you, drive too close (sometimes intentionally), drive too fast and/or don't give a shit. You just have to be as visible as possible by your actions, your clothing, your lighting and your confidence.
I have no other road route than these two but in the summer months I can commute off road.
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.Now living happily at http://www.uk-mtb.com !!0
