Areas you hate??

NWLondoner

Do you have any areas of your journey/route that you hate?


For mine I HATE East London. Not just for cycling but anytime I have been there I just want to GET OUT OF IT. I don't mind the section right up to Canary Wharf but the section onwards up to Pontoon Dock and beyond I do not like. I was planning to cycle all around city airport last night but turned back at West Silvertown. Maybe 8pm is not the most pleasant times to be around there.

Give me West London anytime.

ThatGuyOnABike

i live there too, i may have seen you if you've cycled around city airport, i walk my dog there most of the time.
it is such a crap area, so grey and boring in most areas. it's not too bad in terms of access to shops (gallions reach and that triangle with B & Q) and a cinema (showcase) in my area.
but the youth are vile, i had a smartie thrown at me!!!

pyro_maniac

best thing i did was move4 away from plaistow, i hate east london, its gone badly dowhill in the last few years, and it wasnt that good to begin with

TheBoyBilly

Funnily enough I can't stand riding through West London. I coudn't imagine a worse place to live. Boring doesn't do it justice. Give me "sarf of the river" any time.

bonk man

I hate the bit of road in front of the local pikie house, it is threatening and they might come out and try and hit you with a spade [they have done this to me] and steal your bike. :?

Fat Head

I lived in East London (Forest Gate and Romford) for 18mths and my work took me all around so I knew it pretty well....Romford was good as you had easy access to the Essex lanes. Living in central London must be frustrating for a roadie as escaping to the lanes would be a bit of a chore and mean passing through heavy traffic. I used to commute into The Strand from Romford but for all the threat from traffic etc it was strangely addictive, maybe because I knew that my days commuting by bike and working in London were numbered so it was a novelty....seeing all the sights, sounds and characters up close, passing through a cross section of the city from the bustle of the city, through the Mile End road, Stratford, Ilford, etc....

Some memories included chucking a water bottle and denting someones car who swerved towards me, then watching him u-turn away as I waited at the lights for him (Manor Park Romford Road) and being threatened by tuff guy saying 'am gonna blow your head off' (i presume he meant with a gun)...I did the honourable thing and spat at him and told him to get out and use his fists

saif

I love living in SE London , within easy reach reach to Downs, Biggin Hill and lots of other country roads to ride into...

redddraggon

Warrington

peanut

come down and cycle in the leafy quiet Somerset lanes , never more than 60 minutes cycle from the South coast , Seaton Lyme, Beer etc,
you know it makes sense

NWLondoner

peanut wrote:

come down and cycle in the leafy quiet Somerset lanes , never more than 60 minutes cycle from the South coast , Seaton Lyme, Beer etc,
you know it makes sense

but they all talk funny down there

redddraggon

NWLondoner wrote:

peanut wrote:

come down and cycle in the leafy quiet Somerset lanes , never more than 60 minutes cycle from the South coast , Seaton Lyme, Beer etc,
you know it makes sense

but they all talk funny down there

You should be right at home then, they all talk funny in London.

Hooligan Bill

Whitecross, just outside Linlithgow. Opinion reinforced this evening when I was chased by a bunch of teenagers hanging around outside the local eight til late.

redvee

We might talk funny down in Brizzle but at least there is a translation book for the outsiders.

http://www.btowstore.com/epages/Store2. ... oducts/150

Gavin Gilbert

NWLondoner wrote:

Give me West London anytime.

Whilst I concur there is no civilisation east of Aldgate until you reach the Dutch coast - there are bits of my native West London that are bloody awful. Acton? Greenford? Northolt?? And the entire of the A4020 from the Hanwell Clock Tower until the 'meeting point' at Shanes.

Mystique

Oi, speaking as an ex-Perivale boy...




...you're right, the Privale/ Greenford/ Northolt area is a complete dump

chill888

10 consecutive tunnels in the descent from Galibier to the base of Alpe d'Huez during yesterday's Marmotte. A couple were fairly long and most had signs saying in French: "badly lit tunnels"

terrifiying

st68

on my saturday ride i have to ride through the western end of slough oh my word its so picturest oh its stunning

Gavin Gilbert

st68 wrote:

on my saturday ride i have to ride through the western end of slough oh my word its so picturest oh its stunning

On a similar note, and a similar location - High Wycombe spoils an otherwise lovely valley.

robbarker

I'm sitting here in leafy, rural Monmouthshire wondering why on earth anyone would want to live in London.

Clever Pun

cycling through Brixton is rancid, it's too busy and the peds just come from everywhere

pneumatic

chill888 wrote:

10 consecutive tunnels in the descent from Galibier to the base of Alpe d'Huez during yesterday's Marmotte. A couple were fairly long and most had signs saying in French: "badly lit tunnels"

terrifiying

Scary, aren't they? Especially because the quality of the road surface suddenly plumets when you enter the tunnels and you can't tell whether you are riding over potholes or lumps of ice.

I took a front light the last time I was there, but got flashed at as the beam bounced all over the place. Full beam from an oncoming car really helped my mole-like progress!! :shock:

drewfromrisca

robbarker wrote:

I'm sitting here in leafy, rural Monmouthshire wondering why on earth anyone would want to live in London.

Rob, totally agree!!! Unfortunately I moved here almost 3 years ago. Gone downhill rapidly! It's getting worse and I can't wait to get out of here! Looks like sunny North California is next if all goes to plan! If not I'm back to God's country (well not Risca anyway) and a nice quiet life for me!

God I feel old...I'm only 29 and I sound like an OAP! :shock:

SteveR_100Milers

I pass through Risca often as its on one of my loops, and there is always a headwind whichever direction the prevailing wind is coming from. God's country it aint... However, the section from Caerphilly up over Rudry and through the lanes to Basseleg are just perfect thanks.

drewfromrisca

Steve totally agree with you...theres a tear in my eye right now thinking about that route! It used to be my spring/summer/early autumn commute when I was stationed at Caerphilly. Although getting through Graig yr accha and Lansbury Park were a bit hairy the rest of the way was a joy. Even after a 12 hour night shift!

broachboy

Wolverhampton :x what a dump - I hate the place, only been here for 41 years now :? Bonus is I am only 5 mins from Staffordshire, and 20 mins from Shropshire

Love Shropshire, love the damn place

passout

The Yorkshire Dales......it's like the lake District but not as good (think barren) plus the the locals look like extras out of hearbeat. The villages are twee & there's nothing to do except eat overpriced cakes and fight off tourists whose driving is almost as bad as the locals. Plus there is always a headwind. Avoid...stick to London or wherever.

Lancashire & Cumbria on the other hand are fine. The locals are friendly and don't have a superiority complex.

idaviesmoore

Mold-Denbigh road...minging road surface and the whole stretch is like a wind tunnel

BigJimmyB

pyro_maniac wrote:

best thing i did was move4 away from plaistow, i hate east london, its gone badly dowhill in the last few years, and it wasnt that good to begin with

Where about in S Ock are you? I know it well.

pedylan

Cycle path running alongside the A64 from York to Tadcaster.

8 miles, invariably into a headwind alongide oncoming traffic at 80mph. Can't hear yourself think and it eventually peters out into a badly surfaced run into Tadcaster. (Where you pass the deightfully named TadKebab).

Actually Tad isn't that bad. So you could say the trip was worth it but the road is crap.

nasahapley

Can I just say how utterly amazed and delighted I am that TadKebab has got a mention on this forum. As for places I'm not keen on - London's obviously a horrorshow but I'm grateful that so many people live there and leave so much space elsewhere for the rest of us, and the flat bits of Lincolnshire are pretty grim.

redddraggon

idaviesmoore wrote:

Mold-Denbigh road...minging road surface and the whole stretch is like a wind tunnel

The A541?, It's not too bad, better than a lot of roads in England.