London's best cycling road

DonDaddyD

I remember an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson and co set upon Europe looking for the best driving road. What they found was, as Clarkson described, a piece of spaghetti asphalt draped over an Alp.

Now while I understand there is an entire country attached to London and have recently discovered that North London does indeed extend further than the Emirates Stadium. I ask:

With the exception of the Embankment and its glorious wind tunnel all glossed in a hue of orange and ego. What is the best strip of cycling road in London?

Where can I find a conundrum of tarmac woven into bends and turns that is both impossibly hard and so flat in places time actually travels differently there?

il_principe

Richmond park - early on a weekend morning.

Ok it's never " impossibly hard" but no road in London is.

lost_in_thought

Anywhere, but at 3am.

I have raved about riding home from Clapham to Ealing in the dead of night before, but it really was such fun!

If I wasn't only up that late due to drunkenness most of the time, I'd do it more often!

spen666

DonDaddyD wrote:

I remember an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson and co set upon Europe looking for the best driving road. What they found was, as Clarkson described, a piece of spaghetti asphalt draped over an Alp.

Now while I understand there is an entire country attached to London and have recently discovered that North London does indeed extend further than the Emirates Stadium. I ask:

With the exception of the Embankment and its glorious wind tunnel all glossed in a hue of orange and ego. What is the best strip of cycling road in London?

Where can I find a conundrum of tarmac woven into bends and turns that is both impossibly hard and so flat in places time actually travels differently there?

Hog Hill Cycle Circuit in Redbridge- London's premier Cycle Racing Venue

_Brun_

There's a few surprisingly country-ish roads north of Totteridge, which is reasonably accessible from North London.

Wrath Rob

Embankment, east bound


SCALP CITY!

Plus you see the river, Battersea power station, Chelsea Hospital Park (or whatever its called), Battersea Park and so on.

west bound generally sucks donkey penis as its into the wind [/b]

sem69

_Brun_ wrote:

There's a few surprisingly country-ish roads north of Totteridge, which is reasonably accessible from North London.

I second that.
All around Totteridge, High Barnet Road, Monken Hadley, Cockfosters, Trent Park...
Some great rural roads (and pubs!), a bit of English countryside within the M25!

el_presidente

I like Highgate West Hill

prj45

Very strange one, but I quite like King Street in Hammersmith (west bound), it's flat, smooth and closed in so you get a nice feel of speed. Bit of a challenge too what with all the pesky peds flinging themselves out in the road.

There's a couple of streets round the back of fulham that are curvy and freshly resurfaced, but then I've never liked being in Fulham, so that takes the edge off.

Brompton cemetery is not a road, but it's got curves and is nice and flat, brilliant scenery too.

But yeah, embankment mainly, apart from a few bits that have got that cruddy rough stuff.

Bassjunkieuk

It's funny you mention this as on my way home this evening I was thinking what a nice drag strip Pawsons Road (SE25/CR7) was! Flat for it's entire length (about 3/4 mile I'd estimate) and pretty much straight means you can really get a good sprint on. I've managed to include it in my new route home, along with the wonderful Mitcham Road which only loses out on a special accolade as it's normally packed when I'm on it so I have to use the cycle lane, with all it's potholes/gratings/rubbish :-( Slows you down a bit but it's not to difficult to maintain 20+ along Mithcam Road and 25ish down Pawsons! The only problem with Pawsons is the local racers will tear down it with reckless abandon in their cars - the traffic calming measures don't really slow em down but are easily negotiated with 1/2 the wheels!

Having said all this if you are counting London as everything inside that parking lot known as the M25 then pretty much any of the country lanes should get a mention, I had some very enjoyable cycling with some workmates a while back over the East starting in St Mary's Cray and heading east we crossed the M25 and came back in using some excellent country roads.

woodford2barbican

I can't nominate any road on my commute. Lea Bridge Road just does not cut it, nor doeds Moorgate or Canon Street.

They could be the worst though.....

But if we are taking cycle routes into account - how about route 1 along the River Lea from Hackney to Edmonton...about 6 miles of traffic free bliss - but plenty of flies down by the sewage works.

vertigoscene

question on route 1 along the river lea, is it like a canal path, or is the path wider than that - I personally don't like using canal paths, as there are too many people and it makes me nervous that I'll end up in the drink!

The Chingford Skinhead

woodford2barbican wrote:

I can't nominate any road on my commute. Lea Bridge Road just does not cut it, nor doeds Moorgate or Canon Street.

They could be the worst though.....

But if we are taking cycle routes into account - how about route 1 along the River Lea from Hackney to Edmonton...about 6 miles of traffic free bliss - but plenty of flies down by the sewage works.

Blimey, don't stop at Edmonton :shock: keep going all the way up past Stonebridge lock, Pickets Lock, Ponders End and Enfiled lock (and if you're not scared of funny accents and customs you can carry on straight under the M25 and head toward Ware!

That's one of my regular Sunday "me time" jaunts (though starting from Stonebridge or Tottenham Lock.

The Chingford Skinhead

sem69 wrote:

_Brun_ wrote:

There's a few surprisingly country-ish roads north of Totteridge, which is reasonably accessible from North London.

I second that.
All around Totteridge, High Barnet Road, Monken Hadley, Cockfosters, Trent Park...
Some great rural roads (and pubs!), a bit of English countryside within the M25!

I had to commute down Hadley Road last Thursday and Friday (one off two day summit at West Lodge Hotel, Cockfosters). It's a lovely scenic road but one hell of a hill (well it is for me!).