Rides around warwick uni?

spasypaddy

Going to warwick uni (staying on campus by the Students union) for a week in the next few months. Will be taking my SS/Fixie with me

So my question is, any chance of someone from the area giving me a heads up on some suitable routes around there? wont be able to get out for too long at a time 2 hours tops so any rides up to around 30miles would be excellent. (I have a garmin to use for route guidance)

Thanks in advance

ColinJ

Hi spasypaddy.

I originally come from Northwest Coventry and keep a singlespeed bike there so I can get out on my frequent visits home. I've been exploring the network of lanes in the area between Coventry, Bedworth, Nuneaton, Coleshill and Meriden which is only about 5 miles from Warwick University and easily reached via Tile Hill or Berkswell. The area is fairly undulating, though not massively hilly so riding a s/s bike (or fixed) is a good workout but not stupidly hard.

I tend to pick quiet little roads whenever possible and if you are interested in that kind of thing I'll knock up a route for you over the next couple of days.

ColinJ

spasypaddy

that would be brilliant thanks mate, it will only be for a week so a 25-30 mile route would be absolutely fantastic and i would be very very grateful.

If you use any garmin software or online that would be even better so i can transfer it to my garmin if not list of roads would be absolutely fantastic as i will then plot it!

Thanks

ColinJ

spasypaddy wrote:

that would be brilliant thanks mate, it will only be for a week so a 25-30 mile route would be absolutely fantastic and i would be very very grateful.

If you use any garmin software or online that would be even better so i can transfer it to my garmin if not list of roads would be absolutely fantastic as i will then plot it!

Thanks

I have Memory Map so I'll knock up a route for you and save it as a GPX file. I'll try and do it tomorrow.

ColinJ.

PS Why wait until tomorrow? Here it is...



The ride out from the university was a bit further than I thought so I shortened the loop. Total distance is about 52 km or 32 miles.

Here's the GPX file

Enjoy your ride(s)!
ColinJ

spasypaddy

brilliant, really appreciate it! Just need to work out how im going to get my bike up there

Billios

This is my training route (I work at Warwick Uni), http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2424624 its quite nice and has very very few cars...apart from one or two sections where you have to go on a-roads....but only for a few hundred yards.

ColinJ

spasypaddy wrote:

Just need to work out how im going to get my bike up there

If you are going by train and book your bike on in advance it won't cost much.

Another possibility is to post it if there is someone who will take delivery for you! See this thread.

spasypaddy

the problem is im going up boxing day! No trains run on boxing day

ColinJ

Billios wrote:

This is my training route (I work at Warwick Uni), http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2424624 its quite nice and has very very few cars...apart from one or two sections where you have to go on a-roads....but only for a few hundred yards.

I reckon I might try that out myself in the spring! I spent the first 7 years of my life in Kenilworth and the next 21 in Coventry but I've never been out in most of that area before.

ColinJ

spasypaddy wrote:

the problem is im going up boxing day! No trains run on boxing day

Oh!

Er, if there's any chance of ice I'd be very wary of some of the smaller lanes on my route because they won't be gritted. Quite a few of them are tight singletrack roads. If it's mild you'd be okay. If it is really cold, think again!

spasypaddy

well im riding 25mm tires on my bike but i know all about the perils of ice/leaves on the road already had one fall this winter!

i shall make some enquiries from the people im going up with as they normally hire a van so i could probably shove my bike in there. FNGERS CROSSED!

Billios

Hello ColinJ, its a really nice route and some of it was in a route in Cycling Weekly a few weeks ago which was quite a surprise, the club i ride with use the latter half as their bash, so there really arent many cars etc and some great humpback bridges to take at speed. Your route looks quite nice....are there many hills out that way? Ive never been in that direction. Usually for hills i head south to Edge Hill and the Cotswolds, but that way looks a lot closer :-D

ColinJ

Billios wrote:

Hello ColinJ, its a really nice route and some of it was in a route in Cycling Weekly a few weeks ago which was quite a surprise, the club i ride with use the latter half as their bash, so there really arent many cars etc and some great humpback bridges to take at speed.

Oh, I don't remember that. I'll have to look through my old copies of CW and check it out.

Billios wrote:

Your route looks quite nice....are there many hills out that way? Ive never been in that direction. Usually for hills i head south to Edge Hill and the Cotswolds, but that way looks a lot closer :-D

Here's a profile of my route. The main hills start after Meriden - they aren't huge, but there are quite a lot of them in that area and some of them are quite testing. Let's face it, you can make a longish 5% hill hard if you go up it fast enough! I find some of the hills steep enough to hurt my legs on my singlespeed gear of 39/15. I've marked the highest point on my route which is at about 185 m which is about 100 m higher then the university.

spasypaddy

i took your route and put it into my garmin software, then edited it so that it runs from where im staying and back. I still worry that i wont be able to get my bike up there its only a week and i not havent ridden in a week but the scenery round there is new and different to what i normally ride in!

ColinJ

So, did you get any rides in? If you did, I bet you were cold !

petew

there are group rides from warwick uni, Sat 9.30 am at sports centre.

Cenobite

Ive just started so this route is perfect timing for me, I already found a few routes around bedworth and coventry, this has expanded my available routes a huge amount.