Daily Commute from High Wycombe to Slough

996JAT

Hi,

Anyone actually doing this run at present.

I will be moving to High Wycombe this Tuesday. I've seen the hills in High Wycombe alone and they look a nightmare. There is gonna be a hill right next to the flat to welcome me home.

But there is no direct train to/from slough and the bus service is an hour. I dont wanna buy a car as i wanna get some fitness back and will be doing all of this on a Trek road bike.

So far the route looking at the map is Chepping Wycombe, Flackwell Heath, Woodburn Green, Farnham Royal to my final destination Stoke Poges(Slough).

Just seeing if anyone does this route, its calculating 12.6 miles each way. Mos important for me is low traffic and not too hilly. Any help would be great before i do the ride on Tuesday.

Thanks
Jat

laughingboy

My wife works in Slough. She says that someone at her work used to do that cycle commute every day. So it is possible.

You won't be able to avoid hills, though. Flackwell Heath is on the top of a hill. High Wycombe is at the bottom of several hills, and getting out of Wooburn Green on your way to Slough without climbing a hill is not going to happen.

So, you need gears for climbing. A triple chainset will help. Slow and steady will get you to the top.

On the plus side, I don't think that traffic is going to be too much of a problem, except - despite traffic calming - Flackwell Heath is quite busy.

Good luck with it. Don't let the hills put you off.

996JAT

Thanks, i have a trek 1.7 compact so such be up to the task of getting 100kg's up this hills.

Will find out about the hills this week.

DancesWithSheep

Traffic can be a bit shitty round that way, especially in the morning as that way is used to skip a lot of the congestion on the more traditional route to Slough.

The hills round here look bad, but as laughingboy says, slow and steady will get you up them. You then of course, get to go down them too!

fnb1

where in Wycombe are you? Slough (Which part of Slough) should be an easy commute,

A40 or the cycle path through the Rye, Wooburn Green, Hedsor Hill, Taplow then Slough

Depending on start and finish points should be around 14 miles.

If this is a struggle get yourself fitter by riding with www.highwycombecc.org on Sundays.

jedster

I don't do that commmute but I live in the area and have ridden the route. It's a nice ride. The hills are fairly sharp but also quite short. If you are used to riding a road bike, you'll be fine. I'd plan on starting by doing it three times a week then build up.

996JAT

Thanks guys,

The flat i will be living at is off the London road in High Wycombe and i will be commuting to Stoke Poges Lane in Slough, So I will miss the very dodgy Slough/Tescos High Streets.

I'll cheat and do the route in a car first.

996JAT

Thanks guys,

The flat i will be living at is off the London road in High Wycombe and i will be commuting to Stoke Poges Lane in Slough, So I will miss the very dodgy Slough/Tescos High Streets.

I'll cheat and do the route in a car first.

996JAT

Guys i did it !!

But its really hard, i got lost on first trip, went through eygpt and then ended up on the a355 and through the a40. Luckily i missed the the mega hils on the a335.

On the return i ended up going via burham. The hills are killers that way too especially one of em i eneded up walking up. I think it was Hedsor Hill.

I've never done hills as hard and long as these, its nothing like my normal ride in coventry.

Jat

Feltup

Well done! There are some really good hills to the north of HW too if you are feeling masochistic on a weekend.

996JAT

I dont know if i can do it everyday.

It really is a hard ride, i mean i do coventry to bham and this is a lot harder even though its shorter.

Either its uphill or downhill rare is it flat.

laughingboy

996JAT wrote:

Guys i did it !!

But its really hard...

I've never done hills as hard and long as these, its nothing like my normal ride in coventry.

Jat

Well done, my man! Welcome to the Chilterns.

There is no shame in getting off at times, but keep on cycling the hills and you will get the hang of them.

The fundamental thing is to pick a pace you can sustain - and try to think more in terms of pedal cadence (keeping the cranks turning at a decent rate) than your actual speed, until you have mastered a hill.

If you are still struggling, you might need a smaller climbing gear. I have a touring bike, and find that my smallest gear (30 chainring and 28 rear cog) is a useful thing to have around these parts.

Anyway, you will soon get to the stage where a cycle ride without a decent hill feels like a cop-out.

laughingboy

996JAT wrote:

I dont know if i can do it everyday.

As jedster said, if you really can't do it daily at first, then do it three times a week and add in the extra days when you get used to it (and have found the best route).

P.S. - I love the fact that there is somewhere called Egypt in Buckinghamshire.

996JAT

Egypt always makes me laugh, though you guys should try hesdor hill, i had to walk a bit of that one.

Am lucky the bike is a racer as no way could i do it on a heavier bike, no way.

A carbon one would have been a dream, cheating i guess, but a dream.

fnb1

I used to regualry cycle from Moscow to California (any Geographers know where?)

singlespeedexplosif

ah.. takes me right back, this one does. The hills around Wycombe are fine, the traffic ain't. Used to live up on the hill at Hughenden and commuted to Greenford, Maidenhead, and Goodge St (at different times, obviously). The route through Bourne End, Cookham etc was lovely. The A40 was not. Fast, though..;)

Have fun!

c12345

doing Reading->Slough at the moment, but all this talk of hills is going to find me detouring via High Wicombe once the roads dry out.

Sounds like you've got a great route there...

996JAT

I'm actually hoping to move to caversham in 12 months time.

No you have to try high wycombe the hills are so tough, like i say rare is it flat anywhere, even the last small road to the flat is a high one i have to do in the lowest gear and n a racer at that.