Sydenham to Tottenham Ct Rd

Riatsala

I'm having to drop my car off for a service in Sydenham and rather than battle my way into town on the train I thought of putting the bike in the back of the car and cycling in as usual. Can any one suggest a good route?

Any tips gratefully accepted.

Gussio

Dulwich > Camberwell > Oval > Vauxhall Bridge and then down the Embankment. Can't be any more than 10 miles, tops.

Stevo_666

Forest Hill - E.Dulwich (Lordship Lane) - Camberwell - Walworth Road - Elephant & Castle, then over Waterloo Bridge, cut through Covent Garden and pick up the Holborn 1 way to TCR.

Riatsala

Of the two routs above which is the potentially :

1 - least hilly ?
2 - least traffic ?

jonny_trousers

Both routes mean you will have a climb early on, but the rest is mainly on the flat. Personaly I would avoid Elephant and Vauxhall as the traffic can be awful.

I'm on the iPhone now, but will add my route later if no one else has

Riatsala

I agree the Elephant & Castle is often mentioned as not being very cycling friendly. I'm a little "scared" of Vauxhall too. But thanks for the tips they are getting me thinking of the options

Stevo_666

Riatsala wrote:

I agree the Elephant & Castle is often mentioned as not being very cycling friendly. I'm a little "scared" of Vauxhall too. But thanks for the tips they are getting me thinking of the options

Naaa - do the Elephant every day, its not that bad.

Both routes have 2 climbs that are unavoidable without a biggish detour (Forest Hill/Crystal Palace, then between E Dulwich and Camberwell) but they're not exacly the Marmotte I would say if you're trying avoid lots of traffic then don't go on the Embankment once you're over the river.

eddpayne

You can avoid Dog Kennel hill (between E Dulwich and Camberwell), and not go too far out of your way (especially if you're heading towards Vauxhall rather than E&C) by turning down Court Lane (off Lordship Lane) and then going down Dulwich Village, Village Way, Half Moon Lane, Dulwich Road and then Effra Road until you get to Brixton, then up Brixton Road and Stockwell Road (or carry on up Brixton Road for E&C).

I hate Dog Kennel Hill though, so I look for any excuse to avoid it

Stevo_666

eddpayne wrote:

I hate Dog Kennel Hill though, so I look for any excuse to avoid it

Wimp

Not sure why so many people don't like it - not too long, not too steep (even I can do it in 5th gear on a compact) and has a bus lane all the way up. Some bloke went flying up it on a single speed this am and put a few of us to shame....

jonny_trousers

So my choice would be...

Westwood Hill (the clue's in the name) then whizz down College Rd (time to catch your breath) and on through Dulwich Village.

Straight ahead beyond N. Dulwich station and then left at the mini roundabout on to Red Post Hill (tiny climb).

Straight over Herne/Denmark Hill and a blast all the way down Herne Hill Rd.

Quick left onto Coldharbour Ln then immediate right onto Loughborough Rd.

Follow it left at the lights then right onto Brixton Rd.

Straight over at the lights and then straight over at the next set again.

Left onto Kennington Rd and a onto the drops for a nice smooth run to the bottom.

There are several choices here, but it is probably easiest to go straight over at the lights and onto Bayliss Rd before turning left at the junction by the Old Vic and onto Waterloo Rd.

Round the Imax and then over Waterloo Bridge.

After that you can either pootle through Covent Garden or take the faster riding route up Kingsway and then left at the junction where Holborn is on the right.

Right fork onto St Giles Street and then Bob's your uncle!

(Thank you Google maps)

My route discluding the beginning and end bit of the above takes about half an hour so I reckon you are looking at 40 - 45 mins.

Good luck and have fun!

Riatsala

Thanks everyone - now let's hope it doesn't rain on Friday morning. It's OK being wet, but wet and lost is not great.