Richmond Park to Portsmouth route recommendations please.

EKE_38BPM

I'm planning on riding to Portsmouth from Barnet via Richmond Park next week. Has anyone got any recommendations for a route?

I'll be doing it on a fixie, so avoiding riding up cliffs would be good.

I've had a look on Google Maps and the (walking) route recommendation looks OK * and comes in at just under 84 miles, so I may have to throw in RP3LC to get it up to my first fixed century.

*The Google Maps route from Richmond Park is:
A307 to Esher
A307 to Cobham
Minor roads to West Horsley
A246 to Guildford
A3100 to Godalming
A286 to Haslemere
B2131 to Liphook
B2070 to Petersfield
B2070 to Horndean
A3 to Waterlooville
London Road to Portsmouth

I believe this is firmly into Stuaff territory, so Stu, good route or bad route?

stuaff

You rang?

Funnily enough, did Pompey-Victoria (oh, and then back down to Felpham, nr Bognor Regis, and then home) on Good Friday. Almost the same route you've got above (well, I did it the other way round, obviously). Our changes took Plough Lane & Ockham Lane between Cobham and Ockham, B2215 (Ripley), bike path alongside the A3 (down, in your case, to Burpham), through Guildford and then A3100. Same as your route as far as Petersfield. I wouldn't go over as far as Horndean (that part of the A3 is a bit hairy to put it mildly, the bike paths seem to disappear as well, and it's not worth the hassle). Keep east of the A3, go down the 2070 through Buriton. Keep on down to Havant and you can then pick up the bike path along the A27 (starting from Harts Farm Way in Havant). If you want to get the full 'sweeping vista of Pompey' effect, turn off before Havant onto Purbrook Way, and join the A3 at the junction there, or the junction after that (B2177 Portsdown Hill Road), or the one after that (A2030 Eastern Road- as a less scenic alternative you can also go south from there, links with another section of bike path).

EKE_38BPM

Thanks for the advice.
How hilly is that route? Fixies and big hills do not good bedfellows make!

stuaff

Lumps aren't too bad- the South Downs are poorly named, but you miss out the worst of that. Max elevation about 600 ft, but you're probably more bothered about gradient- I usually am- and it's rolling rather than steep. Some of the stuff between Petersfield and Haslemere might be a bit grindy for you, but once you're past there it'll be flat (ish) or downhill.

thelawnet

StuAff wrote:

You rang?

Funnily enough, did Pompey-Victoria (oh, and then back down to Felpham, nr Bognor Regis, and then home) on Good Friday. Almost the same route you've got above (well, I did it the other way round, obviously). Our changes took Plough Lane & Ockham Lane between Cobham and Ockham, B2215 (Ripley), bike path alongside the A3 (down, in your case, to Burpham), through Guildford and then A3100. Same as your route as far as Petersfield. I wouldn't go over as far as Horndean (that part of the A3 is a bit hairy to put it mildly, the bike paths seem to disappear as well, and it's not worth the hassle). Keep east of the A3, go down the 2070 through Buriton.

A tad bit steep around there http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 8,,0,16.39

EKE_38BPM

Any better suggestions then?

Ian.B

EKE, I did pretty much that exact route last year, except as StuAff suggests from Petersfield I went Buriton - Rowlands Castle - Havant. A very pleasant ride as I recall.

EKE_38BPM

Brilliant. Pompey, here I come.

Butterd2

I did similar last year without really checking, there is an area en route called Surrey Hills (keeping east of the A3), well named as it turned out.
I then crossed the A3 further down and rode down the Meon Valley (A32) which was nice. It used to be a favourite run of mine when I had motorbikes.

Being Pompey don't forget your locks!

EKE_38BPM

Butterd2 wrote:

...Being Pompey don't forget your locks!

Cheers for the lock advice. I lived there for a few years so I know the score or has it got much worse over the last 10 years?
My bike will be indoors and locked!

Mr Plum

If you're going through Waterlooville and down London Road into Pompey, then be careful when going down there on a fixie cos I was with a good friend when he spun out down there and very almost died - hence my LEJOG ride...

stuaff

Mr Plum wrote:

If you're going through Waterlooville and down London Road into Pompey, then be careful when going down there on a fixie cos I was with a good friend when he spun out down there and very almost died - hence my LEJOG ride...

Oh yes, I forgot about the danger of that. Was that the accident that was in the Portsmouth News last year?

dhope

EKE_38BPM wrote:

My bike will be indoors and locked!

I'll offer evens

EKE_38BPM

Getting scared now!

Mr Plum

StuAff wrote:

Mr Plum wrote:

If you're going through Waterlooville and down London Road into Pompey, then be careful when going down there on a fixie cos I was with a good friend when he spun out down there and very almost died - hence my LEJOG ride...

Oh yes, I forgot about the danger of that. Was that the accident that was in the Portsmouth News last year?

That was the one, they got a few things wrong in that story though - focused very heavily on the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet despite the surgeon on the day saying that he only reason he survived at all was because he wasn't wearing a helmet... :roll:

oscar-j

I rode passed there 10 mins after and saw all the emergency services.I always wondered if he was OK.Glad to hear he survived,hope he recovers.Copper told me he went head on into a concrete post.What was the cause?I guessed a car might have pulled out and left him with nowhere to go.My thoughts are with him.

Mr Plum

oscar-j wrote:

I rode passed there 10 mins after and saw all the emergency services.I always wondered if he was OK.Glad to hear he survived,hope he recovers.Copper told me he went head on into a concrete post.What was the cause?I guessed a car might have pulled out and left him with nowhere to go.My thoughts are with him.

Cheers mate - trying not to derail the thread, but no cars or other vehicles were involved, we think he just spun out and was thrown from the bike - not sure we'll ever know exactly what happened. You may have seen me if you went past only 10 mins after the accident...

oscar-j

@ Eke - I'm down that way,if you need any advice getting from Petersfield to Pompey let me know.There is one steep f@ck off hill at Buriton,after that it's pretty flat

@ Mr Plum - I don't recall seeing any other cyclists at the time,but you could have been in amongst all the services.The crazy thing is,i was on my way to Pompey and it started to rain,so i took shelter in a bus stop for 15 mins or so.Remember thinking that shower could have saved my life! When i went past i got a bollocking from said copper for not wearing a helmet.
Is your friend expected to make a recovery?

apologies Eke for going off track

Mr Plum

oscar-j wrote:

@ Mr Plum - I don't recall seeing any other cyclists at the time,but you could have been in amongst all the services.The crazy thing is,i was on my way to Pompey and it started to rain,so i took shelter in a bus stop for 15 mins or so.Remember thinking that shower could have saved my life! When i went past i got a bollocking from said copper for not wearing a helmet.
Is your friend expected to make a recovery?

Yeah I remember that day vividly - it hadn't started raining where we were until after the accident. I was a bit further down the road from the scene and the police wouldn't let me go near - I was in front when it happened so I didn't see or hear anything. When I got to the bottom of the hill to where it branches out into 3 lanes I looked around and he wasn't behind me. Waited at the bottom for about 3 or 4 mins and then 3 police cars went screaming past me and up the hill - I kind of knew then that something had happened but kind of kidded myself that it wasn't him. Then I started making my way up the hill and cars were turning in the road and heading back down - that's when I knew he'd come off. I got near the scene about 8 or 9 mins after it happened and there were 3 police cars, 2 unmarked police cars and an ambulance already there. When he came off the bike the guy that was 2 or 3 cars back from him was an off duty paramedic or doctor, I can't remember exactly anymore, but he obviously knew it was serious enough that he wasn't sure if he'd die or not so alerted the police as such. It couldn't have happened in a better place for the emergency services though - within 1/4 mile there's a police station and A&E. None of the police were really talking to me but they were all kind of giving sympathetic looks towards me. They took some pics for me to ID the bike so I could be sure it was him as they needed to contact next of kin immediately, and then I started going into a bit of shock. When he got to A&E they couldn't do anything for him there so rushed him to the Wessex Neurological Centre in Southampton - they shut the M27 for the transfer. He underwent 7 hours of emergency surgery but they couldn't stop the bleeding and gave him a 5% chance of making it through the night. 24 hours later and he was still going but it was touch and go for about a whole week, then his stats started improving to the point where they could bring him out of the induced coma after about 2 weeks, then miraculously he was transferred back to QA in Pompey 3 weeks after the accident. He stayed there on a couple of different wards till about March and is now at a specialist neurological rehabilitation centre where he'll stay for at least another 6 months. He's making a great recovery but no one is saying what he will or won't be able to do in the future - there's been no expectations or limits set. He's able to walk and talk normally and is improving all the time.

oscar-j

wow-fingers crossed for him.good luck in your lands end-john o groats.be safe

EKE_38BPM

Right. Really scared now!

Mr Plum, I hope your mate makes a full recovery.

No worries about hijacking the thread. Its good to learn about the dangers before facing them.

thelawnet

Mr Plum wrote:

If you're going through Waterlooville and down London Road into Pompey, then be careful when going down there on a fixie cos I was with a good friend when he spun out down there and very almost died - hence my LEJOG ride...

I've not ridden one of these before, but I undertand you can't free wheel, so you're potentially going downhill at 40mph and therefore the pedals are going round incredibly fast and you can't cope so you fall off. Is that right?

Mr Plum

thelawnet wrote:

Mr Plum wrote:

If you're going through Waterlooville and down London Road into Pompey, then be careful when going down there on a fixie cos I was with a good friend when he spun out down there and very almost died - hence my LEJOG ride...

I've not ridden one of these before, but I undertand you can't free wheel, so you're potentially going downhill at 40mph and therefore the pedals are going round incredibly fast and you can't cope so you fall off. Is that right?

Ha, in a nutshell, yes! To keep it legal you should have brakes, which should be used...