Road Planning

bails1310

Planning a charity ride from Bham to Paris next summer [un-supervised] and have been putting in some training routes. Trouble is [not sure if I just need to grow some bigger ones!!] some of the roads Id planned to use already seem not that suitable [major 'A' roads, Ie A38 from Sutton Coldfield to Derby]

Is there a way to know which roads are suitable for road use/touring in the UK, and then in France?

Ive been commuting for some time now but the roads used are small coummter roads. Im not a wet blanket when it comes to riding but anyone who knows the above road Im hoping will agree its wouldnt be great for cycling - help?!

Many thanks.

flashman469

I posted a route question on YACF yesterday and one of the chaps on there (Vorsprung, who posts on here) pointed me in the direction of viamichelin.co.uk. At a glance it looks pretty useful for route planning as you can specify mode of transport i.e. bike, and it gives you an appropriate route primarily away from the larger roads.

Mayhemwmb

We cycled from Newcastle upon Tyne to Llanelli in may this year, we used via michelin, for the first day only,,,,,,,,, We ended up on roads that we all considered too busy, consequently we bought cheap road maps and then used little lanes for the rest of the trip, it's a little time consuming but all I did was highlight the route in the map book and tear out the relevent page and carry it in a self seal food bag to stop it getting ruined. The rest of the trip was fantastic.

We are repeating the trip and choosing our route in a similar way this year

andymiller

A lot of people us viamichelin successfully, but as always there's no substitute for a human being looking critically at the suggested routes.

My approach is to avoid A and B roads where it's practical and sensible to do so - definitely avoid the main A trunk roads (if you look at Google maps thes are shown in green). Similar approach in France: if you have a Michelin map avoid any road shown in or (IiRC) red and white.

But tons of people do charity rides to Paris - have a look around. You should be able to find routes at least from London. For example, there was a thread on here not so long ago about routes through Kent.

And it's always worth having a look at the National Cycle Network route map to see whether there are routes you can use.

bails1310

Thanks chaps, appreciate the replys.

ooermissus

For routes to Paris once you're in France:

http://www.donaldhirsch.com/dieppeparis.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11448829

andymiller

I've not done it myself, but have seen advice suggesting that it's better to go into Paris via the Canal d'Ourq and to the Place de la Bastille. As tempting as it is to want to enter Paris via the arc de Triomphe you first have to get through La Defense - I'm sure there must be a way but it may not be easy to find. The Canal d'Ourq is a lovely ride - and you could always go across Paris and up the Champs Elysèe.