Where to ride in London?

elduderinoo

Hi guys,

I'm a new cyclist living in London - Lewisham to be precise. I'm nervy riding on the roads around where I live. They're busy and I'm getting used to the new bike/clipless pedals. I'm riding because I want to get in to cycling - I'm fit from running and swimming so I find I can ride a fair distance at a good speed. My problem is where to ride? I don't feel comfortable or get enjoyment from riding the roads.

I went out for a ride to Layhams Road in Bromley last weekend - which was great...nice long country roads with minimal traffic, but I can only really get out there at the weekend.

So my question is where do you ride in London when training? Do you literally just go out and ride with the traffic?

andy_nD

I'm not far from you (Peckham), and agree that the routes out of West Wickham (Layhams, Jackass) are indeed fantastic given their proximity to the big smoke. Most of my riding during the week tends to be around that area - Crystal Palace down to Elmer's End, then on to West Wickham and up Layhams if it's light enough, or the A232 towards Locksbottom/Farnborough in the winter (the latter is pretty busy/fast, but still more pleasant than riding in town as there are fewer lights/buses).

I guess it's a pretty personal thing, but I would tend to classify anything south of Elmer's End as being enjoyably quiet, and it's possible to ride a 90-120 minute loop out that way with a good 60-90 minutes worth of quieter roads. That's not to say the roads are empty, but it's noticeably less busy than most other parts of town.

You might want to experiment with different ways of getting out of town. I sometimes ride back through Lewisham, following a route that would take you up the Bromley Road and Beckenham Hill Road, then follow Wickham Road and S Eden Park Road towards West Wickham. Things get acceptably quiet for my tastes once you hit Wickham Road, which should be no more than 20 minutes ride on the heavier roads from Lewisham.

While you're building confidence you might also want to consider jumping on a train - Elmer's End is only 15 minutes by train from Lewisham and you could have a spin along the quieter roads, and ride all the way back. This is useful for the evenings as you'll be riding in the opposite direction to most of the rush hour commuter traffic.

Also worth mentioning is Salter Road in Surrey Quays. Only 15 minutes ride away for you, and relatively quiet. I visit this place a lot for interval training as it's a ~2 mile flat stretch with no traffic lights and next to no traffic. Definitely not the most scenic of areas, but much closer to home and bearable for an hour or so.

Best of luck finding somewhere - there are some good places to ride, and you're sure to find them if you have an explore.

Monty Dog

Apart from Crystal Palace and Richmond Park, there's few areas where you can cycle unhindered by traffic. Take a train down to Surrey or Kent and you'll plenty more riding opportunities.

JohnBoyUK

Google Limited Edition Cycling based in Eltham. Cant recommend the club enough,

kbmack

Save the bother of riding around lewisham, etc, and get a train direct to Orpington or, better still, chelsfield. Then access immediate and beautiful genuine Kent countryside where there is virtually no traffic around the villages of eyns ford, otford, seal, twitton, heaverham, Sevenoaks, stone street, ightham and so forth. You'll save lots of time with this rather than bothering with the horrors of cycling out of London.

nickellis

JohnBoyUK wrote:

Google Limited Edition Cycling based in Eltham. Cant recommend the club enough,

As above I ride with Limited Edition. We're a great bunch of cyclists. Go on the website and come along for a ride one Sunday. The rides normally head out towards Swanley or Orpington via the lanes, good miles and a nice pace. Everyone waits for everyone else, etc.