A largeish, flatish, safeish circuit in SE London?

jonny_trousers

I've thought about giving this weight loss boost program I've read about a go, which involves cycling for two hours shortly after you get up in the morning with no more than water and a cup of tea or coffee for fuel at an average speed of around 15mph, but I know I would be unable to manage it on the hillier routes near to me. So, if anyone has a decent flat route that doesn't involve too many stops and starts fairly near to Dulwich then I would really appreciate hearing about it. Cheers!

richVSrich

for a 2 hour circuit why not head up into embankment then? not sure whats it like from dulwich to embankment though..

jonny_trousers

richVSrich wrote:

for a 2 hour circuit why not head up into embankment then? not sure whats it like from dulwich to embankment though..

Is Embankment a circuit? It's not such a bad journey from mine, but it is pretty trafficy. I was really hoping for a park or something I could just go round and around.

Thanks for the idea.

jonny_trousers

Battersea Park any good for cycling?

dhope

A guy at work uses Salter Road (near Surrey Quays) to build in a few sprints on the way to/from work. Probably too small a loop but supposedly no traffic or holdups

bobinski

You are near to Dulwich? you could do laps of Dulwich park. Exactly 1 mile i think. And you could mix it up a little by doing a few laps and then up college road and then fountain drive and back down again. Or come out of the park opposite the picture gallery, right to the small roundabout and then first left to take you down the back of the picture gallery. Lovely road smooth new tarmac. Leads to the south circular and the bike lane back to college road and then either left back down to the park and the roundabout or right up to fountain drive.

jonny_trousers

Thanks all!

bobinski wrote:

You are near to Dulwich? you could do laps of Dulwich park. Exactly 1 mile i think. And you could mix it up a little by doing a few laps and then up college road and then fountain drive and back down again. Or come out of the park opposite the picture gallery, right to the small roundabout and then first left to take you down the back of the picture gallery. Lovely road smooth new tarmac. Leads to the south circular and the bike lane back to college road and then either left back down to the park and the roundabout or right up to fountain drive.

That's actually a pretty good route! I thought about Dulwich park, but wasn't sure if a 15mph average would be practical, but I might give it a try. I hadn't thought about adding the roads nearby too and you're right, that newly tarmaced road is a beauty.

bobinski

Pretty quiet too until about 9am at the weekends.After that mums and dads arrive in their 4x4's with kids for the local sports facilities. They are pretty used to cyclists given the numbers going out through Dulwich into kent but keep your wits about you!

northstar

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Battersea Park any good for cycling?

Speed bumps on the river road side, few no cycling signs in the middle, the other 2/3 perimeter roads are speed bump and car free.

Stevo_666

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Thanks all!

bobinski wrote:

You are near to Dulwich? you could do laps of Dulwich park. Exactly 1 mile i think. And you could mix it up a little by doing a few laps and then up college road and then fountain drive and back down again. Or come out of the park opposite the picture gallery, right to the small roundabout and then first left to take you down the back of the picture gallery. Lovely road smooth new tarmac. Leads to the south circular and the bike lane back to college road and then either left back down to the park and the roundabout or right up to fountain drive.

That's actually a pretty good route! I thought about Dulwich park, but wasn't sure if a 15mph average would be practical, but I might give it a try. I hadn't thought about adding the roads nearby too and you're right, that newly tarmaced road is a beauty.

+1 Probably the best option is to use the roads around the park as well as the park - for me there's too much dodging of kids, pets and those recumbent bikes once you're up to speed unless you're there early.

Applespider

Yes - Dulwich Park doesn't officially open til 8am. The earliest I tend to want to go through it en route to work is 7.30 and it's always been open. You do tend to get some dogwalkers by 8am particularly on the stretch between the main gate and Court Lane who let their dogs 'meet and greet' each other without any control so you might not be able to keep your speed up throughout.

jonny_trousers

Thanks for your input everyone. I tried it this morning. Bloody awful! Beyond the tedium of going round and a around a short circuit, over and over again (Dulwich Park is actually quite easy to average around 16mph on, but you do have to watch out for the doggies), it was miserably wet and riding with no fuel in your body at all is horrible. I only managed about 50 minutes in the end.

The theory was one I'd read about a couple of times in Cycling Plus and I'm sure it's fine if you are out in beautiful, rolling countryside with others to ride with, but on your own in the suburbs... not fun.

Plan B is to see if I can do my regular, hilly rides without fuelling up much either side.

clarkey cat

when I lived in SE22 I'd just hack down to West Wickham and then you're in the countryside.

jonny_trousers

clarkey cat wrote:

when I lived in SE22 I'd just hack down to West Wickham and then you're in the countryside.

It's the only way.

kieranb

Just bear in mind 15mph is fast for Dulwich Park, which has a speed limit of 5mph at it's main entrance for cars going in to park there. I only use the park for running and wouldn't use it for cycle training - one option is to use the roads around the park - fairly flat -anyway 2 hours of going around a mile loop will leave you brain dead.

jonny_trousers

kieranb wrote:

Just bear in mind 15mph is fast for Dulwich Park, which has a speed limit of 5mph at it's main entrance for cars going in to park there. I only use the park for running and wouldn't use it for cycle training - one option is to use the roads around the park - fairly flat -anyway 2 hours of going around a mile loop will leave you brain dead.

So I discovered.

15mph didn't feel excessive today given how few people were in the park due to the rain, but you're right: it's really not the right place to cycle at speed. Have tried and am now moving on.

twist83

I have found this does make a difference. I do not do it intentionally but my 4-5 mile hill bound ride into work is done with nothing in the tank as I would need to eat at about 5.30am to stop me spewing

I cycle in 3-5 times a week and have been doing so for 2-3 weeks now and pounds have dropped off. I would not want to do a big distance on no fuel though. As you have said it is horrible and while good for weight loss I am sure it would be counter productive for any gains elsewhere?

How about some steady state on a Turbo trainer?

jonny_trousers

twist83 wrote:

How about some steady state on a Turbo trainer?

That would make a lot of sense, but I don't have a turbo trainer. It's all good as I know perfectly well the best way to lose weight is to watch what and how much you eat. I just remembered that weight loss training method and thought I'd give it a go before discovering how impractical and unpleasant it is. It's back to eating moderately and healthily paired with decent rides on minimal fuel for me.

Cheers!

bobinski

Thanks for your input everyone. I tried it this morning. Bloody awful! Beyond the tedium of going round and a around a short circuit, over and over again (Dulwich Park is actually quite easy to average around 16mph on, but you do have to watch out for the doggies)

It is tedious! That's why I suggested mixing it up with the roads outside and a few up-hills. To be honest, after doing 5 reps of fountain drive i tend to find the tedium of a few more laps of the park rather tempting

jonny_trousers

bobinski wrote:

Thanks for your input everyone. I tried it this morning. Bloody awful! Beyond the tedium of going round and a around a short circuit, over and over again (Dulwich Park is actually quite easy to average around 16mph on, but you do have to watch out for the doggies)

It is tedious! That's why I suggested mixing it up with the roads outside and a few up-hills. To be honest, after doing 5 reps of fountain drive i tend to find the tedium of a few more laps of the park rather tempting

Ha! 5 reps?!? You're a nutter!

kieranb

had a look at google maps - what about looping around Bethlem Royal Hospital anti-clockwise, so all left turns, using Monks Orchard Road, onto A214 then onto Abbots Way, Ambleside Ave, Orchard Way, Wickham Road and back onto Monks Orchard Road, a 6km loop.