cycle route from swadlincote to scropton

timr221

hello i wonder if anyone can help as of tuesday i have made decision start commuting on my gt aggressor i would use a511 straight through from swad to scropton on a50 but i would like some quieter routes to start ,i will be starting on my afternoon shift whitch i start at 1pm so traffic would be quite busy ,look forward to any ideas much appreciated too

cyberknight

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8& ... d=0CHcQtgM

Depends whereabouts in swad you are, you could drop down the a444 to burton,across to the "old bridge" and use the cyclepath on the rh side to go across the bridge, wetmore road into stretton, past cryathorne golf club,rolleston on marston lane to hatton then onto scropton road.
Can you lock the front forks of the aggressor ? it will make riding a bit easier as it will reduce suspension suck on your power and look to change the tyres to some slick/semi slick tyres as they will roll quicker , something like ...
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242553
or if you can get to decathlon, near ikea ..
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x15-randon ... 26694.html
I commute daily from newhall to a certain car factory , if you want any advice your welcome to PM me and pop round if you need any more help.

cyberknight

You will also need some good lights, especially for unlit roads if you plan to commute shift work times and mudguards are a real must as its amazing how much drier they keep you , those little things you stick onthe down tube are a waste of time.
Do you plan to use normal clothes or cycle specific clothes? a ruck sack? what tools do you plan to carry ?
A minimum i would suggest ..
pump
2 inner tubes
multi tool
tyre levers
lights , redundancy is the key so 2 front and 2 rear
Clothing
layers are they key to managing your temperature , thick coats are ok but if you take it off and your cold..
reflectives, lidl had some armbands with leds in that are great or wrist slaps.
Now its cold at 6 am i have started wearing a windproof jacket with reflectives or if your using a backpack then one with reflective trim or a hump bag to cover the bag.
Personally i am a fan of panniers for keeping to weight off my back but that is not a necessary thing , i started with a carrera subway with normal coat and a back pack and i have gradualy built up mu kit over the years .

cyberknight

post 3
heres a link to a guide put together by members of another cycle forum ( sshhhh !)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12757785/guide.pdf

timr221

that sounds great thanks ill try that route im on the woodlands estate in swad i have got some michelin sliks on at moment they are good your help is much appreciated thanks i am now looking to get some base clothing as my work gear is reflective anyway as i work on the incident support unit on the a50.if weather gets that bad i will get the lads to drop me home after work .bit of a cop out i know lol

cyberknight

base layers coming soon at aldi ...
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/25 ... z_src=main
lidl had some , not sure what they have left ...
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg//lid ... =noservice

timr221

i will look out for them they look good ones

Kieran_Burns

cyberknight wrote:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&q=scropton&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x487a1b5a0a079ba9:0x4e9f9698104b0ca7,Scropton,+Derbyshire&gl=uk&sa=X&ei=U31TUJmkEoa_0QWc6oHADQ&ved=0CHcQtgM

Depends whereabouts in swad you are, you could drop down the a444 to burton,across to the "old bridge" and use the cyclepath on the rh side to go across the bridge, wetmore road into stretton, past cryathorne golf club,rolleston on marston lane to hatton then onto scropton road.
Can you lock the front forks of the aggressor ? it will make riding a bit easier as it will reduce suspension suck on your power and look to change the tyres to some slick/semi slick tyres as they will roll quicker , something like ...
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242553
or if you can get to decathlon, near ikea ..
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x15-randon ... 26694.html
I commute daily from newhall to a certain car factory , if you want any advice your welcome to PM me and pop round if you need any more help.

I know the area well (lived all 'round there, including Stapenhill and Hatton) and I think that's your best best.

Alternately rather than Marston Lane, you keep going through Rolleston (the road's been resurfaced past Marston Lane and it's beautiful to ride on now) and take the right turn (Cornmill Lane) this brings you out in the middle of Tutbury (by the bank) then you go onto Scropton Lane.

If you do go down Marston Lane - you can get 'round the back of the coffee factory if you turn left at the Church in Marston

The only other possibility is cutting through Repton and Willington then over the A38 past Etwall and through Hilton. Getting to Repton is a bit of a pig but you could look at Sandcliffe Rd - it's all country lanes that way (bit bloody hilly though!)

Actually that route down Sandclliffe is bloody lovely but it's more of a ride out in the country for fun than a commute route.

I might actually try that one some time myself now!

timr221

thankyou for all your replies it has been very helpfull and informative i will let you know how i get on if i suvive lol im looking forward to it joining the commuting possey

cyberknight

Kieran_Burns wrote:

The only other possibility is cutting through Repton and Willington then over the A38 past Etwall and through Hilton. Getting to Repton is a bit of a pig but you could look at Sandcliffe Rd - it's all country lanes that way (bit bloody hilly though!)

Actually that route down Sandclliffe is bloody lovely but it's more of a ride out in the country for fun than a commute route.

I might actually try that one some time myself now!

Part of my commute as well, up woods lane in newhall then past the crem into repton, willington and onto the cycle path up the A 38 to work.
Lovely scenery but you defiently need a really powerful light to see where your going , plenty of lights that can be had cheap if you goto ebay or deal extreme like the xml t6 or magicshine lights .You can get them from uk sellers but your liable to pay up to double but saves waiting 4-6 weeks .
Many people rave about the hope vision 1 , there good and run on AA batteries but your going to need rechargeables as they last about 2 hours on max .

Kieran_Burns

The vision 1 is a good light but not enough on its own for completely dark lanes. I have mine paired with a Vision 2 and that's plenty bright enough. You run both on setting 3, as 4 is not noticeably brighter and eats the batteries.

There's a thread over in chat about which rechargeables and charger to get.

cyberknight

How did it go tim ?

timr221

it is going great didnt cycle this morning as no wet weather gear waiting till thursday and see if aldi deals are any good i felt great at work all day on the first day i done it it was a great acheivment for me i hope i can keep my enthusiasum up ,oh while i remember i have a claud butler elite road bike for sale do you know the best place to advertise other than ebay.