Route Advice - Sanderstead to Central London

keyboard_worrier

Hi all,

Long time lurker and now first time poster.

As the weather is now (hopefully) getting better I am hoping to commute a couple of times a week on my Road Bike to work. However being relatively new to the area I am not sure what the best route is.

I need to get from Sanderstead Station (just south of Croydon) to Westminster, London. I was toying with the idea of taking the A23 up through Streatham and Brixton but it seems a bit busy and not very bike friendly.

Anyone got any ideas? Would ideally like a route that allows me to motor along at an average pace but not get splatted by the lunatics driving into town.

menthel

No ideas for a route but I am afraid the loonies are compulsory in London! Have a look at something like map my ride and see what you can draw there. The TFL website will also give you suggested routes that can be varied according to how busy they are etc.

raymondo60

Can't help with your actual route, but 'main' roads are not necessarily the most dangerous. I ride the A24 from Epsom nearly every day - I'm a CS7 junkie like the poster above. There are benefits to riding a major road - the traffic flows quite well - many do have bicycle lanes - you tend to get a lot of cyclists on them, which increases awareness generally etc. 'Back routes' are fine too, but there's an added risk to constant stop/start/turn left/turn right cycling - every junction has a risk element to it. Why not try a couple of exploratory rides over a weekend or two, see what options you have?
Good luck by the way - welcome to the loony club!

menthel

Raymondo60 wrote:

Can't help with your actual route, but 'main' roads are not necessarily the most dangerous. I ride the A24 from Epsom nearly every day - I'm a CS7 junkie like the poster above. There are benefits to riding a major road - the traffic flows quite well - many do have bicycle lanes - you tend to get a lot of cyclists on them, which increases awareness generally etc. 'Back routes' are fine too, but there's an added risk to constant stop/start/turn left/turn right cycling - every junction has a risk element to it. Why not try a couple of exploratory rides over a weekend or two, see what options you have?
Good luck by the way - welcome to the loony club!

When you pass me, give me a wave- Charge flatbar, orange courier bag and a red face!

keyboard_worrier

Cheers for the advice will do a trial run at the weekend (maybe getting a train back if my legs are shot at the end!)
Hopefully less nutters out on the road first thing in the morning at a weekend.....

raymondo60

menthel wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

Can't help with your actual route, but 'main' roads are not necessarily the most dangerous. I ride the A24 from Epsom nearly every day - I'm a CS7 junkie like the poster above. There are benefits to riding a major road - the traffic flows quite well - many do have bicycle lanes - you tend to get a lot of cyclists on them, which increases awareness generally etc. 'Back routes' are fine too, but there's an added risk to constant stop/start/turn left/turn right cycling - every junction has a risk element to it. Why not try a couple of exploratory rides over a weekend or two, see what options you have?
Good luck by the way - welcome to the loony club!

When you pass me, give me a wave- Charge flatbar, orange courier bag and a red face!

Will do - I'm usually on a black Pinarello Single Speed, though sometimes on something else entirely! Safe journeys

kelsen

I do the A23 every day and it's not as bad as you think. There's a fair portion of bus lanes which keeps the cars at bay. During peak times they'll be crawling along whilst you whizz past. Main things to watch out for are cars joining the main route and potholes (though the latter has improved somewhat).

If you fancy a detour, you could do Mitcham, Wandsworth and the racetrack. Traffic-wise probably just the same though.

menthel

Raymondo60 wrote:

menthel wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

Can't help with your actual route, but 'main' roads are not necessarily the most dangerous. I ride the A24 from Epsom nearly every day - I'm a CS7 junkie like the poster above. There are benefits to riding a major road - the traffic flows quite well - many do have bicycle lanes - you tend to get a lot of cyclists on them, which increases awareness generally etc. 'Back routes' are fine too, but there's an added risk to constant stop/start/turn left/turn right cycling - every junction has a risk element to it. Why not try a couple of exploratory rides over a weekend or two, see what options you have?
Good luck by the way - welcome to the loony club!

When you pass me, give me a wave- Charge flatbar, orange courier bag and a red face!

Will do - I'm usually on a black Pinarello Single Speed, though sometimes on something else entirely! Safe journeys

Did I see you this morning? Tooting onwards, I spent some time following a black SS before it shot off into the distance.

OneForTheRoad

Wise move living at the bottom of Sanderstead Hill, I didn't appreciate the climb to the top at the end of my commute when I lived there. Streatham and Brixton are fine, as someone else pointed out, just keep your wits about you and watch for people joining and leaving the main roads without indicating.

Mayfield Road is a nice smooth and fast start to the day.

I still go backwards and forwards from there to the city every now and then so I'll keep an eye out

keyboard_worrier

OneForTheRoad wrote:

Wise move living at the bottom of Sanderstead Hill, I didn't appreciate the climb to the top at the end of my commute when I lived there. Streatham and Brixton are fine, as someone else pointed out, just keep your wits about you and watch for people joining and leaving the main roads without indicating.

Mayfield Road is a nice smooth and fast start to the day.

I still go backwards and forwards from there to the city every now and then so I'll keep an eye out

Unfortunately I live at the top of the of the hill along the Limpsfield Road so will have that final hill to summit before getting home in the evenings which will be good for a bit of training :twisted:

On the plus side at least I get to bomb it down Sanderstead Hill in the mornings!

raymondo60

menthel wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

menthel wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

Can't help with your actual route, but 'main' roads are not necessarily the most dangerous. I ride the A24 from Epsom nearly every day - I'm a CS7 junkie like the poster above. There are benefits to riding a major road - the traffic flows quite well - many do have bicycle lanes - you tend to get a lot of cyclists on them, which increases awareness generally etc. 'Back routes' are fine too, but there's an added risk to constant stop/start/turn left/turn right cycling - every junction has a risk element to it. Why not try a couple of exploratory rides over a weekend or two, see what options you have?
Good luck by the way - welcome to the loony club!

When you pass me, give me a wave- Charge flatbar, orange courier bag and a red face!

Will do - I'm usually on a black Pinarello Single Speed, though sometimes on something else entirely! Safe journeys

Did I see you this morning? Tooting onwards, I spent some time following a black SS before it shot off into the distance.

Couldn't have been me - had day off today! Will say hello soon though, I'm sure.

Stevo_666

Problem for you is that the A23 does look like the most direct route with very few turns/junctions compared to other options. If you find that you don't like doing the A23 then you could try heading East a bit and picking up the A212/A215/A204 to cut out part of the A23. But give the A23 a try anyway - probably not as bad as you think.