Cyclists - your experiences on the road

[Bikeman78]

Around my way there have been quite a few new bike lanes installed. This is a good idea; however, there are some problems. A common problem is where the bike lane meets a bus stop, and people boarding or alighting from the bus have to walk across where the bikes go, and there can be quite a few bikes and quite a few people using the bus. Some people waiting for a bus stand where bikes go, as the bike lane markings stop a few yards either side of the bus stop. There are places where the lane markings for pedestrians and bikes suddenly disappear and both have to share the same pavement area. Another problem is where there is dual bike lane on (say) the eastbound side of the road, and, as happens in some places, westbound bikes have to cross both lines of traffic to reach it without there being a pedestrian crossing, which can be hairy when traffic is heavy. Hopefully, these problems will get cleared up at some point.

All of the above apply to the new cycle lanes in Cardiff. They've been chucked in without any real thought about the practicalities. Where a two way cycle lane crosses a side road, people rarely look to the left because they don't expect people to be coming the wrong way.

 

[Dr_Paul]

All of the above apply to the new cycle lanes in Cardiff. They've been chucked in without any real thought about the practicalities. Where a two way cycle lane crosses a side road, people rarely look to the left because they don't expect people to be coming the wrong way.

That's true, I had a motor do that to me earlier this week when I approached that sort of road junction on a bike. Fortunately, I had a feeling that he wasn't going to stop short at the bike lane, and was ready to pull up.

Today, riding along a shared pavement with no bike lane markings, a pedestrian suddenly turns right, straight in front of me, and I pulled just up in time. I only ever ride at walking pace at this spot, but today's near accident shows that even then it can be risky. Bikes and pedestrians really don't mix happily, especially when there are shops and cafés where pedestrians mill about and where the shared pavement is not wide. Bike lanes and pavements for pedestrians should really be distinctly marked. Too many bike lanes in my area suddenly disappear into unmarked pavements.

 

[dangie]

The Government, Councils, Highways….. whoever is responsible, only seem to install cycle lanes to satisfy the numbers game. ‘We have built [install miles here] of cycle lanes. There is little thought given to the practicality and future maintenance of these cycle lanes. Apart from the usual vehicles parked in the cycle lanes making them next to useless, we also have the issue of roads being resurfaced without repainting the cycle lane. Gone forever, but that doesn’t matter to the authorities as it originally satisfied the numbers game.

Anyone who has been to Holland or Belgium for example can see that both motorists & cyclists can live together with little problem if thought and will is given by all. Unfortunately in the UK this will never happen. What we can’t seem to grasp, is having motorists and cyclists separated is a benefit for both.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Government, Councils, Highways….. whoever is responsible, only seem to install cycle lanes to satisfy the numbers game. ‘We have built [install miles here] of cycle lanes. There is little thought given to the practicality and future maintenance of these cycle lanes. Apart from the usual vehicles parked in the cycle lanes making them next to useless, we also have the issue of roads being resurfaced without repainting the cycle lane. Gone forever, but that doesn’t matter to the authorities as it originally satisfied the numbers game.

Anyone who has been to Holland or Belgium for example can see that both motorists & cyclists can live together with little problem if thought and will is given by all. Unfortunately in the UK this will never happen. What we can’t seem to grasp, is having motorists and cyclists separated is a benefit for both.

Full Dutch style segregation is the only way we will ever get mass cycling outside of the sort of demographic that seems to predominate London cycling i.e. young to middle aged males mostly riding expensive, fast road bikes.

I wouldn't let my kids (if I had any) cycle in central London, no way. I absolutely would in central Amsterdam because it's fully segregated so they're safe, other than tiny roads akin to playing in the street in a cul de sac.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Full Dutch style segregation is the only way we will ever get mass cycling outside of the sort of demographic that seems to predominate London cycling i.e. young to middle aged males mostly riding expensive, fast road bikes.

I wouldn't let my kids (if I had any) cycle in central London, no way. I absolutely would in central Amsterdam because it's fully segregated so they're safe, other than tiny roads akin to playing in the street in a cul de sac.

Central London is one of the few places I would let Junior cycle (with me alongside) because some of the new segregated cycleways are so good. TfL gets it... if only other highway authorities did.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Central London is one of the few places I would let Junior cycle (with me alongside) because some of the new segregated cycleways are so good. TfL gets it... if only other highway authorities did.

They're getting there but they need to be on every single main road. Plus the standard of driving is appalling, and the road designs for motorists don't flow so they're always distracted. (The cycle campaigners who like wilfully making things hard for motorists miss this point - we can make them queue, but the layouts should be simple and understandable so they can concentrate on people they may be a threat to).

Even MK fails - outside the centre it's mostly segregated bar the smallest residential streets, but the centre requires cyclists to go into the parking areas between underpasses, and that's probably more dangerous than the road because of people backing out without looking.

 

[Bikeman78]

Apart from the usual vehicles parked in the cycle lanes making them next to useless

This even happens on segregated lanes. There's a gap in the bollards next to Cardiff Castle and yesterday I was confronted by a coach parked in the cycle lane dropping people off. Was I supposed to move onto the road and ride against the oncoming traffic?

 

[telstarbox]

I think the Quietway approach works just as well as main road corridors. TfL Quietway 1 (now Cycleway 10) was quick and cheap to implement because it mostly joins up estate cul-de-sacs which don't have significant road traffic. It's very well used by all sorts of people on bikes.

Example here (image shows a section of Oxley Close, SE1 which has been filtered using bollards to allow pedestrians and cyclists to walk through without motor traffic).

 

[Doctor Fegg]

I think the Quietway approach works just as well as main road corridors.

The disadvantage - forgive me for stating the obvious - is that generally the places people want to go are on main roads. So you can thread something through as many back streets as you like, but a cyclist will still need to use the main roads where the shops (or other destination) are actually situated.

The other problem (particularly in London) is that of severance. London is cut up by rivers and railway lines, and they don't have that many bridges over them. Generally the bridges tend to carry main roads. You notice this if you ask an online routeplanner for, say, a route from Brentford to Hampstead; it'll try to use quiet roads where it can, but has to funnel onto the busier roads to go across the various main lines.

 

[JohnMcL7]

I think the Quietway approach works just as well as main road corridors. TfL Quietway 1 (now Cycleway 10) was quick and cheap to implement because it mostly joins up estate cul-de-sacs which don't have significant road traffic. It's very well used by all sorts of people on bikes.

Example here (image shows a section of Oxley Close, SE1 which has been filtered using bollards to allow pedestrians and cyclists to walk through without motor traffic).

There's a few of those here and I think they're a good idea as they don't take much work and they're usually a good surface with few cars travelling along them since they're just there for access.

The disadvantage - forgive me for stating the obvious - is that generally the places people want to go are on main roads. So you can thread something through as many back streets as you like, but a cyclist will still need to use the main roads where the shops (or other destination) are actually situated.

The other problem (particularly in London) is that of severance. London is cut up by rivers and railway lines, and they don't have that many bridges over them. Generally the bridges tend to carry main roads. You notice this if you ask an online routeplanner for, say, a route from Brentford to Hampstead; it'll try to use quiet roads where it can, but has to funnel onto the busier roads to go across the various main lines.

The more you can stay off the main roads, the better and these sort of routes can offer that. Some of the ones here run through quiet back roads that run roughly parallel to main roads so instead of using the main roads amongst the traffic or shared pedestrian/cycle paths instead I can cycle normally along these back roads then rejoin the main road system when needed.

 

[TheBigD]

Next weekend I will be bike packing (but staying in B&Bs, i dont do camping!) The Way Of The Roses. 175ish miles from Morecambe to Bridlington.

Thanks to the ASLEF strike day on friday, we have arranged a man with a van to take us and the bikes to Morecambe. On the Saturday its the 60+ miles from Morecambe to Pately Bridge, a day of hills, with a particularly tough climb up out of Settle. Sunday sees us doing the 70+ miles from Pateley Bridge to Pocklington, mostly downhill or flat, and a few miles more as we have to take a substantial deviation from the route due to the Aldewark Bridge closure*. Monday sees us doing the leisurely 45 miles through the undulating Yorkshire Wolds to Bridlington before catching the train back home.

This is the first trip that I have done that isn't part of an organised tour with guides and mechanics etc so hoping it all goes without a hitch.

If it all goes according to plan we are planning on doing the John Muir Way (Helensburgh to Dunbar) next.

*Thanks to @dazzler for the revised routings for the Aldewark Bridge.

 

[Techniquest]

That sounds like an excellent ride to do, a lot of challenge but the scenery will hopefully make up for it. I hope it goes well!

 

[SCH117X]

Next weekend I will be bike packing (but staying in B&Bs, i dont do camping!) The Way Of The Roses. 175ish miles from Morecambe to Bridlington.

Just make sure your brakes are working well and take a spare sets of pads with you; the decent into Pateley Bridge needs to be taken slowly and do not be tempted to let the bike run away - too many cyclists have not survived that decent.

What rear cassette have you on ? A 34 spockett at least would be good but even then Shanks Pony might be called on - the climb towards Brimham Rocks is pretty steep aside from any further west.

The Aldwark Bridge closure is a real pain - presumably the route you have been given is over Thornton Bridge; which can be reached either via leaving the route at Boroughbridge and going via Milby or alteratively at Ripon, using the B6265, then turning off through Marton-le-Moor and Norton-le-Clay to Cundall and then heading south to Thornton Bridge which is 9.2 miles, 5 miles shorter than that via Boroughbridge.

 

[TheBigD]

Just make sure your brakes are working well and take a spare sets of pads with you; the decent into Pateley Bridge needs to be taken slowly and do not be tempted to let the bike run away - too many cyclists have not survived that decent.

What rear cassette have you on ? A 34 spockett at least would be good but even then Shanks Pony might be called on - the climb towards Brimham Rocks is pretty steep aside from any further west.

The Aldwark Bridge closure is a real pain - presumably the route you have been given is over Thornton Bridge; which can be reached either via leaving the route at Boroughbridge and going via Milby or alteratively at Ripon, using the B6265, then turning off through Marton-le-Moor and Norton-le-Clay to Cundall and then heading south to Thornton Bridge which is 9.2 miles, 5 miles shorter than that via Boroughbridge.

We're taking the route via Boroughbridge. Post #988 has the link to it.

I'm riding a Giant Revolt 2 cyclo-cross bike which has an 11-32 rear cassette. It has also been serviced a couple of months ago and has new pads, wires, etc etc.

I've read about the Pately Bridge descent, plus others have warned me about it. There's some awful footage of accidents on it on youtube. I also expect to walk a fair bit of the ascent out of Settle, having driven it in a car I know that it will be tough!

Done around 1500 miles on the road bike (Specialized Allez) this year, and last year did just under 5300 miles including LEJOG, so fitness wise I'm not expecting any issues. Not a fan of hills though as all I have is the flat roads of the Lincolnshire fens.

 

[SCH117X]

We're taking the route via Boroughbridge. Post #988 has the link to it.

I'm riding a Giant Revolt 2 cyclo-cross bike which has an 11-32 rear cassette. It has also been serviced a couple of months ago and has new pads, wires, etc etc.

I've read about the Pately Bridge descent, plus others have warned me about it. There's some awful footage of accidents on it on youtube.

The general comment from those who have done it successfully is the need for new brake pads. Actually if the B6265 seems horribly busy an alternative generally gentler decent into Pateley Bridge is use Peat Lane to the south; that is until it reaches this point https://www.google.com/maps/@54.0741362,-1.7694366,3a,75y,91.69h,81.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0APpPYyoIL8E_Atvi_CrBA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 afterwhich it drops horribly steeply around a couple of bends, one with a step in it. I have been down it with the bike brought to stand and then down seated but with one foot on the ground acting as an added brake. With any load I would get off and walk.

Was not aware of that Myton on Swale crossing - given the weather would think a bridleway is going almost definately a case of walking a fair chunk of it. Going via the road over Thornton Bridge would 2.5 miles further

 

[TheBigD]

That sounds like an excellent ride to do, a lot of challenge but the scenery will hopefully make up for it. I hope it goes well!

Thanks! Looking forward to it. Should be a great weekend ride.

John Muir way next, hopefully!

 

[D365]

Cycling back from the office today, one area of tarmac (under an A6 flyover) was quite visibly covered in glass shards. I was lucky to avoid them, but got stung a few minutes later cycling through an urban (read: concrete grey) square. Lots of big shards; instant deflation.

By good fortune, our local cycle shop is open late on Tuesdays. So I was back on the move again after ten minutes. But it made me think whether sunny/jubilant bank holiday weekends do [indirectly] lead to an increase in the rate of tyre puncture occurrences per distance cycled.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

But it made me think whether sunny/jubilant bank holiday weekends do [indirectly] lead to an increase in the rate of tyre puncture occurrences.

More cyclists out and about on a sunny Bank Holiday weekend, perhaps?

 

[D365]

More cyclists out and about on a sunny Bank Holiday weekend, perhaps?

I have clarified

 

[M&NEJ]

But it made me think whether sunny/jubilant bank holiday weekends do [indirectly] lead to an increase in the rate of tyre puncture occurrences.

Did you mean because of more cycling or (as I suspect) because of a greater number of bottles discarded after the jubilation?

My bug-bear is farmers cutting hedges and leaving thorns strewn across the highway!

 

[Jamiescott1]

Both today and last Tuesday morning I arrived at Paddington to find my bike which had been stored there since Friday with a puncture
Today on back wheel, last week on front.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Schwalbe Marathon is your friend

 

[yorkie]

It's feasible more bottles are discarded inappropriately during bank holiday weekends and it's also feasible that the staff who keep such routes clear of bottles may have a bank holiday off work; indeed if either of these is true (let alone both) then the chance of a puncture would increase on the day following such a weekend.

Schwalbe Marathon is your friend

I don't think I ever had a puncture with a Schwalbe Marathon Plus!

 

[Bald Rick]

The descent into Pateley Bridge is really nothing to worry about. It certainly won’t see you needing new brake pads.

There’s two hilly ways out of Settle heading east, and both are something of a stinger. Langcliffe Scar to the NE is in the top 100 climbs, but I suspect you’ll be heading up High Hill Lane on Cycle route 68. Still got some strep bits on it!

That does sound like a good ride, I’m hoping to do a coast to coast up there later this year (in a day )

 

[McRhu]

My bug-bear is farmers cutting hedges and leaving thorns strewn across the highway!

Agreed. Hawthorn cuttings left lying on the road cost me an entire (brand new) bike some years ago.

 

[dangie]

I don't think I ever had a puncture with a Schwalbe Marathon Plus!

I believe long distance cyclist Mark Beaumont used them on his Round the World rides. That says something about them.

 

[181]

I don't think I ever had a puncture with a Schwalbe Marathon Plus!

That's fine if you're confident that it will continue to be the case. I tried them once and took them back to the shop after failing to get them on the wheels, which made me worry that if I ever did have a puncture despite using them, I could be stuck miles from anywhere. But maybe I should give them another go if they really are that good.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Schwalbe Marathon is your friend

Make sure it's the Plus. Hard to fit but punctures aren't a thing.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 May 2023 ==

That's fine if you're confident that it will continue to be the case. I tried them once and took them back to the shop after failing to get them on the wheels, which made me worry that if I ever did have a puncture despite using them, I could be stuck miles from anywhere. But maybe I should give them another go if they really are that good.

They are difficult to fit, but you will not get punctures provided you replace them when they look worn.

Trick is to seat one side then tape it tight to the rim with gaffer tape, the other side then goes in easier.

Also use plastic coated metal tyre levers. Just plastic will snap, and just metal will scratch your rims.

 

[TheBigD]

That does sound like a good ride, I’m hoping to do a coast to coast up there later this year (in a day )

Show off!
Way of the Roses in a day seems to be a popular road bike challenge. 170 miles so around 10 hours for you?

 

[Bald Rick]

Show off!
Way of the Roses in a day seems to be a popular road bike challenge. 170 miles so around 10 hours for you?

That depends on how much ascent there is. But probably 12h or so. Plus coffee stops. Call it 15!