[LEL17] Travel Advice

[canuckystan]

We are booking accommodation for a family of 4 for LEL 2017. I'm the only rider, wife and kids will be sightseeing in London.  We are considering staying in Stratford because of the Olympic pool, shopping, easy tube ride to London and price. 

A couple of questions for those in the know:

1) How easy is it to get from Heathrow to Stratford with a bike and luggage?  Bus? Private car/driver service? Taxi?  I'm assuming the tube would not be a good idea given the number of people riding it.

2) How easy is it to get from Stratford to the start of LEL?  I see I can take my unfolded bike on the tube from Leyton station to Loughton but is that feasible?  Is there a straightforward cycling route from Stratford to Loughton?  Be a shame to get lost on the way to the start!

Any comments welcome, thanks.

[simonp]

Heathrow Express carries bicycles as far as London Paddington, except at certain times.

From there it's 10 miles to Stratford. The new East-West cycle superhighway (which starts at Paddington) plus CS2 could be an option to take you the rest of the way.

The "tube" technically refers to deep lines which never allow bicycles, but some Underground lines do as they're not as deep. I'm not sufficiently familiar with the restrictions to offer specific advice.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bicycles-on-public-transport.pdf

[alwyn]

+1 for the Heathrow Express. I used it quite a bit when organising Windsor Chester Windsor and it's a great service. It's almost good value if you book it in advance, and not at all good value if you pay on the day.

[Oscar's dad]

... We are considering staying in Stratford because of the Olympic pool, shopping, easy tube ride to London and price ...

I go through Strartford a few times a week on the train and although its not necessarily the most attractive place to stay in London (that said its not awful) your assumptions about the shopping and easy travel into London are correct.  I am guessing you know whether or not the public can swim in the Olympic pool, I have no idea.  Don't forget the Olympic velodrome is also at Stratford, its excellent fun!!!

And Stratford to Loughton is sub 10 miles 

[veloboy]

Ah, Stratford (not to be confused with the one 'upon Avon'...)!

Public transport-wise isn't very convenient from Heathrow; might be a tad more convenient from Gatwick, where you could get the main line to Norwood Junction, Overground to Canada Water, Jubilee Line to Stratford. And if you have a contactless credit/debit card, it's cheaper than a paper ticket.

Either way, you will still probably walk a lot - the ex-Olympic park is Huge and always amazes me just how far I end up walking when I have visited.

On the plus, your close to the canal and the many hipster venues in East Hackney and also home to around 4 micro-breweries (if you're into local beer).

[hellymedic]

I don't know if Canadian debit cards necessarily do contactless on Oyster touchpads.

[Phil W]

If you haven't booked your flights yet then I'd consider flying to London City airport.  It's only 9km from Stratford and will make your arrival and exit much easier. A few of the well known Dutch and German airlines fly there from Canada.

As for easy cycling from Stratford to Loughton. Yes all fine for that. In fact the prologue in 2013 went through Stratford.  I can dig out the 2013 prologue  GPX and cut to just that bit if you decide that's what you'll do.

[alwyn]

The LEL2013 prologue route from Stratford to Loughton was designed for 300 riders on a Sunday morning. It's not necessarily a route I'd use at any other time.

[Phil W]

The LEL2013 prologue route from Stratford to Loughton was designed for 300 riders on a Sunday morning. It's not necessarily a route I'd use at any other time.

I did one of the test rides of it on a Saturday and it was fine. I think it'd make a good starter to work from.

[Redlight]

Heathrow Express carries bicycles as far as London Paddington, except at certain times.
From there it's 10 miles to Stratford. The new East-West cycle superhighway (which starts at Paddington) plus CS2 could be an option to take you the rest of the way.

If you keep in touch on this forum there's every chance that a willing volunteer or two will make themselves available to guide you across town by bike from Paddington to Liverpool Street (from where you can get an overground train to Stratford) or, indeed, all the way.  For the rest of the family, from Paddington it's an easy tube journey with one change, either at Oxford Circus or Liverpool Street. I'd recommend the latter as the interchange is easier.

Similarly, I imagine there will be a fair number of us riding out to Loughton via Stratford on the day so, again, I'm sure you will find it easy to find someone to tag along with.  It's mostly straightforward but there are a couple of roundabouts where you can come a bit unstuck if you don't know exactly where you're going (and are used to riding on the right) and local knowledge will pick a route that avoids them. Alternatively, you can take your bike on the tube from Leyton as it's outdoors all the way.

[L CC]

I think some of the respondents here have failed to take into account that the OP will be en famille on arrival. He needs to get himself & (boxed?) bike + wife + kids to Stratford, so a bike route isn't terribly helpful- till he sets off to Loughton on the Big Adventure.

[alwyn]

The LEL2013 prologue route from Stratford to Loughton was designed for 300 riders on a Sunday morning. It's not necessarily a route I'd use at any other time.

I did one of the test rides of it on a Saturday and it was fine. I think it'd make a good starter to work from.

Fair enough. I'd go with what Phil said.

[tippers_kiwi]

Personally if you are travelling with the family along with bike and all the luggage after a Long Haul flight I would recommend looking into transfer service. I suspect by the time you total up all the public transport costs etc. you won't be that much worse off.

Also, I have noticed that the Prudential Ride London 100 is on the same day as LEL starts. The Ride 100 starts at the Olympic Park so just be cautious who you follow on the day .

[Moleman76]

I understand that the deep parts of the Tube show as non-(folding) bike sections, but --

Isn't the purpose of "no full size bikes" rule just to avoid conflicts getting up to ground level, for London residents and transit users?

1) Does that also apply to someone with a bike in a bike bag?  It's just another big piece of luggage, after all.

2) Does it really matter, if you're just using the Tube as a way of getting across London from one airport to lodging near the start?

3) And note that Heathrow, and the first few stops after it (as far as Tube goes, not the Express) are also in the "only folding bikes" section.

Might also look at flying to Gatwick.  Similar express train service in to Victoria station, and bikes-allowed Tube line going east from there.

I've been doing various "Heathrow to Cheshunt" and "Gatwick to Cheshunt" travel planning searches (have a reservation at the Lee Valley hostel), and am hoping that bike in a good travel bag is not the same as "bike ready to ride" as far as permissibility.
It might, or might not, be easier to get a flight to Gatwick.

[jsabine]

Indeed, bike-in-box (or bag) is just big luggage as far as the tube is concerned - the prohibition applies to fully assembled bikes.

I probably wouldn't bother with the Heathrow Express on a journey to Stratford - it forces you to make two changes, neither of which are particularly convenient.

Piccadilly line to Holborn, then Central to Stratford is likely to be as quick overall, less hassle (one escalator and a bit of corridor) and a lot cheaper, though of course the transfer cost will be a small proportion of your total bill for the holiday anyway - as TK says, a transfer service may be worthwhile for a family group with bulky luggage.

(NB that Holborn station is likely to be unpleasantly crowded during rush hour, and refurbishment work means the opposite change, Central to Piccadilly line, is not currently permitted during the morning peak.)

[inappropriate_bike]

I'd second the recommendation to fly into City, if you can do it inexpensively, as it is so much closer to East London.

But if you are going to come from Heathrow I've taken my bike from central London to Heathrow a few times and hands down the least hassle is a car service like batransfer.com (I have no affiliation to the company I just use them quite a lot).

Driving into the city from Heathrow takes anything from 40 minutes to 2.5 hours in normal traffic. So a pre-booked, fixed-price car service is a much better idea than a variable-priced taxi or uber.

Taking bulky luggage like a bike box on the tube might be allowed but will be seriously hard work. Many of the interchanges have steps, not lifts, and where there are lifts you often end up needing to take 2 or more to change lines. And god help you if you try it at rush hour with a bike box

[inappropriate_bike]

Isn't the purpose of "no full size bikes" rule just to avoid conflicts getting up to ground level, for London residents and transit users?

That may be the purpose, but the ban doesn't work that way - no unfolded bikes are allowed on the deep sections of the network, no matter where you get on or off.

[Kim]

Isn't the purpose of "no full size bikes" rule just to avoid conflicts getting up to ground level, for London residents and transit users?

My understanding is that it's to prevent large and unwieldy objects blocking passage through trains that can only be evacuated by walking from carriage to carriage when in tight tunnels.

On shallower lines and surface routes there's room for trains to be evacuated through the side doors, so bikes aren't a problem.

[hellymedic]

AIUI cycle prohibition on 'deep tube' and tunnels is to facilitated emergency evacuation, so teh Kim has it.

There's also a peak hours (0700-1000 & 1600-1900) bicycle prohibition on all lines to reduce conflicts in crowds.

[redfalo]

A few thoughts:

- As much as I love City Airport, the advise is likely to be of limited use for the OP, as there are very few transcontinental flights to City. Moreover, flights tend to be $$$. Gatwick may be indeed better choice than Heathrow, but also much fewer connections. Most transatlantic flights just go to Heathrow.

- As for travelling from Heathrow to Stratford with a boxed bike, there are no good options. It will either be a faff, or pricey, or both. Depending on when you are touching down, a pre-booked cab may be most convenient option. That's true for early morning hours and late at night. Most transcontinental flights land around 6am, I think. Once you are through immigration and got your luggage, peak hour maddness might be in full swing. A nightmare in a car, and not much better on the tube. (With a boxed bike, the tube in the morning peak on a weekday probably is an even bigger nightmare, albeit cheaper)

- I can hear what you're saying about the advantages of staying in Stratford (cheap hotels, olympic pool, tube connection to city). I would still not recommend to stay there. It's a soulless place that doesn't have the London vibe. Tube connections to central London are decent from almost everywhere, and if hotel prices are lower, that's for a reason. Unless your family wants to use the Olympic pool on a daily basis, I would not regard it as key argument in favour of Stratford. As you said, getting there is easy thanks to good transport links...

[veloboy]

Ive used City Airport on several occasions. On a lot of long-haul flights, like Air France, will give you the connection from Charles de Gaulle Paris to City Airport included within the price, sometimes quite competitively compared to other airlines flying direct to Heathrow.

Hut as other say, if travelling with a family and bulky cycling luggage (bike box), it is probably best to prebook an airport transfer 'meet and greet' service for a fixed price and just take the hassle out of it.

Many of times I have left and arrived back into London travelling with my bike box on public transport - while possible, it really is hard work negotiating transferring tube stations with a bike box and really difficult during peak times. As I get older, I don't mid so much paying a bit more for taxis / Uber / Airport Transfers.

[Mr Larrington]

When I was researching such things about 18 months ago, Transat flew directly to Airwick Gatport from various bits of Canuckistan, but I aten't looked recently.

[Greenbank]

Isn't the purpose of "no full size bikes" rule just to avoid conflicts getting up to ground level, for London residents and transit users?

My understanding is that it's to prevent large and unwieldy objects blocking passage through trains that can only be evacuated by walking from carriage to carriage when in tight tunnels.

On shallower lines and surface routes there's room for trains to be evacuated through the side doors, so bikes aren't a problem.

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=73135.msg1510390#msg1510390

(Ironic that it came up in a thread ~3.5 years ago about getting to the start of LEL 2013.)

[inappropriate_bike]

Ive used City Airport on several occasions. On a lot of long-haul flights, like Air France, will give you the connection from Charles de Gaulle Paris to City Airport included within the price, sometimes quite competitively compared to other airlines flying direct to Heathrow.

This obviously doesn't apply to flying to Canada, depending where you are staying City can be cheaper and no slower than Heathrow for flights to Asia.

Non-Stop Heathrow to Singapore £950 + £50 taxi
2 hours to Heathrow + arrive 2 hours before departure + 13 hour flight

One stop City to Zurich to Singapore £850 + £20 taxi
30 mins to City + arrive 30 mins before + 16 hours flights and transit