Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: hulver on 10 July, 2013, 03:58:59 pm
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A request for help from people who know the mean streets of London.
I'm arriving at St. Pancras station, and need to get to Loughton for registration.
The A104 - A121 looks like a straight forward route to take, but is it horrible to cycle on? Streetview doesn't look too bad, but a Londoners perspective would be nice.
http://goo.gl/maps/kzEEI
Any comments please?
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On an aside: it looks like a non-folding bike can travel on the tube from Leyton to Loughton on the Saturday. That is some way from St Pancras but may be better than nothing if you are concerned about traffic. One thing to note, unless you are finishing earlier than 16:00 or later than 19:00 you will have to ride in to London to catch the train back home again on the Thursday/Friday.
H
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Looks ok. The Dun Run uses the A104 from just after the Clapton Road, can't remember a problem with it.
Nearest tube to the start is Debden, one stop further than Loughton.
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I've cycled some of the A104, Lea Bridge Rd, when I got slightly lost trying to follow the Lea canal. I didn't like it.
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It used to be the route I used when I worked in the City back in the 1980's!!!
There is a bit more traffic on the road now days than there was then, but its well doable but keep your eyes open around the Clapton roundabout as its a bit nutty; whilst the road up to the Waterworks (North Circ junction) can be a bit of a race track and used to (I think its still does) have a couple of cattle grids.
Just a thought, if you didn't want to cycle, then I wonder if its possible to take the HS1 train to Stratford International, cycle the mile or so to Leyton Tube Station and then take the tube north from there? As far as I know, full size bikes can be taken on tubes from Leyton northward (best to check with TFL however).
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As usual with riding in London, confidence in traffic is your friend. By and large, drivers expect there to be cyclists around and while they won't visibly give ground, they're used to not running you over. Stay fast and stay out from the kerb, and you'll be fine.
Lea Bridge Road is fine, as is the road up through Woodford and Buckhurst Hill. The A road through Epping Forest can be a bit unpleasant with boy racers, but you turn off before that bit.
As for the tube, off peak (ie not Mon-Fri rush hour) you can take full-size bikes on the Central Line from Leytonstone if you want. There's a chance you'd get them on at Stratford, but it's against the roolz ...
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http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/bicycle-tube-map.pdf shows you which part of the tube network is ok for bikes.
The trains from St Pancras that stop at Stratford Intl go to places like Margate and Dover and are run by Southeastern. Their bicycle policy: http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/your-journey/bicycle-policy/ doesn't show any reason why you shouldn't be able to take a bike on a train from St Pancras to Stratford Intl.
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I'll be cycling from London Euston but haven't bothered looking at a specific route yet.
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Surely you can simply cycle from whatever train station to the Prologue route? I will be cycling into town after registration and was simply planning on following the prologue in reverse.
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The Prologue route's a balance between direct and pleasant: I must admit I tend to prioritise direct 'cos I'm normally running late.
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Southeastern trains to Stratford from the city are fine to take bikes on.
If you want to take the train, I recommend Liverpool Street to Chingford, and then cycle through the Epping Forest to Loughton. It's actually rather a nice route.
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I'm riding over Saturday lunchtime. Is the prologue route on the LEL website ? Can't seem to find it.
Rob
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I took the direct route on my 300 (http://app.strava.com/activities/60605375) a few weeks ago. It was fine (for London): lots of bad drivers, and lots of drunks - came through around 23.00 on a Saturday night, but I never felt in danger.
There cattle grid are still there, and for some reason terrified me so I walked across them. There's also a big roundabout with an underpass - skip the underpass, I got lost under there.
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I'll be cycling from London Euston but haven't bothered looking at a specific route yet.
Same here. I also need to get round to booking tickets there and back. I'm timetabled to get back sometime around 6am so I need to decide when to book the train home.
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Hello,
I will arrive in Stansted Airport on Saturday around noon and am wondering what would be the best way to get to Loughton? If the weather is nice, I might just ride my bike to the registration. But if not? Any recommendations? Easybus to Baker Street and tube to Loughton or any better ideas? And, of course, budget travelling :)
Thanks
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Stanstead to Loughton....
Train from Stanstead Airport to Seven Sisters or Tottenham Hale and cycle from there through Walthamstow to the Waterworks Corner then as the route above.
One concern about the Tottenham Hale one way system but its quite an easy ride: http://goo.gl/maps/ECIVL
I would not go into Central London just to come back out again especially as taking a full size bike on the Underground is not straightforward. The TFL website gives more information.
Edited to add.... it seems like its only 25 miles or so to cycle from Stanstead to Loughton. Might be better to cycle it rather than hassle around with trains?
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There is a group planning to meet in front of Buckingham Palace at 10:30 on Saturday, to pre-ride the prologue route out to registration, if anyone cares to join.
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There is a group planning to meet in front of Buckingham Palace at 10:30 on Saturday, to pre-ride the prologue route out to registration, if anyone cares to join.
An interesting idea, would that be called the pre-prologue? If I can get up early enough and down to central London for 10:30 I'll do that. As the Critical Mass demonstrates (I've never been on it and never seen it so I'm guessing here) the more there are of you/us the better
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There is a group planning to meet in front of Buckingham Palace at 10:30 on Saturday, to pre-ride the prologue route out to registration, if anyone cares to join.
If that's an open invitation, then it would most welcome ....big cities make me nervous at the best of times.
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If this does get going - have a careful look at going down to the Embankment from Traf Sq. - We can not use the Embankment on Sunday due to the London Triathlon-- but it would be a better look at London than the route that we have to use. Work out how to get back up to St Pauls - where you then pick up the route again.
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My train gets in to Euston at 11:04. I can ride down to Liverpool St and get a train to Ponders End/Cheshunt area and then ride to the registration - any idea which would be the best station to get off? Also is Liverpool St a proper train station that you can wheel your bike into or does it involve lots of stairs/escalators?
Or can I catch a train from Euston that goes anywhere useful?
Or, again, should I just MTFU and ride all the way with (I assume) about a gazillion cars.
I don't mind a ride over the Wrynose and down Cockley Beck after work, but travelling 24k across London seems a logistical nightmare!
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From Euston it's a fairly straight route to Loughton. My suggestion would be something like:
Euston Rd - Pentonville Rd - Upper St - Essex Rd - Balls Pond Rd - Dalston Lane - Lea Bridge Rd - Woodford New Rd - A104 (Epping Rd) - A121 (High Rd).
You may have to fill in a couple of the small connecting roads whose names I can't remember.
It's not too bad a route at all - I do it many times a year and it's the start of most of my training rides.
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Thanks for that - and is it OK to ride Saturday lunchtime? I had assumed that riding the prologue was going to be OK because of the time of day, but that it could otherwise be a non-starter.
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It will be busier on a Saturday than early Sunday morning, but it's perfectly possible to ride round the city most of the time (many forummites commute at rush hour).
It's also the school holidays by then which would make things quieter.
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My train gets in to Euston at 11:04. I can ride down to Liverpool St and get a train to Ponders End/Cheshunt area and then ride to the registration - any idea which would be the best station to get off? Also is Liverpool St a proper train station that you can wheel your bike into or does it involve lots of stairs/escalators?
Liverpool Street is a proper station.....its massive being the third busiest in London ;D Yes, there are escalators, one flight, but I am sure there are lifts over by MacDonalds and in Bishopsgate so getting to platform level should not be a problem.
As "LEL" suggests above, its best to train the train to Chingford and cycle across the bottom of Epping Forest from there to Loughton. Its flat exit from the platform from that station.
Not been on the Chingford line for many years (I am so old I remember them rebuilding the Clapton tunnel!) but its likely to be the type of train where there is loads of room for a bike in the doors areas. If I remember correctly, the doors at stations open on the left hand side, so best get the bike on the right.
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From Euston it's a fairly straight route to Loughton. My suggestion would be something like:
Euston Rd - Pentonville Rd - Upper St - Essex Rd - Balls Pond Rd - Dalston Lane - Lea Bridge Rd - Woodford New Rd - A104 (Epping Rd) - A121 (High Rd).
You may have to fill in a couple of the small connecting roads whose names I can't remember.
It's not too bad a route at all - I do it many times a year and it's the start of most of my training rides.
Thanks for that toontra :thumbsup:
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I'd second Toontra's advice. Easy navigation and while not pretty, is fine, even in relatively busy traffic (there are bus lanes for the most congested bits, so progress tends to be good whatever time of day). The two roundabouts mentioned upthread (Lee Bridge rbt and the one by the cattle grids) are both traffic light controlled and easy to manage.
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... Also is Liverpool St a proper train station that you can wheel your bike into or does it involve lots of stairs/escalators?
Liverpool Street is a proper station.....its massive being the third busiest in London ;D Yes, there are escalators, one flight, but I am sure there are lifts over by MacDonalds and in Bishopsgate so getting to platform level should not be a problem.
You can actually push your bike on the level in or out of Liverpool Street, if you start at the right end! You can also use lifts if you come in the wrong way, carry you bike up or down stairs which aren't too steep, or take you bike on the escalator, which strictly speaking is a no-no, but possible if your confident, and have taken a bike on an escalator before. I've used all four of those options, more than once each!
I wouldn't advise using the stairs or escalator if you've got luggage on the bike however, the way out on this map (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.networkrail.co.uk%2Fliverpoolstreetstationmap.pdf&ei=CuTiUabXMsW-0QWklICwBQ&usg=AFQjCNGzNqNKdK-zYYJCPUx6sWelLA27qQ&sig2=azjaNkW7IZppCa_1fY4cAw&bvm=bv.48705608,d.d2k), marked as Broadgate (on the Lower Ground Floor), is just a slight uphill slope leaving the station.
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From Euston it's a fairly straight route to Loughton. My suggestion would be something like:
Euston Rd - Pentonville Rd - Upper St - Essex Rd - Balls Pond Rd - Dalston Lane - Lea Bridge Rd - Woodford New Rd - A104 (Epping Rd) - A121 (High Rd).
You may have to fill in a couple of the small connecting roads whose names I can't remember.
It's not too bad a route at all - I do it many times a year and it's the start of most of my training rides.
Thanks for that toontra :thumbsup:
+1 :thumbsup: I was undecided about riding up from Kings Cross but that has made my mind up for me :)
Paul
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Good to get a variety of responses - if it is lashing down I am thinking train, otherwise I will bite the bullet and attempt the ride.
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I'm intending to ride up (thanks for the route toontra :thumbsup:).
Still haven't booked tickets :-[ so it's looking like £111 return at the moment :(
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an option, if you're not keen on finding your way through London, to is to get a train from Liverpool Street to Chingford, that'll take a bike and from there it;s about 7km or suburban rather than London roads, trees and everything
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There is a group planning to meet in front of Buckingham Palace at 10:30 on Saturday, to pre-ride the prologue route out to registration, if anyone cares to join.
Ooh this sounds like a good idea. And a good chance for me to meet other people doing the ride. Count me in.
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There is a group planning to meet in front of Buckingham Palace at 10:30 on Saturday, to pre-ride the prologue route out to registration, if anyone cares to join.
Ooh this sounds like a good idea. And a good chance for me to meet other people doing the ride. Count me in.
Will probably also pre-ride a part of the prologue route (from nr. Tower Hill), but most likely start off a little later - around midday to 1pm. So if anyone is aiming to ride around that time ....
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Where shall we meet on the Saturday? Buck House or the official start?
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What are the opinions on getting to Loughton by car?
Just posted this: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=74220.0
Then saw this thread....
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I'll be doing Liverpool St to Chingford (with a bike) hopefully in time to get there just before 9am. Should mean I can help out at registration all day.
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OK if it's chucking it down I'll be under the trees next to Green Park
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I hope registration is indoors this time!
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I thought we had a thread (but cannot now find) for discussion of routes between the middle of that London place and the Loughton.
Looks like I'll be getting a lift to a point not too far distant from the registration/start before the event, but will likely be train-bound to get home on the Friday (hopefully after a bit of kip.) Most of the train services from stations close to Loughton seem to have bike restrictions so I'm looking for suggestions of cyclable routes to Waterloo.
Doubtless there will be other riders wanting to get from London mainline stations out to the registration/start.
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I'd be interested in joing the ride from Central London to registration. Should be a good warm up.
I route checked this route the other day and would suggest it's a pretty good one depending on Ride London road closures:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18791867
Starting at Buckingham Palace and taking the EW cyclesuperhighway will take any out-of-towners past a pretty good spread of tourist attractions.
It then cuts up Brick Lane (past a good coffee shop and the 24 hour bagel shops for a second breakfast) before heading out along roughly the DunRun route.
There may be better options for London Fields onwards as I don't know that bit as well.
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It is still in the main forum:
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=73640.25
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I'd be interested in joing the ride from Central London to registration. Should be a good warm up.
I route checked this route the other day and would suggest it's a pretty good one depending on Ride London road closures:
There may be better options for London Fields onwards as I don't know that bit as well.
I don't think any of the RL road closures will be in place on the Saturday - they tend to start in the early hours of Sunday.
There isn't really a more pleasant route out from London Fields to Woodford unless you want to spend a lot of time meandering down densely-parked residential streets. Lea Bridge Road is the only viable one but it's not a lot of fun most of the time. After you've crossed the North Circular (horrible roundabout, though), the road widens a bit and is generally OK until Loughton.
One possible alternative might be to go out through Mile End, Stratford and Leytonstone on the 'superhighway'. At the Green Man roundabout you can then either take the road out through Snaresbrook and South Woodford, joining your route at Woodford itself or fork right, through Chigwell. That's pretty much the way we took the Prologue last time.
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The RideLondon website mentions central London closures on Saturday this year, presumably for the FreeCycle. Closures don't always affect bikes though.
https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/info-hub/road-closures/
The superhighway along Whitechapel Road to Stratford is about the same distance as going via Lee Bridge road. It might depend how many people are riding - Lee Bridge road is better in a group than solo, where as the superhighway is better solo than in a group.
If anyone is riding out on Sunday morning Whitechapel road to Stratford should be fun - there'll be 20,000 cyclists heading to RideLondon and a bit of a party atmosphere.
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The RideLondon website mentions central London closures on Saturday this year, presumably for the FreeCycle. Closures don't always affect bikes though.
The main FreeCycle route is one way though, so you may be forced to go a certain way on those specific roads, but off the route (where the roads are still closed) there's usually no problem cycling as many people are using these roads to join/leave the FreeCycle route.
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One possible alternative might be to go out through Mile End, Stratford and Leytonstone on the 'superhighway'. At the Green Man roundabout you can then either take the road out through Snaresbrook and South Woodford, joining your route at Woodford itself or fork right, through Chigwell. That's pretty much the way we took the Prologue last time.
Would that be something like http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/routes2/users/PpPete/Loughton-Waterloo (i've drawn it southbound to Waterloo as that's where i expect to be heading on the Friday after) ?
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Would that be something like http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/routes2/users/PpPete/Loughton-Waterloo (i've drawn it southbound to Waterloo as that's where i expect to be heading on the Friday after) ?
Assuming you want the most car/stress free ride after finishing LEL, I would turn left at KM22.2 down Jewry Street (left turn for bikes only) and continue on Coopers Row, Trinity Square to join the EW Cycle Superhighway.
Then cross the river at Blackfrairs Bridge and turn right onto Upper Ground (the bridge is contraflow so you will be on the correct side of the road for turn turn), Concert Hall Approach, ped xing, Station Approach cycle lane to get to the station. To avoid hiking your bike up the station steps cycle up the hill and round to the back door.
Keep a sharp eye out for vehicles turning left accross the cycle lane on Mile End / Bow Road. The segregation design is a bit problematic.