Re: Cycle routes?
- From: "Jeremy Parker" <JeremyParker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 22:11:31 +0100
"°°°Rachel°°°" <poppet@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:cm8Ke.1594$QU4.754@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Today I bought my first bike since I was..... coooooo.... about 12!
Being
> at the ripe old age of 31 I tentatively went out on it this
afternoon and
> came back after 3 hours loving my new toy!!
>
> I was wondering whether you lot could recommend any websites that
show local
> cycle routes.
When you say "local", I presume you mean, "starting at your front
door". I suggest maps rather than official routes. Official routes
depend on the official who dreamed them up. Sometimes a "bicycle
route" is merely a device to declare that most roads and streets are
"not bicycle routes" and the council doesn't really want you outside
your bicycle bantustan.
Sustrans routes are usually scenic, usually indirect, sometimes
poorly surfaced, but usually good.
A few years ago there was a fashion for inventing the "somethingshire
county cycleway" round whatever county it is. They usually use
country lanes, are signposted, and have a leaflet with a map,if you
know where to get it. The ultimate of that school is the "National
Byway"
The new editions of Ordnance Survey maps (1:25000 and 1:50000) now
show the special bike routes for the area the map covers, and in
addition any little yellow road out in the country is worth
exploring, the littler and wigglier the better. Bridlepaths can be
wonderful or horrible. You just have to go and look. Sometimes they
are long driveways past a stately home, landscaped by Capability
Brown, sometimes ankle deep mud, ploughed up by horses and tractors.
Exploring towns can be interesting, too, but you need something like
an A-Z map. Some towns have bike maps that show sneak routes through
back streets, and where bikes can get through what are cul-de-sacs
for cars, and routes through parks, alongside rivers, and so on. On
Sunday mornings, before the shops open, towns can be pretty quiet.
OS maps show all the streets, but don't give names. You really need
a map that shows conservation areas, parks and listed buildings.
Such a thing never really exists, but your local council may have a
leaflet which vaguely indicates conservation areas, so you can choose
a pretty district to explore
And if you get bored with your local area, remember that you can
probably jump on a train with your bike, and explore somewhere up the
line. However, check this. The regulations get ever more bizarre.
I hope this helps
Jeremy Parker
.
- References:
- Cycle routes?
- From: °°°Rachel°°°
- Cycle routes?
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