Cycling in ED and surrounds

[niall]

Hi there,

Just started riding again after a very long time and would love to hear about any local, quiet, park routes or roads I can take to build some riding chops again.

Cheers.

niall

[katanita]

Dulwich park has a very pleasant circuit, and you can combine it with a ride to and around Brockwell Park to extend it. There is also a fairly quiet route from here to Ladywell, where you can join the Waterlink Way to Norwood Country Park.

If you want a good hill, College Road through the village up to Crystal Palace is popular with cyclists and fairly scenic. And there are lots of quiet routes into town, including via the old Surrey Canal Route and Burgess Park that I or others can advise on if you want something more specific.

I find that Citymapper has pretty decent cycle routes, can choose between quiet routes and faster ones.

[hkj]

I like the Bike Hub app.

[wulfhound]

Peckham Rye over to Ladywell Fields via Brockley Way & Marnock Road is nice outside of rush hour, and the Waterlink is gorgeous. If you go north instead of south on the Waterlink, you end up at Greenwich and can then take the foot tunnel (you can walk your bike if it's busy, they sometimes allow people to ride at quiet times of day) up to Docklands; there's a route that continues along the docks / canals / etc. from there.

While it's school holidays and the Camberwell Grove railway bridge is shut to motors, you can also get all the way to Central London's protected cycle superhighway (at St George's Circus) on the Quietway 7 route, it's pretty peaceful outside of rush hour: avoid Elephant & Castle using the crossing at Meadow Row, then aim for Keyworth Street and you'll meet the CSH at St George's. Enjoy the quiet while it lasts, normal service resumes in September.

Once you get on the CSH, there's protected cycle track all the way up to Smithfield Market in the north, Kensington Gardens in the west and Canary Wharf in the east. Unfortunately as soon as you're off the primary routes it's everyone for themselves; some of the other stuff that claims to be cycle superhighway really isn't. But it's a nice way to see the sights during the day and at weekends, when the City boy racers are safely at their desks.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Dulwich Park, College Rd, right through Kingswood Estate, left onto Alleyn Park, cross top of Croxted Rd using pedestrian crossing, back roads past Park Hall trading estate (inhale deeply to enjoy the scent of freshly ground coffee, Chestnut, Ardlui, Idmiston, loop back to go up Alleyn Park Rd, back down Alleyn Park (can never remember which is which but both quiet), then either right down Hunts Slip Rs (eyes left for fabulous nighttime cityscape), College Road, back to Dulwich Park. Add loops to Brockwell Park and/or over Peckham Rye to Nunhead Cemetery for offroading.

That could also lead seamlessly to Wood Vale, Brenchley Gardens, Camberwell old and new cemeteries and One Tree Hill.

You can't cycle through Dulwich Woods or Sydenham Hill nature reserve unfortunately.

Another nice one is the old Surrey Canal path from Peckham library to Burgess Park.

Or Brockwell Park then follow quiet cycle route to Clapham Common.

[pipsky2008]

niall Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi there,

>

> Just started riding again after a very long time

> and would love to hear about any local, quiet,

> park routes or roads I can take to build some

> riding chops again.

>

> Cheers.

>

> niall

Have a look at what this group does, you may like to join them for a ride

https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/category/events/healthy-rides/

[Robert Poste's Child]

That reminds me, Southwark offers 2-3 training sessions free to residents. I'd been cycling for years but wanted to feel more confident cycling into central London and on my third session they literally took me along the route practising how to deal with the (to me) riskier bits. That was before some of the new bike routes and it helped a lot.

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/cycling/cycle-with-confidence

[niall]

Cheers all,

Much appreciated.

Think I'm gonna explore every suggestion.

[rendelharris]

The Green Chain Walk is also accessible (and permitted) for cyclists and is a brilliant way of exploring some of the nicest parts of SE London, with numerous entry and exit points not too far from ED. Avoid after very wet weather, and best done on a mountain bike or hybrid: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/green-chain-walk

On a Sunday morning one of my favourite short(ish) rides is to go via the Surrey Canal path to Burgess Park, up Portland Street to Elephant, then onto the superhighway to Blackfriars, left along the Embankment to Westminster, up Birdcage Walk and Constitution Hill to Hyde Park corner, lap round Hyde Park, back down Constitution Hill and down the Mall (closed to traffic on Sundays), back the same way or if feeling fit you can go on to Greenwich (superhighway to Tower Hill, then cycle path down Royal Mint Street/Cable Street, along the river past Canary Wharf), through the foottunnel and follow Quietway 7 back to OKR just outside Burgess Park. If you go really early it feels like you have the whole of London to yourself, you see a totally different side of it without traffic and tourist hordes. If you go a little bit later (when it's still pretty quiet) the Life Guards leave Hyde Park Barracks at 9.28AM to ride down to Horse Guards Parade, and you can ride alongside them on the cycle track as they ride in the road a couple of yards away, which is quite an experience.

[EDMP]

Hi have you heard of http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/East-Dulwich-Catford-Crystal-Palace-river-route.

Lots of routes on here by area and lots of people create routes for others :) happy cycling!

niall Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi there,

>

> Just started riding again after a very long time

> and would love to hear about any local, quiet,

> park routes or roads I can take to build some

> riding chops again.

>

> Cheers.

>

> niall

[Applespider]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That reminds me, Southwark offers 2-3 training

> sessions free to residents. I'd been cycling for

> years but wanted to feel more confident cycling

> into central London and on my third session they

> literally took me along the route practising how

> to deal with the (to me) riskier bits. That was

> before some of the new bike routes and it helped a

They are brilliant. This is a great suggestion that got me from an occasional cyclist to a commuter

> lot.

>

> https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/c

> ycling/cycle-with-confidence

[zerkalo]

Applespider Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > That reminds me, Southwark offers 2-3 training

> > sessions free to residents. I'd been cycling

> for

> > years but wanted to feel more confident cycling

> > into central London and on my third session

> they

> > literally took me along the route practising

> how

> > to deal with the (to me) riskier bits. That was

> > before some of the new bike routes and it helped

> a

>

> They are brilliant. This is a great suggestion

> that got me from an occasional cyclist to a

> commuter

> > lot.

> >

> >

> https://www.southwark.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/c

>

> > ycling/cycle-with-confidence

I would also recommend the free cycling lessons, they are really good. I found them here: https://www.cycleconfident.com/

I thought I would never want to cycle in a city like London. It's now been over a year that I have been riding to work every day (other that when it was snowing) and I haven't looked back. Can't say I miss the daily Thameslink misery much!