Best cycle route to the city?!

[Debster1982]

Hi

I've just moved to East Dulwich from Manchester and I work in Holborn. I've been cycling in to work but yet to work out the best route and have gotten pretty lost quite a few times. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for a decent route that maybe cuts out some of the obvious main bus routes?

Thanks

Debbie :)

[JDR]

My husband uses the TFL website and there is either a cycling option or just untick the others and it tends to run the route a street or two back from main roads.

[peckhambog]

I use main roads to attain maximum speed but I'm travelling before 'crush hour'.

I start from Nunhead, Peckham Rye, Rye Lane, Canal Path until Willowbrook/Trafalgar Avenue.

Old Kent Road, New Kent Road, London Road contraflow, Blackfriars Bridge Road, Blackfriars Bridge, New Bridge Street. Then I guess you could go St Bride Street or Stone Cutter Street up onto Shoe Lane and the Holborn Viaduct.

[henryb]

Or you could turn left and cycle through Burgess Park after the Canal Path then go down Portland St or Thurlow St to Elephant & Castle if you wanted to avoid Old/New Kent Road.

[mikeb]

Well done for trying - it will be the quickest way for you to get to work and get to know London at the same time.

Try here: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/289/map_of_the_cycle_routes_in_southwark

For Holburn, you're going to have hit a main road at some point, probably Blackfriar's Bridge Rd. but you can skip Walworth Road and Elephant by using the cycle routes.

[worldwiser]

Depends if your priority is safety, speed or most direct. I can get you as far as E&C.. Crystal Palace Rd to Adys Rd, Bellenden Rd & Lyndhurst Way to Peckham Rd. Then onto Southampton Way cutting onto Chandler Way and across Burgess Park. Thurlow St to Heygate St gets you to the back of E&C. This is extremely safe and keeps you away from unforgiving traffic. ED to E&C takes me 16m on a really ropey old bike! I would seriously recommend avoiding OKR or Walworth Roads. This is where people regularly die or get seriously injured.

[grabot]

I use worldwiser's route. It is safe, relatively low on pollution and there are no hills!

[miga]

.

[louisemurray]

I use someting similar to worldwiser to Waterloo.

A good option if you have a smartphone is the cyclemaps app. It routes you mostly away from busy traffic. I mount my phone ( X grip RAM mount)on my handlebars and use it as a satnav. No more getting lost.

[Debster1982]

Thanks everyone, I'll take a proper look at all your tips later and see what I can find. I did walworth route last night and it was pretty hideous. What is work wiser? Google isn't helping...

[louisemurray]

worldwiser is the poster above

[281102]

I do: the back route avoiding Walworth Road madness - namely: the downhill joy that is Camberwell Grove, a few clever cut throughs to get me to Wells Way through Burgess park, then join Portland St which runs parallel to Walworth Rd. Then avoid all Old Kent Road / Elephant & Castle chaos by nipping behind the Heygate Estate that is being pulled down, and join the blue bike lane on Southwark Bridge Road to cross Southwark Bridge - by far the safest bridge in my opinion as the cycle lane is demarcated by a 2 ft ridge. Then up along past St Paul's, lovely quiet Carter Lane - crossing Ludgate Circus and join Chancery Lane to bring me to Holborn. I am not a racer or keen on getting there the fastest. I love my quiet (no buses) and scenic route and have been doing it three times a week for three years. Very happy to show you the route one morning, I leave at 9am three times a week, am near Goose Green. Let me know.

[katanita]

I find google maps directions quite useful for cycling usually, but on this occasion they don't suggest the route that others have mentioned above, which is basically what I do as well, taking the E&C bypass and backstreets to avoid Walworth Road and the roundabout. I think that is the route that TFL suggest on their journey planner though.

[jimbo1964]

I do a variation of most of the above routes. It's pretty safe most of the way on the backroads. I use Blackfriars Bridge. The bridge itself is fine but you need to be very careful up to Ludgate Circus. I've tried Southwark Bridge but I think the traffic is worse once you get to the other side. I work in Farringdon (near Holborn). I'd be happy to ride with you one morning. Some mornings I leave at 8.20am or 9am if I do school drop off. It takes about 40 minutes at a leisurely pace.

[Medley]

Try a combo of:

- tips on here and other threads on this forum

- TfL journey planner in cycle mode

- http://routes.lcc.org.uk/journey/

[Jakido]

You might want to request a free cycle route map here - https://tfl.gov.uk/forms/12419.aspx

[fizzmoll]

Here's the route I have been cycling to Soho for the past couple of years. All back streets, safety over speed. Takes about 45 minutes. Cycling in London is amazing!

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/viewer?mid=zqzxpUQbL2dU.kChdBBuYDR5c

[katanita]

Ooh, thanks Fizzmoll, that's given me another variation to try. At Elephant and Castle are you not taking the Meadow Row/Rockingham street cycle bypass though? Can't tell what you're doing there.

[fizzmoll]

oh sorry! Good point! I was a bit in hurry doing the map and struggling a bit with the new google maps interface! Yes, this is a very important point! That roundabout is scary... Much better as katanita suggests to use the Meadow Row/Rockingham street cycle bypass!

[katanita]

I don't blame you, I tried using the new maps interface to do the same thing and gave up, the interface is practically unusable. I tried on classic maps (which you can revert to from the main maps page, before you click to create a map, using the tiny little question mark on the bottom right) but it didn't seem to be able to share it without attaching my google profile. Well done for getting as far as you did!

[damzel]

worldwiser has given me great ideas for a new route in but does anyone know if you can cycle north on Wells Road? It's off of Southampton Way en-route to Burgess Park. Looking at Google street view, it looks like it's one-way southbound but the image is 2 years old

[Jimmyp75]

I do this route every day to holborn too, I go over dog kennel hill, through Camberwell, down the walworth road, through elephant and over blackfriars bridge. 25-30 mins. Job done

[281102]

damzel Wrote:

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

> worldwiser has given me great ideas for a new

> route in but does anyone know if you can cycle

> north on Wells Road? It's off of Southampton Way

> en-route to Burgess Park. Looking at Google

> street view, it looks like it's one-way southbound

> but the image is 2 years old

Wells Way is both ways for most of it, except small section near Southampton Row, which you have to go Northbound along 'Cottage Green' to join the two direction section. Southbound it is Wells Way all the way.

I join the Cottage Green road from Harris Street - which is a cycle path that runs across the front of a Housing Office (coming from Benhill Road) thus avoiding Southampton Way completely. A cycle traffic light takes you across Southampton Row to join Cottage Green. You get me? Makes sense on a map - just about.

[damzel]

I do get you 281102 although I don't think Benhill will work for me. Thanks for letting me know where Wells becomes 2-way - looks like I can go via Coleman Road to meet it a bit further up. Great.

[Debster1982]

Thanks everyone that is really helpful, and the offers to ride together to find the route the first time are a great idea. I have to be at the office for nine though so if anyone ever goes early enough please let me know of you dint mind me following! Thanks again everyone. East dulwich us clearly a brill place to live.