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Manchester to London
| manchesterman | 18 Jul 10:26 |
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Joined: 18 Jul 2007 Posts: 2 Bike: | I was wondering if anyone has a route from Manchester to London. Possibly to include a couple of campsites on the way down for sleeping. I have been wanting to do this for a while. I guess I could work a route out for myself but wanted to know if anyone has done this and their route and experience. |
| si 16valver | 06 Aug 05:48 |
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Joined: 06 Aug 2007 Posts: 1 Bike: | WOW are you seriously considering that, that would be awesome, i have just joined the forum and started out in cycling any tips you could give me as a beginner |
| davie3rd | 31 Jan 17:15 |
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Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi iam looking for similair route but i hope to find route from glasgow to dover kent, manchester to london could be part of what i am looking for |
| tomtomhead | 05 Mar 18:37 |
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Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hello there. I'm thinking of doing it this saturday (8/3/08). Plan to do it in one day on my own. 186.3 miles according to AA Route Planner, avoiding motorways. At an average of 11mph, that should be 17hrs cycling. Add about 5hrs for eating, filling up water, directions, resting, etc, etc, i very roughly estimate 22 hours at the top end. If it gets silly, Travelodge it is. I've done a 100 mile day when i did Land's End to John O'Groats and it wasnt at a push. It was also on a mountian bike (now on a road bike) and i then had a tent, sleeping bag, food, clothes etc. I do not expect it to be easy at all. But i cant get the idea out of my head. |
happy 
| 06 Mar 02:52 |
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Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 302 Bike: Orange P7 with Rock Shox, Michelin Wildgripper Lites, XTR Chainset My Profile | wow tomtomhead, 186 miles in 1 day alone is a major challenge, will be great to hear how you get on. You say the 100 miles you did was no hard feat, but just think after you do a 150 miles, every single mile will seem like 10 miles. Anyway, hope it all works out well for you. Let us know how you get on. Cheers Happy |
| My Latest Route: Oct 2010 Livingston to Ayr Avoiding A71 | |
| tomtomhead | 09 Mar 19:54 |
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Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 2 Bike: | Thought I'd take those weather warnings seriously, so unfortunatley didnt do it this weekend as planned. Next possible time will be just after Easter. Will let you know how i get along afterwards. |
| bruce_imraz | 20 Mar 06:28 |
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Joined: 20 Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | well i wanted to do a route from birmingham to liverpool, does anyone know where i can find possible routes? Also i take bicycles are not allowed on the motor way? I met one guy once when i was camping in Pisa, Italy he had cycled all the down from Netherlands! |
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Murray Barnes
| 20 Mar 13:55 |
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Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 64 Bike: My Profile | It is illegal to cycle on a motorway. Rule 253 of the highway code |
| My Latest Route: Jul 2008 Great Glen Cycleway | |
| Frederike | 14 Jul 12:19 |
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Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi! Im from Holland, and me and my friend wanna go bike through England next summer. We´re planning to go from Dover - London - Manchester - Brighton, but we're kinda looking for some help (routes etcetera) hope anyone here can be of any help! thanks! xx |
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A Nutter
| 12 Aug 17:43 |
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Joined: 12 Aug 2008 Posts: 19 Bike: My Profile | Some cycle!! Good luck! |
| manchesterman | 20 Aug 10:09 |
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Joined: 18 Jul 2007 Posts: 2 Bike: | A year after my first posting on this blog I finally rode on my own to London from Manchester on one of the only sunny days we had in the back end of July. I did a write up of my experience on my family blog and thought it may be interesting for the cycling community to read. Once I got going I just wanted to get as far as possible in the one day. I was really lucky with the weather. The last week had seen rain on and off on most days. In fact as a preparation for the trip I had gone on a 40 mile route around the Trough of Bowland from Clitheroe and the first part of that ride was in the rain. It is manageable but not ideal when you intend on doing 12 hours worth. When cycling long distances, or whenever long term exertion is being performed, one must replace lost fluid and energy. I learnt this the hard way as at one stage I just could not continue and I wondered whether it was because I was thirsty. I stopped at a house for a refill of water but that didn't do the trick. I then realised that I had not eaten properly other than some high energy bars a few hours before. I stopped and had something substantial and immediately felt better. I also made sure to drink Lucozade as it is packed with Glucose which the muscles need to function, its like petrol to the muscles. It goes straight into the blood stream and you can feel the affect immediately. I did not travel light. I had clothes, some food, drink, shoes and other bits and pieces. These were all packed into a ruck sack and sports bag that I put into my panniers. I cycled more or less non stop on Sunday until it started to get dark. I reached a place called Towcester (pronounced TOASTER) where I stayed the night (£60). I had been aiming for Milton Keynes but it was time to call it a day. I started out on Monday at 10am and arrived at Radlett train station at 2.45pm. On the occasions that I have come to London with my bicycle (either on the car or on the train) I like to cycle from home to Radlett train station to watch the trains for a few minutes and then head back via Aldenham Country Park and Elstree aerodrome. I am always fascinated by the sheer power of a high speed train as it passes me on the platform. So I reckon that the entire trip took me 18 hours including stops. I realised that the key to being able to complete the trip was to go nice and steady. Not to show off to anyone and overdo it. I used very low gears to go up hills and allowed myself to coast down any hills that would allow it. As a rule I have a “rock bottom” from all my cycling. However, after 100 miles in the saddle I got really sore and I felt like I was sitting on a hotplate for a lot of the remainder of the ride. As a result, whenever there was a downhill I would stand up to relieve the pain. As I was cycling in black lycra shorts my knees and shins got badly burnt and as a result I did not sleep very well last night as they were on fire. They are calming down a little now. Next time I will remember to use Sun Tan lotion. I could have made quite a bit of money along the way from all the “road kill”. There must have been at least 10 freshly killed rabbits along the side of the road. There are people who collect these to eat as they are absolutely fine and even better than the farm reared ones as they don't have any chemicals or medicines in their system. Quite a large part of the journey took me along the A5 which is a 4 lane highway with speed limits being the same as a motorway. They have officially allowed for cyclists along the side of the highway but it is still quite frightening when a huge lorry rushes past you. At one stage on the A5 the road had been closed for resurfacing and there was a diversion in place. I asked the workers if they would mind if I just continued along the closed road. They said it was fine and I had about 5 miles of the highway to myself which was really different and peaceful. The worst part of the ride was all the motorbikes on Sunday. All these middle aged men letting off steam with their mates and trying to relive their youth on their mean machines. They speed along these country roads and make such a noise. I do love motorbikes but I never realised what a menace they are to peace and quiet. One of the beautiful things about cycling is the ability to traverse significant distances, enjoying the scenery and beauty of nature without feeling guilty that I am destroying it in any way in the process. The peace and quiet up on the hills and dales whilst cycling along is very relaxing. Due to my taking it steadily, my muscles are not causing me any trouble at all. It is testament to the fact that if you put your mind to something, one can achieve what seems quite remarkable. I look forward to doing this trip again but this time trying to do it without an overnight stop! |
