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Cycle Paths
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MagicMonkey
A few posts under my belt
Thats Brilliant and he is wearing a suit.....nutterGramaisc said:
Had to send this round to the team at work as well...
Cheers Gramaisc
MagicMonkey
A few posts under my belt
With the amount of useful posts tek-monkey puts on these forums I think he is "Top Monkey" at the momentGramaisc said:
by the way (and I know its only just summer) but has anyone cycled the cycle path from wildwood to town (across radford bank, and up to areva works and then down past asda) when it is really icy and snowy?
If I am going to bike to work in the winter is it worth investing in some studded bike tyres or similar?
Loving these forums by the way.
Cheers
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
I used to use the 'St Leonard's to the canal' run a lot, two/three times a week.MagicMonkey said:
The surface is not the best and your bike will get plastered in nasty abrasive gunge when it's at all wet. Somebody made a half-arsed attempt at draining the swamp in the tunnel under the railway and you need to be very careful not to be flung off if you sink into the soft bits. Their brilliant answer to this was to put the inevitable 'Cyclists Dismount' sign either side of the railway. The three cattle-grids are like Viet-Cong man-traps and would make a real mess if you were to pop a leg down through one. On occasions the flood-waters have made it impassable - it can be too deep to walk and too soft to cycle safely under the railway. There used to be considerable amounts of dog 'evidence' to avoid, particularly along the canal-side. It's worth having decent lights - it's a bit dark in the winter, but the real problem is cycling into the glare from the St Leonard's Works 'security' lights. Beware of crossing the road at the St Leonard's entrance - people will fly round the blind corner from the car-park on your right.
On the bit from Fairway into town, much the same applies, but be particularly careful not to hit your head on the Queensway bridge - it will win.
There seems to be a strange general policy of driving on the right here, also. In particular, as you exit the tunnel under the railway, heading to St Leonard's beware of cyclists cutting the corner straight into you. The gate there is usually open and so the middle cattle-grid rarely needs to be negotiated, but this does mean that when the gate is locked, the grid is usually well over-grown and even more iffy than the other two are.
Withnail
Well-Known Forumite
MagicMonkey said:
If it weren't for the fact that i'd be riding a+b instead of c, this is very much the route i'd use to get into town - i'd even go so far as to say it is one of the best commute routes in the known world. When time is not of the essence it is the choice of the no-brain.
There are pitfalls that Gramaisc helpfully points out - even in a merely wet winter this route is unfriendly to clothing and the moving parts of your bicycle. In a winter like what we have just had i would say (very) nay, stay on the road - the A34 will have been gritted and the volume of traffic will maintain an acceptable level of slushy goodness, good inasmuch as you're unlikely to come a cropper if not so great for the bike.
Cycling is so obviously the way into town that it baffles me that people would choose to drive. Stafford really should be Oxfordian in its cycle-miles, and there's only one way to make that happen - saddle up.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
This route only needs ( needed ) a modicum of common sense added to the mix for it to have been a shining example of the genre - shame.
I would say that there are also some problems for the unititiated in using your A34 route. Going up Radford bank with the intention of progressing onto Cannock Road leads one to be in the left-hand side of the right-hand lane, to the bemusement of a good few drivers. The same happens again as you approach the roundabout at the end of Silkmore Lane with the intention of continuing into town along Lichfield Road, but here you don't have the added problem of going up a fairly steep hill, but it's still not for the faint-hearted in busy times. The cycle path disappears at the bottom of the railway bridge outside EE/GEC/Alsthom/Areva and so, apparently, should cycles in a lot of people's opinion.
The gritty sludge on the cycle paths and the salty grit on the roads are the main reasons that I am so interested in the Shimano geared hubs and internal brakes...
I would say that there are also some problems for the unititiated in using your A34 route. Going up Radford bank with the intention of progressing onto Cannock Road leads one to be in the left-hand side of the right-hand lane, to the bemusement of a good few drivers. The same happens again as you approach the roundabout at the end of Silkmore Lane with the intention of continuing into town along Lichfield Road, but here you don't have the added problem of going up a fairly steep hill, but it's still not for the faint-hearted in busy times. The cycle path disappears at the bottom of the railway bridge outside EE/GEC/Alsthom/Areva and so, apparently, should cycles in a lot of people's opinion.
The gritty sludge on the cycle paths and the salty grit on the roads are the main reasons that I am so interested in the Shimano geared hubs and internal brakes...
stoofer34
Well-Known Forumite
What Gram said!!!MagicMonkey said:
Watch out for me! I use the path 4 times a week all year round. standard MTB tyres are ok .
The dodgey bit for me is the Middle bridge at Baswich It surface has been repaired with crushed brick.
Just right for an involuntary dismount!!
Other recommendations
Mudguards -The route does get plenty of puddles and mud during a wet spell.
Lights -Get a good light set. In Winter its as black as a bag , you need to see as well as be seen!
(I almost ran into a fallen tree in the dark)
Clothing-Cold weather gear is a must! The "skinny" Bridge is twinned with the Baltic in winter
M/C thin Balaclava, Good Gloves & waterproofs
Stoof
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
The worst bit it the ( unnecessarily ) narrow part between the railway and the 'skinny bridge'. It has been cunningly constructed to be lower that the surroundings and so, even though it is on the top of an embankment, it is more of a Cycle Ditch than a Cycle Path.stoofer34 said:
MagicMonkey
A few posts under my belt
Hi All,
Thanks very much for the replies.
I have been cycling this route most days for the last couple of months and (as mentioned) I can't believe I ever drove to work. It takes less time to get to work on the bike than it does by car.
I have been lucky since starting as I have not had any rain to contend with (until Friday that is when I soaked) but I can imaging that the the railway bridge gets a lot of water gathering.
I do have mudguards and lights so the dark should not be too much of a problem.
I do like the cycle route over using roads as I don't have any cars to deal with. A number of people at work cycle a long distance to the town centre (Stone and Trentham) and do occasionally have stories of nutters in cars trying to run them off the road so I would prefer to stick to the cycle route if possible during the winter as well.
When it gets very Icy does the skinny bridge get a bit treacherous? I will be changing me tyres at the end of the summer as I have had them for years anyway but am seriously considering getting something like these for when it get well below zero.
what do you think? are they really necessary for the route I take?
Thanks Again
MagicMonkey
Thanks very much for the replies.
I have been cycling this route most days for the last couple of months and (as mentioned) I can't believe I ever drove to work. It takes less time to get to work on the bike than it does by car.
I have been lucky since starting as I have not had any rain to contend with (until Friday that is when I soaked) but I can imaging that the the railway bridge gets a lot of water gathering.
I do have mudguards and lights so the dark should not be too much of a problem.
I do like the cycle route over using roads as I don't have any cars to deal with. A number of people at work cycle a long distance to the town centre (Stone and Trentham) and do occasionally have stories of nutters in cars trying to run them off the road so I would prefer to stick to the cycle route if possible during the winter as well.
When it gets very Icy does the skinny bridge get a bit treacherous? I will be changing me tyres at the end of the summer as I have had them for years anyway but am seriously considering getting something like these for when it get well below zero.
what do you think? are they really necessary for the route I take?
Thanks Again
MagicMonkey
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
I've done it all year for many years and never found much of a problem with freezing conditions - the skinny bridge is totally flat and I've had no issues on there - and I have virtually slick tarmac tyres on. The only place where I've ever been off because of icy conditions is on the steep tarmac path that runs from the middle canal bridge up to Osbourne Crescent, although the canal bridge can require some delicacy...
MagicMonkey
A few posts under my belt
Brilliant, thanks Again.
