Cycling UK Forum

There are demolition /building works in a block bounded by Queen Victoria Street to the North, Cannon Street to the South and Queen Street to the West. (It almost looks like they're rebuilding the Temple of Mithras which would be cool but no.)

Queen Victoria Street is now blocked off eastbound - traffic diverted up Queen Street and round Cheapside. So beware of additional traffic on that last section.

Access from the still-a-road bit of Queen Street to the traffic-free section of Queen Street is also officially closed off, and you can walk the junction if you prefer not to follow the pedlalling hordes. Just like andymiller says above, don't go tanking it - it's busy with people going back to Cannon Street station, plus there's a popular pub along it.

Edited to add - the rest of your route sound fine, btw. Nothing comes to my mind as problematic.

Sounds like a solution. May take some getting used to but hey! I can now cope with saddlebag sway, so why not?

Many thanks for your advice

Yes I do. And your solution is one I hadn't thought of. Most ingenious: I compliment you!

One question: can you use the bar bag (which is where I keep the camera on a dayride) while you're exploiting the lock-carrying possibilities?

'Cos I am currently stumped. I’ve stared at the bike and offered up the D-lock all round it and so far got nothing.

The bike doesn’t have a rack to make it easier to fit in a bag after folding. I’m using an SQR + Camper Longflap combination. The bottle cage mounts are in use. The fixings that came with the lock won’t go round the main frame tube.

Now I can leave a lock in the bikepark at work so commuting's no problem. But for day rides / round town trips there’s nowhere that comes to mind/eye to carry the lock. What I’ve tried so far has been a series of failures:

[*]Lock inside the bag – squashes and bashes other contents even when secured to the dowel.
[*]Lock outside the back – squashes and bashes the contents
[*]Jury rig off of MTB pump clip wotsit attached to the side of the bottle cage mount – Fell. Off. %^$&+* miles back. DIdn't do the pump clip any favours either.
[*]Carrying lock on me – ouchy. It’s not a light D-lock.

There is probably an obvious solution which I can no longer see, in the same way that if you try to hang a picture straight for long enough you end up disbelieving your spirit level. Anybody here able to apply wisdom and spatial awareness for me? Thanks!

"Keep voting till you get it right"?

Principally because of the Small Handbag Mirage, in which your brain tells you that if you have a small handbag, then you will carry less stuff ...

Plus I didn't find the Camelback for the MTBing uncomfortable.

But also because there was the No Faff You're Wearing It angle for small errands on the way in and out, and speedy transits into and out of the malodorous bike park at work when the car lift and people lifts are working, and a better-balanced carry up/down the four flights of stairs when they are not.

You've made me all nostalgic now.

I agree with the pain barrier part. Yes, suspension foldy Dahon, bought to spare my best bike from the rigours of London roads, I'm glaring at you.

Oh, it was fine on the test rides. But in the real world? I got back pain because the 5 miles commute with a rucksack didn't work for me, even with only a small bag to keep the volume and weight down. Not a good idea. Then the SQR replacement reliably poked me in the bum. I moved it downwards only to keep catching my fingers in it at on/off time. Finally I got my fingers savaged in the foldy parts. It was like the bike had evolved into being a sentient carnivore, so I'm slightly embarassed to admit I offloaded it on loan to a close pal who'd wanted to get into biking.

Kudos to her, she got through some severe pain issues with the saddle before finding one she liked. Other than that, no attacks. She's obviously shown it who's the alpha in this human/machine combo.

Agree with eileithyia though that people can have unrealistic expectations of how comfortable and easy it is to ride a bike - particularly a performance bike with low bars, skinny tyres and racing saddle. It comes as a shock to the system to at least 3 people a year where I work, judging from the internal adverts.

Obviously I have been going to the wrong real-world and online shops then Judging from their stock, I thought it was extinct. Thanks for the help everybody.

Decathlon El Cheapo ladies shorts, possibly with Altura women's tights on top, work for me; also padded longs from Altura or Decathlon. Depends on how light you want to travel, but might it be worth carrying an extra dry & clean pair of shorts to change into half-way? I have a walking chum prone to blisters who fights them off with a change of socks halfway through the hike.

I agree it could be the saddle: it was for me the one time I had something similar, on a relatively unpadded saddle. I've avoided a repeat by changing to the same moderately padded saddle on both bikes, which means I've never had a repeat of the Near-Blister Incident on the Norwich 100 back in 2000 when large layers of skin peeled away from under seat bones. (My guess is the actual blister stage didn't last long.) If yoru shape has changed, it's well worth going back to scratch on the saddle just in case. My more svelte friends claim Brookes are carnivorous.

Ahhh .. maybe time to unblock Ribble (long and old story). Thanks, the jury rig of bias-binding and superglue failed in 250 yards.

Not for use on the handlebars themselves, but for all those other useful things, bodges and repairs where gaffer tape and electrical tape don't quite work right. I'm based in London and visiting Leeds and the South Wales Valleys quite a lot, and right now looking at the very last piece of cloth tape that has finally peeled off the winter cycling shoes where they've had some kitty attention.

The A470 from at least the junction for Nelson up to Merthyr Tydfil, both directions IIRC but certainly northwards. Can't answer for the section down to Cardiff at the moment but again IIRC bikes used to be banned.

No Diagram 966s but a battered yellow sarnie board type sign more or less sandbagged down at the start of the A470 off that junction

Not that I'd want to ride it, as the A470 is treated as a samizdat motorway and locally you hear of a lot accidents on it.

Arguably there are alternatives with either the Taff Trail or the old road on the other side of the valley in the same direction.

Ah good to know I was in time! The Lea valley is practically on my doorstep in East London, and a popular rendezvous with my Occasional-Biking-with-Small-Kids and Beginners chums, and Liverpool St makes it easy to get out into East Anglia. There should be plenty of places for pit-stops and such all along the route, if you're not planning to fuel yourself with PowerGoo.

Your route from Cambridge to Norwich is one I haven't done, so I might give it a go myself one day soon, with thanks.

Other than that - mind the midges and the headwind, adn it'll be a great trip.

Lin

Hope this isn't too late for you - only just seen your post.

1) The Lea Valley paths are well-surfaced if not actually paved all the way to Cheshunt/Dobbs Weir, and comfortably rideable on a road bike at least as far as that. I'm a softy comfort-hog and I had no problems with the road bike from Limehouse Basin to Dobbs Weir (or slightly further as far as Roydon). There are some works taking place on the path over the summer and short diversions may be in place - best to check the British Waterways site - but they have been well-signposted, and the cafes along the Lea have had free maps to hand out.

2) AFAICT, neither route meets all your preferences, unfortunately: the B1368 is more direct, and slightly flatter until you hit the unavoidable ridge on which Royston sits), but IIRC it is more heavily trafficked. The B1004 rolls more - quite a bit more on the way into Whittlesford via Ickleton - but is a lot quieter. An alternative might be after Clavering, going Chrishall > Fowlmere > Thriplow > Newton > Little Shelford > Great Shelford > across A1307 and in via Cherry Hinton cyclepath/lane avoiding the heavy traffic on the A road.

3) Looks like a good route to me - south of the A11 navigation looks unnecesarily over-complicated.

Hope this wasn't too late, and that you have/had a good ride.

Thanks Jerry - I hadn't thought through the consequences of the duck tape as far as the sticky goo meltdown.

I will give the abrasion and inner tube alternative a try - there's certainly nothing to lose!

Maybe I should have been applying the occasional dose of - I don't know, some kind of shoe goo/wax/polish-cream/softener to keep them nice and supple. (On the other hand, who wants nicely shined sandals?)

Lin