Getting out of Heathrow on a tandem recumbent

[grizwald]

Hello,
We are planning a bit of a holiday in the UK and are flying into Heathrow. We ride a old linear recumbent tandem which breaks down to 2 boxes and a ski bag. The normal procedure is to deplane, get 3 large cups of coffee and assemble the bike in the airport. This is often a real hit with the security services although we have not yet been arrested. Questioned, but not arrested.
From this point laden like a circus camel we wobble out into traffic.

The Questions. We are heading toward the Bath area. Is there a route out of Heathrow that will give us at least a 50% chance at surviving to ride next day?
Would we be better to train/bus to some nearby town and maybe get a room and proceed from there? If so where is there and how do we get there?
thank you,
Griz

[Mark Grant]

Hi
one thing to consider is at which terminal you are landing.
At the moment you are not allowed to cycle through the tunnel to or from terminals 2&3. It has been this way for a while and I don't know if it will be permanent.
From terminals 4 or 5 you could take the Perimiter Road head out towards Poyle , Datchet and Windsor but you may have to mix with all the other traffic which surrounds the airport. I don't know how you feel about the level of traffic that you may encounter. I often cycle around or though Heathrow but I suppose I'm used to it! You will be sharing the road with cars, buses and trucks.

[nosmarbaj]

You could consider getting the "RailAir" bus to Reading (https://www.firstgroup.com/berkshire-th ... re/railair) and overnighting there. Not particularly cheap but gets you past the busiest part of the route. Reading is a major business centre so hotels are reasonably-priced at weekends. You'd need to leave your tandem in its boxes for the journey. Obviously it would mean missing various interesting places between Heathrow and Reading (e.g. Windsor) if that bothers you.

From Reading westward there are plenty of pleasant quiet routes to Bath.

[grizwald]

Thanks for the information.

I am not sure what terminal we will be coming into. International arrival from Toronto Canada but I am guessing that could be any of them. If this was just a normal bike I would tackle the traffic but the recumbent tandem with wife and trailer is almost 15' long and about as maneuverable as the Exon Valdez. The RailAir bus sounds attractive although you are right it is not particularly cheap but I may just have to suck it up.

Thanks again
Griz

[nosmarbaj]

If cost is an issue and you want to escape from the immediate area of the airport, there are various local buses that pass through Heathrow. They mostly (all?) have space for large bags, and they are free within the airport and will be cheaper then RailAir outside it. But you'd need to find somewhere to unpack and build your tandem. I doubt if you'll find any cheap accommodation within 10km of the airport, but I don't really know as I live close enough that I've never had that problem.

If you arrive at T2 (Air Canada) or T3 you could use the bus to get to T5 which avoids the tunnel cycling ban, and T5 is at the western edge of the airport complex which minimises the on-airport cycling distance. You would then assemble the tandem in the T5 bulding.

If you cycle from the terminal, road traffic is pretty much always heavy in and around Heathrow, although it does quieten down a bit after mid-evening, but Toronto flights normally land in the morning. On your bike you will benefit from the astonishing? factor and likely get more consideration from drivers than most cyclists.

There are some train/metro services but they are all eastbound and also expensive.

BTW if you do go for the RailAir option and don't want to overnight in Reading, the service terminates at Reading rail station, which would give you an indoor space to reassemble the tandem, if you don't mind having interested spectators.

[Richard Fairhurst]

RailAir is an excellent idea. It'll also whisk you past a congested part of the Thames Valley which doesn't always offer the best cycling, ready for you to start for Bath from Reading - possibly along NCN 4 (Kennet & Avon canal path).

When travelling to Heathrow with folding bike I usually take the local train from Reading to Hayes & Harlington, then Heathrow Connect to the airport, which works out slightly cheaper but involves more lugging stuff around (particularly those accursed stairs at Hayes).

[Tigerbiten]

I doubt if you'll find any cheap accommodation within 10km of the airport, but I don't really know as I live close enough that I've never had that problem.

Try Heathrow Terminal 5 Travelodge.
Just outside the M25.
Looks like ~£30 pppn and they let clean bikes in rooms.

[teamonster]

Once you are off the perimeter roads, the traffic isn't that bad if you stay off the main road, I say this a someone who was happy to cycle a recumbent tandem in central London though, so I guess "not too bad" is relative to what you are used to ! There's certainly some reasonable routes that stay off the worst roads all the way to Reading. As mentioned earlier in the thread - Poyle, Colnbrook, Datchet, Windsor then I would head out to Oakley Green, Touchen End,Sherlock Row, Hurst and onto Reading (nice coffee/lunch stop) at Dinton Pasture Country park just outside Reading. I've done that route on Recumbent tandem, there's nothing too challenging in the way of inclines, the steepest is probably the bridge over the M25 motorway ! I think once you know which airline/terminal you are using, others can chip in with more detail on how to escape LHR. Let me know when you are coming and if I'm not working may be able to supply you with an escort for part of the way. Don't have access to the tandem any more, but still riding recumbents along with a couple of friends who live local
Adrian

[nosmarbaj]

... ready for you to start for Bath from Reading - possibly along NCN 4 (Kennet & Avon canal path).

NCN4 is indeed a pleasant route from Reading to Bath, but maybe not before April or so, because some sections of the towpath will be muddy and slippery. Also there are a couple of awkward barriers at the edge of Reading town - just about negotiable with an upright solo if you dismount, but a recumbent tandem would have to be lifted over them - not a show-stopper but certainly inconvenient.