Urban Touring?

[mercalia]

well I have never been to Birmingham - I think thats a city I would like to look around

you can camp in my garden or use the cabin. I'm in longbridge.

thanks for the offer i will keep thaat in mind

[crazydave789]

ooh didn't know you could get through one of the tunnels. I know the one by the black country museum is a day trip affair as you get to see the quarries under the hill.

The Netherton Tunnel (Wikipedia info) had been mentioned on here not long before I went (I just looked up my Garmin logs & my ride was in June 2013).

I've shipped the route I took into Cycle.travel (link) if anyone is interested in where the tunnel is & where I went. If I did it again I might try a different way from the Uni across to the Dudley Canal near Blackheath but it was OK & it was only a hastily planned route the evening before we travelled down.

Ta I'm trying to persuade her to take the train out a bit then ride back home on a regular basis on the more interesting routes and to avoid the main routes. birmingham is nasty to ride through. but then I'm not a city boy so hate the place

[crazydave789]

well I have never been to Birmingham - I think thats a city I would like to look around

you can camp in my garden or use the cabin. I'm in longbridge.

thanks for the offer i will keep thaat in mind

I keep threatening to fit a proper northern style outside loo so people can contemplate the stars while wondering when I'm going to fix the roof.

[Cunobelin]

Does anybody else enjoy following (or attempting to follow) the National Cycle Network through towns and cities? Don't get me wrong, lots of it is rubbish, complicated and poorly signposted. When they work well I enjoy the bizarre feeling of having traversed a city without battling with traffic. If it is a place you thought you knew you can discover new little cut throughs. When it doesn't work I enjoy the navigational challenge and farcility spotting.

The National Cycle Network was never designed as a "touring" facility it is the local network of commuting, leisure and community routes. This is what often dictates their route. A route straight through may be brilliant for teh tourists, but miss out the local school, shops or workplaces

They then link those facilities to the next town and so on

Me, I have always used it as a guide rather than a fixed route

[Si]

ooh didn't know you could get through one of the tunnels. I know the one by the black country museum is a day trip affair as you get to see the quarries under the hill.

The Netherton Tunnel (Wikipedia info) had been mentioned on here not long before I went (I just looked up my Garmin logs & my ride was in June 2013).

I've shipped the route I took into Cycle.travel (link) if anyone is interested in where the tunnel is & where I went. If I did it again I might try a different way from the Uni across to the Dudley Canal near Blackheath but it was OK & it was only a hastily planned route the evening before we travelled down.

Ta I'm trying to persuade her to take the train out a bit then ride back home on a regular basis on the more interesting routes and to avoid the main routes. birmingham is nasty to ride through. but then I'm not a city boy so hate the place

we used to do a 50miler canals and tunnels ride, originally organised by russel E, once of this parish. From city centre, down rea valley to clent, up the side of stourbridge on bridleways, onto the canal, netherton tunnel, and back down the wolves-brum canal to the city centre. Was great fun, despite the odd broken bone.

Netherton tunnel - you'll need lights....ive done it without and it wasnt fun, although i think they have improved the path and guard rail since then. Also, if you dont like heights you may find bits of it a little unnerving despite being underground!