Urban Touring?

[Vorpal]

To me, part of the point of 'touring' is to get away from the 'urban'

But to each his own. If we were all alike, the world would be a boring place.

p.s. when in a city, I often leave the bike somewhere secure, and take to my feet so I can take the time to look at stuff and take pictures.

[AdamS]

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.

[TrevA]

I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but it's quite interesting if you can find a back road/off-road route through a city. We crossed Glasgow using cycle paths, towpaths and old railway lines, during our JOGLE, and it was quite a pleasant ride.

[PH]

Does anybody else enjoy following (or attempting to follow) the National Cycle Network through towns and cities?

Yes, and GPS makes it a whole lot easier for me.

[AdamS]

I wouldn't want to do it all the time...

Oh definitely. Much of the cycle network is adequate for leisure riders exploring somewhere and completely unsuitable for anyone trying to get somewhere quickly. The novely definitely wears off.

Does anybody else enjoy following (or attempting to follow) the National Cycle Network through towns and cities?

Yes, and GPS makes it a whole lot easier for me.

Cheat! But, yes, agreed

[iandriver]

And how do you get from one to the other? So you stay put in one city and just ride about every day?

Or ride from Den Hague to Amsterdam, Utrecht etc? (Example)

Confused.

Personally I like to do fixed base for a couple of nights, explore a bit without luggage, move on, explore a bit for a couple of days. I like to see an area well sometimes rather than just pass through. Some cities like Ghent and Brugge are only a couple of hours cycle along a river apart. There really isn't an as the crow flies days cycling to be had. An experienced cycle tourer will get from Dunkirk into the Netherlands happily in a day, without having to put a foot down in Belgium.

[ambodach]

Still in the planning stage but Aberdeen appeals to me for exploring by bike. The central bits have a problem with cobbles so the Brompton is out. So far my recent trips have been mostly “ low flying “ so limited time but I had to walk a bit due to parking problems and accidentally discovered interesting spots. There are a lot of utility cyclists also so vehicle traffic is used to bikes thus making it I hope a bit safer to cycle. Next year!

[mjr]

An experienced cycle tourer will get from Dunkirk into the Netherlands happily in a day, without having to put a foot down in Belgium.

Because experienced means speed because everyone knows you get faster as you get older... oh, wait...

[mercalia]

Don't know if you.ve ever done audax, but the London Sightseer is a spectacular event. A bike is often the best way to see a city by a long shot, able to easily see parts that are off the main tourist trail. I think lots of us have the urban tourer in us. I can very easily see how hopping on a train or something with a Brompton would be a fab way to have some good times.

I met guy in Scotland who did just that. Combined with the oap bus pass can go quite a distance?

here is the way to do it - at a price Brompton+Rohloff

http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/folding-bikes/brompton/brompton-rohloff-kit/

or others -http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/folding-bikes/brompton/brompton-nuvinci-kit/

[iandriver]

An experienced cycle tourer will get from Dunkirk into the Netherlands happily in a day, without having to put a foot down in Belgium.

Because experienced means speed because everyone knows you get faster as you get older... oh, wait...

I more mean have your route and kit properly sorted and not make a hash of it... oh, wait

[Tigerbiten]

Last year I spent a day crossing Paris from east to west - loved it. Most city sights to my mind - Eiffel tower and such - are definitely worth seeing, but not really worth stopping for.

My thoughts exactly.
There's a bit in the middle of cities that's actually worth going to see.
But is it worth the hassle of getting in to see and out again is a whole different story.
On the continent, you at least have a possibility there will be a good signposted cycle path the whole way in and out again.
But in this country, without local knowledge, you'll probably end up fighting traffic the whole way.
Or you get lost trying to follow a sustrans route and still end up on main roads anyway ......

[pete75]

An experienced cycle tourer will get from Dunkirk into the Netherlands happily in a day, without having to put a foot down in Belgium.

Because experienced means speed because everyone knows you get faster as you get older... oh, wait...

Dunkirk to Vlissingen is about 70 miles with around 1,000ft of climbing. Easily doable in a day at a steady pace.

[mjr]

Dunkirk to Vlissingen is about 70 miles with around 1,000ft of climbing. Easily doable in a day at a steady pace.

But who wants to overnight in Dunkirk? If arriving on the ferry the same day, the port is another 12 miles west, plus you're very much at the mercy of wind direction in that part of the world... some days, it may be easily doable, but others that's going to be a stiff challenge even for the experienced.

[pete75]

Dunkirk to Vlissingen is about 70 miles with around 1,000ft of climbing. Easily doable in a day at a steady pace.

But who wants to overnight in Dunkirk? If arriving on the ferry the same day, the port is another 12 miles west, plus you're very much at the mercy of wind direction in that part of the world... some days, it may be easily doable, but others that's going to be a stiff challenge even for the experienced.

Who said anything about overnighting in Dunkirk - anyhow there's nowt wrong with the town as a place to stay for a night. I'd have no qualms about Dunkirk to Vlissingen in a day even when it's a bit draughty. Might be a bit knackered at the end in some weather conditions but so what - will be fully recovered in the morning.

[iandriver]

Dunkirk to Vlissingen is about 70 miles with around 1,000ft of climbing. Easily doable in a day at a steady pace.

But who wants to overnight in Dunkirk? If arriving on the ferry the same day, the port is another 12 miles west, plus you're very much at the mercy of wind direction in that part of the world... some days, it may be easily doable, but others that's going to be a stiff challenge even for the experienced.

That's not really the point of the original remark. The point really is that toruing of cities doesn't have to involve huge mileages between. It's possible for many to cross entire countries in a day, so there are lots of urban spaces in between to visit without spending whole days in the countryside.

In Flanders this year, for example, Oudenaarde -> Ghent -> Brugge -> Oostende -> Dunkirk ferry port was one days ride, 117 miles. Back in the UK by 8PM. You could easily spend a week doing the same ride with urban exploring of the cities on the way. Even get the train in between which would be less than an hour between stops.