Cyclists not allowed on the A30!

[Jeremy Bond]

Work has begun on the new bypass between The Temple to Higher Carblake (East of Bodmin). I have noticed while this is taking place no cycling will be allowed on this stretch of the A30, a diversion is in place but I'm unsure what the route is.

Personally, every time I see cyclists on the A30 by-pass, I feel sad as I feel they are risking their lives, especially, with a little planning, they could have avoided this dangerous stretch of highway.

[Mick F]

I'm aware of the roadworks on the A30.
We have to drive to Newquay Airport on Thursday, so instead of coming down the A30 over Bolventor/Temple, we'll be going via Liskeard A38.

As for cycling on the A30 generally, I don't see a problem. The only ones wanting to use it are the ones trying to do an End2End in less than a week. If it wasn't the A30, it'll be the A38 to Worcester and the A449/A442/A41/A49/A6/A7 to Edinburgh then the A9 to JOG.

Pick any one of those and say that the A30 is the worst .............. coz it isn't.

[Mick F]

Back to this subject ................

We drove to Newquay Airport and back yesterday, but as it was late in the day, we took the A30. No problems, but perhaps seven miles or more of 40mph limit and a single narrow lane.

As we left the Bolventor/Jamaica Inn area, we saw a No Cyclists sign sending cyclists off to the left. This was the junction before the Temple turnoff.
Goodness knows which route cyclists are supposed to take from there considering they were probably on the A30 for a specific reason.

Coming back later, the No Cyclists sign was by the A38 turnoff at Bodmin.

This means that the cycling diversion is between Bodmin and Bolventor/Temple. There are very few alternative routes over Bodmin Moor, and sections like Temple are isolated islands only accessible by the A30.

At a guess, the simplest route will be this:

Tomorrow lunchtime, we'll be driving back to Newquay airport, and back in the afternoon, and this time I'll be taking my Garmin and tracking my route back home. I'll take the cyclists' diversion with due regard to the local geography and see how I get on.

I'll report back to this thread with a link to my route.

[Mick F]

Good morning guys.

We drove to the airport yesterday and tried the A30, but it was jammed packed with cars, so we took the Cyclists' Diversion there. Coming back, we came via Liskeard on the A38.

I was very surprised to find that the all along the route via the lanes, there were diversion signs and easy-to-see arrows on big yellow signs at every junction especially labeled for cyclists.

As far as I know, these major roadworks will be going until some date in 2017.

Here is the route. I was 'relieved' to see that my guess of the probable route was correct!

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/BRTWebUI/Course/810986

[gaz]

Took a bit of finding but details of the diversion route are on the contractors web-site.

Cyclists

From the 29th June all cyclists will be prohibited from using the A30 in either direction throughout the traffic management area. This prohibition has been applied as a safety measure and will be enforced. An approved cycle diversion is already in operation.

The advisory cycle diversion for either direction is – A30 at Bolventor (eastbound) or Colliford Lake (westbound) – Mount – Cardinham – Fletchers Bridge – A38 Turfdown – Bodmin – end of diversion. Eastbound A30 – the above in reverse.

[TonyR]

On the map the cycle diversion looks a lot more hilly than the banned A30. Is it?

[Mick F]

Yes.
Definitely.

The good thing about the A30, is that it's the flattest. quickest, smoothest, easiest route into/out of Cornwall.
Downside is that it's noisy, boring, and unsociable if you're with others.

Now that you can't use the A30 over Bodmin Moor, you need to find a better way. The diversion is ok, but by the time you've done it, you may as well have found another route.

Next best route if you still want to use the A30 is:

A30 all the way to Fraddon/Indian Queens and turn north for the A39.
Follow it through Wadebridge and Camelford, then A395 back to the A30 just west of Launceston.
This is nearly as good, it's on fast main roads and won't hold you up on narrow bendy lanes and hills.

If you look at this map, you'll see that the only viable route over Bodmin Moor is the A30. Other than that, you go round to the north, or round to the south. The southern route of the A38 is terrible and should be avoided.

[Bigdummysteve]

I've just completed a 1200 mile jogle using this route for the back end https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8789297
Lots of semi off road trails and back roads, I was riding a surly big dummy loaded for unsupported camping, yes it was hard at times and the last bit to lands end was pointlessly hilly ( road back to Penzance on the a road) but rather that than the A30 which is a two lane motorway ( three at one point) really don't ride this road, I drove back on it in a van and did not reget one extra mile. I also rode almost all the across Devon on trails. For a lot of us its a once in a life time ride, do the extra miles, get the time off work, don't worrry about the time and miles and avoid roads like the A30!

[Mick F]

I thought I'd post on this thread just in case someone searching about the A30 route finds it.
Please read this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=103886&start=15
Very very important to know.

No way can you cycle on the A30 between Bodmin and Temple. If you get to the restricted area and then follow the diversion routes, you will be SEVERELY delayed.

Restrictions will be in place for the rest of this year 2016.

[Rich_Clements]

Makes you wonder who approved the diversion, having said that personally I would avoid the A30 anyway

[Mick F]

Yes, me too, but there are many riders who want the challenge of riding End2End in five days or so.
Using the A30 LE/Exeter is the only way to achieve it.

[Mick F]

The road will have three lanes open this summer, but I doubt it still isn't helping cyclists.
http://www.westbriton.co.uk/lanes-open- ... story.html

[MartynA]

A reminder that part of the A30 over Bodmin Moor is still subject to a mandatory ban. Cycling is not permitted on the section from north of the Colliford Lake reservoir to the main roundabout east of Bodmin. A delightfully scenic (especially eastbound) diversion is signed. It will be substantially slower than the A30.

I am told by Kier, the contractor, that there have been a spate of infringements in recent weeks and this is raising concerns about what frustrated motorists just might do by way of risk taking.

Kier put some information on their website over a year ago but that is no longer linked properly and it didn't add much to the information already on here from Mick F. If anyone wants more detail on the diversions such as a .gpx file, I can dig one out if you PM me. The routes for eastbound and westbound differ in the part just west of Colliford.

[Mick F]

Thanks and welcome to the forum.

The best diversion for cyclists isn't signposted at all.

Obviously, if you are a cyclist who actually wants to ride on the A30 over Bodmin Moor, it must mean that you are wanting to get a move on through Cornwall.

Therefore, the signposted diversions are not for you.
They are good diversions for general cycling, but not good at all for cyclists wanting to get a move on.

The best route for the A30 cyclist, is to come off at Indian Queens and go up the A39 through Wadebridge and Camelford, then turn onto the A395 and head towards Launceston where you can join the A30 again.

[MartynA]

Kier have now modified their project website adding a bold red about the cycling ban and a FAQ giving the bare bones of the diversionary routes.

I agree totally with Mick F about the unsuitability of their recommended diversions for fast End to Ends and other long distance riding on a tight time scale. However, the reasoning seems to be segregation of cycles from their "all-traffic" diversionary route which uses the obvious route around the north of the Moor for the over-night total closures periods required to put in bridge decks and similar large scale works. The project website gives details of one of these total night closures for this week, until Sunday September 11th, so anyone thinking about passing the Moor this week on the A39 during the hours 10pm to 6am needs to be aware that the northern diversionary route will be in use by all traffic.

http://www.kier-a30cornwall.co.uk/kier-travel-update-25-august-2016/