It's all Stoke's fault: Route 5

[Geoff_N]

I get laughed at by my kids because of my touring with OS maps and urge me to do as they do and get a Samsung Galaxy chocolate or some such with mapping software and GPS. The need came close last year cycling through Stoke-on-Trent for the first time - struggling to leave an easterly Route 5 across residential to find another park with Route 55. Found it but in thick fog and no signpost couldn't work out whether to go left or right. Now I take a compass - no problem... Until yesterday. Compass and up to date map but finding Route 5 to head west out of Stoke towards Belper gave gave too many Route 5s to choose from. Fair enough, every road / path / route has a left and a right - or wrong and correct way to go, but there are more than one Route 5s in Stoke. Aaaarggh. Some go through parts of parks or parts of the town and I suppose it's okay for those who just want to bag a NCN route - like folk collecting train numbers.

Having GPS wouldn't help because even when I could locate myself exactly on the map at 1:50 000 scale, I wasn't sure which way to go. Then, it is these uncertainties and eventual success that I enjoy in cycling. Even in all that rain on Friday from Nottingham to Stoke. It's not quite true to say that in the UK there's no such thing as bad weather, only wrong clothes, but close. I met a badger on the rural outskirts of Stoke. I told it to hide or arm himself.

[Alex L]

Moral of the story. Never, ever, go to Stoke.

[byegad]

Or use Sustrans. They'll let you down when it matters most.

[reohn2]

Or use Sustrans. They'll let you down when it matters most.

+1

[Fasgadh]

The navigational uncertainty is the joy of Sustrans. You never know where you are going to end up.

Not for those who need to get somewhere.

[fausto copy]

Or use Sustrans. They'll let you down when it matters most.

+1

+2

The navigational uncertainty is the joy of Sustrans. You never know where you are going to end up.

Not for those who need to get somewhere.

[Alex L]

The first time I tried to find the Bristol Bath Cycle Path, I followed the signs. It let me round in a circle. I ended up just doing loops of Bristol and then heading home. I later found I was only metres from the entrance

[Ayesha]

Who are Sustrans?

[hexhome]

Who are Sustrans?

They are an organisation whose aim is to improve cyclists in this country by increasing the length of every cycle route by 30%!

[Geoff_N]

Who are Sustrans?

They are an organisation whose aim is to improve cyclists in this country by increasing the length of every cycle route by 30%!

[reohn2]

Who are Sustrans?

They are an organisation whose aim is to improve cyclists in this country by increasing the length of every cycle route by 30%!

and numbering as many of their routes out of any given town with the same number*!!!

* my maximum route count so far is four!

[byegad]

Who are Sustrans?

They are an organisation whose aim is to improve cyclists in this country by increasing the length of every cycle route by 30%!

and numbering as many of their routes out of any given town with the same number*!!!

* my maximum route count so far is four!

Building there 'Routes' through boggy fields, barriers and places you wouldn't want to be after dark!

[Richard Fairhurst]

Good to see the usual stuck-record regulars chiming in as soon as the word 'Sustrans' is mentioned.

Meanwhile... Sustrans are actually doing something about this by removing the 'braided' routes, which I think are recognised as a mistake. In future there'll only be one Route 5: the parallel route will probably be renumbered with a three-digit number. Geoff - if you like, you could e-mail maintenance@sustrans.org.uk with your tale and perhaps that'll encourage the local rangers to do exactly that in Stoke.

I'm just about to head out with some new stickers to renumber a route in our patch!

[Pete Owens]

Which rather illustrate the problem with the entire Sustrans approach, which seems to confuse stickers for infrastructure.

Imagine the Highways Agency were to take the same approach. Just think how much more car infrastucture they could claim credit for if rather than actually building motorways, they just suck up signs pointing along their proposed routes.

[hexhome]

I'm just about to head out with some new stickers to renumber a route in our patch!

Good, that will reduce any confusion. Why don't the highways agency try this approach, might reduce the traffic on the M25 if they renumbered it