# London to Biggleswade



## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

I commute every day in London 14 miles round trip but have only gone for a "proper ride" from home a few times. Normally for rides I take a train out to Surrey, Herts, Beds or further afield. I prefer riding in the countryside rather than urban or suburban gridlock. I'm trying to find a route from north London to a suitable riding area without the train. This ride was my first attempt.

The first pictures are suburbs to the north - up through Muswell Hill and Finchley.


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*Mill Hill and the A1*

first two photos - the tiled subway leads to a cycle path next to the A1 - one of the main routes to the North out of London - needless to say the A1 was not the kinda riding we were hoping for

the second two photos - coming in to Borehamwood and a puncture on my rear tyre - HH helping out with the final few strokes of the pump

it was a great day for riding - sunny - at the warmest it was in the upper teens C /mid 60's F - no wind


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*finally the countryside*

it took just under two hours from my house to get on to a blank spot on the map - finally HH and I could relax a bit, enjoy the scenery and take a few pictures of each other - we headed northeast from the A5183 through Kinsbourne Green in the general direction of Kimpton


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*outside of the M25*

the M25 is a huge highway that circles greater London - even outside it heading in to Hatfield then towards Rebourn we were still on big, fast roads - not very nice for riding - there must be a better route out


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*hedgerows and rolling hills*

is pretty typical for this - the eastern most edge of the Chilterns and the southeast of England generally

the second and third pictures show the climb on the other side of the surprisingly steep valley that straddles the B653 - the fourth and fifth pictures are the climb out of the valley - probably the steepest, longest climb of the day - there are no mountains for sure but there aren't many flat spots either


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*Bright Star pub - Peters Green*

I didn't manage to get a good shot of the people in the pub's garden enjoying their beer and our bright sunshine - it did plant some thoughts in our minds


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*coming in to Kimpton*

I like the bales of hay and the obligatory shadow shot - it's not often that I can guarantee a shadow shot in England...


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*more*

bales of Hay near Ley Green


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*out of Kimpton*

through Whitwell in to Preston

3rd pic is of my ride for the day - a custom steel cross bike with (as even the shadow pics will tell you is equipped with) Campy - it's been somewhat neglected since I finished piecing together a new road ride

http://www.donohuecycles.co.uk/


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*north to Lilley*

more countryside


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*time to refuel*

at the pub


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*north to Hexton*

there's always a hill after the pub

heading towards Meppershall


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## fastfullback (Feb 9, 2005)

*Great photo essay -- thank you*

Looks like a wonderful ride with the exception of the big fast highway around London. The shot of the pints is probably my favorite, don't know why that would be...

Do you feel as though you're visible enough on those highways? I have taken to strapping a reflective triangle to the bottom rear of my backpack, and I've seen others simply strap them around their waists. Makes me feel a bit like a farm tractor, but perhaps the cell-phone wielding motorists will actually notice me when they see it.


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*still*

northwest through Meppershall - in to Shefford, Stanford and pulling strong for a quick 32km finish into Biggleswade for the train back

a great ride - cicra 85 miles - five hours on the bike - home in time to give my kid a bath - one to remember when we do a cold wet one in January

as you can see it wasn't a circular route and ended up getting train after all

either have to keep trying or resign myself to taking the train


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*thanks*

fast highways are always scary even though most drivers are great and give you a wide berth - it's just not the kind of riding that I want to do if I have a choice - if it'd been raining or dark it may have been different re visibility as it was it was a shockingly bright day - one thing is for sure we upped our pace on the main arteries to get off them quicker

any suggestions for decent routes out of London are welcome!

yes pints are great during a ride


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

Awesome report! I have a very short list of countries I want to visit and England is #1 on it. The countryside is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

*Hdegerows and Pints*

When I visited friends in London in July 2004, I asked for some riding advice here on RBR. RST and Charlieboy gave me some good advice -- take the train out of London. I'm glad that I did. I had a great ride from Swindon. Although my ride was to the west of London, your pictures of hedgerows and pints reminded me of my ride. Riding on a narrow, curving lane with hedgerows on either side is an experience that was both beautiful and scary -- at least the car that was coming at me from the opposite direction was loud enough that I heard it even though I would not have seen it until it had hit me had it been silent. I also broke my ironclad "no alcohol" rule on the ride. I only had a half pint with lunch -- but it sure tasted good. Your pictures brought back many pleasant memories. Thanks for posting them.

One of the things that I like about where I live is that I can get to some very nice cycling roads on my bike. I surely hope that you can find some good routes out of London. As much as I enjoyed the train ride from Paddington Station to Swindon, I would not want to do something like that every time I wanted to go for a ride in the countryside.


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*I think*



MarkS said:


> When I visited friends in London in July 2004, I asked for some riding advice here on RBR. RST and Charlieboy gave me some good advice -- take the train out of London. I'm glad that I did. I had a great ride from Swindon. Although my ride was to the west of London, your pictures of hedgerows and pints reminded me of my ride. Riding on a narrow, curving lane with hedgerows on either side is an experience that was both beautiful and scary -- at least the car that was coming at me from the opposite direction was loud enough that I heard it even though I would not have seen it until it had hit me had it been silent. I also broke my ironclad "no alcohol" rule on the ride. I only had a half pint with lunch -- but it sure tasted good. Your pictures brought back many pleasant memories. Thanks for posting them.
> 
> One of the things that I like about where I live is that I can get to some very nice cycling roads on my bike. I surely hope that you can find some good routes out of London. As much as I enjoyed the train ride from Paddington Station to Swindon, I would not want to do something like that every time I wanted to go for a ride in the countryside.


I chimed in on that thread too - the train out is the best way to guarantee a good ride - but you always have to get to a station

next time you're in town maybe a guided tour would be a nicer introduction to London traffic...

I have a pretty high tolerance for traffic:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=36913
but it's just not proper riding - countryside riding is best scary hedges and all - I'll keep posting on my efforts to find a route out w/o the train

it seems a lot of my rides involve a pint somehwere along the way


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## M.J. (Jan 28, 2004)

*thanks*



KenB said:


> Awesome report! I have a very short list of countries I want to visit and England is #1 on it. The countryside is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.


there's some great riding here - a good introduction to the north of England is the sea to sea route from Whitehaven on the Irish Sea to Newcaslte on the North Sea - it's 180 miles or so and is only about 3 days so you're whole trip doesn't need to be bikecentric

http://www.c2c-guide.co.uk/
http://web.onyxnet.co.uk/Pete.Chase-onyx/c2c.html
http://www.visitcumbria.com/cyclec2c.htm

for some sightseeing by bike in London try
http://www.londonbicycle.com/grouptour.htm


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## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

oops. Didnt read your post with the distance in it. Cool, 85 miles. The most i've done in a while is 100k so this will be a good challenge.


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## damitamit (Sep 15, 2005)

I recognise that subway! Thats Apex roundabout. I live in Edgware, just down the road. Good to see other north west london cyclists on here.

How long was your route? Might have to try it out. Getting fed up of going further into london on rides recently, as I dont know any good routes going the other way.


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## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

Excellent post! Thanks for sharing.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Dude, you are going to get killed if you keep riding on the wrong side of the road.*

 

Great post.


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