Cambridgeshire to London Commute

[markcp]

Hi,

I'm thinking of commuting from South Cambridgeshire (nr Royston) to Angel tomorrow and am unsure of the route to take. I can get to the M25 pretty easily, but does anyone have any recommendations from the Potters Bar/Enfield area into town?

I'll be on a road bike and would prefer to follow bus lanes wherever possible.

Cheers,

[Silent1]

markcp said:

Hi,

I'm thinking of commuting from South Cambridgeshire (nr Royston) to Angel tomorrow and am unsure of the route to take. I can get to the M25 pretty easily, but does anyone have any recommendations from the Potters Bar/Enfield area into town?

I'll be on a road bike and would prefer to follow bus lanes wherever possible.

Cheers,

No idea about travel, but bloody hell you must be on my doorstep!

[markcp]

Litlington. You?

[Greenwich Ross]

I don't know how dicey it'd be but sticking to the old A1 inside the M25 will take you the whole way to Angel (the A1 ends at Highbury Corner; from there you'd just need to zip down Upper Street). From driving it, I know there's a lot of bus lanes that way!

Either way, good luck!

Edited by Greenwich Ross on Wednesday 26th May 13:23

[Silent1]

markcp said:

Litlington. You?

Steeple!!

[ewenm]

Doesn't the A10 come in that way too? That probably has bus lanes now (it's been a decade or so since I drove it).

[Silent1]

ewenm said:

Doesn't the A10 come in that way too? That probably has bus lanes now (it's been a decade or so since I drove it).

The A10 wouldn't be bad, no bus lanes but bloody hilly.

[Greenwich Ross]

Silent1 said:

ewenm said:

Doesn't the A10 come in that way too? That probably has bus lanes now (it's been a decade or so since I drove it).

The A10 wouldn't be bad, no bus lanes but bloody hilly.

I don't think there's any routes that will avoid some hills (especially if you're going near Highgate). There is another alternative (and this is something you'd have to look into yourself) but I recall someone telling me once that you can cycle the canal network into central London. If that is the case it'd certainly be more pleasant than using the roads.

Just don't fall in.

[ewenm]

The journey planner on the TFL website allows you to specify cycling as a mode of transport and will (I think) direct you on non-main road routes.

The problem with avoiding the trunk routes is that you tend to have to cycle further and stop more often. Canals are a good idea but will be much longer as they need to remain relatively level so go round hills. Also may not be too good on a road-biased bike (although I did 4 miles of my commute this morning on a canal towpath on my road bike).

[Chris71]

That must be quite a hardcore commute! I'm put off the idea of working in central London because I thought my commute from Enfield (within the M25!) would get to be a pain.

For what it's worth - probably not a lot in this case - I have friends in Cambridge and go up the M11 if I'm off to see them by car.

Oh, and a friend was saying the other day he cycled back from Hampstead to Norfolk (Norwich type area) via Cambridgeshire in six hours. So that may give some idea of the projected time.

[markcp]

I'm planning on going via country lanes to the M25 which are quiet. I used to commute from East Finchley down the A1 so will probably go that way as you get some sort of protection in the bus lanes.

Hopefully in the office by 0830 so it'll be an early start!!!

[squicky]

A few years ago, I cycled from Royston to London, half way down I followed the canals around lee valley. Was a bit rough then, don't know how much it's approved.

I think the hills just south Royston are the worst.

The A10 is quite busy and although has been widened in parts, I don't think I'd be happy cycling down it at peak hours.

I'd be interested in hearing what route you took and what it was like afterwards.

[DrMekon]

I needed to cycle from Cambridge to London a while back, and couldn't find a nice route, so I'll also be interested to hear how you go.

[hullbilly]

consider Green lanes into town from Enfield, fairly flat and plenty of bus lanes etc.

Wouldnt fancy cycling from Royston - Angel though!

[Pupp]

The annual London to Cambridge charity ride starts at Picketts (sp?) Lock and follows a nice route if you can turn it up... might help for most of the way

[esuuv]

I did the london / cambridge charity ride last year - I have the file off my GPS if you would like it.

[markcp]

I did the ride yesterday morning. It took just over 3 hours as I went slightly off my planned route around Hertford and despite the rain it was quite a nice ride. Quite a contrast between the quiet country lanes near home to the chaos that is London traffic though!

My computer packed up just after I started so I guess it was more or less 50 miles which was useful preparation for the Dragon Ride next week.

Mark.

[Soovy]

Silent1 said:

markcp said:

Litlington. You?

Steeple!!

You're joking.

There twice a month!!

[Silent1]

Soovy said:

Silent1 said:

markcp said:

Litlington. You?

Steeple!!

You're joking.

There twice a month!!

We shall have to meet up!
What the hell are you doing over here?!

[Soovy]

Silent1 said:

Soovy said:

Silent1 said:

markcp said:

Litlington. You?

Steeple!!

You're joking.

There twice a month!!

We shall have to meet up!
What the hell are you doing over here?!

In laws!!