Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • A40 Cycle Lane
  • mcboo
    Free Member

    Am making my way from North London to the Cotswolds next weekend on the road bike. Should be a lovely spin once I’m out of town, I’m going to try and make the first leg as painless as possible.

    Can I jump onto the bike lane at Hanger Lane and follow it right out to the M25? Anyone advise me where I should get off it? Heading to Cirencester so prob head towards Henley first.

    pedalhead
    Free Member

    Can’t answer the London question, but which way are you planning to ride to Cirencester? I live on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds, lots of lovely road riding round here but depends on whether you just want to get there quickly or if you want to take the scenic (longer/slower) route.

    mrmo
    Free Member

    I can tell you there is a cycle path from Oxford to Witney on the A40.

    soobalias
    Free Member

    have you tried google maps, directions, biking beta?

    linky

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Yeh had a look at that……I think they’ve got a bit of real world work to do……

    I always see people on bikes when I’m driving out on the A40/M40, just really want to know does that route start at Hanger Lane and go all the way out of town? I can probably cut through the streets but be nice to sit on a dedicated bike lane all the way if its there.

    topgunsteve
    Free Member

    You’ll have a problem getting from swakeley’s roundabout down to the first junction (Start of the M40), I’m pretty sure that there’s no ycle path here and the cars are going 70mph +. I ride from Amersham to Clapham every week and would recommend going along the Uxbridge road and (funnily enough) through Uxbridge. That’s my route, might be a bit longer but you can avoid that treacherous bit of the A40. It meets the A40 just before it turns into the M40 and you can head out from there

    molgrips
    Free Member

    For the sake of your sanity, do not do it.

    I once rode from Cardiff to Oxford via Gloucester. The A40 is boring as hell to drive, well it took me hours and hours on my MTB. I nearly died of death.

    Never again. There must be some B roads…?

    alfabus
    Free Member

    http://opencyclemap.org/

    route 4 to reading, route 5 to oxford, then 47/48 to cirencester?

    Dave

    pedalhead
    Free Member

    oh are you talking about cycling mainly just along the A40? Sounds horrible. And dangerous.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Wasn’t dangerous when I did it, the single carriageway is very wide and straight mostly so the cars all just rumble on by without bothering you. Just one of the hardest bike rides I have ever done, just from a mental point of view. I wasn’t camping or anything so I couldn’t stop – I HAD to keep going.

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Its just the bit from Hanger Lane out to the M25 I want to know about…..there’s an actual bike path thats many metres from the dual carriagway. Not going near the road, I just want to know if that cycle path is uninterupted (relatively) the whole way out of town?

    pedalhead
    Free Member

    hmm well I live about 1 mile from the A40 and I wouldn’t ride along our bit. Dodging 80+mph cars on a dual carriageway isn’t my idea of fun.

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Am I talking in Swahili?

    topgunsteve
    Free Member

    McBoo, there is no cycle path between Swakely’s roundabout and Denham roundabout, this is a slightly elevated section of the A40 otherwise known as the viaduct. It’s the last section before it turns into the M40. Check it on Google maps, just come off at Swakeleys and take a detour into Uxbridge.

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Steve….you are a Topgun.

    pedalhead, put down that reefer.

    edit : Steve…..can I get as far as Swakeleys from Hanger Lane on a seperate bike path?

    GavinB
    Full Member

    Hangar Lane to the M25 you say?

    Absolutely no idea. Drop me a mail and I’ll put you in touch with a mate who’s likely ridden that though.

    topgunsteve
    Free Member

    I haven’t ridden it myself, prefer the Uxbridge road as stated earlier, but as far as I can tell from the vantage pint of my car I think it does go all the way to Swakelys. The cycle path is on the south side of the road as it passes RAF Northolt and at some point it changes to the north side where it continues to Swakeleys.

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Gav you’ve never been to London.

    GavinB
    Full Member

    Well why would I? The riding’s rubbish 😆

    muppetWrangler
    Free Member

    Do what topgunsteve said.

    Just ride from central london down to Shepherds Bush then along the Uxbridge road, it’s pretty straight and not too bad for traffic and a lot more interesting than the A40 which at least for the last part is motorway in all but name. There are back roads you could take but it would be a lot slower, Uxbridge Road is the best alternative to the A40.

    hs125
    Free Member

    The only decent stretch of cycle lane on the A40 I can think of, is opposite RAF Northolt, between the Polish War Memorial and Hillingdon Curcus. I’ve not ridden it in years, there are better routes via back roads. There are a couple of other short stretches of cycle lane on the way out of town, but these tend to link north-south routes to bridges or are service roads.
    I would not recommend cycling any of the A40 inside the M25. Fast cars, narrow lanes and lots of slip roads/flyovers to negotiate.The only good thing that I can think to say about it from a cycling point of view is that the 50mph limits have recently been extended, so less of it is national speed limit than it used to be.
    TfL produce maps showing cycle routes, but I think you can only order paper copies rather than viewing them online. Map 6 covers the A40.
    https://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11682.aspx

    mcboo
    Free Member

    Thanks all, Uxbridge Road it is

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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