From temple meads to Keynsham high street.

From memory i take the railway cycle path and turn off at some stage. 45min maybe?

The railway path will take a lot longer than a direct route – it goes right round the houses…

Direct, it’d be around 30 mins I reckon.

Whats the direct route? Road riding along the A4 over hill?

A4 is the most direct route, but isn’t pleasant in, and part of it is dual carriageway. You could go via St George, Hanham and Longwell Green but I’ve not tried that route myself.

The quickest way is to get on the train at Temple Meads!

A4 is quickest, very busy and a horrible hill up through Brislington, but you can turn off before you get to the dual carriageway. Could take under 25 minutes if you were fit.

The railway path takes about 30 minutes to the point where it joins the ring road path, then about another 10-15 minutes to get to Keynsham. Muggers aside, it’s easily the most pleasant way to go.

Another way involving less road is to go along Feeder Road, duck on to the cycle path that runs by the canal along Crew’s Hole Road, then up the hill to Hanham High Street.

If you’ve got fat tyres you can ride along the river bank from Crew’s hole road. Should be fairly dry at the moment.

Nickjb, I wouldn’t bank on that route being dry. A few weeks ago even the tarmac section was underwater! Also, when we tried cycling all the way to Keynsham a few years back we ended up fighting our way through thickets of nettles – since then I’ve always gone up the steps by the ring road.

Thanks folks
Gonna try the Feeder road way. Not really keen on the A4 way with my 40lb commuter.

40lb?! I should say at this point that the hill up into Hanham is pretty severe too, although it’s over pretty quickly.

Tyres and tubes are a 1.4kg each end – super heavy wheels (90’s circa), Steel frame. Big f-off child seat metel bar perm attached. Cheapest drivetrain available. Dead reliable though.

Also can you generally take bikes back on the train?

Yeah, even if the train is packed, if you manage to snaffle it on without the conductor noticing, they can’t throw you off until BTM, which is where you are getting off anyway …

First’s 125’s normally have plenty of space for bikes though. Wessex’s little two carriage things are more difficult at rush hour. Keep a low profile on the platform and then sprint for the doors. Like I say, they can’t turf you off until temple meads.