Ok, so I seem to have got a great new job (hooray!) in the city my girlfriend and I want to settle in/near. We’re planning on living out Wylam way and I’d like to commute by bike to the town centre (station end of Westgate Rd).

First up, obviously the paths along the river are great for a sunday pootle but I’ve not really used them for getting to and from the city. Do they choke up at rush hour and are they usable most of the year? Would they be road bike friendly or is this a great excuse for a CXer?

Secondly, I’m not sure that the place I’m working at has bike storage, what are bike parking options in town like? If theft/damage a major issue? Can you use the station platform racks without buying a ticket?

Cheers,
Sam

Totally idiotproof from Wylam to Westgate road, road bike is fine on the 2 sustrans routes but best on the N of the river if you’re precious about it. Never busy for commuting and usable all year round. Pretty pleasant little commute too (other than once you’re right in town). I never used to park anywhere outside in town so can’t help you on that score, though I’d say avoid leaving anything around that part of town that isn’t secured storage – station is possible. And welcome etc etc.

Cheers, that’s great – disappointed I can’t justify a cross bike on commuting duties though, I suppose I can just get one to celebrate.

Alreet? I live in Wylam (as does at least one other forumite on here)

I use the NCN 72 (the path on the north side of the Tyne) twice a week to commute from Wylam to Quayside then across to Gateshead. It’s a great commuter route – one that I have previously sung the praises of on here – and I like it so much that I am now a Sustrans Volunteer Ranger on it. 😀

I reckon it is pretty rideable on a road bike. Certainly see plenty of folk doing that. It does get a little muddy and wet this time of year – but then so do most things! I currently ride it on a commuterised-hardtail but from next weekish I’ll be on a new CX bike (definitely justified 😉 )

Welcome and all that. No doubt see you on the trails.
Email in profile if you want any other Wylam advice off forum.

I’m from Wylam

Okay, make that two other forumites 😀

as above ncn routes are fine although personally i hate riding up scotswood road and watch out for broken glass in places! and when you get a choice to either go down by the factories or stay on the old railway, stay high as the lower route can be really badly flooded!

for parking you will need a ticket to park in the train station unfortunately. grainger town car park will probaby be the closest covered parking spot to you and has a secure compound. my girlfriend used to park there however i’m not sure how you’d get a key (try the parking warden he’ll probaby tell you 🙂 )

oh and some great road/mtb riding round the area too 🙂

personally i hate riding up scotswood road

Don’t ride on the road – ride on the shared use pavement alongside.

It is wide, smooth, empty, and has less stops and junctions than the road does.

i do! i meant the road is pretty miserable to ride up (from pretty much lemmigton to newcastle) ie you’re just riding along side a dual carriageway!

Cheers all, I’m reasonably familiar with the riding nearby – the four years of my better half’s medical degree has given us some time to explore. I may even have seen some of you about already.

The parking’s probably the biggest concern at the moment. I might have to do my sad eyed puppy dog face at my new work to see if I can shove a bike somewhere.

Keep an eye out for a gangly, bespectacled scruff making the place look untidy over the next few months.

Never had issues in and around Newcastle with leaving my bike locked up but it is never for long – for a whole day I’d be nervous.

The cycle paths would be ok on a road bike. For everyday riding though I’d get something a bit sturdier, mainly wheels and puncture proof tyres to deal with the glass and pot holes. A set of 32 spoke wheels and conti gator skins would be fine for most of the year

Personally I’d want something more reliable and comfortable for that kind of ride if It was my main means of transport. It will be “fun” in winter.

FWIW I have a commuter hack for sale in Newcastle. Do a post history search if you are interested.

For More local advice you could try midaircrisis.co.uk or http://www.cyclepad.org.uk/

Jonba, cheers for that.

I’ll not actually be moving to Wylam for probably three months or so, I’m decamping to some friends’ house in Heaton for now. This should give me plenty of time to get things planned out.

Exciting stuff!

i meant the road is pretty miserable to ride up (from pretty much lemmigton to newcastle) ie you’re just riding along side a dual carriageway!

If you follow the official NCN72 you shouldn’t spend too long by the dual carriageway:

Following the yellow signed “Shelley Road diversion” skips the muddy bit around the Newburn Riverside estate and instead brings you down next to Scotswood Road via Neptune Road (just before “9” on my map).

You ride along the quayside for a bit, then cross the road at the B&Q roundabout and follow the path that takes you up away from the road (“10” to “11”-and-halfish on my map).

Returning to the road you cross over, ride a little bit by the road then cut down William Armstrong Drive (just after “12”) to the quayside.

All in all I reckon I only spend about a kilometre actually by the roadside on that route.

I suspect I’m the other Wylam forumite referred to above..

It is any easy commute. There is enough glass to justify puncture proof tyres. During the summer the evening dog walkers are a pain on the waggonway (in sharp contrast to the all year round morning dog walkers who are mostly canny, there’s a sociology thesis in the difference between the two!).

If you are at the station end of Westgate Road, then follow most of the route above, but stay on the north side of Scotswood Road all the way into town. On the way in I mix with the traffic on the carriageway, but on the way out I stay on the north-side shared footpath.

The bike stands at the station are at the wrong side of the barriers for use without a ticket, though you may be able to sweet talk the staff. There are stands outside the station and at Time Square, but I’m not sure I would trust them.

The multi-storey car park on Dean Street has secure bike stands, but this would leave you with a walk back to work.

Wylam is well known in the area as having rich pickings, so keep any shed or garage well secure!

I suspect I’m the other Wylam forumite referred to above..

Yep. *waves*

Quite a cluster of us for a village of 800 houses!

Seems like a good opportunity to plug the Newcastle Cycling Campaign.

Join up and help us improve cycling conditions in Newcastle and the surrounding areas.

(It’s our AGM in the Cycle Hub tonight)

The Gateshead Cycling Forum is also worth joining if you find yourself doing more riding south of the river.