https://maps.google.com/?ll=51.416556,0.447929&spn=0.003048,0.004764&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=51.416715,0.44635&panoid=AhvHaY7SUb2XmusXNcgjUQ&cbp=12,287.7,,0,16.31

The old NCN1. I remember them installing that. All they did was move the white edge stripes in from the edge far enough to wedge a painted bike symbol in.

And Brits in particular usually complaining about “we don’t have the space!”. Well here’s an idea… how about removing the excessive use of central hatchings along the entire frickin road, put a segregated 2 way bike path in Dutch style, and you’ll still have enough space to have a pedestrian pavement wide enough for an infant’s buggy.

NCN1… the first showcase of UK cycling infrastructure that was.

Or backhanders by Dulux?

The old NCN1. I remember them installing that. All they did was move the white edge stripes in from the edge far enough to wedge a painted bike symbol in.

When you say “they”, you realise that wasn’t Sustrans yeah?

The thing that gets people cycling is not improving cycling facilities but making driving less attractive. Far more cyclists in Nottingham than Milton Keynes, and Nottingham have been busy making things worse for drivers for years 🙂

Nottingham city own the only piece of national cycle route in the whole country that you have to pay to ride along so I’m not sure that they really support cycling.

You have to pay to use a cycle route ? What’s that all about ?
I can’t see any mention of it here. http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/cycling

don’t care who “they” were – “install” is not what I call moving a white line 2ft6 to the right.

Sustrans name was associated with that paint way back when it was first painted, even if it was technically a local authority or Kent County Council that was actually responsible for the adjustments to the road markings.

Actually I think that came after the bristol-bath path by a year or so, but route 1 was probably the first proper long distance one.

” the “flagship”
Bristol/Bath path which only exists because it kind of
already existed”

Memory fades, so feel to correct me here… a group called cyclebag (inc a very proactive guy called John Grimshaw) paid £1 to buy the old track bed and convert it to cycle route. Cyclebag evolved eith JG at the helm to become Sustrans, although John Grimshaw is no longer involved in any way. To say it already existed makes light of the work that was done to establish the charity*

* that’ll be the charity doing the work of the DfT. Imagine if DfT left highway building and designation to an automotive charity?

p.s. after having picked up the NCN somewhere near Llandrindod Wells heading to Rhayader, I told the then NCN Dev Mgr that I thought it’d be a good idea to sign (and map) this and similar unsurfaced sections of route with a brown number, instead of red, to show it as mtb suitable only for most. We had walked a lot that day on road bikes with skinny slick tyres.

I told the then NCN Dev Mgr that I thought it’d be a good idea to sign (and map) this and similar unsurfaced sections of route with a brown number

That’s almost exactly the conversation I had with the network manager up here. Only I think the should go further and give each route section a grade to indicate quality, surface etc.

They need to stop pretending all routes are equal because that means people feel lied to and distrustful of Sustrans.

Some NCN routes are great, quite a few are just good, and quite a lot are pretty poor.