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I'm planning this in a few weeks time with a bunch of work mates. This is the route I've got from looking at a few charity rides and Komoot... seems to avoid most of the busy roads. https://www.komoot.com/tour/373679314?ref=itd

Some of the "London Brompton Club" on FB are meeting up 2330 Thursday 13th to set off at Midnight, arriving in Brighton (after a brief stop halfway somewhere I'm told) just in time for breakfast and a train back on Good Friday morning. This is the route listed on the events page there.. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19727700

https://www.facebook.com/events/177947362713203/

these sorts of things are almost never data breaches from the source (as in, a strava hack).

What likely happened is this

• those users had linkedin, last.fm, myspace accounts etc. See https://haveibeenpwned.com/ for some example breaches
• their email/password combo is available to buy as part of a bulk collection for spammers/hackers
• a new hacker decided to abuse strava - and wrote a script to check all the emails to see who has strava accounts, tries to log in with the passwords that had been leaked elsewhere, and if it gets in, changes password, username, sets gender to female so it gets more hits (they're not thinking in terms of strava, just in terms of online accounts in general), and updates the profile to include the link to their porn site

How to prevent this? Use unique passwords. Strong helps but unique is even more important. Lastpass/1password etc solve both of these

Not really a fan of cycling in town or near it. Traffic is heavy and so is pollution.

In the South West; take any route to Richmond Park and do a few laps. For a longer trip head over to Box Hill.

For South East: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28252232?privacy_code=VAWRqfGnMcBQD17e. It's a variation of the DPCC 50km intro ride. The roads are quiet and the terrain varied (there's even a gravel section!)

It won't be 50 minutes!

Use Komoot set to "Bike Touring" mode for route planning to give you a route that prefers low-traffic roads and bike lanes https://www.komoot.com/plan/tour/d08AxMV1v_-emE=FwiABMD_SdNA/@51.5349223,-0.1110770,13.959z - depending on where you're heading to in Euston I would circumvent Euston road as much as possible...

You'll be fine commuting on bikes similar to either of those two options, will just be a matter of personal preference.

You can report to TfL who might eventually do something.

For the time being, aside from just being deferential to pedestrians, you could peel off Leman Street on the left before the bridge, then make the right turn onto CS3 there. (It still includes crossing a pavement though, but at least it's signed to be legal.)

Strava has a some curated routes, one of which is the London to Brighton return. Not quite from SW4, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure it out.

It's not very exciting, but you can get some speed up doing laps of Regents Park. It's a good place to practice and work on fitness and if you have a problem you aren't in the middle of nowhere.

Alternatively Strava has some longer routes out to the North that get into some countryside.

A Camden to Cambridge ride I did a few years ago: https://www.strava.com/activities/101222172

And something along the Lea, as mentioned by /u/daos, starting in Camden: https://www.strava.com/activities/17054435

Congratulations! Did you get a road bike or a hybrid?

Going round Richmond Park is nice for a few times but if you want to explore further I recommend buying a book called Lost Lanes, it is very inspirational - there's so much to see around London and they provide excellent routes.

https://issuu.com/wildswimming/docs/lostlanes

Here's their route to Weybridge: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/1540649

What kind of routes are looking for (in terms of length / elevation?). Strava have a few nice ones around London.

This was a nice one as well (if only because it starts and stops at coffee stops) around Kent. Mostly quiet roads and few short, but steep climbs.

Have a look at Komoot as well. It's supposed to be good for plotting cycling-friendly routes.

I had a quick look on Google Maps. You could take Chiswick High Road, skirt across the top of the Hammersmith roundabout, and then along Kensington High Street before dropping to do South Ken. Something like this: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27361439

Yes, if its the bit I'm thinking of round the back of Beckenham cricket ground, some roots have raised the path quite a lot very recently. It's definitely much worse than last year.

Thinking about it though, I would probably get off the Waterlink Way just after Catford and head towards Peckham. It's a bit of a rise, though not as bad as Crystal Palace, but there's a nice quiet route from Peckham that leads onto Quietway 1 then over Tower Bridge. You could swap to London Bridge if you prefer, though the endless work at London Bridge makes me think Tower Bridge is the less of two evils. Here's the detail for that: https://www.komoot.com/tour/37394215

And just for completeness, a route via the Greenwich Tunnel would look like this, but it is a couple of miles longer https://www.komoot.com/tour/37394803

That's a long circuit you have there, and Whipps Cross roundabout isn't pleasant at the best of times, plus the bit up through Wood Street despite having a cycle lane, will have plenty of parked cars and associated dangers : https://goo.gl/maps/NtB9PjLSVFp

If it were me, I'd do laps through Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes, heading back down Orient Way which can be totally traffic free if you use the bike lanes, plus are reasonably fast. It's around 6 miles per loop. Here's the detail: https://www.komoot.com/tour/35435941

I've tried a range of route creating tools and I prefer Komoot as my preferred choice as you can select the Opencycle map as a layer both on the desktop or mobile app and create a viable route in minutes which lets you know both the surface and the gradient

I'm happy to share both the routes I've planned if there's some inspiration there: https://www.komoot.com/user/374132247416/tours?type=planned

And my opinions on the best routes others are thinking about, but often, routes are personal to the rider and where they live. It's rare to be able to take someone's route and not have to amend any of it

If it were me, I'd take Quietway1 which runs parallel to OKR, cross the river on Blackfriars bridge using CS6, and then pretty much follow that all the way as the other person suggested. Here's the detail: https://www.komoot.com/tour/32327337

If you happen to live near a community workshop, that would be (as already recommended) the best option. Failing that, if your bottom bracket is a square taper one, a set of tools is a tenner on Amazon with next day delivery: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0716NX7KC/r (I have the same).

> Lastly this Abus seems like a beast, at £69 its out of my price range but is this doubly better than say two Master Locks?

This is more of a theory than anything, but I would try not to have two locks of the exact same type, and certainly not of the same brand. If there is some way to easily bypass or force the lock that the thief knows, then they just need to do the same thing twice.

I would also question why £69 should be out of your price range when it's protecting something that's worth £300 to you? Remember that a good lock should last you, if you change bikes in the future you'll probably end up keeping the same locks, so long as no-one took an angle grinder to the in the meantime of course.

The Abus seems to me to be the best lock on the market in terms of offering a high level of security while remaining reasonably portable. I also own a Kyrptonite Chain lock:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kryptonite-Evolution-3500319-Bicycle-Integrated/dp/B006QN0MIU/

Which has the downside of being heavier and a bit fiddlier to lock up in some circumstances. It is cheaper however.

For short stops somewhere, particularly when you can keep the bike in your sight, have you considered rear wheel locks? Sometimes also called frame locks, these can be really cheap and can work well in low risk situations, or as a secondary lock. You can also get some models which also support a plug-in chain for higher risk situations where you also want to secure the frame to a fixed object. Not all bike frames support this kind of lock though.

I did a ride down to Brighton last year which took me through Clapham, I took the route from a bunch of places, including Strava's route builder, google maps, and a couple of random websites, and ended up with this route, which was relatively quiet https://www.strava.com/activities/380149864

North London Hills. It's a classic. Surprisingly country and 55km. Good value for a winter blast. Ally Pally and Muswell hill as the double sting in the tail.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7359737

It wouldn't surprise me if they borrowed heavily from the old L'Etape London's Long or Medium routes.

Though I really, really hope they do something more interesting than the long slow drag in / out of London.

If you're in Zone 1, I'd look at just hopping on a train for 30 mins - or look up Central London CTC who do group rides that start with a train journey (at least under normal circumstances).

Alternatively, these are the routes that the club nearest to where you'll be living uses: https://ridewithgps.com/groups/Islington-CC

Echoing the other comments I'd definitely recommend Epping Forest. I did the following route today from the guys at Hub Velo, up the River Lea and then back through the forest: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/22458805?fbclid=IwAR0Ep6ghIMC5TJRFdcwMKn7eNiO_-klL_WtasDVBhgEF-xi1a-zbJH9PG9o

Would definitely recommend if you want to get away from the roads

My info is a few weeks out of date, but i think it's done from Kings Cross to about Farringdon, there are still works going on (but cycle provision is there) until near Blackfriars Bridge, then it's all done after.

I've cycled the route recommended by openstreetmap a lot, and i'd say it's suitable for a novice. The only road that isn't quiet is Waterloo bridge, but that was never really that busy (at least at 9am). It's listed as a "Quietway" these days. Just make sure not to crash into any pedestrians around Covent Gardent :) And make sure to use the contraflow cycle lane here (and not the road).

If you want to try out the hilly part of the route you miss out on with the 46, I've used this ride for training last year. It starts / ends at Hampton Court station (so you miss out on riding through London itself, but that might be a good thing with traffic) and goes over Staple Lane rather than Newlands Corner. It's a similar hill, but on quiet roads rather than the horrible A-road Newlands is on.

It also takes a slight diversion into Shere to go passed the Dabbling Duck cafe, in case you want to refuel (they're cyclist friendly).

Try the CS7 early at the weekend if you can when there's few others about. It's a different experience but will give you some confidence. When I started out last year I was terrified but quickly came to terms with it. This is one of the many routes you could take to the north of CS7 - assuming Balham station to Waterloo. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/23863189

Well done! If you go again, you could do a lap out towards Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park (something like this?) as it's really close by. It's also really flat that way out, so you'll get to your imperial half century a bit easier.

If you want a more "gravel" route then this is a fun weekend (Obviously starting in Hornsey, and maybe reversed):
https://www.komoot.com/tour/309823229

I wild camped but there is guaranteed to be places you could stay around Hatfield/Welwyn Garden City

https://www.komoot.com/tour/340458206?ref=itd

This is a quiet route that I have taken quite a few times from Canons Park to Central London. Much more pleasant than going down the A5. The only busy section of note is in Neasden but I can’t find a way around it due to the North Circ and train lines.

The route probably takes 20 mins longer than going down the A5 but worth it in my opinion.

Ignore the ridiculous time, we should have done it in 3-4 hours but there were puncture and motivational issues but this route was great I thought - https://www.komoot.com/tour/33484108?ref=itd&share_token=apCvaBuFVunniYHW0ZGZJSqh1yB7gxGNZUqj1Og3CDCYjrGjbT

I find Komoot invaluable for planning longer rides - there's loads of fun user generated ones of increasing distance, or it's fine to take one and replan it yourself.

When you say the pool river, is that the Waterlink Way? Aside from the flies, that's probably my favourite South London cycle route, so I think alternatives from that are going to be more hectic, traffic wise. I use Komoot for route planning and directions since you can download the London area map and it's lower on data than some. Plus you can load the Open Cycle map as a layer and that shows all the cycle routes. You're right, Crystal Palace is slap bang in your route, so if you wanted to avoid it the other side, you could use Quietway 5 into CS7. This extends your ride to around 14 miles from 12.5 but it's flatter for sure. Here's the detail: https://www.komoot.com/tour/37372801

^^ This is a great route ^^ You could also avoid the hurly-burly of the superhighway in commute mode and head over Westminster Bridge to pick up Quietways 5 then 14 on the other side. Komoot route below, mostly to show how to miss out the nasty bit under Waterloo Station: https://www.komoot.com/tour/36536664

This is what Komoot suggests...

https://www.komoot.com/plan/tour/d08AxIII__-pII=FxhsEwKAWUvEGkeGMXWEAA==/@51.5251797,-0.1098633,15z

You could try dropping down to CS3 (segregated) along the Thames, then get up to CS6 at Blackfriars. I'm not sure how CS6 is lately (they've done a bunch of work), but once you turn off Farringdon Street onto Ray Street it's very quiet. AFAIK, some of Farringdon Street is segregated, some not.

Might be a bit of a faff getting from CS3 to CS6. Probably have to go under the bridge and double back on yourself a little.

This is what i had in mind from Blackfriars. At the end, i'd probably ignore the route planner and go from Ampton Street, along Tavistock Place (sticking to the segregated part), and turn at Judd Street.

You know you can look at opencyclemap on openstreetmap.org like - https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/66151802#map=18/51.51517/-0.13198&layers=C ?

Also you can show all the trafficlights like http://overpass-turbo.eu/s/7TQ

opencyclemap near hammersmith flyover (key). If you click layers -> map data you can click on particular roads ("ways") and see exactly how they've been tagged.

>Thanks for the ideas, I have heard of the "library of things" but as far as I know they buy and lend their own things, and don't let people donate items. Plus it's free, if that makes a difference. I still want to own this, I just don't mind lending it to anyone for the rest of the year when I'm not using it.
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>For the website: it's just a static HTML, some CSS (but mostly I used bootstrap to get the basic layout), then the JavaScript (for the overlays and animations) is hand written and I am using webpack to bundle it all, deployed with Netlify
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>Yes I would let it grow beyond this single tool, but I didn't want to build a massive app if no one will borrow even this. - And I would call it a success even if I just get one or two people to borrow it.

I'm sorry to say that I've spent far too long planning out the logistics for this. I'm thinking open guttering connected to each tube of the bike frame that can be used as 'toad roads' to allow him/her to navigate freely without falling off. They would lead up to your basket (I presume everyone has a basket) which would now contain one of these.

Let me know if you need the blueprints.

im using gribgrab's polaris 2 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/GripGrab-Polaris-Waterproof-Winter-Gloves/dp/B0BF4Z7WPC

out of stock on amazon but available elsewhere (Wiggle etc)

they're really good

I don't see what benefit the bike life would give you that a simple set of hooks (e.g.) fixed to the wall wouldn't, assuming you can lift your bike.

Whatever you get I'd suggest also fitting a ground anchor (fit one to a wall instead, and it can become a wall anchor) and locking your bike to that with a heavy chain and padlock (a u lock won't have the neccessary reach). Should be able to position the anchor so that you can lock up several bikes up on hooks at once.

You can buy them for a bike, although I don't personally think I'd find them useful. For instance:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zefal-Unisexs-Dooback-Mirror-Universal/dp/B076DD2F9P/

The URL declares that these mirrors are "unisexs", just in case that is useful information.

The aerodynamic effect? Ha ha ha ha ha ... How fast are you cycling?

Where would I put them? Easy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PDP6X52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Does not being in a full face helmet and without an engine help you understand if the car engine you hear is about to overtake you at a safe or unsafe distance?

I’d recommend getting an Apple AirTag, you can get AirTag hidden compartments for bikes such as this:

AirTag bike

I’ve got one for mine and worry less now.

What I have learned is that the only real defence is to make your bike look less appealing compared to the bikes around it:

- have 3 diff locks (chain + D + ring) *
- get an ebike that has the battery on the rear rack that can be hidden by double panniers**
- make it look grotty with duct tape, white-out splatter etc
- register it on Bike Register and make sure the red sticker is super visible
AND get good insurance (check terms carefully). Because of doing the above I am able to park my bike pretty much anywhere without worrying too much and feel less likely to be bike jacked but still would not leave it overnight anywhere unless I know it is guarded or somewhere that is busy 24/7.

Also, be sure to always remove the computer as they are easy to steal and expensive to replace. There was one attempt to steal my bike from my garden (before 3 locks, Bike Register & grottification:) luckily I was awake to yell them away but they managed to steal the computer (£130 to replace!) I now have a security camera installed and there have been no further attempts.
Enjoy! You will not regret getting an e-bike. It is really great to be able to choose whether I want to use the bike for exercise or just as transport so I can arrive sweat-free / fresh (or both - transport to appt, exercise to home) and with generous panniers and bungee hooks, it is amazing how much I am able to easily carry (big grocery shop, compost and plants from the garden centre etc). I have had my Btwin Elops now for 4 years and love riding it every day!

*locking D+ring lock only adds 10 seconds when parking
**like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wildken-Double-Pannier-Bags-Bike/dp/B07TT96ZLZ?th=1

>Any other ideas? Thanks!
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>Or maybe there's an easier way to just place a backpack flat on the rear rack? But one would have to secure the straps out of the way

Because I'm cheap and wanted to reuse stuff I already had, I tried out the following methods:

1. Put the backpack on its back on the rack and fold the shoulder straps around the front and secure them with the chest strap if your pack has one. Secure with bungee cord which is a bit fiddly or some proper bike straps like these.
2. I bought the basic Decathlon pannier for longer trips and for short commutes just put the backpack into the pannier. I leave the pannier attached to my bike as I don't lock it up in dodgy areas or outside for very long.
3. I've now modified the pannier by moving the attachment clips so that it fits on top of the rear rack not the side. The benefit of this is that it is I can fit a much bigger bag in it without closing the bag and it is nice and aero tucked out of the way! Cons are that it is a faff and probably not useful for most people.

If saving money is important to you then go for #1, otherwise I suggest buying a proper pack-pannier bag.

Depends on how long you are cycling for. You get about an hour of battery life from it. Pretty decent. You could always get a second battery that lasts longer too.

I bought a few mounts but this is what I ended up liking as it’s small.

1/4" Screw Bicycle Bike Handlebar... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08JCTGH5B?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Hello can I please interest you in the following product

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I've an Akaso Brave 7 LE and a hero pro, and while you can't really beat a GoPro, the Brave is perfect for the bike and is a fraction of the cost. The Akaso V50 Elite which is their top of the line camera as far as I understand, is also on sale currently via Prime day.

I totally feel his frustration. Normally I’ll smile and wave at the aggressive ones (think that annoys them even more).

A couple of weeks ago my patience had run out. I nipped out to run errands and was driven at by an idiot. They accelerated at me on a couple of occasions pushing me to the side of the road while I was in front of them crossing lanes trying to turn right.

I gave up and let them pass. Said driver had to stop ahead at the roundabout. I rode onto them, twice. Not my proudest moment, and not right. I guess I expected the driver to pull over and have a go at me, but all they did was accelerate away when the road opened up.

I'm getting tired. I've even looked at riding with a pair of these in order for drivers to maybe give a little more space on my commute! Sunday while out on a 5hr ride, I was driven at twice. Both instances I was forced off the road on a narrow country lane as the vehicles don't slow anymore - their new tactic is to accelerate at you. I’ve been riding on these roads for nearly 20yrs, and these incidences are now a daily occurrence. Used to be something that happened every couple of months.

I’m hoping to get a company transfer to Belgium or The Netherlands where they are a little more friendly to riders on the roads.

I have one of these, though it seems they’re discontinued: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boombot-Ultraportable-Smart-Bluetooth-Speaker-Pitch-Black/dp/B00BM3N21S

Maybe there’s a newer model? The old one I have lasts about 8 hours on a full charge- I mount mine on a phone mount on the stem, so it a pointing right at my face, meaning I don’t need it to be annoyingly loud for other people for me to hear it clearly

You are much better off using a wearable chain lock, that way you don't even feel the weight when riding. I use this and would recommend:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hiplok-ORIGINAL-Wearable-Chain-Bicycle/dp/B00QLC2ZVI

Alternatively pickup from a local retailers like Halfords etc as they are cheaper than on Hiplok site right now.

I really like this 35cm eagle creek garment folder. I can put a smart casual shirt, jeans and underwear in here in a slim folder and it fits neat in an ortlieb pannier. There are cheaper brands available, but I've used the EC stuff for >15years before the many cheap amazon imitations arrived, though they might work just as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eagle-Creek-Garment-Folder-Medium/dp/B00F9S8000/

The 45cm does't fit easily within an ortlieb pannier bag. (I know as i have both and use the larger one for carryon travel cases) and the 35cm requires a bit of careful folding being smaller.

I'm also in SE - here are a couple that I've pieced together:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35315421

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33665600

Both head down around Biggin Hill and Titsey Hill, with a good amount of bridleway and trails at the bottom end of the loop.

Here's the 2019 route - this year's route might be slightly different if they need to take road works or something like that into account.

I've not done it myself, but live close to the start and it's definitely closed roads in London.

Bit weird BHF haven't put the info on their website themselves yet.

Hey there! I'm club secretary of London Gravel, and my club are actually putting on a ride in SE on Saturday - here's a link to the Meetup:

Checkout this Meetup with London Gravel CC: https://meetu.ps/e/KLXtL/LyQHC/i

Might be worth checking out this route collection too: Check out this Collection on komoot — I think you might like it! "LDN GRVL CC - Day Routes " https://www.komoot.com/collection/1303955/-ldn-grvl-cc-day-routes

Have you tried Komoot? This is a route I made from just adding together a bunch of popular segments (ones that still showed when I zoomed out). You can export the routes to a GPX on a PC, or maybe your Garmin has a syncing function with apps?

Also when leaving London, I think Bromley is much nicer than Bexley. Same crap motorists, just it has the scenery of a Kentish village rather than a rundown Medway town.

Lewisham Cyclists also has a number of routes out of London on their website.

If you see something missing, create an OpenStreetMap-account; login with it and add it yourself. All the data goes to OpenStreetMap, the database that also powers OsmAnd, maps.me; mapbox, komoot and so many other sources.

With other words, if you add a missing drinking water spot or a missing bicycle pump, it'll probably be also added into you favourite cycling app at the next update of the app.

I think with three d-locks there's a fairly low chance of the bikes being stolen. Breaking three d-locks is already more effort than getting two bikes from elsewhere that have 1 d-lock or less.

A busier place is better, of course. You might try finding something along Charing Cross Road -- there seem to be a few bike parking spots marked on open street map.

There's this conference paper from a group in Leeds - the Guardian wrote an article on it as well.

It seems to have more to do with the pollution being worst in city centres / time being exposed - cyclists can filter through traffic and so spend less time in the most polluted areas while drivers, bus passengers and pedestrians are stuck in traffic and moving slower and so spend more time being exposed to toxic air.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0784JNVCF

This might work? You might then be able to clamp the camera to the front basket of the bike. I have one for my own bike and getting it on and off is very quick and easy.

You can do a version on quieter roads from Hampton Court. That swaps out Newlands corner (which is a very busy road that's just not nice to cycle on with traffic) for Staple Lane - similar enough climb with a vineyard at the top rather than frustrated drivers in Landrovers - and takes a bit of a detour through Shere so you can have an optional stop at the Dabbling Duck cafe, which is very cyclist friendly.

They've pretty much stuck to the same route since the start, which was the Olympic road race, so it was always Newlands Corner, Leith Hill and Box Hill as the main features (with some minor changes along the way), and of course finishing by going round Westminster and cross the line in front of Buckingham Palace. This is the first time they're completely changing it up, including moving it from July to May so there's not really a precedent for when they announce things.

There's also a new 3-day pro event taking place a the same time, so they'll probably have to work around that a bit (as with drivers complaining to Essex council).

One route option, if they want to emphasise London's cycling again like with the Olympic road race, would be something along these lines taking in much of the route of the 2014 Tour de France stage that finished on the Mall.

This is the bit of cycleway that links CS3 to CS6: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/475978802

There is an alternative which is to start like you did up Queen Victoria Street, then immediately turn right at the Mermaid down Puddle Dock, then left just before Upper Thames Street and join CS3 at Castle Baynard Street. It's quite a bit shorter but does mean a (signal controlled) right turn in potentially fairly heavy traffic.

I use a Dragon Touch 4K - it's the cheapest GoPro knock-off I could find that included image stabilisation. It cost me ~£40 and I can't complain. I'm sure more expensive cameras will do a better job but for the price I'm happy with it. It comes with a bunch of different mounting brackets (the standard GoPro compatible sizes) and I'm pretty certain it would work equally well on a car or bike.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07W7P1Y9V

Serfas Vulcan 350 Tail Light

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LLFNRYH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_H8MVPP0ZNA6JQ6VS0GVZ?

Is USB-C (only from a USB-A source though… like almost all models I know)

BLINDINGLY bright (folks behind you will complain)

180 degree visibility

Tough construction

No smarts of any kind… and low battery signal is a faint blue dot in the middle of a blinging red light

Thanks!

This one looks suspicious (frame is new, bar/wheels look out of place). But even now, it's not clear what to do since I don't have the serial number.

My recommendation isn't to build your own as your first bike. It will be more expensive, more difficult and more time consuming.

Keep scouring the classifieds - I'm not sure what size you are but 80s style bikes pop up all the time:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/dawes-giro-300-superb-cr-mo-road-bike-54cm/1385580780

Also, if you do find a bike that's flat bar with gears, it's not always just as simple as changing the bars and shifters. There's different cable pull ratios for both gears and brakes that you'll need to take into account when mixing/matching.

Weirdly this looks like an identical copy of this expired advert (so I think it might be a fake advert). https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/eddy-merckx-amx-1-road-bike-shimano-tiagra-105-groupset-excellent-condition/1338925534

Also the cables are black, whereas mine were white, so think it is not mine.

I'll keep looking online, hoping it'll turn up!

Do you want to get on the train or not? I'm confused. You can easily ride out of London.

Try these - https://www.strava.com/local/uk/london/cycling/routes/125 or https://www.strava.com/local/uk/london/cycling/routes/117

The second could be shortened with some train help.

A lot of people have replied already so I won't repeat what's already been said, but if you want to get your strength up then there's nothing like hills to build up your stamina. Since you already cycle around Regents Park, have you tried veering off and cycling up Primrose Hill? There are also lots of good climbs on your doorstep such as Swain's Lane which is a very scenic climb, plus there's Ally Pally, here are some ideas: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/6713335

You could also going a local cycling club to get your confidence up, many do rides suitable for beginners.

Look up the Palace to Palace route - it’s an annual sportive that starts on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace and goes past Windsor Castle. Do that in reverse and you’ve got yourself an interesting route!

Edit: here’s the 2019 route on RideWithGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30571427

There's the yearly London Revolution route (which does kind of ignore East London).

But if you search on sites like ridewithgps, you can find routes that stick to the M25 more.

Some of the roads in RideLondon are really busy (Newlands Corner for instance) and I wouldn't ride them with traffic.

However, I've got this route that follows the idea of the RideLondon route on roads that are a lot nicer (just starts/ends at Hampton Court), but swaps out Newlands Corner for Staple lane (similar climb, but on a nice quiet road), and still goes over Leith and Box Hill. And it might include a cafe stop at the Dabbling Duck in Shere.

Have a look on rwgps. Just a quick look has showed some promising results. The search function is very good and I usually go for rides which have been ridden the most.

https://ridewithgps.com/find#search/0/search%5Boffset%5D=0&search%5Buser_id%5D=&search%5Bstart_distance%5D=5&search%5Bstart_location%5D=Walthamstow&search%5Bkeywords%5D=&search%5Blength_min%5D=30&search%5Blength_max%5D=45&a...

I did https://ridewithgps.com/routes/5235577 fairly recently, it was quite nice, I rode past southend onto Leigh to get nice fish and chips and a train back.

It does have quite a bit of elevation and beware of a lovely looking cricket pitch halfway through with a hidden ditch, don't cycle into it and go over the handlebars like I did :D

I borrowed this route a few summers ago: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15183954

Day 1 - London > Exeter. Big day...

Day 2 - Exeter > Lands End > Penzance. Very hilly day...

Mostly very scenic. Then I came back a different route via Somerset over another two days. 4 days total.

Airbnb/Booking.com for me rather than camping. Booked the same afternoon when I knew where I could get to that day.

Carried very little. Change of cycling kit, shorts/tshirt/flip flops/Gilet for evenings. Toothbrush.

My advice would be not to think about it too much and just do it, otherwise you'll keep find a reason why you can't fit it in.

I've often found Ride with GPS useful for finding new routes.

https://ridewithgps.com/find

Just put your postcode in and set it to find routes within 1 or 2 km, and then you can narrow it down to certain distances and elevations. There can be drawbacks - whoever made the route might not have any more knowledge than you of the area, but if you spot that the same person has made several routes it can be an indication that they know the area reasonably well.

routes.cc has my goto recommendations (toys + ide, knatts valley), but some good places to carry on from there:

ride of the falling leaves: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7739511 (~100km from herne hill velodrome) hell of the ashdown: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26366083 (~100k from biggin hill, or ~160k from dulwich/peckham etc)

other than that, depends on what you're into. assuming you're heading out via crystal palace, all the good routes go out via layhams but the hipsters go out via orchard way or the glade, down spout hill (watch out for the very sharp corner at the bottom), and then up featherbed to the white bear pub. woldingham school is hidden in an incredible secluded valley with stunning views, and it's super quiet, especially now.

make sure you've tried all the climbs up the north downs. chalkpit is especially awful but great fun. star hill is nice. brasted is short and sweet.

try and get further south too - the roads around hever and chiddingstone are lovely too.

if you want specific routes, drop me a DM with a bit more info about distance/hills/etc that you're looking for - don't really want to share my strava toooooo widely.

Something like this would work for you https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32678213. You could use the Waterlink Way to cut out the main road stretch through Catford, but there should be temp bike lanes going up soon!

I used to commute this everyday, this:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32601868

Was about my favourite route. I've ended on the CS6 segregated highway, You can drop south via Russel square to find a bike cut through over New Oxford Street.

I wear KINGSBOM -40℉ Waterproof & Windproof Thermal Gloves, it has a 3M Thinsulate layer, and my hands feel comfortable when I ride my bike. Here's a link if you are interested https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HMFC49R/

What about something second hand? This doesn't look too bad: https://www.gumtree.com/p/bicycles/eastway-fb-3.0-tiagra-aluminium-road-bike-medium-hydraulic-disk-brakes-lock/1341267871

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If not, I think planet X are excellent.

Saw this thought of you ... got it from Lambeth volunteering

I cycle this route pretty often and I'd suggest the following amendments going along the new quietway, you'll see a lot of bike traffic that way and you get a nice little run through burgess park as a bonus. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1670722103

In my opinion - Camberwell New Road/Walworth isn't ideal as there is lots of busses, a lot of traffic lights and lots of pedestrians walking in the street - also you a right to avoid the roundabout like the plague

Depends on where exactly you're starting - I used to use this route to get to clapham common: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.4579629,-0.1949489/51.4609997,-0.1617685/@51.461706,-0.1838102,14.83z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m15!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1910324!2d51.4591217!3s0x48760f63ae290fd5:0x809cdc8bc7507e56!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1875521!2d51.4608!3s0x4876058820...

Then from clapham common you can pick up the marked (old, paint-on-floor quiet roads) route 25 https://www.bikemap.net/en/o/2722/#10.78/51.456/-0.075

It's somewhat signposted but not perfectly in a lot of places. Expect to get your phone out to double check a lot. But slower paced than going on the superhighways.

I know what you mean, riding round in a circle can get quite dull after a while. I also struggle with early mornings - hoping to be there at 8 tomorrow but not making any promises!

The pace for our group C ride is about 12-14mph. This is the route planned for this Sunday http://connect.garmin.com/course/4067863 only it starts at Whittington Park just off Holloway Road.

Ah good to hear that worked out - definitely one of my favorites as well! Once I've gotten onto the forest trails, I've mostly just winged it so not sure I'd have anything too specific. If you head generally northeast on the trails you'll hit Acorn Hut / Kings Oak (both closed now I'm sure) and beyond that Epping itself.

In terms of other routes, I've done this one quite a bit less, but if you stay on the Lea north to Broxbourne and make a left (vague sorry), you can hit Broxbourne Woods. Then mostly follow off trail back into Tottenham. I think last time I did it I roughly followed this, but went further west from Broxbourne then down into Goffs Oak, etc.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20629096

I haven't ridden it for a while and Epping is a natural forest so parts of the section in the forest may or may not be rideable depending on trees falling etc. but that will get you there. Once you are in the forest you can stick to the easy main paths of get lost on the single tracks depending on your preference, conditions and bike (you'll need some mud tyres if you want to go off the main gravel trails at this time of year).

That's a terrible route. To get to St Alban's you're better off going up through Chipping Barnet and towards London Colney, which isn't a very pretty route, but is rather quiet. Here's the route I use, starting from the North Circular.

You can turn it into a longer loop through Hatfield and Potters Bar, go down through Enfield and take Green Lanes to get back into Central.

This is the loop https://www.komoot.com/tour/343535342

I normally come from the parkland walk extension too and then go clockwise round the park starting at the top of the off road track you mentioned and heading to the north east corner for a nice piece of downhill singletrack, then looping round the south side to do the track as a climb. Done counterclockwise the singletrack in the north east makes for a really fun technical climb

This is the one I use, a shortened version of a route I got from my bike club (Richmond Park Velo). https://www.komoot.com/tour/365291961

Main thing is to avoid Leatherhead Road through Maldon Rushett.

Thanks, sorted my final route last night.

Way back is similar to this although I decided to skirt a bit more north on the way out, going up by Regents to Brent Cross and then cutting across Harrow to head out NW to Amersham/Chesham > Thame> Oxford

LOL from HHV

Hey really nice route. I've created it in Komoot if anyone wants to follow it https://www.komoot.com/tour/320422754?share_token=a44Aw61LUQgdH6lufERDhH8rqNipJz67HqKgobs2cCaat4qk72&ref=wtd

It leaves Judd Street a little earlier because it avoids a traffic light and takes you through a quieter bit, you can even see someone join from the left who's probably taken this route.

Anyway hope someone else finds it useful.

I was quite happy with this one. Probably the best route i found while i lived that way.

I have a route I do that goes from the North Circular to St Albans, looping back through Hatfield, Potters Bar, and Enfield for a ~42 miles trip.

It goes along the Alban Way, which is a walkway/cycle route between St Albans and Hatfield on an old railway track. There are still the old platforms of the stations along it, which is a lot of fun. It does get busy when the weather's nice and people are out of work/school, though.

You can easily get to the starting area from Finsbury by going along Wightman Road through Hornsey, up through Wood Green, and past Ally Pally. Coming back you could continue straight down Green Lanes, but once you reach Haringey (so pass the North Circular) you lose the cycle lane and it's fucking dreadful.

The nice thing about it is it gives you a sort of metronomic motivation to keep going. Lewes is really nice, as is the route, feel free to use the outward leg, then easy train home: https://www.komoot.com/invite-tour/172449666?code=1knmn9-cPaktI0luZ6uUGI3BHVB7GLSFbFnd55SmrQfKnVvc8s

Where are you heading to? As others have said, the pedestrian bridge over the North Circular negotiates that challenge (it's a bit weird, but works) and then if you head down the A5 until you're nearing Kilburn that's just a straight line so it's pretty safe even if it's not the most appealing road. You can then leave the A5 and weave across to get towards somewhere more central.

For the more central element, depending on where you work, just weave across and leave the A5 behind. I head from between Kilburn/West Hampstead into work using this route - aside from a quick 200m blast on the main road at Swiss Cottage, it's super quiet.

Feel free to use the outward leg of this route I’ve done last year: https://www.komoot.com/tour/66755846?ref=itd. It packs some punchy climbs in the middle, but they are sort of inevitable as you will have to cross the High Weald one way or another. Personally, I rate the section out of London, and you will most likely enjoy the section through the Bedgebury National Pinetum (smooth gravel warning, easily doable on 28c tyres and up).

You might want to try this route

I do it quite regularly and have tried and tested it for dozens of times. It’s quite flat, relatively safe and quite enjoyable.

You might want to stop at the G!ro cafe in Esher for a cuppa before coming back, and if you want to go further you can go to Cobham.

Another option is to have a bacon bap at the Pen Ponds cafe in Richmond park. 😄