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I'm in North London and have yet to find any on/off routes within easy cycle reach. Anybody know of some? Ideally not far off Barnet. (GPS coordinates a bonus).
Preferably simple stuff - nothing too technical - the kind of thing I could do in under two hours. (For what it's worth I ride a Kinesis Tripster ATR with Gravel Grinder 38mm tyres when on/off road, so not beyond what that can handle).
Cheers
Avoid Swains Lane tomorrow! Although could be fun on the Tripster.
Cycling up the Lee valley is always nice.
yeah lee valley into Hertforshire.
Get the Lost Lanes book. Ace for London-based cyclists.
There's any number of bridleways and ways to link them up if you go South Mimms, North Mimms, south of London Colney, north of Shenley and Radlett and then towards Brickett Wood. Basically follow the M25 and have a look at a map. Despite the motorway some of it is actually quite scenic.
Look on Strava for our Hell of the North route.
Most of us use a myriad of lanes/bridleways that criss cross North London/Herts and into Epping and back, Strava has all these on so head there and do a search.
Failing that, I use Lea Valley canal toepath for a blast out and back, but it's always busy so you'll need to keep an eye out for families and drunks and other riders.....
Look at the old rapha Flanders day routes.
There's also loads accessible from west and south-west London out into the Surrey Hills.
I'll look into arranging a Saturday or Sunday STW ride starting from Richmond either in a couple of weeks or early November.
Thank you all for your ideas. I will check them out over the coming months. Cheers.
Hello. I'm in Finchley and ride through Barnet several times a week.
Good advice above.
Have you tried Hadley wood,Trent park,,Herts way to Goffs oak,into wormley woods,a bit of Broxbourne? Then either east to the canal & Epping. or you can keep going through Hertford out towards Stevenage and beyond. Or west to essendon,Welham green...North mymms....
Loads of options .
I usually use the canal early doors or through the week and plan my ride so when I'm on the canal I have a tail wind. š
I made the mistake of using it last Sunday and rode past two riders down...looked like a collision. š
& Epping forest ,today was magnificent. Enjoy it while you can.
Hi SeƱor. I ride out from Finchley too :-), so that sounds perfect. I've ridden through many of those, but only as a tarmac road route. Don't suppose you have a gps file(s) or similar reference from what you mean - I'm rather good at getting lost! Or perhaps from the next time you venture out that way. Cheers.
Hello again.
Sorry I don't have any gps-it's all in my head..#luddite.
I may have a little trot next week & would be happy to show you a few bits and bobs before it becomes a bog.
You could easily waste an hour or so doing Trent park via bits of Dollis valley walk /cycle route to Barnet through hadley woods and back via new Southgate.. ....not this weekend though ,bear grylls has an adventure race in Trent park.
From Barnet, into Monkden Hadley, dive into woods behind cricket pitch, head down, over the railway line, up to Cockfosters, into Trent Park (there's a route around the perimeter), out at Hadley Road entrance, short road section off to Rectory Farm, after you've gone under railway take the left turn, out at Crews Hill golf club, road to Cattlegate Farm, pick up farm track, after going under railway turn left up to Cuffley tennis club, left on road and then either loop back to Cattlegate Farm & retrace your steps or back home on road via Potters Bar.
Senor J has very good knowledge of Epping, he took me for a guided tour
This is my local short loop, do it with the dog straight from my door. Long enough that I bother to strava it, short (and slow) enough that the dog is happy. Lots of cheeky footpath but they're always empty
https://www.strava.com/activities/737482156/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-GB&v=1475951439
Lots of options to extend. If you have lights and do night riding then there are loads of options (as no one round here walks anywhere after dark)
This is great everyone. I've now more than enough to keep me happy locally for a while. Thank you Senor for the offer - would love to take you up on that. And to Ben - quite a few of your Strava loops look terrific and within a minute of where I live! Had no idea how to join it up and navigate it all. Now I do. Cheers!
And to you all, no idea of the road surface on your suggested routes - is it a general mix of tarmac/gravel/dirt/mud/grassy/leafy - so all rounder tyres good - or should I need something a little more specific or capable - e.g. invest in a tyre particularly good with mud / winter mush? (I've currently got 38mm Challenge gravel grinder 38mm as a compromise to cater for both road journeys and dry dirt/gravel - do you reckon I'll get away with this - or perhaps even my 28mm 4 seasons road tyres?)
@Ben P. Loved your short route. Went early doors Saturday. Was amazed at having this kind of raw countryside on my doorstep. Had a sketchy moment downhill on the loose gravel single track next to the barbed wire and cows. Slid out. The thought of that wire round my neck made me shudder for a few minutes! But fun.
[url= https://flic.kr/p/NcyD3q ]Country on the city doorstep. [/url]
Nice Pic. (if you airbrushed the giant robot out) š
Surprisingly pretty around there.
Good stuff mate, glad you found it helpful, it's nice to pay it forward!
I usually do that as a climb (cows to my left) and sometimes have a rest on the bench next to the fishing pond. It was cut by the farmer recently so is OK at the moment, plus they've taken out the gate/obstacle part way up
I've found the last few rides on that path slightly disturbing though, I'm usually with the dog and they follow the dog up the path. On one ride in particular they were literally running after him! So far no problems, just a bit nerve wracking
There's more in the area, but that's my favourite one as its quick and easy
It's running OK at the moment but it gets very muddy on some of those sections, and very very wet. The bit from Southover will be completely impassable in a couple of months, last time I went there in the winter I had to turn around, wheels couldn't turn in my frame as the mud was so thick. I suspect you'll need a proper mud/cross tyre to cope in that area (I do it on a rigid or HT mountain bike with mud tyres in the winter)
Dogs loose in fields with cows can be quite dangerous. Not for the cows, but for the dog and the owner.
It's not in the field, I'm in a path that's fenced off from the field - in fact it's a path that fenced on both sides from the fields that are either side. There is no chance I'd cycling through there with the dog if there was no way of separating them!
It's only a wire fence with barbed wire running over the top so whilst the cows and me/dog are separated, it's hardly going to hold back a half ton plus bit of beef, or a few of them
They stand at the top of the field and watch me sitting on the bench, which is about 10 metres away from the it. And when the dog goes near the fence (not goading them, just wondering around) they get even more interested