# 3 canals, 115 miles, harder than i thought.



## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 Aug 2010)

hi all,

just thought i'd let you know how the brompton (16 inch wheeled folder) performed on dirty muddy bumpy canals.

i intended to complete the leeds liverpool canal, end to end.

i started at leeds lock 1 at 06:30hrs

i took a wrong turn in wigan, ended up in leigh via another canal and
finished at the barton swing aqueduct via the bridgewater canal. totaling 115
miles according to bikehike.co.uk.

i'm very very tired. the brompton performed faultlessly. it was single track for at
least 40 miles, very very muddy in places. the stock saddle is now squished
flat.

i chose the wrong bike for the ride, but the right one for a lift to the start
and home from the end.

it was so rough in places i was thrown from the saddle.

i have completed the 'mary townley loop' twice on my mtb and that was hard,
today's ride was far harder, there is hardly any respite from the pedaling.

the paths were mostly made up, but at least 30 to 40 miles overall were not made
up at all, like little roller coaster mud rides thru, effectively what were fields.

well done to the brompton.

for anybody wanting to to the leeds liverpool end to end, TAKE THE RIGHT HAND BRANCH AT WIGAN!!!

the bridgewater canal towpath is not a pleasant place to be.

it took me 13 hours of non stop grueling pedaling. there is no respite from pedaling, you stop pedaling, you stop moving.

next time i do it, it will be on my scott.


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## RedBike (17 Aug 2010)

Fantasic achievement there mate. 

I did it on a MTB and still had a major struggle with the mud at one ponit.


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## jethro10 (17 Aug 2010)

An interesting view on a canal ride.

I also find quite often folk saying a simple hybrid with no suspension is ok for Canal paths.

Some can be harder and bumpier than dedicated blue routes.

My fried lives in Leeds, probably doing this run next summer,

Ok, left at Wigan, got it ;-)

Jeff


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 Aug 2010)

thanks red, i still 93 miles on the leeds liverpool.

jethro, it's doable on any bike. just harder. wish your mate good luck.


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## xpc316e (29 Aug 2010)

Maximum respect: 115 miles on a Brompton is worthy of a medal, but that distance under the circumstances you describe is legendary. I have ridden our work Brompton on odd occasions, and I would not fancy 5 miles on a towpath with it.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (29 Aug 2010)

xpc316e said:


> Maximum respect: 115 miles on a Brompton is worthy of a medal, but that distance under the circumstances you describe is legendary. I have ridden our work Brompton on odd occasions, and I would not fancy 5 miles on a towpath with it.



hehehe...thanks. i did a cc ride of 115 miles 5 days later and wasn't last or worn out. love the b. truly multimodal bike of hidden talent.


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## HLaB (30 Aug 2010)

Well done bromptonfb the furthest I've been on a semi surfaced canal path is just Edinburgh to Falkirk ( I think thats less than 35 miles and at worst a mud path)


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## jimboalee (6 Sep 2010)

Well done.

The route round these parts starts at Brindley Place in the centre of Brum. It's Fig 8 route down the Worcester, turn left down the Stratford upon Avon, turn left and north on the Grand Union ( the Warwickshire Loop ). At Aston, there is the option of going North and going round the Tame Valley and Walsall anticlock, or going straight through Brum back to Brindlay Place and going in a Wolverhampton direction and turn right on the Walsall and then the Tame Valley and Fazeley clockwise back to Brindley Place.
100 km the whole trip.

Jimbo's tips for riding the canal tow paths around the West Midlands.



1/ Get a Permit. These are applied for and printed off on the British Waterways website.

2/ Check the map. The best map you can find. There is very little information about which bridge you must cross to access the correct path, unless you have a keen sense of adventure.

3/ Install wide knobbly tyres, preferably with a central continuous keel. Over 1.5 inches.

4/ Install gears that allow you to climb a 25% gradient.

5/ Install lamps on your bike. There are tunnels.

6/ Install mudguards. There are muddy pools.

7/ Research where there are shops and toilets. There are no toilets.

8/ Do not expect to average more than 10 mph. Throw out all your previous kCals calcs.

9/ Be courteous to everyone. You may have taken a wrong turn and need to pass them again.

10/ Know how to carry your bike comfortably. There are stairways.


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## Campfire (14 Nov 2010)

Excellent. Well done. Canals are not easy to cycle along. They're ok if the path is wide but when there's only a 'sheep track' you're constantly afraid of falling into the water if you look other than at the path. I was along the canal the other week and it had rained buckets days before. I hardly saw any scenery and was glad I was only using it as a short cut.


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## lukesdad (14 Nov 2010)

Brave Man !


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## billflat12 (19 Nov 2010)

Done them muddy stretches fully loaded with camping gear on a hybrid shod with townie tyres in heavy rain , must admit i spun out of the tyre ruts a few times. luckily ending up in a hedge , problems i had included aggressive swans, doggy doo an motorcycle barriers, especially near wigan, even had to negotiate a steel spiral staircase where the towpath was closed in liverpool. put me off distance towpath riding using anything other than my mtb credit card trekking . your better sticking to a sustrans routes otherwise


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## tallguy1 (16 Dec 2010)

thats some acheivment well done wango lane to lydiate is enough for me


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