Routes

[Young Un]

i am starting to be able to up my cycling distances now - can do 15 miles easily - i know this isnt that much but anyway.

but i am finding it hard to find routes to take. i have an os landranger map of the area but everytime i look at it i only seem to be able to find a 7 mile route or perhaps a 9 mile route. and so because of this to do 15 miles on my own i have to do two laps of a 8 mile loop - which isnt very interesting the second time around. - i know there are ways of doing it becuase we do 15 miles on the cycling clubs slipstreamers ride - i just have no idea on where we are going.

so what i am really asking is how do you guys find a desent length route?

 

[Blue]

As an interim measure, you could turn the bike at the end of your 8 mile loop and cycle in the other direction on the same loop - things do look different when you do that

Otherwise, what I so is explore - I just take new roads to see where they lead and I have found some interesting rides that way, although you do have to be prepared to exceed your expected mileage on occasions.

 

[Young Un]

i do do that - go the other way round but because the loop is so local i know the area really well already - plus i have ridden it on lots of occasions

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Go on Google maps - put two postcodes in - your home one and one nearby. When it shows you the route you can click on the line drawn and drag it to wherever you want - Google will recalculate the distance for you so you can add a bit or move a bit here and there until you get something suitable.

 

[Chris James]

I don't know if I am being dense, but why don't you just look for loops on the map that are twice the length of the 7 milers that you have been looking at?

If you have problems visualising how long this is then you could cut a piece of string to the correct length beforehand and use that to give yourself a quick guide as to whether the ride you are looking at would be in the right ball park. You'll soon get used to approx how long the route will appear on the map.

Failing that, you could log into Bikely or Mapmyride and see if any other people near you have logged rides you might be interested in doing.

 

[Young Un]

thanks guys

 

[wafflycat]

I look at my OS map..

 

[RedBike]

i know there are ways of doing it becuase we do 15 miles on the cycling clubs slipstreamers ride - i just have no idea on where we are going.

Pay attention to the road signs everytime you turn and the places you cycle past. / Failing that ask somebody at the end which way you went!

You should be able to work out which way you went even if you're a little unsure exactly which roads you took.

 

[wafflycat]

For a longer route - especially one into an area that is new for me, I decide on the route using my OS sheets, I then print off the route on to A4 sheets (two copies). One set I take with me and the other is left with MrW, so that if I have a problem en route, mrW knows, with ease, exactly where I am. Works well for me - especially as most of my cycling is done solo.

 

[Joe24]

Well when i first started cycling i used to go down road, do a lap round the block and keep repeating it.
To find the larger routes i used roads that i have been down in the car, then worked a way back from there. I once worked out a loop in my head, and asked someone half way to make sure i was heading back, I used the A612 as a road, ent off it, around a village then back onto it. Then it was going down roads i've been on, on club rides and turning off them and making a way back.
Get to know villages, and if you get lost or just need to make sure, ask for directions when you see someone. Keep an eye out for signs and if you can, keep an eye on something in the village your going to, or something that is on the way, and keep that on one side.
Never bother to take a map out on the ride, look at one before then just remember it in my head.
You just need some confidence, and working out the route in your head helps. Just remember what villages you wont to go to, and look for the signs. Remeber the villages past it so you know if you see a turn off for that, then you have gone too far.

 

[Kovu]

Get lost, what I did do when I did alot of miles.

 

[Young Un]

unless im not looking hard enough when we do the club runs there aint that many sign posts - i just know were we go out and roughly the way we come back in - the bit in between -

i will indeed look at my os map tomoz.

the trouble i found with the sites like mapmyride was that because the route was over the road it was hard to tell what is a junction and what is a bend etc etc

 

[domtyler]

I know you're only young and most likely skint (I know I was at that age!) but seriously, one of the best cycling aids I have ever bought is my Garmin Edge. It means that I can go out as far as I feel like and get completely and utterly lost in the lanes and then hit the take me home button and get guided back to my door by the shortest route. It really is a great little toy, get it on your Santa's list now!!

 

[Joe24]

I know you're only young and most likely skint (I know I was at that age!) but seriously, one of the best cycling aids I have ever bought is my Garmin Edge. It means that I can go out as far as I feel like and get completely and utterly lost in the lanes and then hit the take me home button and get guided back to my door by the shortest route. It really is a great little toy, get it on your Santa's list now!!

Big girl!! All you need to do is guess, whats the worst that can happen?

 

[Kovu]

I know you're only young and most likely skint (I know I was at that age!) but seriously, one of the best cycling aids I have ever bought is my Garmin Edge. It means that I can go out as far as I feel like and get completely and utterly lost in the lanes and then hit the take me home button and get guided back to my door by the shortest route. It really is a great little toy, get it on your Santa's list now!!

Besides, being lost and trying to find your way back makes the ride more fun, more miles and makes you see more routes