Route advice - noob

Hi All,

Coming back to cycle commuting due to a job change, TBH I have been rolling out of bed and jogging a mile to work daily so the new commute of ~15 miles is gonna be a blow.

**I have cycle commuted in London, Bristol, Milan and Rome, so, not a total noob.

So, I need to get from Uxbridge to PAddington Basin. Google says; Canal towpath all the way - 15 miles, do not pass go and do not collect £200.

My head says, road it - A4020 almost all the way....but I might get killed.

Any good advice on: route, what the Canal towpath is like and if I am likely to be mugged?

Thanks!

I know someone who did the towpath commute for a while, including in the depths of winter. He didn't get mugged but it was a fairly slow journey overall. Good tyres and lights needed, anyway.

Wetsuit, snorkel? Best avoid beers on the way home...

So, I need to get from Uxbridge to PAddington Basin. Google says; Canal towpath all the way - 15 miles, do not pass go and do not collect £200.

This thread might be useful.. We live by it, at Little Vennice. I'd ride it in summer and give myself an easy life, not sure about winter when it's dark. Unlike the Lea Nav at the moment I think you are more likely to be offered illegal substances and be able to watch fight club style al-fresco boxing matches than be mugged, but still bits of it feel remote and secluded.

The surface is mostly good but on a skinny tyre it can get a bit sketch where the tarmac has been broken up by tree roots.

Not very likely but it will be deserted in places and remote from 'public' areas.

The more pressing concern is the sketchy nature of the path, it is a footpath not a cycle track and has plenty of obstacles.

Thanks all,

I am selling my Racing bike (aende) and looking for a Tricross SSCX bike for all season commute. Also building a Monster cross out of my Surly 1 x 1 MTB......

Thanks all,

I am selling my Racing bike (aende) and looking for a Tricross SSCX bike for all season commute. Also building a Monster cross out of my Surly 1 x 1 MTB......