Manchester to Birmingham

I've had the stupid idea or riding my bike to birmingham and then running a half marathon the next day. Has anyone ever ridden to Birmingham before. Did you do it fixed? Is it hilly?

Cheers

Dan

Rode it over two days in 2011. Went through Macc, Rudyard Lake, East of Stoke on Trent, over Cannock Chase (camped there), then down to Coleshill. Was lumpy in places, some nice quiet road stretches at times. Was geared not fixed.

A guy in the Tri club is doing a one day route going up over Bollington, thru Longnor, thru Ashbourne and onto B'ham (Balsall Common) that way.

Good luck.

Had a guy come in the shop saying he was going to do it there and back in 12 hours for charity. Don't think he'd done much riding before, what with him looking at the road bikes we stock and all. He is giving himself until June to do it though, good luck to him

^ about 14mph average should do it, assuming no stops.

I did the maths too. It's doable, but I dunno if 8 months training from a non cycling start will be enough. Told him to keep me updated on his progress though.

Sell him a turbo & tell him to spend the winter in his new pain cave. He'll be back by tea-time then...

We don't have turbos.

Rollers?

Hair?

Most of the people living in Levy/Longsight have no call for such things.

They all own Wattbikes?

Every single one of them.

I've rode to South Wales fixed heading almost exactly south via Telford area. The terrain is pretty easy going, I got the first 70 out the way in around 5 hours. it's after there that I found myself deep on the Shropshire hills. Hang a left at Telford and you should avoid it, though I can't confirm that as I kept heading south and got fucked over by hills, took me another 5 hours to get 30 miles.

I'd be up for this, I'd have to get the train up there then I could ride back.

I'd love to be part of this, it looks like a long haul. EVEN BETTER!

I can't do the half marathon anymore but I'm really up for giving this a go. I'd be quite up for getting the train there then ending up back in manchester. I think it would work better.

Is this the race on the 21st October by any chance? I know someone who's doing it. I don't mind making my way there, heckling a bit, and cycling back.

I've done liverpool to B'ham in a day, it was bloody grim, and then i was in B'ham, which is bloody grim.

I'd advise:
1- Planning a decent route, I didn't and ended up on horrible A roads.
2-Not making it your first cleated ride. I did and ended up doing a zero mph crash at a busy roundabout.
3- Not continuing on to London the day after. I did and then went to see Andrew Wetherall at the Eagle, which was interesting.

Good luck though

I've done liverpool to B'ham in a day, it was bloody grim, and then i was in B'ham, which is bloody grim.

I'd advise:
1- Planning a decent route, I didn't and ended up on horrible A roads.
2-Not making it your first cleated ride. I did and ended up doing a zero mph crash at a busy roundabout.
3- Not continuing on to London the day after. I did and then went to see Andrew Wetherall at the Eagle, which was interesting.

Good luck though

In terms of route planning for uk longer distances are there any good online resources?
I'm planning Manc-Cornwall and Manc-London next summer stopping at friends along the way.
It would be nice to use roads avoiding Eastern European truck drivers who've never seen a tachograph.

In terms of route planning for uk longer distances are there any good online resources?
I'm planning Manc-Cornwall and Manc-London next summer stopping at friends along the way.
It would be nice to use roads avoiding Eastern European truck drivers who've never seen a tachograph.

Google Maps has a cycling option, and will find cycle paths wherever they are. Should be ok as a basis certainly.

Thanks I'll check it out.

Google Maps has a cycling option, and will find cycle paths wherever they are. Should be ok as a basis certainly.

Hmmm. I found googlemaps cycle option to be very beta still when I last tried it.

e.g. Try Manchester -> Sale Waterside last time I tried that search it suggested the A56 instead of the parallel canal path. B'ham Intn'l to Cov was routed along the A45 dual carriageway instead of the quitter back lanes.

It seems to default to the fast road with painted cycle lane option wherever it can, ignoring more pleasant alternatives. Hopefully they'll improve it over time.

^ I've had similar experience with Google Maps' cycling planner. My method these days involves plenty of Street Views to judge how pleasant the roads are. It's tedious and manual but it took me to places I would've never checked out before!

Anybody have experience of on-the-go smartphone charging solutions.
When using Strava a full charge on my iphone gets me to Jodrell bank and back but I've started taking my charger and giving it a blast while I have a brew in the cafe there so I can extend my rides.
Ultimately I'd like a permanent solution though.
P.s I had a wind up charger but it never once worked.

I used a portable battery charger when touring. It's just an extra battery you charge at home then plug your phone into it when needed. It's not 100% efficient but it does work. There's plenty of brands, search for "travel battery".

But to be honest, I gave up on using my phone for GPS now, they just eat too much juice, and die when you really need them (e.g. when you need an ambulance.) I now use a Garmin thingy which saves tracks as gpx and lasts 3 days worth of good cycling.

Smartphones might replace it in a few years, not soon though.