UKC

Why are there plenty of mountain biking guidebooks but no on-road? I'm training for a 100km event and sick of riding my local roads...

In reply to jules699: Go on Strava and look at other peoples rides near to you, or join a club ad find some new routes on club runs.

In reply to jules699: get the 100 greatest climbs book or both and incorporate those into your rides.

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut: But I don't want to have to register to a site to get ideas....

In reply to sleavesley: Both being? Thanks for advice.

In reply to jules699: one of the two books, the second being this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-100-Greatest-Cycling-Climbs/dp/0711232652/r...

Gets you cycling around the country.
Are you a British Cycling member? If so they have some rides. There is a great ride from Bala over to Lake Vyrnwy and back taking in great countryside and some steep climbs.

Have you got a garmin? Only asking as you can then download routes or design your own using garmin connect, map my ride etc

There are a few road cycling books about - have a look at the books in your local go outdoors as last time I was there I saw a few.
The only books I have are cycling in a France and Switzerland but there are some for the UK http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/index.cfm/menu/36/cid/48/catalogue/cyclin...

In reply to jules699:

Technology to the rescue!

I'm not sure if this is available in English yet but I think it will meet your requirement for new routes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCp-JSVSNZM&feature=youtube_gdata_playe...

In reply to jules699: this is another book which has some lovely rides in some of which are local to me http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-British-Bike-Rides-Cyclists/dp/1906148554/ref...

In reply to sleavesley: Cheers - am just a novice trg for a 100km. Up to 100 m this week. Got 91 m last. Will investigate your resources. Ta!

OS maps are available online - as well as being the best hillwalking guidebooks, they rock for bike routes.

In reply to jules699:

Erm...why?

In reply to jules699:
Try ridewithgps.com - no need to register.

You can search routes within any distance of anywhere, eg within 50 miles of Edinburgh, and you can also search routes by mimimum and maximum distance, eg between 40 and 80 miles.

Think if you then want to download route you need to be a member, but useful just for looking for ideas of what others are doing.

In reply to jules699:
Sustrans sell maps with routes on which are also signposted on the ground. just bought the one for York and Hull £6.99 which has several routes on the Yorkshire wolds. It has more detail than a road map and seems better than an O.S. map for road cycling.

In reply to webbo:

But those routes (at least the ones shown on their website, I've not seen the hard copy maps) include sections of gravelled and dirt tracks that are awful on a road bike, and the maps helpfully don't provide you with any way of knowing this without going there and finding out. Which seems like a fairly substantial flaw to me...

In reply to victim of mathematics:

I tried to follow Sustrans route 20 from outside London once (thought it would make a good route to Brighton), but some of it was totally unrideable. Sometimes because it's offroad and not suitable for a road bike, and sometimes because the bits on paths next to the main roads are completely overgrown. I found it very strange really, like all they had done was publish a map rather than actually make a route for cycling on.

In reply to jules699:

Surely a road cycling route book is a road atlas, isn't it ?

In reply to jules699:
just get the local ordnance survey map(s) and explore, you will find some lanes better than others and over time put some great loops together

In reply to victim of mathematics:
The map I've got which has Yorkshire Wolds route one which has a short off road bit but it clearly states that it is off road and it is very easy to find an on road alternative to this.

In reply to GrahamD:

Ha Ha, brilliant, that's what I thought too !!

ridewithgps is good for planning though.

In reply to jules699:
This site has some okay stuff:
http://www.cycle-route.com/

In reply to Dark-Cloud:
not really. good cycling routes are not always evident from road maps

In reply to Kimono: Seriously ? If you live in the area just go and ride the roads, it will soon become apparent what's good and what's bad.......

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Er, did i deny that?!
All i said was that its hard to tell from maps!

In reply to Kimono:

Why is why you go out and ride them, all part of the pleasure.

In reply to Beat me to it!:
and tomorrow i shall be doing just that...3 weeks in tuscany

In reply to jules699: Cheers folks

In reply to Kimono:

Well watch out for the "white roads" that are basically dirt tracks and are shown on the map as normal roads...

In reply to andy:

aha, proving my point that you cant always tell from maps!!

Thanks for the tip