'Fat Boy' Rides Again!! by ratclima

Sunday July 4^th 2010: I decided to take the mountain bike out on Sunday to recce a commuter route to work. My plan, as you may recall, is to use the extensive canal network in and around Birmingham, apparently more canals than Venice in this land locked city, to commute between the aforementioned city and Wolverhampton a couple of times a week. 20-30 miles round trip twice a week would be a good core mileage.

It can’t be difficult can it to follow a man made stretch of water between two points. After 15 miles ‘en route’ I would like to paint a slightly different picture than that given us by British Waterways. These water ‘super highways’ are probably just that, great for floating craft of the long and thin variety, gaily decorated, with a jungle of pot plants on the roof and possibly the odd wooden duck adorning the pointy bit at the front. Maybe even for those of us wishing to stroll along the canal banks on a sunny summers day or participate in a spot of stick dangling, a ‘sport’ I believe better known as fishing. But for navigating on a bike?

Firstly there is the red tape. Apparently to ride on the towpaths you need a
permit issued by British Waterways, www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/cycling/permit where you sign up to follow the Waterways Code www.waterscape.com/media/documents/versioned/waterways_code_2005.pdf
. However this does not apply if you ride in London where you must just follow the Towpath Code of Conduct www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/regents-canal/londons-towpath-code-of-conduct No doubt all very sensible but also just common sense?

Then there is the signage, or lack of. Now I don’t expect the same level of signage we get on our roads but some clue as to the direction you’re heading in would be useful and this includes those sections covered by the National Cycle Routes scheme. Suffice to say in the time allotted to my ride I never got to Wolverhampton. One particularly useful sign would be that indicating a cross over to the other side of the canal to continue. I very quickly ended up in a dead end twice as I tried to go straight on instead of crossing over.

My ride began well as I pedalled into Birmingham on a well maintained hardcore surface, using the steps up the locks as mini hill sprints and generally enjoying this quiet, hidden greenway into the heart of the city. However I soon came upon my first obstacle, one of many ‘gated’ obstructions installed intermittently along the towpath. I’m not quite sure of their purpose but they force you to dismount and haul your bike over before continuing on your way. Nearing the city centre obstacle number two, tunnels. Quite rightly the towpath codes suggest you to dismount and walk through these. Given the narrowness of the paths and the greatly reduced headroom I would tend to agree, many others apparently either haven’t read the code or are considerably more vertically challenged than I am. Regardless, another good
reason to wear a helmet.

Finally in almost Hitchcokian style aka The Birds, I was first blocked then attacked by a flock of hissing spitting geese as they took umbrage at sharing their patch of towpath with me and my bike.

On the way out of Birmingham and heading towards Wolverhampton the towpath became little more than a dirt track. Not such an issue you’d think with knobbly tyres and a front suspension fork? Ha, more fool you, as the deeply rutted sections either had you slowing down to remain safely in the groove or risk snagging an edge and ending up in the water, the look of which was, well rodents and water fowl have to pee somewhere!!

So for my commute I think I’ll stick to the roads, far safer and easier to navigate. If however you want a traffic free ride out on a sunny day and are not in any rush then give the canals of England a try.

Just before Easter I got an email entitled "You're in the Team". What team I was at a loss to know. Then it hit me as I read further down, I'd made the CyclingPlus magzine Readers Team!

Powered by Wiggle.Com we were kitted out in their own brand DHB kit and got the new Verenti Millook bikes to ride, superb. Garmin supplied us with their latest Edge GPS units and we were off. The downside? A few little Spotives to participate in and fly the flag.

Catch our exploits on http://magazine.bikeradar.com/category/cycling-plus/

As a connoisseur of the cycling press I have recently been swamped in features and adverts of a sportif nature.  What is a sportif I hear you cry, and cry you might.  In simple terms they are a modern form of torture for all of us of a less physically active nature ie 100 mile or 100 km day rides around the width and depth of the British countryside.  Take your pick, there is something for everyone www.cyclosport.org/events2010.aspx

It is very easy to get sucked into the whole circus but with names like 'Death in the Dales' and 'The Exmoor Beast' you'd easily be forgiven for thinking these were new high adrenalin rides at one of the major theme parks not an easy way to a week off work with exhaustion and a very sore rear end!!

So enjoy, I'm sure I'll see you fleetingly as you flash pass me by as I wheel my bike up some sheer rock face.