Finally took the plunge

[Deep Blue Witch]

Bought my wife and I a new cube touring 500 Pro. Picking them up at the weekend. Pretty scary price but we are both retired and need to start getting fitter. Any advice on learning where the routes are. Quite roads, cycle tracks, disused railway lines and easy'ish trails. We live in Littleborough North of Rochdale near Hollingworth Lake. I also have the option to upgrade to a kathmandu 500 Pro. Any advice or thoughts appreciated. Panniers?, Tyres? that kind of thing.

 

[Nealh]

OS Explorer maps 1:25 000 scale.
Perfect for finding all the bridleways and ex rail line routes,etc.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Quite roads, cycle tracks, disused railway lines and easy'ish trails.

As Nealh said. Plus...

The National Cycle Network

The National Cycle Network is a UK-wide network of signed paths and routes for walking, wheeling, cycling and exploring outdoors. Find out more about the Network.

www.sustrans.org.uk

 

[LeighPing]

Bought my wife and I a new cube touring 500 Pro. Picking them up at the weekend. Pretty scary price but we are both retired and need to start getting fitter. Any advice on learning where the routes are. Quite roads, cycle tracks, disused railway lines and easy'ish trails. We live in Littleborough North of Rochdale near Hollingworth Lake. I also have the option to upgrade to a kathmandu 500 Pro. Any advice or thoughts appreciated. Panniers?, Tyres? that kind of thing.

Have a look at your local area on google earth. It's handy for finding trails. Enjoy your bikes.

 

[sjpt]

OS Explorer maps 1:25 000 scale.
Perfect for finding all the bridleways and ex rail line routes,etc.

For your local area you need to buy the map. For further away areas they are also available online at OS itself, and sometimes more conveniently on Bing maps.

Be aware that while bridleways are legal to ride, some are almost impossible. Don't plan a long route that depends on a bridleway you don't know.

There are a lot of specialized cycle route sites. For example https://www.cyclestreets.net/journey/, but many others. Google 'cycle route planning' or similar, and I'm sure other people will post their favourites here.

 

[D C]

Try view ranger off playstore, may show you a few good routes.
I used to know your area very well having lived in Rochdale for the first 50 years of my life and used to mountain bike in the Yorkshire dales, only an hour away (in those days).
There are lots of good routes around you especially with electric help for the many hills, but a faded memory for me now having lived elsewhere and now in the Highlands for the last 15 years.
Welcome.
Dave.

 

[Nealh]

Use the map to explore routes take it with you and mark the bad or not very passable route son the map in indelible ink as you explore with your new found freedom.

 

[Fat Rat]

Welcome and enjoy

 

[Laser Man]

Osmand (free for Android and iPhone) is based on open sourced mapping and has a cycle path overlay.
The overlay shows all the national cycle trails as well as many local ones.
The navigation in cycling mode keeps you off main roads as far as possible. (but so does Google Maps).

For use on the go I prefer Osmand's mapping to OS : there is a bit less detail, but following a route is a easier for that.
For planning at home, nothing beats a paper OS map coupled with Google Earth.

 

[jimriley]

For the OP, the bridleways are all doable on a bike, Pennine Bridleway, Mary Townley Loop etc. I live at Calderbrook, above Littleborough and there are lots of tracks around. The reservoir track from the White House Blackstone Edge is a flat ride, but it then becomes the Pennine Way footpath, which has now been a paved with stone slabs.
I normally have to push the bike up the steep bits and walk down anything too challenging, but it's all good fun. Even pushing should be a doddle with the throttle on slow/walking speed.

 

[vfr400]

Ordinary Google Maps and Google Navigation that you get free in any Android phone has all the cycle routes. In the navigation, there is a bicycle symbol. Click it to show and navigate by the cycle routes, etc. I've never used anything else. You can also switch to satellite image to see what's there.

 

[D C]

Google maps set to bicycle don't show many off road routes and many existing tracks are completely missing, at least where I live. Free versions of open cycle map and plotaroute set to cycle map (which has some suggested routes) are more useful and have similar mapping to view ranger.
Dave.

 

[vfr400]

Google maps set to bicycle don't show many off road routes and many existing tracks are completely missing, at least where I live. Free versions of open cycle map and plotaroute set to cycle map (which has some suggested routes) are more useful and have similar mapping to view ranger.
Dave.

Did you zoom in enough? When did you check it? Did you select cycling in both the maps and navigation?

 

[D C]

Did you zoom in enough? When did you check it? Did you select cycling in both the maps and navigation?

Yes,
today,
yes.
Have a look at my suggestions and you'll see the difference

 

[PP100]

Google maps set to bicycle don't show many off road routes and many existing tracks are completely missing, at least where I live. Free versions of open cycle map and plotaroute set to cycle map (which has some suggested routes) are more useful and have similar mapping to view ranger.
Dave.

Yes, Google Maps is out of date or not very accurate in my experience. Eg In London area which I know well and it will mark cycling paths in some green space areas where it is actually forbidden! eg: I tried to report one inaccuracy and it was ignored - they never changed it.