Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008, Jumpinjarhead wrote:

I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area.

Make sure your brakes are in good shape - linoleum is slippery at the best
of times, and the very devil when wet.

Only joshing!

I am also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in
military lodging facilities in the area.

I'm not aware that we have any such thing. However, the southwest is a
very military area (the MoD's logistics and so on are all out there now,
along with lots of HQ types, plus you've got the navy and marines along
that end of the south coast, and as many soldiers as you like on Salisbury
plain, plus we have various standing forces to keep the Welsh at bay), so
if we do, that's certainly the place to look. My suggestion would be to
work your connections in the US forces and see what you can find. You
might also try googling up an address for some suitable office of the
Royal Marines (try veterans, foreign exchange programme, something like
that) and dropping them an email. At worst, they'll think you're a nutter
and ignore you, so you've nothing to lose. At best, they might be able to
find you a hammock in Taunton or something. Lovely.

I am just beginning to plan so bear with me if I ask inane questions.
any tips would be appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and
drive to the Bath area and then rent a bicycle or what?

Which airport are you coming in to? If it's one of the London ones, don't
drive from there to the west unless you're completely bonkers or love pain
(although you did say you're ex-USMC, so one of those might well apply).
The trains from London (or Reading) to Bath are pretty good, and very
fast. You can easily take a bike on one as long as it's not a busy time
(rush hours, or any time after tea on a friday - friday evenings on the
Great Western line are a special kind of hell); i've done this many times.
However, you're probably better off getting the train as an infantryman,
and only mounting up when you're in theatre. It shouldn't be hard to find
a bike hire place in Bath (or perhaps Bristol).

In terms of places to ride when in the area, i'm afraid i don't have any
useful advice. If there are canals round there, they might be worth a look
- canal towpaths are sometimes well-surfaced, and generally very level
(more so than the surrounding terrain, at least), plus cycling alongside
water is rather pleasant.

tom

--
Everything looks kind of OK

"Tom Anderson" wrote
You can easily take a bike on one as long as it's not a busy time (rush
hours, or any time after tea on a friday

For the benefit of the OP, "tea on a Friday" means 16:00 when the entire
country stops work for a cup of tea and a hot buttered crumpet.

In terms of places to ride when in the area, i'm afraid i don't have any
useful advice. If there are canals round there, they might be worth a
look - canal towpaths are sometimes well-surfaced

and sometimes muddy, rough, covered in broken glass and with stupid gates
every few hundred miles.
But usually lovely.

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008, POHB wrote:

"Tom Anderson" wrote
You can easily take a bike on one as long as it's not a busy time (rush
hours, or any time after tea on a friday

For the benefit of the OP, "tea on a Friday" means 16:00 when the entire
country stops work for a cup of tea and a hot buttered crumpet.

Four? Half past three! I feel the most abject pity for poor souls who have
to work solidly until four.

In terms of places to ride when in the area, i'm afraid i don't have any
useful advice. If there are canals round there, they might be worth a
look - canal towpaths are sometimes well-surfaced

and sometimes muddy, rough, covered in broken glass and with stupid
gates every few hundred miles.

Exactly why i phrased that carefully!

tom

--
Mr. Cadbury's Parrot impressions go down surprisingly well during
lovemaking! -- D

On 15 Dec, 02:05, Jumpinjarhead Jumpinjarhead.3kg...@no-
mx.forums.travel.com wrote:
I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area. *I am
also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in military
lodging facilities in the area. *I am just beginning to plan so bear
with me if I ask inane questions. *any tips would be
appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and drive to the Bath
area and then rent a bicycle or what?

Many thanks.

--
Jumpinjarhead
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com

I live about 10 miles from Bath and have cycled in a few times. Can
confirm that it is HILLY. Cycling out of the city to the north or
south will exercise your leg muscles, but think of the free-wheel back
home! You might want to check the brakes.

The combination of city and countryside is quite beautiful, and if you
haven't been over to the UK before you'll be taken by the fantastic
English pubs. There are lots of good routes for both road and off-
road. The canal to the east is spectacular, and when you get bored of
the flatness you can take a detour up Brassknocker Hill or north
towards Winsley. Bradford-on Avon is along the canal, and runs to
Lacock (home of the filming of countless period drama and the Harry
Potter films) are easy.

Let me know if you need specific route advice, although again, the OS
maps are a must; for on-road cycling I find the 1:50,000 scale
Landranger the best; for off-road route selection the 1:25,000
Explorer series is best, IMO.

Peter.

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008, al Mossah wrote:

Let me know if you need specific route advice, although again, the OS
maps are a must; for on-road cycling I find the 1:50,000 scale
Landranger the best; for off-road route selection the 1:25,000 Explorer
series is best, IMO.

I'll weigh in and say that i like the 1:25k even for road riding. Yes, you
have to carry twice as many. But they're so much prettier! And the extra
detail (field boundaries and the like) can come in really handy when
trying to orient yourself in a sticky spot.

tom

--
CRESS AND CREATIVITY GET BUSY -- Barry

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:57:33 -0000
"POHB" wrote:

"Tom Anderson" wrote
You can easily take a bike on one as long as it's not a busy time
(rush hours, or any time after tea on a friday

For the benefit of the OP, "tea on a Friday" means 16:00 when the
entire country stops work for a cup of tea and a hot buttered crumpet.

I don't think many people are working after 15:00 on a Friday unless
they're in a public-facing role.

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:12:32 +0000, Rob Morley
said in 20081216141232.27c2fb64@bluemoon:

I don't think many people are working after 15:00 on a Friday unless
they're in a public-facing role.

I want to work where you work. Or maybe it's when, since that seems
to be half a century out of date :-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound
GPG sig #3FA3BCDE http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/pgp-public-key.txt

In ,
Just zis Guy, you know? tweaked the Babbage-Engine
to tell us:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:12:32 +0000, Rob Morley
said in 20081216141232.27c2fb64@bluemoon:

I don't think many people are working after 15:00 on a Friday unless
they're in a public-facing role.

I want to work where you work. Or maybe it's when, since that seems
to be half a century out of date :-)

No poets' day in your emporium?

Standards are slipping.

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
Spare a crust for a ragged type?

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:24:40 -0000, "Dave Larrington"
said in
:

I want to work where you work. Or maybe it's when, since that seems
to be half a century out of date :-)

No poets' day in your emporium?
Standards are slipping.

Oh yes, we leave early on Friday. Often we're out of the building
before 6:30pm.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound
GPG sig #3FA3BCDE http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/pgp-public-key.txt

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:49:33 +0000
"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote:

On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:24:40 -0000, "Dave Larrington"
said in
:

I want to work where you work. Or maybe it's when, since that
seems to be half a century out of date :-)

No poets' day in your emporium?
Standards are slipping.

Oh yes, we leave early on Friday. Often we're out of the building
before 6:30pm.

I see MEPs are likely to vote to prevent the UK from continuing to opt
out of the Working Hours Directive.