MAMMOTH JOURNEYS
Cycling the M25
The Idea
For many, the M25 is the bane of their lives. A 117 mile loop which encloses London, with most of the major England motorways feeding into it. When it opened in 1986 it was the largest ring round in Europe, this famous stretch of tarmac has frustrated commuters for years with its multiple lane traffic jams and poor surface quality. So why did it appeal to me for an adventure?
Similar to my Cycling Home for Christmas adventure, the idea begun after watching Alastair Humphreys and his mate walk the perimeter of it over multiple days one winter. I am sure they had fun doing it their way, but I wanted to do it a little quicker and enjoy it a little more than they did at the time.
So I decided to cycle on the minor roads which meandered around it over a day. The plan was simple; an early start, a lovely day cycling finishing at a reasonable time for a civilised pub dinner. Most of this plan materialised!
The Route
We started by Rickmansworth to the west of the M25. We picked this spot as we lived at the time in Hampshire so it was the closest starting point, but most importantly, I had free parking with my work which was here. We opted for an anti-clockwise route, so that we would be going 'left' so we would hopefully be crossing across less traffic. The route was planned with Komoot and I aimed to avoid the busy roads as much as possible. As I hadn't ridden in this area much it was a bit of a guessing game, but one that I proved quite lucky in.
The only challenge was how to cross the Dartford bridge over the Queen Elizabeth bridge. There was a ferry that went between but its crossings were irregular and needed a bit of detour, which with the distance I wasn't keen on doing. A bit of research found that Highways England provide a free shuttle service to bikes. It sounds lame, but I was looking forward to this part of the route the most actually!
The Highways England shuttle service
How did it all go?
In a nutshell the route was absolutely ace. I expected the roads to be so congested that it would feel like we were cycling the worlds longest commute battling all the cars. As we entered into towns or villages there were times when it was busy, but by and large, the vast majority of the ride was really enjoyable. It was still busier than what I was used to compared to the riding back in Hampshire, but less chaotic than I had expected.
One thing I did notice however was a lot of the small commuter villages we went through when they were busy, really didn't need much for things to come to a standstill. The village would be similar to those in Hampshire, but the roads were not designed to handle cars side by side, and considering how often this happened it meant these picturesque spots would be snarled with cars. I also realised that if I lived in these areas, trying to get to some good riding would require a bit of riding out of where I lived.
Another difference which I don't think helped with the stereotype of road cyclists were the amount of club rides going on, and the effect this had on drivers. Some of the 'pelotons' were fairly sizeable which created a backlog of traffic behind them, even on a Sunday.
Heading into the south portion of the ride was where the climbing started and never really ended until we finished. I guess its not surprising with over 100 miles of riding you'd get such a decent amount of elevation, and it certainly took it's toll.
We got to Dartford with ease and the Highways England van collected us pretty sharpish. The bikes were tied in the back and off we went across the bridge. It was good fun chatting with the driver hearing about their day and the challenges they face trying to keep everything moving across the bridge, often with limited success!
The only hiccup came as we took a detour towards Romford. Not only did this add some miles, but it was busy and a bit of a rubbish bit of riding. We had a quick refuel before heading out to get the rest of the ride done.
We were about an hour later finishing than we had hoped, and thankfully between us had some working lights as we got through the final few km's in the dark.
To mark finishing the route I managed to veer into a pothole at the car park and ended going over my handbars which was a bit rubbish. Other than some scratches on my glasses and a dented ego - no other damage thankfully.
Our attempt at finishing before the dark - we failed
Too tired to notice our celebratory selfie at the end was blurry
Final Thoughts
This was such a cool ride. It worked out better than expected and the areas we cycled through were much more picturesque and quieter than predicted, even coming from a sleepy rural town in Hampshire.
I would only do this in summer as I wouldn't want to be on these roads any longer than needed to in the dark, without any cycle highways and the narrowness of some of the roads, I think it runs a risk that isn't worth it. Not to mention long summer days would hopefully be better weather.
You pass through so many shops, cafes and petrol stations you don't need to stock up with lots of kit so it should keep things nice and light. A GPS Cycle computer makes the whole thing much easier.
Full breakdown of stats are available on Strava:
Distance = 215 km
Total Climbing = 1,872 m
Average Speed = 21 km/h
Riding time = 10 hours Elapsed time = 12.5 hours
Total Calories = 4,150
A beautiful final piece of Strava art
Kit List
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Night Rider and Catseyes Lights
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Clothing = DHB (Wiggle) and Aldi
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