- Take a well-maintained bike
- Wear light layers you can peel off and stow; arm warmers are an option for morning warmth that can be peeled off
- Water; ideally you will be able to drink on the go to stay hydrated
- Snacks; you need fuel and if in a group on a longer ride such as an audax you need to be able to eat on the go
- Ability to recover from a puncture or two,... or three, and this means glue and patches
- Suitable dry storage for kit
- Cash and card
- Phone and means of navigation
- Power bank and/or means to charge your phone in a café
- Means to deal with cold, heat, wet or sun as the weather dictates (cap, sun cream, spare dry gloves, waterproofs)
- If there is an overnight or two then you really just need toothbrush, toothpaste, essential medication and whatever you deem essential.
Train times, bike restrictions and the validity of travel cards is discussed below though do check current TfL and National Rail information.
These trips usually involve rolling off the driveway around 6:20am to take the frequent Metropolitan line trains into Central London before the commuter traffic builds, or the less frequent London Overground into Euston all before the 7:30am to 9:30am bike curfew. It is a short flight of stairs up at Northwick Park station (Metropolitan line) and there are typically stairs when you get into town. It is a short flight down at Kenton station (Lioness line) and a ramp when you get to Euston on the Lioness line.
A useful alternative is the 16-minute West Midland Trains services from Harrow & Wealdstone to Euston; you can take your bike after 9:30am and the route is covered by your 60+ Oyster Card or Senior Railcard if you have one. You can also take your bike on the 6:47am service though you would pay full fare. London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are not the same, but they are both operated by the same parent company, West Midlands Trains, and operate through Harrow and Wealdstone. And yes, you can generally use a West Midlands Railway ticket on London Northwestern Railway services and vice versa, as they are both operated by West Midlands Trains though check your specific ticket.
A fallback would be to cycle to town along the Grand Union canal. Certainly a reasonable option for Paddington though Waterloo is a bit further. This Komoot Route is for Kenton to Waterloo and adds 20km to your day but avoids costs and limitations on morning train travel.
Having arrived in Central London early beating the bike curfew you are then faced with any limitations on taking your bike on a train or Railcard discount restrictions for your onward travel so why not just take time out for the breakfast you missed at home and watch London wake up. Alternatively, heading out from Kenton at 9.30am has the benefit of no train restrictions if you have the daylight hours for a later finish.
If I'm making the effort to go somewhere exciting for a long day out I will usually pack big with a full bike maintenance kit, food, water, flask of coffee, power bank and pannier space for the layers I will hopefully be peeling off as the day warms up. A phone charge cable (with a 3-pin plug for some trains) is useful for topping up on the train if you are not taking a power bank though probably not required if you use Wahoo, Garmin or similar for navigation. If your ride organiser is carrying big you have more scope to travel light.
If you are lucky enough to hold a 60+ Oyster Card and a Senior Railcard you can cut train costs. Work out your route and which stops you will use. Check the National Rail map of 60+ Oyster to see how far out of central London your 60+ Oyster card is valid for including any time of day restrictions. Buy your train ticket from the outer station via the trainline app or whichever app you use. The app should have a bike logo to indicate if yoy can travel with a bike. When going through the barrier at the London terminal use the 60+ Oyster Card (if valid) if your train ticket doesn't kick in until later in the journey. If you are not confused already how about thinking about your trains out of Waterloo; fast train with a first stop at Woking or a slow train stopping at Clapham Junction enabling use of your 60+ Oyster Card.
If you use a standard Oyster for off-peak travel you can link your Oyster card with your railcard which you do by taking both cards to a rail ticket office though be warned that at the time of writing ticket office staff don't always know this is possible or how to do it.
The Metropolitan line train into Baker Street or Aldgate provides the ease of catching any of the frequent trains and from Baker Street you can quickly cycle to Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Paddington or Victoria mainline rail stations. Taking the Metropolitan line to Kings Cross & St Pancras (stairs) is fine but means some navigation of a possibly busy station and more stairs than getting off at Euston Square (easy stairs). You can take trains further in to Farringdon (easy stairs) or Liverpool Street (stairs) station depending on the mainline rail station you are seeking; it is worth checking the stairs, lift, and escalator situation in advance.
When taking your bike on the new style underground trains position your bike on a diagonal so you don't block anyone's way and use your pannier strap to attach to the central pole. With the brakes on (brake levers secured with elastic or velcro) the bike is secure and you can sit down. Bagging the triple set of folding seats is a better alternative if available or the seat at the end of carriages where the bike can go in the space between carriages; not my preferred location as they bike jiggled around but useful for crowded trains.
If departing from St Pancras International rail station on Southeastern Railways to Ashford enter the station opposite King's Cross (and the German Gymnasium) and immediately take the lift up to platforms 11-13.
Some ThamesLink trains out of Kings Cross to Cambridge stopping at Knebworth and Baldock have dedicated cycle bays at the front and rear of the trains with clear signage. The same route with the Great Northern stock sees you using the dedicated disabled areas with no provision for securing your bike. On the return position yourself on the platform towards the rear of the train and observe the train carriage signage as the train rolls in then head for an appropriate door to save the hassle (impossibility) of walking awkwardly down the train isle with a bike.
All of this is really a long winded way of saying weigh up your travel options. If any of this is putting you off then don't be, just travel after 9.30am.
Many of the routes below are from Jack Thurston's excellent book Lost Lanes which you can buy from his website (signed).
Harpenden has a 43-mile Lost Lanes route with 600m of ascent. It does mean a later train out of London due to bike restrictions on this ThamesLink route. Sample timings provides an 8 hour window assuming daylight to 7pm. An alternative would be to get a train out to Hemel Hempstead or Berkhampstead (see below) and pick-up the Lost Lanes route.
09:33 from N'wick Park - St Pancras at 10:06
10:36 from St Pancras - Harpenden at 11:01
19:06 from Harpenden - St Pancras 19:34
Berkhampstead can be used for the 43-mile Lost Lanes route though this adds 1 mile and an extra 100m of climbing with a rough road uphill out of Berkhampstead at the start and downhill at the end. Note that you could also take the train 2 more stops and start/finish at Cheddington. The Hub in Redbourn is a cycle café and a good early coffee stop after 16km. After another 20km there is Tom's café just off the A489 after you pass through Whipsnade and pass the zoo. Heirloom Café (closed Mondays) near Eaton Bray would make a timely stop and Nanna's Cakes café (closed weekdays) near Mentmore is a good option though Mentmore is close to the suggested Pitstone/Ivinghoe stop. The Curiositea café in Pitstone, Daisychain café in Ivinghoe or the Rose and Crown pub in Ivinghoe at around 52km would make for a good long lunch break before the long gentle climb with140m of elevation gain. With a 10am start, catching pub food at Ivinghoe would mean 10mph and not much rest time; a 9am start makes a pub lunch doable at a pinch. There is an option to catch the train back from Cheddington which is 50km into the ride and avoids the hill out of Ivinghoe.
These train times give you 7 hours for 70km.
09:36 Harrow and Wealdstone - Berkhampstead 09:55
17:20 Berkhampstead - Harrow and Wealdstone 17:38
For an earlier start:
08:20 Harrow and Wealdstone - Berkhampstead 08:46
Coach "A" was the front and coach "C" had designated wheelchair space which accepts bicycles on the London Northwestern train stock I travelled on. West Midlands Trains have three bikes spaces in the second carriage back.
The lift down to platform 5 wasn't working and the wide gate didn't accept the required paper ticket on 25 June 2025. At Berkhampstead exit for Taxis and Buses.
Baldock benefits from a Lost Lanes 35-mile flatish route with just 200m of ascent and is 56 minutes from Kings Cross though check that your chosen train takes bikes as it is variable in the morning. Sample timings which get you back to Kenton for 5pm and allows 5 hours out on the road for this flat and fast ride.
06:18 from N'wick Park - Kings Cross at 06:51
07:27 from Kings Cross - Baldock at 08:23
13:54 from Baldock - King's Cross at 14:50
The 06:57 from King's Cross is quiet. These timings are for an early return and doing a later journey will be cheaper.
An easy yet enchanting ride. Try the Cock Inn at Broom where you order drinks at the cellar door and they bring it up for you; there is no bar or serving hatch. Suggestions follow and though you could tweak the .GPX file you should be able to navigate on the fly.
1) Go into Potton town centre.
2) Follow the one way system as you enter Biggleswade where you are forced left then you need to take the right at the next lights.
3) Follow the brown sign to the Cock Inn at Broom taking the right turn at Broom village centre; you go past the mill on the diversion to Broom and the mill has a café.
4) The RSPB centre is just past half way and would make a good relaxing stop with its café.
Knebworth has an excellent 37-mile Lost Lanes route and is a 37-minute train journey from King's Cross. Sample timings which are excellent if you want to be home before the 4pm to 7pm bike curfew.
06:41 from N'wick Park - King's Cross at 07:15
07:57 from King's Cross - Knebworth at 08:34
Plenty of pubs on the way such as the Red Lion in Great Offley 4 hours into the ride and the amazing Emily's Tea Rooms in Whitwell towards the end of the ride though check opening times. An early 8am start from Knebworth works well as you get to Great Offley for noon with relaxed riding and a picnic breakfast; later if you stop at (George Bernard) Shaw's Corner. There is the potential for deep flooding after rain on Slip Lane soon into the ride which will leave you with wet feet all day. Talking to other cyclists this flooding is almost a permanent feature and they knew where I'd been when they saw my socks (not) drying in the cool sun at lunchtime. There is a short section of busy road followed by some off road but other than that it is all glorious lanes. With an 8:00am start I was on the 15:42pm train back to London ready to wait until after 7pm to board an underground train. In summer you could plan a stop at Shaw's Corner (National Trust) or add on a ride extension.
Liphook has a Lost Lanes route which is 38 miles with some ascent - 624m. No really long hills but very lumpy and tiring. Sample timings follow which provide for off-peak train fares though you could take an earlier train out of Waterloo (and miss railcard savings) or travel after the 07:30 to 09:30 bike curfew on the underground. You could consider tweaking the route to include Haslemere as there are more frequent trains though the extra cycle miles might not be worth it.
06:53 from N'Park - Farringdon at 07:26
Transfer to Waterloo (15 mins)
Breakfast (50 mins)
09:00 from Waterloo - Liphook at 10:00
Ride (7 relaxed hours)
17:21 from Liphook - Waterloo at 18:24
Transfer to Farringdon to get train from 19:00
Of course the Metropolitan line trains were not running to schedule the day I covered this ride but the bike ride into Waterloo via the Grand Union canal towpath, then Hyde Park and Constitution Hill isn't so bad. The Southwestern Railway stock had dedicated Bicycle Spaces each suitable for two or three bikes as well as wheelchair bays. Liphook has a short platform so you need to be in one of the front 7 carriages so don't take the first bike carriage at Waterloo (which was carriage 8 the day I travelled). If you are in carriage 8 then navigating the double doors between carriages isn't hard and you don't need to walk the length of the carriage.
This is a ride you will want to take your time over so take the Lost Lanes book, or the relevant pages. If you wanted to show a visitor to England a stylised version of the land this is the bike ride you would choose. The Three Moles pub is a great halfway stop if you want a meal and there are a couple of village stores in the villages though don't expect a parade of cafés all day.
Reading is the start and finish of another Lost Lanes ride which is a modest 30 miles and being not too hilly might tempt you to ride into Paddington. Tickets from and to West Drayton make this a very affordable getaway on the Elizabeth Line which you could pickup from Ealing. You can go from Greenford with a change but probably easier just to cycle in to Paddington or take the Metropolitan line to Baker Street. This will all get you to the Bell Inn at Aldworth for lunchtime possibly stopping off at Pangbourne for supplies on the way.
10:15 Paddington - Reading 10:40
7 hours of relaxed bike exploration
17:58 Reading - Paddington 18:24
