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Bob Pickett goes 'urban warrior' and investigates why town riding can be just as much fun as riding in the country

Our brave scribe sets out into the urban sprawl in search of fun It’s a beautiful sunny day (yes, it does happen, even in the UK) and you want to take the bike out for a proper ride, get your knee down and that sort of thing. Time to head out to the country, with the attendant boredom while you wend your way to your favourite little back-roads… why?

It really isn’t necessary for the townie to spend ages heading out of town to get their thrills. Take a look at what you have on your doorstep and think about what the road does, rather than where it is.

How would you fancy 20 miles of no traffic lights, swooping turns and the odd couple of mile-long straights? Sound enticing? Well I have this little proving ground right on my doorstep. And I live in London.

All roads lead to London The new section of the A12, running from the Redbridge roundabout (where the M11 starts), joining with the A102(M) up to the Blackwall Tunnel entrance provides all this. 10 miles up to the Blackwall, then back again. For a short blast this is a cracking little route.

On the way into London, it starts off with a downhill right then left into a tunnel, onto a short straight, then another downhill right/left combo… get the picture?

There is one bend on the way that is wonderful for bikes. As you head downhill into yet another tunnel, the road initially tightens, then you keep the bike held over and constant on the revs as the left-hander goes on and on then… a very short straight and you squeeze on the power into a slight right and power out into the daylight once again. On the way back, this particular bend heads the other way and turns into a real test of rider and machine. Downhill, off-camber and into a very tight right-hander with a couple of metal strips holding the road in place, you REALLY need to be on the ball. It is a seriously fine line between “Oh, I could have taken that a bit faster” and “Ooh, that was close”.

Watch out for the Gatsos - at least one in each direction on the A12 works - normally on a straight Admittedly, you have to keep an eye open for the dreaded GATSO (and at least one really does take photos), but there are enough of them scattered about the countryside to cope with these days. And at least they are easy to spot on the A12.

Want some long, long straights with a few bends thrown in on the way? The dock roads from the Limehouse Link out to the Galleons roundabout in Beckton (where it joins the A406 and A13) are perfect. Most of the roundabouts put in place years ago have now been closed off to make this a true dual-carriageway (with no risk of someone dawdling round the roundabout just as you launch into it), so now you just get straight sections, interspersed with sudden left/right ‘flick-flacks’ to add to the fun.

You want to get your knee down? Then try the approach to the M11 (southbound) from the M25 – this is pretty tight – the 30mph limit is an indication. This right-hander goes on, and on and… until you sit up and dial in the power to get up to motorway speeds. Not tight enough? Then all you need to do is head up the M11 and take the slip road to the A15 to Cambridge. There is only one way round this – lean. Further and further, as it gets seriously tight. You’ll come out of there with a feeling of relief you’ve got round but a big grin on your face. So time to go back and do it again.

Boring urban road, or right/left combo to flick/flack? OK, in the week these roads are used by the commuting set, but at the weekend they are way, way quieter – quiet enough for most and they also provide handy little things like petrol stations along the way, so no fears of running out in the middle of your fun. And by and large the road surfaces are far better maintained than the average country road.

Almost everything I have mentioned above is within the M25 and the bulk is well within inner London – OK I’m lucky to have these on my doorstep, but everyone has something near them that, if taken in the right way can put a grin on the face.

Want to lean the bike over? Welcome to Mr Roundabout. OK, you’ve got the attendant problem of other traffic using it, but there’s nothing wrong with you going round more than once. Find one surfaced with shell-grip and it’ll scrub in a new set of tyres beautifully.

The scenery might not be up to much, but that bike is starting to lean - and isn't that the fun of it? Then there are slip-roads. By and large they will throw in a long curve round before hitting the straight, where you DO need to up the pace – and legally! – to get up to the speed of the road you’re about to launch onto. Sounds like fun to me.

When planning a long journey, why not take a good look at the map and see if there are decent A-roads running along/near to the motorway you were about to use? With Mr Average Car-Driver taking the easy route, many of the old A-roads are pretty clear of traffic. It might take a little longer, but it will be far, far more fun than plodding along for mile after mile of boring M-road. And it is much nicer to pull over for a drink and a bite to eat in a town than an anonymous motorway service station – cheaper too!

If I am really, really honest, whizzing about urban roads is never going to truly replace getting out into the country – I’m also lucky enough to live within fairly close range of the run out through Epping Forest to the famous meeting point in High Beech. But look around at what you have closer to hand. You’ll be surprised just how good it really is.

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