r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	up_hills
Comment	It depends on where you live exactly. If you live north of the river, going north is the fastest, the opposite if you live in the south. East and west are pointless because the city goes on for a while along the river. I haven't seen anyone suggest the A803 but it's legal to cycle on and way less scary than most roads if you only have to stick to the left lane. I've seen multiple people suggest the canal path from Maryhill to Torrance but after getting my 100th puncture from beer bottle glass on a ride in January I've stayed off it. Depending on the day you get a lot of walkers, pram pushers, joggers, dog walkers... it can be a hassle but if you're scared of the road it's mint. I'd suggest getting on it from Balmore road because the road surface before that is horrible BUT... I'd say hands down the absolute fastest way to get to the countryside is Balmore Road if you live anywhere close to it. Its last traffic light is only 3 miles from the city centre and from then on you can avoid traffic lights for your entire ride. Wake up early if you can, especially in the weekends everyone's hungover and won't drive before noon, that way every road is safe. Otherwise, I avoid the A809 like the plague (top 10 most dangerous road in the UK and had a near-death experience on it last year), B818 is dead quiet most days, Old Greenock Road is really quiet from Port Glasgow to the Erskine Bridge (which has nice segregated cycle paths), Old Largs Road is used as a rat run for the first quarter so wake up early, A811 is a no and so is the A82 past Balloch, A81 has a nice climb around Mugdock but it's very busy, Balmore road is OK if you put the hammer down because the motorists get pissy if you do less than 20mph. Almost forgot, there's Corselet road which is a very quiet little road that heads up to a couple reservoirs. Access to it is sketch but it's really nice.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/cwgufl/cycling_how_to_reach_the_countryside_quickly_when/eyc7dmf/
Created	Wed 28th Aug 2019 2:08pm
Status	()

It depends on where you live exactly. If you live north of the river, going north is the fastest, the opposite if you live in the south. East and west are pointless because the city goes on for a while along the river. I haven't seen anyone suggest the A803 but it's legal to cycle on and way less scary than most roads if you only have to stick to the left lane.

I've seen multiple people suggest the canal path from Maryhill to Torrance but after getting my 100th puncture from beer bottle glass on a ride in January I've stayed off it. Depending on the day you get a lot of walkers, pram pushers, joggers, dog walkers... it can be a hassle but if you're scared of the road it's mint. I'd suggest getting on it from Balmore road because the road surface before that is horrible BUT...

I'd say hands down the absolute fastest way to get to the countryside is Balmore Road if you live anywhere close to it. Its last traffic light is only 3 miles from the city centre and from then on you can avoid traffic lights for your entire ride.

Wake up early if you can, especially in the weekends everyone's hungover and won't drive before noon, that way every road is safe. Otherwise, I avoid the A809 like the plague (top 10 most dangerous road in the UK and had a near-death experience on it last year), B818 is dead quiet most days, Old Greenock Road is really quiet from Port Glasgow to the Erskine Bridge (which has nice segregated cycle paths), Old Largs Road is used as a rat run for the first quarter so wake up early, A811 is a no and so is the A82 past Balloch, A81 has a nice climb around Mugdock but it's very busy, Balmore road is OK if you put the hammer down because the motorists get pissy if you do less than 20mph.

Almost forgot, there's Corselet road which is a very quiet little road that heads up to a couple reservoirs. Access to it is sketch but it's really nice.