Newcastle upon Tyne
Bev Stephenson
If you live to the north of the city, there are various routes into town, from the dull to the downright dangerous. My advice is to get off the Great North Road (four lanes of traffic) and head to the Town Moor. Depending on where you're going, you can cut through Exhibition Park, waving good morning to the skater boys or alternatively hit Claremont Road and drop down into the renovated Leazes Park.
Snaking alongside the river Tyne is Hadrian's Cycleway (National Cycle Network route 72), perfect for hitting the city, especially from the east and west. It's practically traffic-free, flat and a faultless vantage point from which to view Newcastle's fantastic bridges, Sage Gateshead and the Baltic centre. If you're based on the south of the river, route 14 does practically the same job, with sculptures lining the trail and Dunston Staiths (once used to load coal on to ships and now an eerie reminder of the area's history) in full view. Architecture buffs can check out Red or Dead founders Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway's recent foray into low-cost housing: Staiths South Bank. Avoid the Tyne bridge and instead use either the Swing or the Millennium bridge but beware - once you head into town, it's uphill all the way.
If you're coming from the south-east, it's a good idea to use the pedestrian tunnel beneath the Tyne, the longest wooden escalator in Europe. With a separate cyclist's tunnel, there's no fear of pedestrian collisions, it's free and a must on a hot summer's day as it's positively chilly underground. Alternatively, use the spiffy new ferry, the Spirit of the Tyne, before heading for route 72.
The city's wagonways, transformed from former pit haulage routes into superb cycle and walking paths, are ideal for those living north-east of Newcastle. Recently awarded a Green Apple environment award, they're virtually off-road and feed into the coast road leading into town. If you're early enough, riding from Heaton and cutting through the traffic-free city stadium you may see the Chinese community practising t'ai chi.
When parking, Princess Square is a no-no; too little footfall and too many chancers. Newcastle's Central station, however, is well-lit, with CCTV in operation and pretty central for the rest of town. Other OK spots include the two universities, which have numerous covered racks, the pedestrianised area around Monument Metro and at the bottom of Northumberland Street, with thieves generally put off by the sheer weight of merry shoppers.
Before setting off, nab a free Cyclecity Guide for Tyneside (available at tourist-information sites). It outlines traffic-free paths, sign-posted cycle routes and the quietest or safest streets.
Useful contacts
Tyne Bridge Bike Hire: Guildhall Visitor Information Centre, Quayside, 0191-277 2441. Hires bikes, teaches beginners, and it's a great stop-off for fairtrade coffee.
Recyke y'bike: Based in Byker, this is an excellent way to buy an affordable, refurbished bike or donate your old one: www.recyke-y-bike.org
Oxford
Lucy Atkins
About 20,000 cycle commuters steam into Oxford city centre each day, negotiating more than 36,000 cars, lorries and kamikaze buses, potholes, cobble stones and disoriented tourists en route. Oxford is one of the three top cycling cities in the UK, home to a dynamic bunch of biking enthusiasts and a network of quiet cycle routes, riverside paths and scenic short cuts. With a bit of insider knowledge, it can be a brilliant place to get on your bike.
Underused routes
Barracks Lane is an amazing inner-city nature ride that runs from Horspath Road emerging at Bartlemas Road in east Oxford. Once here, cut to St Mary's Road to avoid the snarled Cowley Road almost to the Plain. Entering the Plain may feel like a lunatic computer game, but accident statistics are not too horrifying. However, James Styring of the campaigning group Cylox avoids it by cutting down Union Street, across St Clements Street to Marston Road and Ferry Road, and on to the gorgeous parks cycle route through a water meadow with cows, birds and flowers, to emerge at the university science area, allegedly adding only two minutes to his daily commute.
The newly resurfaced Thames towpath (via Meadow Lane) from Donnington Bridge to Folly Bridge is a bafflingly underused, speedy and scenic route from east Oxford. The canal towpath from Wolvercote to Hythe Bridge Street is a great way to avoid Banbury or Woodstock Roads, though don't do it at dangerous flood times. Thorns and bumps mean that you may need to hobble off at Walton Well Road for a repair at friendly Walton Street Cycles.
Finally, even car commuters from out of town can park and cycle. Oxford cycling-tour organiser Simon Banks claims that about 15% of Seacourt park-and-ride users save around 30 minutes of congestion daily by bringing their bikes.
Oxford Cycle Maps are available in city libraries, bike shops, from the county council website, www.oxfordshire.gov.uk, or by calling Craig Rossington on 01865 815575.
Cycle-savvy Oxford tips
1. Avoid the High - most accidents happen here so cut through quiet, car-free Queen's Lane to Broad Street, via architectural stunners such as the Bridge of Sighs, the Bodleian library and Sheldonian theatre. Cut up St Ebbes to avoid the St Aldates bus drivers, some of who have plainly been playing too much Grand Theft Auto.
2. Beware when approaching the notorious railway bridge from the Botley direction: cars, vans and lorries regularly mow down cyclists as they turn into the area by the Youth Hostel Association.
3. Bike parking is woefully inadequate in the centre but you may find spare capacity on Broad Street or even inside the covered market (collect parked bikes before 5pm to avoid an inconvenient lock-in).
4. Get in with Cyclox - a networking and campaigning group with regular meetings (www.cyclox.org, 07792 375423) or find its stall at the farmers' market, Saturday 12pm-3pm at the Asian Cultural Centre on Manzil Way.
5. Join the Oxford Cycle Workshop (01865 204799, www.oxfordcycleworkshop.org.uk). Their Doctor Bike days, weekly at either Oxford Brookes or the University Science, are popular (come early, they fill up fast). Members also get a free bike-maintenance course and use of the workshop.
Belfast
Owen Bowcott
For the smart cyclist intent on bypassing the tailbacks that clog up arterial roads converging on Belfast every morning, there are scenic, long-distance alternatives.
The Lagan and Lough canal path covers 21 miles of flat paths. Its southern section connects Lisburn to Belfast city centre. Following the river Lagan, through riverside glades well removed from choking diesel fumes, it provides views of Divis Mountain, Cave Hill and the giant twin cranes, Samson and Goliath, dominating the Harland & Wolff dockyards.
"It's traffic-free. You forget you are in Belfast," says Kathryn Callaghan of Cycle Northern Ireland. From Shaw's bridge on the outer ring road, where some motorists leave their cars and get on their bikes, it's only 15-20-minutes into the centre. "You come out at Stranmillis by the Ormeau bridge. The final stretch is along the towpath and brings you to the Waterfront Hall. It's a fantastic way to dodge the traffic."
The path's northern arm runs in from Jordanstown along the northern shore of Belfast Lough and through semi-deserted quays in the docks. Seals can be spotted as you pedal past. The route won an award last year as the best urban cycle path in the UK. A detailed map can be downloaded from www.cycleni.com.
Another long-distance, dedicated cycle route, the Comber Greenway, is partially completed. It begins at Dee Street in east Belfast. All eight miles of the path should be ready by September next year. The green corridor runs along a disused railway line out into the County Down town of Comber.
The Troubles drove much of Belfast's population out to safer and more distant suburbs. The consequence is a dispersed city over-dependent on cars with poor public transport. There are few demarcated cycle lanes in the centre and not so many bicycle racks.
The good points are that three-quarters of the city is flat and none of Belfast's parks has a restriction on bikes. A map detailing the city's cycle routes is at www.roadsni.gov.uk/cycling/pdfs/BelfastByBikeMap2004.pdf
Great Victoria Street, heading into town, should be avoided at rush hour. One short cut, according to local cyclist Paddy Bloomer, is to cut down from Donegall Pass through Apsley Street, cycling round the barriers that keep cars out. There are bicycle racks near the city hall in Wellington Place and covered bicycle parking at the Central and Great Victoria Street stations.
A more fortunate legacy of car-bombings is that most of the shopping centre, including Royal Avenue, Castle Street and Donegall Place, remains closed to private vehicles. Bikes can roam around at will dodging the pedestrians.
Useful contacts
Life Cycles in Smithfield Market (www.lifecycles.co.uk) is a popular stop-off for the urban commuter. It services machines, runs guided tours of the city and holds bike-maintenance courses. Its owner, Austin Brown, has pioneered a "reconciliation route" that connects the Shankill and the Falls Roads, looping back and forward through the peace lines and avoiding the city centre.
