The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday March 12 2007
Cyclists can use the Union Canal towpath in Edinburgh without first applying for a permit from British Waterways, contrary to information given in the article below. In the entry for Bristol, Queen Square was misspelt Queen's Square. This has been corrected
Steve Morris in Bristol
Peace in the city centre It is worth trying to include Queen Square - a Georgian, car-free oasis - in your commute. It can be tricky getting in from the east: after Redcliffe Bridge, cars must turn left and some drivers do not realise that cyclists can go straight on. Keep alert as you make your move.
Don't be frightened of the Park Street hill Park Street is steep so try to build up a head of steam. Or get off and push. Watch out for fitter cyclists coming up behind, heads down. If you can't face the hill, try Colston Street. Left after the Hippodrome, left into Lower Park Street and up Park Row. Still a hill, but a different hill.
Do be a little frightened of the triangle So many odd angles, so many confused drivers. The nervous should find another route. If you are heading north, hop off and cross Queen's Road at the traffic lights. Jump back on and head through the university.
The chocolate path and the pill path A traffic-free way to see Bristol's industrial past and to view the Clifton suspension bridge. Head west along Cumberland Road, south of the centre. A marked cycle route drops on to Chocolate Path (so named because it can be bumpy). Cross the railway bridge just before Create environment centre, then tootle along Pill Path, beneath the suspension bridge, all the way to Portishead. A great way to commute into the south and west of Bristol.
Beware of Gloucester Road So busy, so narrow in parts, too many drivers too quick to throw open their doors, and so many bullying buses. To avoid it, go via Cotham Brow. It is hilly but quieter. If you are riding south along Gloucester Road, turn off into Sommerville Road, then first right into North Road. At the railway arches cross Gloucester Road. Climb Cotham Brow, then head down to the city centre or university area.
A place to lock up and wash up The Mud Dock's Bike Shed on the Grove has secure parking for up to 50 bikes, and men's and women's changing rooms with showers, toilets and lockers. Bike parking, locker and shower cost £4.50 a day. It is cheaper if you buy passes for longer periods.
Best radical bike workshop Kebele in Easton is a community cooperative staffed by volunteers and run on a non-profit basis. Locals can bring in bicycles for repair and purchase parts at the Wednesday afternoon workshop. It also takes old bikes that are no longer of any use (kebelecoop.org).
Accident blackspots Almost every roundabout in the city centre. Also watch out for the old railway tracks around the docks. Great places to cycle - if you avoid the tracks, which are slippery in the wet and not easy to see.
Secondhand bike needed? The Emmaus showroom on Barton Manor is a working community of formerly homeless people who renovate bikes and other items (emmausbristol.org.uk).
Useful organisations bristolcyclingcampaign.org.uk organises trips out. See the website for a good selection of badly parked cars. The Bristol-based green transport charity Sustrans (sustrans.org.uk) is coordinator of the National Cycle Network and runs the Safe Routes to Schools campaign. Lifecycle UK (lifecycleuk.org.uk) is a national bike charity based in Bristol. It is offering free cycle parking stands to voluntary sector groups, schools, small businesses, churches and surgeries in Bristol.
Deborah Mulhearn in Liverpool
Liverpool is well-endowed with green spaces and a riverside promenade that double as cycle routes. Depending on where you live, it is possible to reach the city centre without having to cycle along any main roads.
From the south There are plenty of marked cycle routes in the south of the city, though some cyclists say they are too narrow. The Woolton route is the best. It starts at Woolton Road and runs into town in an almost straight line across the Mystery (Wavertree playground), up Lawrence Road and Earle Road, across Tunnel Road, up Smithdown Lane and across to the university, with toucan crossings on the way. Once past busy Woolton Road, you are hardly aware that you are cycling parallel to some of the city's busiest arterial roads. Traffic-calming measures mean that it is quiet, even at rush hour, although uphill. But that is an advantage for fitness-conscious cyclists.
The Loop Line, a disused railway line, is a traffic-free linear run from Halewood in south Liverpool to Southport. It skirts the eastern suburbs of Liverpool, so it doesn't take you into town but you can cut off at various points, for example at Childwall Abbey, where you can join the Transpennine link and Route 56 into the city centre. These are signed routes rather than marked cycleways. It can be a bumpy ride thanks to potholes and tree roots.
From the south end, it is possible to cycle the whole way along the waterfront into town along Otterspool Promenade from Cressington Park. The "prom" stretches right along the waterfront as far as Albert Dock and Princes Dock. It can be windy but is mainly flat and unimpeded.
From the north Cycling from the north of Liverpool is more fraught, but there are toucan crossings to get you across the Queens Drive ring road, for example at Richard Kelly Drive near Walton Hall Park, and there is another at Kremlin Drive/Quarry Road, if you are cycling up from the Loop Line. The main route is the Vauxhall route, along a busy road. The Leeds-Liverpool canal is a peaceful traffic-free alternative. The canal currently ends near Burlington Street at the Eldonian Village but a new link will bring it to the waterfront at the Pier Head. A toucan crossing takes you across the Strand from the Pier Head to Water Street, against the flow of traffic in a designated lane, but you can almost immediately cut off to the left along Covent Garden towards Old Hall Street. The local press has described it as "the shortest cycle lane in the country" but it is an ingenious shortcut to the business district.
Go by ferry The superb traffic-free promenade stretches from Leasowe at the top of the Wirral through New Brighton and to the Seacombe ferry. There is a fast direct commuter ferry at rush hours which takes 10 minutes and you can wheel your bike straight on. Mersey Rail also provides free spaces for bikes on its trains, one of the few regional networks to do so.
Useful organisations Merseyside Cycling Campaign produced the first Liverpool map (merseyworld.com/mcc ) and free cycle maps are available for all local authority areas in Merseyside from Merseyside Travelwise (0151-330 1066, LetsTravelWise.org). Cycling Solutions (0151-234 9484, cyclingsolutions.co.uk) offers personalised cycle training for individuals, families and schools. Handcrank and adapted bikes for disabled people of all ages can be hired from Greenbank Project (0151-733 7255).
Ayesha Christie in Edinburgh
Avoid the hills Edinburgh is known for its hilly terrain, but thanks to the 19th-century canals and railway lines, there is a network of cycle paths that avoids the steep slopes. Well-signposted National Cycle Network routes 1 and 75 cross the city. The North Edinburgh Path Network comprises former railway lines; its wide, well-lit paths between the city centre and the waterfront allow cyclists to avoid the traffic on Queensferry Road and Ferry Road. Starting close to Haymarket station, the Tarmac paths provide routes to supermarkets, the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Botanic Gardens, Crewe Toll, Ocean Terminal and South Queensferry, where you can cycle across the Forth Road Bridge to Fife.
Take the towpath If you are travelling into town from the west, the Union Canal towpath is a pleasant, scenic option, which avoids the school run and rush-hour traffic around Colinton Road and Slateford. With links to Edinburgh Park and Wester Hailes stations, the towpath follows the canal to Edinburgh Quay. There are plenty of sights, including a wooden sculpture of Burke and Hare (who once worked as labourers on the canal). The route is flat, and much of the towpath has been resurfaced. Cyclists need a permit to use the canal, free from British Waterways (0141-332 6936).
The Water of Leith winds its way down from Balerno through the city centre, to the Firth of Forth at Leith, crossing the Union Canal at Slateford. Cyclists enjoy a picturesque, downhill ride through dense woodland and past weirs and bridges, although be warned: it can get muddy, the pathway between Balerno and Slateford is quite steep, and not all of it is lit. The path also becomes narrow around Dean Village - be aware of pedestrians and dog-walkers. The river bank is home to swans and herons, and you may catch a glimpse of a kingfisher.
Those commuting from the east should take the Innocent Railway Path. It begins close to the Scottish parliament building and runs out to East Lothian. Starting by Arthur's Seat, the route passes through open countryside, Duddingston Loch, skims Fort Kinnaird retail park and continues to Musselburgh. The route is off the main roads, relatively flat, and Tarmac for the first four miles out of the city.
Watch where you leave your bike There is a shortage of bike racks in the city centre, especially around Princes Street. If you need to leave your bike overnight, avoid Lothian Road and the Cowgate. Marchmont and the Pollock Halls vicinity also have a higher incidence of bike theft.
Bike shop Conveniently situated off the Meadows, at 8 Alvanley Terrace, the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative is one of the UK's largest bike shops. Open seven days a week, it has in-shop mechanics and offers on-the-spot puncture repairs, as well as cycle maintenance courses.
Useful organisations For more information on cycling in Edinburgh visit cycling-edinburgh.info/routes/guardian and sustrans.org.uk. If you like guided rides, see trycyclinginedinburgh.org.uk. Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, produces excellent cycle maps for Edinburgh and the Lothians, available at spokes.org.uk
· In tomorrow's G2 In our final guide to commuting, we look at Oxford, Belfast and Newcastle.
