Quote Originally Posted by PeteS View Post
Many thanks for signing up. Much appreciated.
The canal towpaths are a great way to get in and out of Brum and deservedly popular with cyclists. Unfortunately getting to and from them can be a bit of a lottery particularly on the east of the city and of course they are only useful if they are anywhere near your destination. That one past the uni is my commute when I need to get to the city centre but for most of the winter months they are unlit, icy and muddy - not great and sometimes a salted road is the only option.
The council have muted many other schemes and two major segregated routes. Sadly, these have been beset with planning problems and others seem to have been dropped with no signs of a replacement. We have seen no sign of any of them yet.....
I work in Aston, about 100 yards from the canal running between the city centre and Spaghetti Junction. If I was a Birmingham resident, it seems undoubtedly the best way to get quickly around the city (although I don't actually recall seeing more than one or two cyclists in total as I pass).

Incidentally although I live in Coventry, the commute between Cov and Birmingham is possibly the easiest I've ever had. Roll up to Cov train station for 8am, jump on the train, quick change at New Street then I'm there. Of course starting at the ridiculously late hour of 9am does help. Rail commuting does have issues though (crowds, appallingly frequent delays. Luckily there is a plethora of trains between the two cities, and out to Aston).

But on the whole it is surprisingly more hassle free than getting across Cov in the rush hour, or even worse, getting to somewhere like Leamington or Warwick.