BRISTOL
LEG 1: Clifton Suspension Bridge to Filton — 5.6 miles START TIME: 8.28am
STARTING next to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Megan King, 27, on a bicycle, and 21-year-old Beki Elmer, in her Mazda2, set off through Bristol towards the suburb of Filton, where a lot of businesses are based.
The traffic is pretty light for the first mile, past the Georgian houses of Clifton, and Beki establishes a decent lead. ‘I didn’t hit my first bit of traffic until I headed up the A4018. At this stage, there were quite a lot of cars but no bikes going past,’ says Beki.
However, seven minutes in, at 8.35am, Megan is pedalling along the side of the road and sails past Beki, who has got stuck in what has started to become quite heavy traffic.
‘She was just able to weave in between the vehicles — frustrating, when I sat in a line of cars,’ says Beki.
Into the third mile, the roads narrow. ‘It’s difficult to overtake the bikes in front of me,’ says Beki. ‘I worry that there’s not enough room — especially when there is also a cycle lane on the other side of the road.’
To make matters worse, there is a long stretch along the A4018 where there is a joint pedestrian/cycle path, but many cyclists are not using it, including Megan. She says: ‘I’m choosing to stay on the road because it’s too dangerous when I need to join a roundabout at the end of the road.’
Beki says she understands why Megan feels the cycle path is badly
designed, but adds: ‘Perhaps if cyclists used the lane, the traffic would move slightly quicker.’
At 8.43am, thanks to the quite steep hill, Beki caught up and overtook Megan, but not for long. ‘I was then sat in heavy traffic for ten minutes,’ she says.
While Beki faced a no-right-turn sign where she wanted to turn off — and had to go further up the road to a roundabout and come back on the other carriageway — Megan was able to use a cycle lane to cut across the road and knock several minutes off her journey.
‘ That made a huge difference,’ says Beki. ‘It was frustrating.’
Megan arrived on her bike at 8.57am. Beki made it at 9.04am.
BICYCLE: 29 minutes, speed 11.6mph
CAR: 36 minutes, speed 9.3mph
RETURN LEG: Filton to Clifton START TIME: 12.20pm
MEGAN is at an immediate disadvantage at the start of the return leg because of the big hill on Filton Avenue. ‘I passed Megan after about 20 seconds,’ says Beki.
Her lead extends quickly, thanks not just to the hill of Filton Avenue, but also the poor state of Gloucester Road. ‘There are huge pot holes in the cycle lane,’ says Megan.
Beki hits only one snag: another badly designed cycle lane. ‘It’s narrow and there are dozens of parked cars, so cyclists weave into the road,’ she says. By the time she gets to Bristol Zoo, she is able to drive at more than 20mph. She finishes at 12.43pm — five minutes ahead of Megan.
BICYCLE: 28 minutes, speed 12mph
CAR: 23 minutes, speed 14.6mph