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Getting my bike from Derby to Eastbourne?

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Comstock

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Hi guys hope you don't mind me asking for help.

I need to get a non folding bike from Derby to Eastbourne by train.

How would I begin planning this? I know I need to book the Derby to London leg and I can't take my bike on the tube.

I'm ok about riding it across London if there's no alternative but would prefer to avoid this

Any advice gratefully received.
 
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swt_passenger

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I'd look at changing onto Thameslink at Bedford or Luton - they'll allow non-folding bikes during the off-peak at least, and by not changing at St Pancras you should end up with an easier change. Getting onto a Thameslink train at its origin should give you first crack at the cycle spaces.
 

MichaelAMW

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Hi guys hope you don't mind me asking for help.

I need to get a non folding bike from Derby to Eastbourne by train.

How would I begin planning this? I know I need to book the Derby to London leg and I can't take my bike on the tube.

I'm ok about riding it across London if there's no alternative but would prefer to avoid this

Any advice gratefully received.

It's all here, if a little out of date (Thameslink and Southern mentioned separately):

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/css/cycleleaflet20151.pdf

Basically, reserve to London (or maybe Bedford/Luton as swt_passenger suggests) then first come, first served across London from Bedford/Luton/St Pancras to East Croydon/Gatwick/Three Bridges on Thameslink, then ditto by Southern on to Eastbourne.
 

MCR247

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I'd look at changing onto Thameslink at Bedford or Luton - they'll allow non-folding bikes during the off-peak at least, and by not changing at St Pancras you should end up with an easier change. Getting onto a Thameslink train at its origin should give you first crack at the cycle spaces.

I'd also recommend this. The only thing is that as Derby has no stopping trains to London, you'd need an extra change at Leicester onto the stopper from Nottingham, which is a 4/5 car 222 that is often quite busy.
 

PermitToTravel

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It's not completely true that you can't take it on the tube - you can take a non-folding bike on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines outside 0730-0930 and 1600-1900. (some parts of other lines too, but those aren't relevant to that journey)
 

hulabaloo

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If you are an experienced cyclist riding from St Pancras to Victoria isn't as scary as it sounds!
 

Stompehh

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Have taken my bike on the circle line off-peak a few times (allowed as mentioned above), absolutely no problem, plenty of room on the S-stock.
 

Tony2215

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Derby to Southampton on a XC, then Southampton to Brighton. And its about 40 mins on bike to Eastbourne along the A259, and its right along the coast too.
 

anme

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If you are an experienced cyclist riding from St Pancras to Victoria isn't as scary as it sounds!

I agree. Cycling in central London is typically less scary than it sounds, and provision for bike on roads and at junctions is patchy but often quite good. It's also usually pretty quick - while in cycle lanes you will overtake plenty of cars (which they won't like, be prepared for some verbal abuse). The biggest danger is from lorries, but there aren't many of them in central London.

If you don't fancy it, then the Thameslink suggestion is probably best.
 

Hophead

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It's all here, if a little out of date (Thameslink and Southern mentioned separately):

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/css/cycleleaflet20151.pdf

Basically, reserve to London (or maybe Bedford/Luton as swt_passenger suggests) then first come, first served across London from Bedford/Luton/St Pancras to East Croydon/Gatwick/Three Bridges on Thameslink, then ditto by Southern on to Eastbourne.

I'd add Haywards Heath to that, if you can get a Brighton train from St. Pancras - it'll be a same platform change and the train and station will be somewhat less busy. An added bonus will be the train split on your Eastbourne connection, giving you a few minutes more than elsewhere.
 

DaveNewcastle

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If you are an experienced cyclist riding from St Pancras to Victoria isn't as scary as it sounds!
I agree. The only tricky bit is the last 100 metres, as its not clear how cyclists approaching Victoria from the north east are to enter the station against the flow of taxis & busses passing the drop off point in the opposite direction.

I'd suggest Judd Street, Tavistock Place, Gower Street, Shaftesbury Avenue (where you'll pass everything on 4 wheels), straight along Picadilly and down through the parks past Buckingham Palace.
. . . . . . - while in cycle lanes you will overtake plenty of cars (which they won't like, be prepared for some verbal abuse). The biggest danger is from lorries, but there aren't many of them in central London.
I disagree. I've very, very rarely encountered any agression from motorists. I find the greatest hazard is pedestrians stepping out without looking, particulary tourists (perhaps used to traffic flowing in the opposite direction when they begin to cross).

Seems pointless taking you bike across London and not using it!
 

yorkie

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True, you can't take your bike on deep level tubes, but there are plenty of alternatives. There are sub-surface lines between St Pancras south London terminals, namely the Circle Line (as part of LU it is referred to as being part of the "tube" network, but they are in fact full size trains in full size tunnels) or, more directly, Thameslink.

If the Thameslink train you board is a Class 319, these are not good for storing cycles. An increasing number of trains are Electrostars.

Before suggesting a route, I'd want to know what time you're thinking of departing, what time you'd like to arrive, and whether it's a Monday-Friday, a Saturday or Sunday.
 

Shimbleshanks

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I agree. The only tricky bit is the last 100 metres, as its not clear how cyclists approaching Victoria from the north east are to enter the station against the flow of taxis & busses passing the drop off point in the opposite direction.

I'd suggest Judd Street, Tavistock Place, Gower Street, Shaftesbury Avenue (where you'll pass everything on 4 wheels), straight along Picadilly and down through the parks past Buckingham Palace.I disagree. I've very, very rarely encountered any agression from motorists. I find the greatest hazard is pedestrians stepping out without looking, particulary tourists (perhaps used to traffic flowing in the opposite direction when they begin to cross).

Seems pointless taking you bike across London and not using it!



I'd recommended going down Buckingham Place Road down the side of Victoria station and entering through the side entrance rather than use the main station frontage.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also, don't forget if you're travelling Monday to Friday you can't take a non-folding bike on trains leaving Victoria between 4pm and 7pm (I think).
 

D841 Roebuck

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One other possible route is:
Derby to Reading (book on Cross Country)
Reading to Redhill/Gatwick Airpott (FGW)
Redhill/Gatwick to Eastbourne (Southern)

Don't know how bike this would be, though.
 

PermitToTravel

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CrossCountry Voyagers have one reserveable bike space and one free-for-all bike space. The FGW train is a 165/166, where the done thing is to block a (non-platform-side) door - bikes won't ever be a problem on these outside the peaks. Southern trains usually have decent bike racks.
 
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