This week in cycling kicked off for me with a 20's plenty for Sheffield meeting on Monday. 20's plenty of course benefits everyone, not just cyclists. One of the items we discussed was how best to influence politicians - Cyclesheffield has kicked off the dialogue with the new Labour Administration in Sheffield through it's Manifesto for Transport in Sheffield but we need the support of local MP's as well. Danny Dorling suggested he might be able to pull a few strings and sure enough in a couple of days we had an appointment booked with Nick Clegg.
Tuesday night we had a Sustrans Volunteer Ride (photos here) We fixed a couple of problems and found some more we couldn't fix, so we've referred them to the council.
Wednesday night we went out to the Monsal Trail to explore the newly opened tunnels - photos here. A real mixed ride - some people car-shared, some rode out (44 miles round trip) and Jon got the train to Grindleford and cycled from there. This really is an impressive route - although open, there is some finishing-off work to do - and will be a real draw for the Peak District. We hope people will take advantage of the complete cycle route, eventually from Matlock to Buxton when it is all in place, to come by bike from the railheads rather than increasing the congestion in the Peak. There are opportunities for some circular rides as well using the High Peak & Tissington Trails and the Pennine Cycleway & Trans-Pennine Trail or you could make up your own on adjacent minor roads - the A6 isn't a particularly pleasant road to cycle on, especially with the quarry traffic in this area. Sheffield CTC have been out there as well.
Thursday night nothing much happened, but on Friday I popped off for a chat with Nick Clegg about 20's plenty. He was supportive, but thought it was something that was best decided at a local level - a fairly normal
Lib Dem response. I mentioned some of the areas that had introduced Total 20 and he did register that Lancashire has just done it across the county - a conservastive council at that!We promised to keep him informed, and also had a good chat about bikes - he'd visited the Brompton factory and was very impressed.
Richard Attwood has done a briefing paper - 5 Good Reasons for a Default 20 mph limit for Sheffield - which
Then I set off for St Marys for a debate about Climate Change organised by SCACC. Nick Clegg was on the panel, and I got in a question about sustainable travel - "Emissions from transport stand at 24% of the UK total, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
So the week ending, time for a couple of pints in the Rising Sun with friends and a chat about the joys of cycling in France!
Tuesday night we had a Sustrans Volunteer Ride (photos here) We fixed a couple of problems and found some more we couldn't fix, so we've referred them to the council.
Wednesday night we went out to the Monsal Trail to explore the newly opened tunnels - photos here. A real mixed ride - some people car-shared, some rode out (44 miles round trip) and Jon got the train to Grindleford and cycled from there. This really is an impressive route - although open, there is some finishing-off work to do - and will be a real draw for the Peak District. We hope people will take advantage of the complete cycle route, eventually from Matlock to Buxton when it is all in place, to come by bike from the railheads rather than increasing the congestion in the Peak. There are opportunities for some circular rides as well using the High Peak & Tissington Trails and the Pennine Cycleway & Trans-Pennine Trail or you could make up your own on adjacent minor roads - the A6 isn't a particularly pleasant road to cycle on, especially with the quarry traffic in this area. Sheffield CTC have been out there as well.
Thursday night nothing much happened, but on Friday I popped off for a chat with Nick Clegg about 20's plenty. He was supportive, but thought it was something that was best decided at a local level - a fairly normal
Lib Dem response. I mentioned some of the areas that had introduced Total 20 and he did register that Lancashire has just done it across the county - a conservastive council at that!We promised to keep him informed, and also had a good chat about bikes - he'd visited the Brompton factory and was very impressed.
Richard Attwood has done a briefing paper - 5 Good Reasons for a Default 20 mph limit for Sheffield - which
Then I set off for St Marys for a debate about Climate Change organised by SCACC. Nick Clegg was on the panel, and I got in a question about sustainable travel - "Emissions from transport stand at 24% of the UK total, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Do you think the Coalition Government is doing enough to promote sustainable travel? "
Nicks response was no, he didn't think the government was doing enough, and of course was able to mention that he'd been talking to me about 20s plenty. One of the other panellists pointed out that the cost of motoring to the user has remained stable over the past 10 years, despite the rising cost of fuel (& the constant whining of the motoring fraternity) while the cost of public transport has gone up by 50%.Other topics covered were the need to invest in insulation and end fuel poverty, the impact of Climate Change on developing countries and the role of capitalism in all this. Nick Clegg I thought put up a spirit defence of the government's green policies and I hope he will take the criticisms that were levied back to Westminster and do something with them.
So the week ending, time for a couple of pints in the Rising Sun with friends and a chat about the joys of cycling in France!
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