Blogging and a'that

Mr. Ron Binns, the author of  "Crap Cycling in Waltham Forest" employs a common blogger's technique. First  he examines an argument made by someone with whom he wishes to disagree. If this can be mis-represented  or distorted, so much the better. Then comes the fun bit. Aha, he goes, I can prove he is wrong, because look at this - there follows a picture of a car in a cycle lane. Cambridge, it seems, far from being the place where 52% of the population get on a bike at least once a week, is actually a living hell for cyclists.A recent post focuses on the CTC's recent best practice guide by using a picture of an on-road cycle lane in Cambridge - the picture of a very good cycle and pedestrian bridge also in Cambridge and used as the front page of the latest CTC magazine is ignored of course.

This means of developing an argument by selective evidence doesn't work. If you tried it in your undergraduate dissertation you would be marked down and it would be a case of asking Mummy and Daddy for another £9,000 so you could do the year again.

What's more, that car in a bike lane is actually the fault of Cambridge Cycle Campaign, who should have pressed for a segregated bike lane - certainly not that of the driver who shouldn't have been there in the first place, the police who should be enforcing traffic laws, the government who have cut traffic policing by 30% or the local authority who apparently, had the Campaign, with it's 1066 members (many of whom probably were there at the Battle of Hastings, such is the longevity of cyclists, despite it being an allegedly dangerous activity) simply asked for it, would have keeled over and said, "oh alright then."

The problem with cars parking and driving in cycle lanes is not one of design, it is enforcement. Here in Sheffield we experienced problems a few years ago with a segregated cycle lane (we have a quite a few of them in Sheffield and most of us like them) that was parked over by patrons of a nearby mega-cinema. (It's here)


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 The police and the local security for the entertainment complex, who said that they had been offered violence when asking people to move, admitted that they couldn't keep cars out of the cycle track and eventually the council installed bollards all the way along the 200-yard section of cycle track, at a cost of some £20,000. Just putting up a kerb alongside a cycle track won't stop drivers abusing them in the UK  - we need a change of driver attitudes and that is what the CTC and Cyclenation are fighting for alongside the other measures we think will bring about a mass move towards cycling.

I'm not anal enough to take a picture every time I see a vehicle in a cycle lane - although I do have quite a few and I think mybikelane is an excellent means of catharsis (but I'm not quite sure whether the reports go anywhere useful, unlike fixmystreet which does seem to have an effect)- but here is what happens to the segregated cycle lane on the Boulevard Richard Lenoir in Paris on market day.(yes there is a segregated bike lane under that lot!)

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You may well find a similar situation on Taff Trail at Cardiff Arms on match day. This view of a segregated cycle track in Sheffield may look idyllic, but on a match day you will find it parked up by coaches who have been directed there by the police from nearby Bramall Lane.


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Mr Binns doesn't seem to appreciate that the average 4WD or White Van can make short work of even quite a high kerb separating the roadway from where the driver wants to park.

But CamCycle isn't the worst of the cycle campaign groups. Mr. Binn's venom is particularly directed at the CTC - and let's face it, who do they represent? Oh, their 60,000 members and 20,000 affiliates, you say? Glad we got that out of the way.  The key villain at the CTC and prime obstacle to Cycling Nirvana, it seems, is Roger Geffen, the CTC's Campaigns Director. To some it might seem Roger has the dream job - to me  it seems his job is a living hell, being shot at by both sides. However, he manages to keep cheerful and passionate about cycling despite it all. Mr. Binns seems to particularly hate him which is odd considering that they both campaigned on the M11 extension that tore the borough of Waltham Forest in two and Roger remembers him as a pretty good guy.

Apparently the CTC decided on it's policy on segregation in 1934 and hasn't moved an inch on it since. This seems odd given how much has happened - a world war and a few minor ones, a massive growth in motorised traffic and so forth.

At the Bristol cycle conference last weekend (the campaigning one not the Dutch Embassy one, which Cyclenation, of which I am secretary, helped organise) Roger scotched a few myths that are being propagated by bloggers such as Mr. Binns. One of these is the notion that Safety in Numbers is a strategy designed to keep cyclists on the road. Actually it was aimed at Road Safety officers, for whom an ideal scenario would be no cyclists, hence no accidents. Another is Right to Ride, to which Mr. Binns and other bloggers have attached the words "On the Road" entirely off their own bats. The Right to Ride network was set up to address a particular problem - the CTC as the "voice of cyclists" was being deluged by Traffic Regulation Orders, Bridleway Orders and the like and they needed a local network of people to deal with these. So ironically if you like, RTR reps spend the bulk of their time dealing with off-road provision and are in the main happy to support it as long as it is of a decent standard.

What really seems to get the bloggers backs up, however, is the Hierarchy of Provision. This suggests that planners should get to grips to the real problems of traffic that are choking communities rather than trying to put sticking plasters over them by painting a few white lines on the pavement. I have to admit that I don't think it's worded very well but I do agree that cycle tracks are best located away from major roads and for example I found Boris's Superhighway CS2  alongside the A13 a deeply unpleasant experience.

But enough of the CTC. If I wanted to change the CTC's policies, as a member I would put a motion to the organisation's AGM. This to my mind would be a better way of changing things than carping at them from the outside.

A recent post of Mr Binn's laid into cycle campaigning groups. This portrayed these groups as well-meaning duffers who blather on about how safe cycling is at meetings, only to be mown down by fast cars on the way home. Happily this stereotype is far from the truth. The group I belong to, CycleSheffield, has lost a couple of members due to cancer in recent years, but hasn't lost anyone due to enemy action by motor traffic for about twenty years. Most of the cycle crashes I hear about or have incurred myself are self-inflicted, or caused by slipping on tram tracks, a serious hazard in Sheffield. It seems that no matter  how much evidence we put out there that cycling is a safe activity, the falsehood that cycling is highly dangerous continues to be propagated by bloggers and is sucked up by the media and hence the general public. Having visited several campaign groups this year I've found them to consist of highly clued-up and motivated people -  interestingly some of the most aware groups are in the most unlikely of places, such as Wakefield and Chesterfield - who are well aware of the games that local authorities are likely to play with them, the most effective of course being divide and rule.

I've got this far of course without mentioning Holland.(apart from that little bit about the Dutch Embassy conferences of course) Well , the last time I cycled any distance there was 1982, when I tried to follow a bike route out of the Hague that said "Amsterdam" ended up lost in a forest and had to go back and get the train (for which I had to pay a substantial amount for my bike) Hopefully things have improved since then. My partner went to Amsterdam recently and said that as a pedestrian it was awful, with so-called bike lanes filled with fast e-bikes and even small electric cars and no-one paying any attention to stop lights and pedestrian "greens".

I will be going soon though, to visit an old friend who took full advantage of the country's liberal drug laws and now has degenerative lung disease, amongst other problems and is unlikely to live to his sixtieth year. Sounds like a great place to live. See what I've done there - my friend who lives in Holland is unlikely to live his full term and therefore Holland is an unhealthy place to live. Logical, isn't it? Isn't it?

So poor Mr. Binn. He lives in a world where everything is crap and he can point to a few examples to prove it, aided by a few fellow bloggers. Not all is lost however: there are a few people such as VoleO'Speed who are prepared to have a proper debate and admit it when they make a mistake. As someone who was born in what is now the Borough of Waltham Forest I'd rather deal with that kind of person. My name's Simon Geller by the way and if you find you can't leave a comment on this blog it's because of my incompetence, not as a matter of policy. Oh and these are solely my opinions, not those of any organization with whom I am associated.

A day on the Buses

Recurring Punctures in all three bikes and replacement tyres awaiting delivery from Wiggle, the car at the garage, and a few errands to run. What's to do? Looks like it's time to head for the bus stop. Big changes are in store with Sheffield buses, as the Bus Quality Partnership takes hold. So what's it like on the buses in Sheffield, once the home of cheap efficient buses, at the moment? Here's how my day went.

My local bus is only half-hourly and the times and route don't suit, so I hoof it down to Banner Cross (fine for me as I am able-bodied but if you are old & infirm or disabled it's a steep walk back up, with no dropped kerbs in this area.) The 30 comes along which goes where I'm going so I hop on and buy a First Day (Sheffield) Saver, a snip at £4.80. With local journeys in my area on First at £1.40, and Stagecoach £1.20, (they are a lot more expensive in other parts of the city) I'm going to have to hop on and off a lot of buses to make it worthwhile, and they are all going to have to be First Buses.

It being August, there's not much traffic on the roads and the trip to work is pretty quick. Come lunchtime, I need to get over to Heeley (& fast). The journey planner says walk to Moorfoot and catch the 20, so I do. From the top of the bus you can see that work on the Markets site is well started. Pick up the car from it's MOT, and a Very Large Amount of money is deducted from my card for the privilege of driving my ageing
estate car around occasionally for another year.  (About a 100 days worth of bus passes in fact.) Not wishing to pay for my parking, I drive the car to Fulwood. to catch a bus back to work. However, the one I've selected turns out to be run by Stagecoach, so I have to move the car up the road to catch the (very efficient) no.40 back towards town. Mission accomplished within the timescale!

After work, a quick run back up to Fulwood enables me to pick up the car, pick up a few heavy items and transport them home. Have arranged a meet with a pal at the Sheffield Tap, so it's back down to Banner X, where I encounter the 6 p.m. Black Bus Hole  - the first -  (as opposed to First) three buses to come back are either heading to the depot (they don't like to come out at night) or are Stagecoach. Eventually a First bus comes along and the driver is very grateful to me for pointing out that the headboard says Hunters Bar rather than City Centre. Hardly any passengers so it's a quick trip back to town.   We pop in to the rail ticket office to buy an advance ticket from Fishguard back to Sheffield, total cost £45 - or 9 days travel on First buses (approx.) Then I get a lift to Lower Walkley for some tea, leaving me with the last trip of the day, back to Greystones. The local bus is run by TM Travel so I hoof it down to Langsettt Rd, ignoring the frequent Supertrams sailing by. A First comes stops that is driven by a guy for whom it is clearly the last run of the day, so it takes no time to get to Snig Hill, just in time to see my bus setting off. So it's another stroll up Fargate, (following a cyclist up the pedestrianised part and thinking that it really that it really wouldn't be a problem if cycling was allowed 7p.m. to 7 a.m. along here)

Get to Pinstone St && then I get Stagecoached - the first bus to come along is the 88a, which strangely goes up the road very close to my house, but not down the road.  This gives us two buses an hour, but they go at more or less the same time, so it's not all that convenient. Anyway, my principles break down here, and I fork out an additional £1.20 for the privilege of getting off outside the Greystones before closing time. (Dear Reader, I did not go in.)

So what, I hear you say? So what are my conclusions, I hear you say? Well I just about made a profit on my all-day saver. My journeys would have been a lot more convenient if I could have used my day pass on any bus, although I'm not sure I would have been willing to pay more than a fiver for the privilege. The journeys themselves were fast & efficient, although it's a different story in October when the schools & universities are in full swing, and the drivers were great. It was eye-opening to see how randomly cyclists behave around buses, and how considerate and alert the drivers are, although I know it often doesn't seem like that when you are on a bike. Roll on the BQP and let's get some of the problems fixed, I say!

Can you be anti helmet law - and yet wear a helmet?

When I express my view that mandatory helmet laws are unhelpful people sometimes say to me 'but you wear a helmet.' Indeed I do  - some of the time. My personal reason for this is as follows: I've come off my bike twice in recent years, in both cases no other vehicle was involved. The first time, not wearing a helmet, I don't remember the crash, had to spend a night in the Northern General Hospital (not pleasant - my wife tells me that there was blood from a previous occupant under the bed, that wasn't cleared up while I was there) had a broken nose, etc. The second time, wearing a helmet, I do remember the incident (Actually I'd rather not) again got taken to the NGH in an Ambulance, got stitched up and sent home. All of this is anecdotal and just relates to me. So when people say to me that as a fairly prominent cycle campaigner I should set an example and not wear a helmet, I have two words for them, one of which is 'Off'. I happen to live in a city with steep hills and crap roads and wearing a helmet is often the best thing to do. On the other hand, I frequently don't wear one  - I left it on a train and didn't get it back for a few weeks recently, then a few days later it was stolen from my bike after I'd nonchalantly left it hanging off the handlebars. I've just bought a new one which I have to say is a much better fit. .

I continue to believe that  wearing a helmet should be an informed personal choice. All the evidence shows that mandatory helmet laws are counter-productive. If your kids or your friends won'rt ride because they don't like wearing a helmet, be cool about it - teach them to ride safely and the benefits to them will far outweigh the risk of a bang on the head.

Back in the UK.

My June was spent as follows: A week's sailing in the Sporades followed by four days of rain in the UK, followed by 10 days in Arizona where at 40 degrees it was too hot to go out in the daytime, although we got up to the mountains where it was a great deal cooler. Came back to the UK with severe jetlag and a very phlegmie cold.

So I hear the weather's been crap? Too bad. It seems to have picked up a bit now - time to get out on the bike, and of course with Bradley in mind it's time to do more than you think you do. So on Sunday, a pootle out to the Peak District turns into an endurance test, following 'my route' over Bamford Moor (can I recommend the coffee stop in the car park below Burbage? I think I can) through the Hope Valley, up Mam Tor and down to Chinley - then along the tramway to the canal, switching to the Sett Valley train (took a bit of finding) up to Hayfield, then back into 'road cyclist' mode. (This entails turning up the ipod REALLY LOUD!) Over the top to Glossop - have tended to do this the other way, I think this direction is preferable. Then the big one - over the Snake. Had the wind behind me and although I was already knackered, the tough climbs were worth it for the long swooping downhills.

Saw one shocking incident  - a young couple on MTB's passed me on the way up from Glossop. On the way down on the other side there had been an accident, and I'm pretty sure it was one of them. There didn't appear to have been another  vehicle involved, and motorists has stopped to look after the casualty and manage the traffic. I didn't see how I could help so I carried on. I was nearly at Ladybower however before an ambulance went up so I hope that person was OK.

Two more climbs, each slightly  less stiff than the previous, and I was drinking a restorative pint in Sheffield about two hours later.

Dinas Cross to Wem

 Route Map

Day 1: Pen-Y-Mynydd, Dinas Cross to Tregaron
OS Landranger 145
Start point: Pen-Y-Mynydd cottage. 

 Quite a ride from West Wales over the Jubilee weekend. Friends gathered at the Walker ranch near Dinas Cross to set off across Dinas mountain and down into the Gwaun valley, where our first puncture occured and took a while to patch up. Eventually we were back on the road, following the road out of the valley. Here we took our first wrong turn, but by the time we realised out mistake we'd dropped a hundred metres or so, and decided to press on and join the road we were to take further down. We picked up NCN82 at Pentree-cwrt and made our way through wild Welsh countryside to Cenarth, home of the coracle. We were now in the valley of Afon Teifi which we then followed upstream.   Newcastle Emlyn was our lunch stop and the bike route took us along some stunning back roads, but we started to run out of time so took to the main road to get past Lampeter and the last 12 miles or so to Tregaron. 

We stayed at Y Talbot, a classic country town hotel and apart from a slight glitch with the booking everything was great.  

 
End point: Y Talbot
Day 2: Tregaron to Newtown.
OS Landrangers 146 147, 136.
Start point: Y Talbot Tregaron

We woke to the sound of driving rain on the windows and we knew we were in for a wild ride. 

We missed out the  scenic diversion of NCN82 across the Bog as we thought it might be a bit too boggy, but continued to Pontrhydfendigaid also missing out Strata Florida abbey. 

Along the mountain road to Ysbytystwyth . I realised my brake blocks were on their last legs which made the descents less fun that they could have been. We studied a muddy track that had been designated NCN82 and decided to give it a miss, preferring the uphill grind to the  Cwmystyth road. This carried on up until we dropped back into the Ysytwyth valley and then along the valley road past slate mines and the pottery. Then we pulled off to the Forestry Rd and this was tough - pushing up arough track in driving rain and wind, dropping down and having to do it all again. Emerging on A44 at  to Llangurig, we took a tea stop with a sympathetic landlord and blew off the next scenic diversion in favour of a fast run down the main road. Turning off at Caersws we took the back road into Newtown meeting more friends, where it turned out to be party night. The Elephant & Castle tried but didn't quite make the grade.
 
End point:
Day 3. Newtown to Wem.
OS Landrangers 136, 126.
Start point: Elephant and Castle, Broad Street, Newtown, Powys, SY16 2BQ 
Leaving town on the route of the Shropshire Union canal, we emerged on the B4389 at Aberbechan. L. to Bettws Cedewan.  r to Berrie, hence to Powis Castle where we were greeted by an endless queue of traffic. The very obliging owner of Brooks Cycles in Welshpool opened up to sell me some brake blocks so we fitted them over a capuccino, sitting in the sun.

Continue on the NCN81 towards Leighton, we had a stiff climb which left all of us pushing except Deirdrie, turned left onto Long Mountain Rd, with great views into England. Here we lost John Shep who had a train to catch from Shrewsbury back to Cardiff, then we pushed on through towards Wem. Hope, Wollaston (Motte & Bailey). (Border Crossing) Bulthy, Crew Green, Melverley, Pentre came and went and we came upon the Royal Hill pub and campsite , far too good a place to pass by so we stopped for acouple of beers, Wilcott, Wilcott Marsh where we left NCN81 as it was now heading for Shrewsbury. (this NCN route had served us well all the way from Newtown) Great Ness, Little Ness, Baschurch, Burlton, r. A528, l. minor rd to Brandwood, Noneley, Tilley, and  to Wem. We had a warm welcome at the Aston Lodge B&B and ate and drank well at the Albion pub over the road. 


However, weather forecasts were looking grim and we decided to quit while we were ahead. So two of us got the train from Wem in the morning while the rest of the gang cycled down to Shrewbury and got trains from there - eight of us turning up with bikes for a one-car  train might have scared the guard!

Weekend rides

Had a an excellent couple of rides over the weekend. On Saturday, following the Cyclenation AGM, I spun over to Leicester - have done this before and it's a great ride, improving once you get out of Brum.There isn't a signed bike route out of Birmingham to the East, although there is one from Digbeth for a shortish way, so I followed that and then took to the suburban back streets before crossing over several motorways and finally seeing some countryside. Coleshill is the first stop with a convenience co-op supermaket to get stocked up with food & drink, then a steady climb take you to Atherstone with it's canal and station on the London Midland Line. After that you're in the flatlands heading towards Market Bosworth which is on a bit of a rise, then on into Leicester - there's a bit of a bike route to get ou across the M1 at Leicester Forest East (beware glass under the bridge - I've just reported it at One Clean Leicester) previously I've followed the route into town, but I can't recommend it as it takes you out of your way up to County Hall, then on a dodgy shared use pavement along the A50, before turning off onto a shared use path through a park which is fine. I used Glenfield Rd, the trick being to turn right off Park Drive to Dominion Rd up the hill and across the roundabout,  some of which has a shared use path that is also fine - whichever way you go getting across the ring road into the city centre, but as progressive city Leicester does allow cycling in the pedestrianised shopping area. Had a well-earned curry in Ride of the Raj off London Rd, and was then too full to fit in a pint, so got the train home.

Sunday I lead the Facilities & Infrastructure ride for the CTC AGM. I took a loose view of "facilitiesd and decided it would include a taste of the foothills leading to the peak, so after a bit of a tour around town we headed up the Porter Valley to Forge Dam, for butties teas and coffees. The we headed up the bridleway to Bents Green cut across to Whirlow, out towards Dore, down through Ecclesall Woods to look at the Bluebells and then up via Beauchief to Greenhill before cutting back through Norton to Heeley, having a look at some of the infrastructure there and the over-the-top contraflow on Norfolk Park Rd before a well-earned pint in the Sheffield Tap, where we ran into @psyklyn as well as some other local friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy it  - 22 set off but many had to peel away to catch trains so only 5 were left by the time we got back to the station. Thanks to everyone who came along though. 

Brompton in the Rain

The B. really comes into it's own when it's raining - you can hop on and off public transport, put it in the c*r, whatever. Here's what I've been doing this week with the help of the B.

Monday  - to Leeds for a meet of the Northern Rail Cycle Forum. We reviewed the last meeting and made plans for the next one which we plan to hold in Bradford. With the help of the B. I made it back to the station for the last Northern "Fast" train back to Sheffield. The c*r had been left on Riverdale Rd, so I cycled up to pick it up and drove the last mile home. (It is a bit of a climb)

Tuesday  - to Watford for a talk to Spokes, the local cycling group. They are a lively group with a strong grasp of the issues. Having the b. meant I could leave work at the last possible moment, leap on the train, get over to Euston for a train to Watford & pedal to the venue for the meeting in minutes. In fact I got to Watford an hour before I expected to so I had time for tea in Wetherspoons (a mixed blessing). Interesting exchange at the bar: "A pint of Beer please" (there's a pump with a brew called Beer on it) "Which one?" That one, called Beer" "oh yeah that one, I keep forgetting we've got a beer called Beer" Back on the train to London, bit of a wait for the last train back to Sheffield so had a chance to visit the Euston Tap, an interesting pub in two halves in the gatehouses of Euston. Got a good sleep in on the train and back in Sheffield at 01:13, I'd left the car strategically placed in Norfolk Park so it was an easy task to cycle up and drive home - cycling home at that time would have been tedious.

On Wednesday the rain really pelted down and as we had some stuff to pick up it was OK to car-share and drive to work - three in the car so we would have been able to use the bus lanes if what council proposes comes to pass, there doesn't seem to have been any consideration for cyclists in that proposal though.

On thursday all my motoring commitments came to roost - the family estate was in the garage for some repairs, while the camper van had been in for it's MOT. So, in the morning, drop the estate in at one garage, pop round in on the B. to check on the status of the van in another garage , then head to work. Lunchtime, pop up to pick up the van, drive back to work, whilst driving get a text to say that the Estate is ready. A couple of meetings later, whizz back to Heeley, pay for the repairs but leave the car where it is. B. back to work, finish off in the office, drive the van home, then on the Brompton again for a thrilling downhill to pick up the car. There only remained a quick trip to the supermarket to get some tea, then home.

That's the week so far: Tomrrow evening I go to Brum for a meeting with the CTC Right to Ride Advisory group. Didn't fancy staying over so will get the last-ish train back to Sheffield, on Saturday morning I'll be back on the train to Brum for the seminar on cycling safety. No doubt the B. will play it's part on assisting me with Smart Travel and minimal car use through all that!