Impressions of cycling in Manchester

Please allow me to share my impressions of cycling in Manchester gleaned from riding from the Manchester Cycling Centre to Marple on Wed following the Northern Rail Cycle Forum

Approximate route here: http://gb.mapometer.com/cycling/route_3979080.html

(Most of the time I had only a faint idea where I was - I had an old copy of the Manchester Cycle Map & used the route-finding facility of Google Maps on my phone occasionally. Other than that I mostly followed my nose. 

My plan was to try to follow the route of the slow Manchester - Sheffield train and hop on at an appropriate point. It would be great of course to be able to follow a cycle route that followed the line of the railway, linking all the stations, but sadly no such route exists. 

I was on my swanky new road bike so unwilling to follow off-road trails unless they were of high quality, free of glass etc. On the other hand I didn't much fancy sticking to main roads. 

What I found was very worn-out and poorly maintained cycle routes often with a lot of collected debris in them. There were new build estates that lacked those essential little passageways and gennels that make it possible to get through to the next area on foot or by bike. At one point I followed a sign to Levenshulme only to see it disappear up a muddy track beside a playing field so had to retrace my pedals. 

In a few other places there were useful cut-throughs but these were generally in a bad state with broken glass, fly-tipping and evidence of nefarious activities taking place  - I had to carry my bike in few places (It's not heavy) 

Eventually got to the big intersection near Stockport town centre   - took ages to get round that  - 

Traffic was heavy everywhere but I was taken aback by the amount flowing through that interchange. and having got up the the hill on the shared use path next to the A626 (somewhat overgrown ) rejoined the carriageway and was able to overtake quite a lot of queuing traffic on the way to Marple - the middle classes on their way home I suppose. 

If you look at the Google map showing cycle routes (it does only show off-road routes) you can see how fragmented they are.  The sustrans mapping does show the on-road routes but it isn't very coherent! 

Conclusion - there's a lot to do to make Manchester a cycle-friendly place. I'm a big fan of the Manchester Cycleway & some of the TPT but it doesn't always take you where you want to go. The Roman Europe-wide sustainable walking and horse-riding system wasn't built in a day I suppose. 

Bedford "Turbo" Roundabout

I had the pleasure of a visit to Bedford this week and took the time out to have a look at this scheme - one of the "cycle safety" schemes that were intended to improve conditions for existing cyclists. This was a flawed process - councils had to submit schemes, and a committee from cycling organisations evaluate them, in a very short timescale. The final decision was that it should be be funded but that the shortcomings to the scheme should be made clear.

Traffic lanes are separated out as you approach an exit making lane switching impossible - this was identified as a reason for collisions with cyclists. Less confident cyclists can use the shared use pavements and cycle lanes alongside zebra crossings as well as linking into the cycle lanes on adjacent roads which are advisory but mostly of a reasonable width.

Criticisms of this scheme seemed to be based on the following:-

It's not what the Dutch would call a turbo roundabout. True, but the rest of the cycle network in Bedford isn't very Dutch either, with the possible exception of the riverside routes.

Cycling Safety money was spend on a scheme for motor traffic - but it's hard to see how you can create space for cycling without re-arranging the flow of other traffic. The intention was to make the road safer for both on and off-road cyclists.  

It promotes the concept of a 'dual network" - the Dutch have a network of bike routes that is suitable for all. This is where we want to get to but one roundabout isn't going to achieve that. 

Motorcyclists complained that the original design was hazardous for them and the final design has been modified as a result of that.

(This is taken from a traffic island - the Belisha beacon isn't blocking anyone's route)

The first cyclist I saw using the scheme used this non-cyclised ped crossing to access the road opposite - clearly a trick was missed here.

Using the crossings,traffic which was moving pretty slowly stopped immediately. The ares was pretty congested it being around 5:30 and a lot of traffic coming out of the station car parks which are not far away. There seemed to a lot of scope to increase cycling in the area.

Bedford does seem to have a mixed economy as far as cycling goes  - roughly equally balanced between pavement cyclists who were generally moving pretty slowly and not causing a problem and faster roadie types. So the roundabout seemed to fit in with the existing cycling culture.

All in all there was a feeling of calm about the area and I came away wondering what the fuss was all about. Elsewhere in Bedford the main roads had advisory cycle lanes that were a decent width - I didn't have my tape measure on me - and it seemed like it would be a fairly pleasant place to cycle although as I had a puncture I spent the rest of my stay pushing the Brompton around. May I also say that I found the people of Bedford very helpful and friendly, in sharp contrast to the folk of North London mentioned in my last post.

It's grim up North London...

Had the opportunity to cycle around North London this weekend so of course I took it.  Having been dropped off at Cockfosters, went through Hadley Common, past the fishing lake with instructions on how to get a fishing licence in many languages. Down into East Barnet for a coffee and then along Dollis Brook to Totteridge and Whetstone crossing over to Pymmes Brook. These were great bike routes through the parks but nothing to link them other than some yellow lines on the London Cycle Map. Every crossing of a main road seemed difficult for a cyclist and with no bike route signs on the back streets you were left to find your own way.

At Southgate, I made my way over the North Circular with some difficulty and found a route to Muswell Hill  - my only previous acquaintance being via the Kinks, Muswell Hillbillies.It was certainly a climb on the Brompton and I was pleased to be on the downhill through Highgate and Archway. I found this main road to be OK for cycling with wide bus lanes the only pinch points being where there were road works.

Getting down to the horrible mess that is Highbury Corner was a little different though and  I was reminded of classic London rudeness when as I negotiated my way into the cashpoint queue a young woman just stepped in front of me. It's every man and woman for yourself up North London and you have to like the sound of your own voice.

Passing through hipster-land I made it down to the Hertford Union canal - this was a great bike route back in the '80s when it had just been paved, but now with all the new developments in the area there are too many pedestrians and it is no longer viable

I let Google Maps guide me in to the Directory of Social Change where LCC was holding it's AGM and Campaigner's Conference. As a non-member I didn't go to the AGM and I thought it would be more instructive to see what cycling  conditions were like in the boroughs for myself, but I gather a lot of business had been covered including a controversial motion suggesting that the expansion in the number of buses in London was no longer helpful to cycling.

I attended a couple of workshops on forming a campaign strategy and one on taking your bike on public transport. What was more exciting though was the campaginer awards, and in particular the effort that has been made to persuade businesses in London to support the "Crossrail for bikes" proposals. This has the potential to transform cycling in central London but is meeting resistance from a handful of old men in limos who are anonymously briefing against it, but represent the vested interests of Canary Wharf and the Corporation of London. Through a massive leafletting campaign they had got workers to put pressure on their employers to support the proposals with much success. Since then we've learnt that an executive from Canary Wharf is set to chair the committee that will decide whether the bike routes will be built - an appalling situation.

Mark Ames' presentation on campaigning with social media is well worth watching:- 

http://ibikelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/my-top-5-tips-for-cycle-campaigning.html

I left the LCC who were off to celebrate their achievement in a nearby pub and set off to meet by brother at the Market Porter at Kings Cross before setting off to see Albert Lee & Hogans Heroes in the Islington (there's a clue in the name where that is) Despite being throughly ripped off for mediocre Brooklyn lager and having to ask members of the audience to stop talking so we could enjoy the music, a great gig and I would recommend seeing him if you get the chance, if you're a fan of that country-rock style.

On Sunday I was able to take the Stealth Bomber for a ride around the lanes on the Herts and Essex border, circumnavigating Stansted Airport - about 45 miles - before heading back to the real grim North, with a fantastic sunset as I arrived back in Sheffield.

That's why they call it Riverdale Rd

Flooding on Riverdale Rd this evening.

More on cycling in Wales

My last post got a response from Barry, of Sheffield CTC. He says:

Hi Simon,

I enjoyed reading your article on the Cycle Sheffield website of your trip on the North Wales cycle route, one which I have ridden on several occasions. As you probably know, we have held a few hostel weekends in North Wales and have ridden along the coastal path from Prestatyn to Llandudno and Conwy a few times. 

On two occasions we rode to Llandudno from our hostel near Mold down NCN 5 and then circumnavigated the Great Orme on the Marine Drive. Without doubt this is the most spectacular stretch of road I have ever ridden in the UK, the views out to sea are amazing and thanks to the toll, attracts very little motor traffic (free to bikes of course) There is a cafe at the half way point called 'Rest and be Thankful' on a nice day you can drink your tea or coffee and enjoy the views over Puffin Island, Anglesey, the Menai Straits and Penmaenmawr. The Marine Drive finishes at the West Shore where you can continue down the trail to Deganwy and Conwy, a sheer delight. 

Roy Spilsbury is a bit of a local hero, as you rightly said he campaigned for years to get the promenade at Llandudno open to cyclists and his perseverance finally paid off. I have seen the result of his endeavors earlier this year when  stayed at Craig Y Don with my family  and I am pleased to see that the facility is well used by local cyclists who use the promenade in a sensible manner. 

Roy had done a lot of work collating information on winged wheels, I informed him of the winged wheel on the side of the Scarborough Arms in Tickhill and he was thrilled as he had no record of it. You can imagine his delight when we decided to clean up the stone next to the CTC Centenary tree at Blackamoor and add a winged wheel logo made of Sheffield stainless steel. 

The picture at the top is of some of the SD CTC group on the 2013 hostel weekend to Llangollen. The winged wheel is at Corwen about 10 miles west up the A5, the lady in the shop next door says she can remember Roy coming with another couple of people and taking down the rusty old sign, only to replace it a few weeks later in the pristine condition you can see in the photo.  

Finally, I agree totally with your comments about Bochum Parkway, the speed limit on the road is 40 mph which for a dual carriageway seems low, but traffic regularly speeds up to 60 and 70 mph. Raise the speed limit to 50 mph and they will speed up to 70 and 80 mph. With the width of the carriageways and the verges, there is ample room to provide a segregated footpath and cycleway on BOTH sides of the road. When I emailed my local Lib Dem councilor suggesting this, he advised that I should use a route via Norton Lane to the Water Tower and then onto Lightfoot roundabout and rejoin Bochum Parkway! I replied to him stating that Norton Lane is suburban country lane and carries vast amounts of traffic on a narrow road. I also said that I felt his response was patronising, working for Royal Mail for 34 years I've forgot more than he knew about Sheffield and it's roads and if this route was safer I would already be using it. 

What chance eh?

Keep up the good work

CTC Sheffield on a club ride in Wales

Goodbye Blackberry Way - Cycling the North Wales Coast Route

You can see bits of this route winding along the North Wales Coast if you take the train to Holyhead  and my son did it with his pals a few years back so I've wanted to give it a go for quite a while. As good luck would have me and the missus chose a great weekend to do it with fine weather and a (mostly) westerly wind pushing it along.

We got our bikes to Holyhead by  train with one change at Manchester and although choosing to travel at rush hour on a Friday on the weekend the students are all migrating perhaps wasn't the best choice we got the bikes on and found our booked seats without too much trouble. The Arriva Trains Wales train at Manchester wasn't very well signposted for the bike spaces though. It's long trip which gave us the opportunity to have a picnic and finish off a bottle of wine which livened things up a little.

Holyhead is a town which has seen better times - I suppose the decline of ferry traffic to Ireland is to blame although there are still regular ferries (SailRail is a great way to get to Dublin) but most of the traffic heads off on the North Wales Coast Expressway (of which more later) and bypasses  the town. To connect the town to the station and attract more rail passengers into the town an amazing "iconic" bridge across the harbour has been built, and we used this to get to the excellent value Travelodge. Other than a few drunken people shouting at each other there wasn't much going on although we noticed that the "no vehicles" rule on the high street was mostly observed in the breach. The station is busy with Virgin  and ATW running trains and we admired the Welsh Government train which runs a daily service to Cardiff with coaches and a proper loco. Breakfast in a nearby cafe was interesting as it seemed to double as the local "Care in the Community"centre.

There are two signed bike routes across Anglesey - we chose 8 which is more southerly. That took us across the Telford causeway aad through the lanes, past Anglesey airfield which is mostly military I think (we were buzzed by a chopper and checked out by the military police) and across the island, past hedgerows that were brimming with the most delicious blackberries I've ever eaten .

And the odd stone circle

Then it turns north along a ridge with views of the Menai Straits before dropping down to Menai Bridge  - here the bike routes were not so good, poor quality shared use and the local cyclists seemed to be sticking to the road, unsurprisingly.

The crossing at Menai Bridge proved to be a bit of a problem - the missus suffers from vertigo and couldn't get over the spectacular suspension bridge. Attempts to flag down a bus failed so eventually she hitched a lift while I walked the bikes over.

Pic: Wikipedia. No snow when we passed!

We abandoned the official route, which takes you uphill to a quieter road - and headed along towards Port Penrhyn where a neat contraflow arrangement took us down through a salubrious area of town overlooking the bridge. A pint of Blonde refreshed us and we were ready for the next section along the pretty Cegin Valley and past Penrhyn castle (with an interesting little passageway where you emerge from a hole in the Estate wall) before running parallel to the Expressway for a while.

Then comes one of the most amazing parts of the trip. Between Llanfairfechan (where we saw traces of the handiwork of Roy Spilsbury of CTC Cymru who has mounted a campaign against inappropriately placed bollards having fallen victim to one himself and following a shocking case where a cyclist died after running into a chain stretched across a cycle route) and Penmaenmawr there is a stunning piece of infrastructure to get you across the two road tunnels  - we thought we must be in Norway for a moment.

Pic: Cycling in North Wales

Then it's a pretty clear run into Conway with it's stunning castle. At the next bridge we left the route, preferring for speed to take the main road into Llandudno. We stayed in the Winchmore hotel which was fine, although I think we were the youngest guests in the place, and ate well in the New York Diner. We did have a sea view room so we could watch people enjoying the prom, both walking and cycling.

In the morning we had the privilege of cycling along the prom ourselves recently legitimised through the efforts of Roy and CTC Cymru, and what a civilised way to leave town, Then a stiff climb along a narrow path and a downhill swoop brought us out by a co-op, handy for picking up lunch provisions. The off-road cycle path along the road brought us back to the shore and we continued along Colwyn Bay, some bits were worn out and bumpy but mostly OK and improvements seemed to be under way. This is Static Caravan Site central - not my sort of holiday but each to their own I suppose. Us metrosexuals need our coffee though and we didn't find a decent cappuccino until we came to the excellent Cycle Hub at Rhyl.

Beyond Prestatyn the route turns inland and it becomes more like the sort of cycling you expect in Wales - shortish steep climbs and dipping in and out of valleys. A few more blackberries refreshed us as we ascended to a ridge that took us behind Holywell  with views clear over to Liverpool - we could see the protestant cathedral quite clearly.   A steep track took us back down again - not the sort of exhilarating descent one might have wished for, but very pleasant none the less - and with a sting in the tail, a shortish steep climb up before the final descent to the Dee estuary. With the scenery becoming more urban we stopped at Flint Castle to enjoy the view, then had an unpleasant section along a busy road with no apparent alternative. Connah's Quay offered us a detour via Golftyn, visiting a well-tended urban park before a crafty dip under the railway and onto the railway bridge across the Dee - this was negotiated by me pushing the bikes and the missus walking across, keeping eyes dead ahead!

The last part of the ride is along a disused railway line into Chester and as we passed from Wales back into England the surface quality dropped noticeably - perhaps the Welsh Active Travel Bill is starting to bite. It was still tarmac though, not the dust surfaces that can really slow you down - every kind of person was using it, from dog walkers, families, high-speed roadies (but they slowed down for others) and of course laden tourists like ourselves. As we passed over the Shropshire Union Canal and having arrived with a couple of hours to spare we thought that might be a pleasant detour, so we took it and shortly came to Telford's Warehouse. Thomas Telford is a figure who had been following us all the way, from the Stanley Embankment that took us from Holy Island onto Anglesey itself his work on the A5 (and the modern road builders who had superseded him) and of course the Menai Bridge itself that had proved a bit of a problem so it seemed an appropriate place to stop  - is this the brst pub in Chester? Certainly a fascinating building with great beer and food and what looked like a fab music programme. We lingered slightly longer than we meant to and had a bit of a rush to the station, but got on our train no problem, and with a stopover in Manchester soon found ourselves back in Sheffield.

Verdict:This is a ride well worth doing and if you have a couple of spare days why not cycle all the way back to Sheffield? Cheshire has some great bike routes.  Go in Autumn and enjoy the blackberries!

(Simon and Patrice travelled with Trans Pennine Express and Arriva Trains Wales, booking with their bikes online at the East Coast Trains website. Accommodation and travel cost with a "Two Together" railcard £212.90)

Broomhall

So I was reading this blog post which got me thinking...

And wandering along through Broomhall I noticed this...

...at the bottom of Collegiate crescent and I thought does that signpost have to be in the cycle path? Couldn't there be one sign, on the kerb line with the no entry and the cycle symbol on? Sooner or later someone's going to run into that signpost. (It's a contraflow allowing cyclists to access Brunswick St. )

On the plus side the ramps on Holberry Gardens have finally been done (at the expense of a massive one parking space) allowing better permeability through the area but do we really need all these bollards? Again, it's an collision waiting to happen.

The things I do for you lot

So while you lot were no doubt at home watching telly I popped down to Sainsburys Archer Road to do the shopping and went for a ride. The council had asked me to tale a look at some of the new work that has been done by Streets Ahead so I took the opporunity.

Leaving Sainsburys at about 9, headed up past Hutcliffe Wood to Greenhill and Bocking Lane negotiating all the pinch points with impatient motorists, up to Meadowhead where I had been asked to check out the new cycle lanes down to Bowshaw and back. These are OK on the way down except that the kerb line where you go on to the pavement to avoid going round the roundabout are not level. As you are likely to be coming at them at a fair speed and an oblique angle there is a risk of coming off. Noted the fair going on but decided not to visit and headed back up. 

There is no cycle lane for the first 100 metres or so and this is where you feel the most exposed - people are coming off the Dronfield bypass at 70 and starting to decelerate as they realise they are back in the urban zone, it's not where you want to be as a cyclist. There is a footpath that could be converted to shared use, this should be a priority. Pedestrian numbers are low here. 

Once you get on the cycle lane it feels safer although you are a bit exposed as the Low Edges turning comes in. When you get to the toucan crossing again the kerb line needs to be lowered to reduce the risk of slipping.

I went over to the shared use route to Norton College and then to the service road along Norton Lane  - I could use this as far as Mossbrook and then it was onto  the Bochum Parkway where no mercy is given to cyclists.. whatever happened to the plan for a cycle route along here? I guess it went the same way as the plan to raise the speed limit, and the same way as the Head of Transport Planning who supported that. 

I didn't see anything in the way of a cycle lane again until I got beyond Manor Top. Here there was a short section of 1.5 metre advisory, and directly after that I came across a shovel in the road, which luckily I missed (see picture attached). This appeared to have been left behind by the workmen in the area & I hope they will be disciplined. 

Beyond the Parkway roundabout and on to Greenland Rd. Nothing has been done here apart from the junction with Main Rd. Further down there was some advisory 1.5. I bumped back into town via Attercliffe Common and up the Sheaf Valley route. What a pity to see the Matilda pub standing derelict, with the Matilda building itself all done up but apparently empty. Maybe the hippies who took the Matilda should have occupied the pub. 

The only other item to note was a car blocking the cvcle gate on Glover Rd. 

Map of the route I took here

I liked this quote from Brian Deegan,

I remember saying to Dutch engineers: "Well cyclists don't stop at the lights." And they said: "Well what's the matter with your design?" They meant what was I doing in the way of designing road infrastructure that is making cyclists feel it's better to break the rules. Or "is the signal timing  too long?" — if you come up to a signal and you are waiting 120 seconds to cross you are more likely to jump it, not like in Holland or Denmark where the most you wait is 40 seconds. So now I ask myself 'what am I designing that's making people go wrong?'

--

Simon

New tracks at Longshaw

Back in the 1980's some guys in Marin Country invented the Mountain Bike. It wasn't long before this phenomenon crossed the Atlantic (promoted by the Crane brothers who went up Mount Kilimanjaro on these newfangled beasties - Nick Crane of course now appears on TC programmes like Coast) To many of us who switched from road bikes it seemed we could go anywhere on these machines and put that philosophy into practice - I confess to having been one of those. Unfortunately this led to blanket bans on cycling in may of the most popular and scenic areas of the UK.

It's taken thirty or so years to reverse this situation. Mountain Biking has matured and most practitioners are responsible and don't go off the bridleways and byways they are permitted to use - and have done great work creating superb singletrack trails in less frequented places such as Wharncliffe Woods. The growth of motorised off-roading has proved to be far more of a threat to the countryside.

So it's great news that some of the areas that have been off-limits to cyclists for many years are now being opened up again. Longshaw has opened up two new trails  - From the House to the Grouse (that's going to stick as a name I feel) and from the House to Wooden Pole. House to Grouse entails walking along the very busy path from the cafe and visitor area before various footpaths branch off  - most visitors head to the lake  - and once you're passed through a couple of new gates you're off (previously the paths had kissing gates that were deliberately hard to get bikes through - the trail is wide enough to get a land rover along so there is no problem passing walkers although courtesy & consideration is required as ever. At the end of the trail a gate leads out to the main road and the Grouse is just about 50 yards down although it would be great to have a protected path so families could cycle safely down to the pub and back.

(Pictures taken late on a summer's evening)

The other trail branches off to the left from the main drive and climbs quite steeply before leveling off and is a steady climb to Wooden Pole, the junction of a couple of main roads. One criticism of these paths has to be that they are great but where are the connections with other off-road paths in the area? Hopefully these will come.   I'd like to highlight Grindleford Station to the A6187 above Kettle wood whihch would be a very useful route. There are other suggestions on the Getting to the Peak page, some of which have now been implemented. 

But this is a good start from the National Trust at Longshaw. The Eastern Moors partnership has put in a Mountain Bike Trail, the Hope Valley now has an off-road route alongside the main road as well as cycle lanes on the main road, NCN6 stretches as far as Castleton, taking the high roads across Bamford. Get out there and enjoy!  

A found poem

Call john mallows fly tipping between manor drive home beaumont avenue where the time is broken glass at cocker bottoms allotment entrance pollard still missing section are at prince shopping trolley 50 yards from richmond road junction simon banda lies the richmond junction shopping trolley in belden house leeds woods near the bench sign pointer the wrong way oliver snout literotica access point from hi hazel spark into rome airport taxi nothing much good sign in link my rossi watch later on the news shopper tote like for tonight in mark slater underneath broughton lane bridgewater canal sign in meadowhall travelodge news damage mercedes parts heavily overgrown is vegetation litter

From my voice notes on a Sustrans inspection ride