Back on the bike!

Got the all-clear from the doc to start cycling again on Sept 4th. So that lunchtime, popped home and had my first ride for a month back to the office. This was notable for (i) number of cars in ASL's at red lights (ii) asian students walking out in the road while looking the other way- not a good idea!

That evening was the Sheffield Friday Night ride - Hidden Hillsborough. Mick who's imported this idea from London took us for a run up to the Birley stone near Grenoside, and then up the other side through to Loxley for a pub visit before heading back to Kelham Island. Mick has craftily scheduled the rides to be close to the full moon, and we were treated to beautiful, slightly pre-harvest moon as we crossed over to Loxley. I'm doing the next FNR, on the 2nd of October, on the topic of snickets, gennels and tracklements - why not come along?























Friday night riders check the view at the Birley Stone

The next day saw myself & the missus head up to Harrogate to join in the Sustrans
trailblazine ride for the Roses route - the next proposed Coast to Coast ride, joining the famous c2c and the trans-pennine trail. This route starts at Morecambe and will end at Bridlington.
If I hadn't broken my toe we would have joined the ride at Settle on the Friday, but we Settled
for Harrogate instead. So we caught the Northern Rail "fast" service to Leeds - normally no problem getting bikes on this train - and ran into Tony Gore, (big-T at Riding High) who was on his way to Scotland for a ride with his Airnimal in a bag. We continued to Ilkley and had a very pleasant ride over to Harrogate, climbing up to the Moors and passing the ominous domes of Menwith Hill.






















Windfarm with Menwith in the background.

We found the Sustrans gang enjoying Pizza in Harrogate, and arranged to meet
the next morning. We followed the Beryl Burton way between Harrogate and Knaresborough - a bit in need of TLC I thought - stopped for coffee by the Nidd, had an exquisite run along the river and made our way through to York, where a Green Fair was in progress and lunch was provided by the council. From what we saw the route will be very attractive to tourists, and hopefully the improvements that will be needed to bring it up to scratch will benefit local cyclists too. Having a couple of hours to spare we also sampled Route 65 to the north of York, along with the York-Selby route one of my favourites. Caught the train back to Sheffield with no problems (Despite having the wrong tickets!) and had a quick turnaround to go to Oxford for a training course. (I suppose I should mention that in the meantime, Sustrans rangers were gathering to prepare work for a new walking and cycling route through Beeley Woods)

Although the course (PRINCE2) was quite intensive, I did get a few opportunities to stroll around Oxford, and what a pleasant place it is - demonstrating that if a town is plesant to cyclle in it will be pleasant and loveable for everyone. The riverside path was buzzing with walkers, cyclists (inluding the inevitable sculling coaches) and joggers, while the road were also busy with cyclists. Oxford has implemented a default 20mph policy and this has really made the city a very pleasant place to be. I certainly wished I'd had a bike with me!

Coming up to date, on Saturday, 12th Sept, probably the best day of the year for weather, I went to a Sustrans Liaison Ranger East Mids meeting. Although Sheffield isn't really in the East Mids, my "patch" as a Liaison ranger used to cover NE derbyshire, until I hived it off to Paul Balderson who is doing a fabulous job of putting pressure on Chesterfield and Derbyshire councils to develop a rational cycling strategy for the area - there is a glaring omisssion in the NCN map, between Langley Mill and Chesterfield Station where you can pick up the TPT, although the route for cyclists heading for Sheffield could be made more attractive as well - which decidedly is in the E.Mids. Cyclists particularly in the east of Sheffield do make use of NE Derbyshire, and Nottingham & Derby aren't that far away, so my presence at these events is legitimate I feel.

Sustrans Liaison Rangers gather at Newark Castle station.

Getting to Newark was straightforward enough, again using the Northern "Fast" service to Nottingham, and an East Mids trains service to Newark (this train had 5 bikes on which didn't phase the conductor, in fact he wanted to chat about what would be the best bike for him to buy)



Newark is quite well sorted for bike routes - we sampled route 64 which uses a crafty combination of on and off-road paths to get you out over the railway, under the A64 and away through the fields towards Lincoln, and in a South-easterly direction take you towards Nottingham. Following the meeting I set off along this route towards Nottingham - the first few miles are on disused railway, then you take to quiet roads, heading into the Vale Belvoir before heading east towards Nottie. It was hot and I have to say it was hard going at first, still suffering from my four-week layoff, and two pints and a bellyfull of sarnies probably didn't help - I didn't seem to be able to rehydrate

The last section runs alongside the busy A52, and I opted to hop on the train at Bingham instead. I needed to be in Derby for early evening and was running short of time, so got on the canal towpath in Nottie to head out to Beeston Lock before switching to NCN6, then on the main road into Derby - should have peeled off a bit before I did though because I got onto the A52 again which is scary! Soon got into Pride Park though and along the river path which takes you through the city centre and along the Derwent to Little Eaton, where I met the missus and we headed into town for a Steve Earle concert which was excellent.

Off the bike :(

I dropped a tandem on my big toe (that's the easiest way to describe it) So I'm off cycling until Sept 4th according to the doc (although I might sneak on before then just to try it out) So I'm having an interesting time catching buses, walking and driving occasionally. Sheffield isn't too bad for driving around in August - however, when the schools and universities come back on stream it becomes a nightmare. (That's something everyone seems to be able to agree on!)

Northern rail & ride

Spent a fair amount of time on Northern at the weekend - train Sheffield - Brockholes, then cycled to Homlfirth to pick up route 68 which we followed through to Sowerby Bridge, switching to 66 to get to Hebden Bridge & Heptonstall where our friend lives. There are some hills on that route!. It's pretty much all on road so there are no maintenance issues to speak of, although the sign at Pole Moor is obscured by bushes. The cobbled path up to Heptonstall is a bad idea if you are wearing SPD's

However, I was struck by the crapness of the crossing of the M62 at Scammonden. There you are faced with a multi-million pound highway and you have to creep down an steep, loose unmade path. Then there are no signs at the bottom, or if there are, we missed them - so we went through the wrong tunnel and had to make our way along a glass-strewn track - throwing bottles out of cars must be a major way to relieve the boredom of travelling on the M62. Surely the highways agency could provide a decent crossing out of petty cash, or even the Vulnerable User crossings budget? To my mind it shows the contempt that the HA holds for cyclists.

Monday, got the train from Hebden Bridge to Leeds and hence to Sheffield - no problems with bikes on the trains there. I got off at Wakefield and had a rather wet ride over Emley Moor, but that's another story. Was however very pleased to see that the TPT through the Oxspring tunnel has been resurfaced with tarmac and an alternative route for horses (& masochistic MTB'ers presumably) Where the tarmac ends and it does get a bit rough again, an alternative road route has been signposted - good to see the needs of all users being taken into account and it looks as though more improvement work is under way.

Up and down the P*nistone Rd

Have been up and down the p*nistone rd a few times this week. The number of people using the cycleway has definitely increased - arriving at the Neepsend Lane there always seems to someone waiting on the other side. These lights take a long time to change in favour of cyclists, but when the traffic island is finished they will be quicker because it will be possible to only stop right-turning traffic to let cyclists & peds cross. Anyway the rule that you leave something in place for at least a year before Shefffield people will start using it seems to have been proved yet again.

Good to see Pedal Ready trainers teaching kids to cycle on the road at St Philips.
On the way back in this lunchtime, having picked up some spares from Butties and had a chat about the Next Bike project, I passed a lass on a mountain bike who was sticking to the road. She got caught in queueing traffic, then at a set of lights, and as a final insult had to stop for me as I crossed at Rutland Rd, she gave me a wave though, to say, OK you win this time! Off-road can be quicker.

Tram ride to Derbyshire

Set off early sunday morning to catch the cyclists special to waterthorpe. There were a few punters, on the family & women's rides. I split off to take the TPT down to Barrow Hill, then crossed over via Whittington Moor and Sheepbridge, to head for Baslow and the peak.

to be continued...

Snowcar gets a ticket

Spotted by one of colleagues...

London then and now

This is the text of a speech by Jenny Jones, Green member of the London Assembly.

I have posted it here because I want to add it to my boriswatch site: 

http://delicious.com/wildnorthlands/boriswatch

I think it shows why BJ is a very dangerous man indeed to have in charge of London. Apparently even the tories are a bit worried about him. 

Green Transport for a showcase city
18th October 2008
Cllr Jenny Jones AM

(Slide 1) Some of you will be coming to London for the Olympics in the
summer of 2012. I had hoped that when the world's media turned their focus
on London in four years time, that they would be surprised by how green the
city had become.

(Slide 2) Our previous Mayor, Ken Livingstone, was not only full of
aspirations - his green words were slowly being turned into a physical
reality by four years of having to do a budget deal with the Greens on the
London Assembly.

We had hoped to continue that process right through to the 2012 Olympics and
to showcase all the pioneering projects and changes that we had made in
London.

Alas, that is not the case and the new Mayor does not need the Green Party
member's votes on the London Assembly in order to pass his budget. Boris
Johnson, London's new mayor, has already cut some of our pioneering projects
and may well drop others.

I want to take you through the main achievements of the first eight years of
the Greater London Authority and set out our vision for creating a
sustainable transport system in London.

Then I will bring us back down to earth and look at what is happening under
our new Mayor.

(Slide 3) London as we are now

(Slide 4) London's big challenges

·                    London's population is growing fast.
·                    The public transport system is already over crowded and
roads congested.
·                    We need to contain that growth within London and avoid
building on green field sites in the south east of England.
·                    Achieving less pollution, even with a higher
population.
·                    Not enough money.

(Slide 5) Big solutions?

·                    Build on brown field sites and increase density of
development;
·                    Build low or zero carbon developments and
infrastructure;
·                    New public transport infrastructure,
·                    Reducing demand and a switch to walking/cycling.
·                    Using technology and behavioural change to reduce
pollution.

(Slide 6) Achievements
We have many achievements to be proud of.

1) Zero growth in traffic across London since 2000, despite rising
population and associated car ownership. This compares with 1.5% average
growth per annum in the UK.

2) A 5% switch from cars to public transport. Includes a record number of
people using the tube system (over a billion a year) and a 40% increase in
bus passengers since 2000.

3) Over 80% increase in cycling since 2000.

4) The fastest decline in road casualties of any region in the UK. 40% less
people are killed or seriously injured on London's roads now, compared to
the mid 1990s and this is 65% less children than in the mid 1990s – that
adds up to 600 less children a year killed or seriously injured on our
roads.

5) In the first eight years we had major innovations such as the
introduction of the Oyster card and Transport for London's (TfL) takeover of
the orbital railway in London.

From the licensing of the mini cabs, to river transport, the funding of car
clubs and door to door transport, London is now running a comprehensive
system, with something for everyone. It is not yet an integrated transport
system, but the cracks are getting smaller.



(Slide 7) My personal favourite was the congestion charge. This is
campaigners drinking champagne on the first day.

(Slide 8) We should also be proud of our Climate Change Action Plan.

I'd like to take you back to the list of solutions.

(Slide 9) Five solutions

Slide 10) Planning policy

Over 90% of new developments are on brown field sites in London.

London has tighter restrictions than the rest of the country, on how many
cars are allowed with new developments. There are now more car free
developments, although these are still the exception – even near public
transport hubs.

Nearly all areas of inner London are subject to parking restrictions and/or
resident only parking schemes.

Housing in London is now three times the density of many other regions in
London.

From 2001 to 2006, London's housing density increased from 48 dwellings per
hectare to 84 dwellings per hectare, as the Mayor's planning strategy took
full effect.

It is worth remembering that much of the most expensive and desirable real
estate in London is also in the most densely populated areas of London.

(Slide 11) Zero/low carbon developments

New developments must include 20% on site renewable energy. However, more
emphasis placed on the creation of combined heat and power generation.

A new zero carbon development is being built at Gallions Reach in east
London, just down the road from the Olympics. However, other zero carbon
developments will be slow to follow.

Public buildings and offices in London will be retrofitted with energy
conservation measures as part of the investment by the Clinton foundation
and the alliance of 40 major cities around the world who want to take action
on climate change.

Public transport infrastructure

The previous mayor had plans for a massive infrastructure programme in
London worth over £60bn between now and 2025.

The overwhelming majority of this massive investment is in rail and tube,
which currently accounts for only 15% of London's modal share.

Infrastructure being built

Tube upgrade – we are finishing the first seven years of investment and
because of part privatisation have gone well over the £8bn budget agreed for
the work (original cost to 2010).

Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to Lewisham and eastwards through
the docklands.

East London Extension connecting the railway system in east London to the
tube.

(Slide 12) Infrastructure planned

Capacity improvements to the railway system in London (£7bn needed, but not
promised).

Tram schemes to replace over crowded bus services.

Crossrail connecting Heathrow airport with financial district of Canary
Wharf and also the poorer areas of East London (£13bn is latest estimate).

Creation of a green grid of new parks and inter-linked open spaces in East
London – making the new developments accessible by walking/cycling
(estimated cost £500m, still unfunded).



(Slide 13) Traffic reduction

Transport for London estimated in their strategy document 2025, that this
£60bn of investment still wouldn't be enough to meet the demand for
transport from a growing population. The gap between the demand for
transport and its supply would have to be filled by a combination of:

·                    More walking and cycling. Reversing the historic
decline in walking. Increasing cycling by 400%.
·                    Reducing the overall demand for travel.
·                    Road pricing (congestion charging) across the whole of
London.

The price of continuing to neglect pedestrians, the majority of road users,
will be severe overcrowding on buses, tubes and roads. My calculation is
that a 1% drop in walking could mean an extra 2 million motorised journeys
in London, compared to today.

Spending on walking and cycling in London has increased five fold since
2000. We are spending over £55m on cycling this year and due to initiatives
which greens put into place, that is likely to climb further next year.

Spending on traffic demand management measures has increased to over £30m a
year. These measures include mainstreaming school and workplace travel plans
throughout London – which have been very successful in reducing single
person car trips by an average of 5%.

We had received a commitment have modernised all 785 junctions which
currently have traffic lights that have either sub-standard crossings, or no
pedestrian signals at all.

The current mayor is trying to strike a balance between bring lights up to
national safety standards, whilst increasing motorised traffic flows.

I also hope that the Legible London project will have spread throughout the
capital, so that we have a consistent and user friendly signage system for
pedestrians.

(Slide 14) Technology and behavioural change

All the new buses coming into service by 2012 will be hybrids, saving over a
third on fuel and emissions.

(Slide 15) Talking people out of their cars

The budget for Travel Demand Management is £33m a year. Successes include:
·                    On target for every school to have a travel plan by
2009, average of over 7% reduction in school run – two million fewer car
journeys a year.
·                    TfL support for car clubs means that 85% of UK car club
members are in London.
·                    More than 150,000 additional people being covered each
year by workplace travel plans.

(Slide 16) The new Mayor

This is a Mayor without ideology, a philosophy, or a plan.

He has dropped the £25 emissions charge targeted at gas guzzling cars.

He is consulting on abolishing or watering down the western extension of the
congestion charge. If abandoned, it could cost TfL £70m a year and also lead
to traffic increasing by 15% as it returns to pre-charge levels.

Government has a deadline of end of October to go begging to EU for an
extension to the time it has to meet the EU limit values. This is a key
immediate issue for the mayor, who has a legal duty to improve air quality,
but he is currently on track to make things worse.

The Mayor is consulting on abolishing the mid year inspections for black
cabs, despite the 39% failure rate, the largest proportion of which is for
emissions

He is consulting on replacing the large capacity bendy buses, which would
mean a large increase in the number of buses on the road, and will increase
the cost to TfL, create more congestion and lead to a big jump in emissions.
Unless the consultation changes the Mayor's mind, Boris will be taking
decisions which make air quality worse, not better.

The Low Emission Zone has been retained and seems successful. However, the
big policy test for the mayor comes in 2010 with the extension of the scheme
to the huge numbers of light vans in London.

Boris has cut the hydrogen vehicle purchasing scheme – the biggest in UK, if
not the world. However, London is going ahead with purchase of ten more
hydrogen buses.

Emphasis is now on electric vehicles and creating more charging points
around London.

Conclusion

Unless the Mayor tightens up on planning and car parking standards then
London will be home to an estimated 400,000 extra cars by 2025.

The Stratford City development, next door to the Olympic site is one of the
worst examples of outdated and bad planning with over 10,000 new car parking
spaces.

The Olympic media centre was due to follow this car dependent habit with
over a thousand parking spaces, but this has now been halved in the legacy
plans.

Unless the planning and economic policies are changed in order to reduce
demand for travel, especially in central London, then over £60bn of
investment in rail and tube capacity will not be enough.

Unless the London mayor increases walking and boosts cycling by 400%, then
the roads and public transport system will clog up. London needs as many
people doing journeys by bike, as currently use the railway system.

We are likely to be spending over 70m on cycling next year as we bring in a
Velib style cycle hire and other cycle priority measures, but this is far
from enough.

Crossrail alone will be receiving an average of £500m a year in Government
subsidy for the next ten years. Yet, it will be used by a fraction of the
people who TfL is hoping to get on their bikes.

The Olympic visitors and documentary crews who come to London in 2012 and
examine our green credentials, will not be comparing London to how it was
four years before, but with how their own cities are in 2012.

Despite the fact that London was starting to lead the country in taking
action on climate change and sustainable transport, we are now going into
reverse gear. We are also falling behind what some other cities are
managing.

Whether it is the Paris 'velib' bike hire scheme, or the New York pledge to
get all their yellow cabs to become low emission hybrids, we should be
adopting the best from around the world.

Hosting the greenest games is one achievement, but being the greenest city
to ever host the games is a better one.

GREATER*LONDON*AUTHORITY

Find romance on a Supertram Cyclists Special!

cue drippy music...

It's nearly a year since Chris and Richard met on a Supertram Cyclist's Special. They were both single at the time, discovered they had common interests, like cycling, and to cut a long story short, they have now set up house together.

Here they are on that tram ride a year ago, and to mark the occasion Chris and Richard will be leading a ride on this January's special.

Who will find romance on a Supertram cyclists special this year? Come along on the 25th and find out!

(Supertram special leaves Cathedral Tramstop at 10 a.m. on the 25th.)
(pic: l-r, Tim, Chris, Richard, Patrice)

Cycling to the inauguration

Quite liked this story - this guy's riding across America to get to Obama's inauguration. Only problem is, he hasn't got a ticket! I need a miracle! (as the dead-heads used to say)

Cycling Paramedics in Sheffield

There is a brand new city centre service provided by the Ambulance
Service. There are two fully kitted out bicycles with paramedics able to
get to people in medical trouble within the inner relief road far more
quickly than an ambulance. Because of this it has improved the chance of
saving lives (eg. cardiac arrests).

The new city centre bicycle ambulances service joins cycle mounted
police and fire prevention teams. It is a fantastic achievement for
Sheffield.

However there are several teething problems that need addressing urgently.

1. The need for the two of them to have a base in the city centre where
they can rest/have a drink etc out of the elements with a secure place
where their bikes can be parked. At present they are having to cycle in
from Middlewood.....beyond Hillsborough.

They have spoken with the services at Yorkshire House, which would be
ideal. However the people who own/manage the building say they cannot
have bikes within the premises. The police leave their bikes secured to
the safety railings in front of Yorkshire House (not ideal). With all
the paramedic equipment on the panniers of the ambulance cycles this is
not possible.

2. This newly launched service needs some high visibility publicity. I
am sure it would be good to have the City Council playing a part in
helping get media coverage.

Obstruction on Upper Hanover Way.

This isn't on the cycleway yet, although it leaves very little room for pedestrians, but once
the re-design of the cyclepath takes place it will have to be moved (at the taxpayers expense ofg course) A little forward thinking would have helped here.

Obstruction on Eyre st.

Sheffield council's latest attempt to kill cyclists.

The Beeching of model railways.

The Carfield Ave branch is now closed.

Cycle routes – the Wakefield recipe:

(Based on our experiences on the TPT link that follows the A655 in from Castleford)
1. Take one sub-standard footpath
2. Paint some cycle route markings on it
3. Allow to stand while shrubbery grows over it.
4. Sprinkle liberally with broken glass.
5. Finish with stepped kerb onto fast dual carriageway
6. Serve cold!
On the other hand the Rhubarb Route towards Horbury is quite good.

Castleford

Sunny day, river in flood.

Derry

Sunny!

Stall on the tram.

Taxis on Castle St

Since a taxi stand was installed on Waingate additional taxis
have taken to waiting for a place, firstly on the pavement
outside the taxi stand area, and then in the contra-flow cycle lane.

This area has a high volume of buses passing and this is putting cyclists
at risk - it's an accident waiting to happen. As you can see this cyclist has taken
to the pavement to avoid the problem.

Could something be done about this please?

More Pictures:-


This one is from Prof. Peter Marsh who says:-

Here is a taxi moving from blocking the contraflow, because I was photographing it! We really need to do something about this, it is disgraceful that they can flout the law in such an important area with such dangerous consequences.

It's Driving Me Crazeee!

Traffic chaos in Sheffield - no wonder the drivers are up in arms about it...

(Sheffield City Council webcam still)

Helmet crash shock horror

My helmet has already been in a crash and I should have
replaced it then, On Tuesday my bike fell over outside the Grouse (fear not, dear reader, I was safely ensconced inside)
- the helmet was hanging off the handlebars and broke in two. Good job I wasn't wearing it at the time!

A sign of the Times

Hoarding at Longnor...

Cycle routes, double standards

Some people have commented that I seem to contradict myself on the issue of what is necessary to encourage cycling. On the one hand I say that slower speeds and less traffic is what is required - on the other hand I am enthusiastic about cycle routes, on and off-road.

The answer is that I think you have to do what is appropriate in a particular location. Take the example of London. When I lived there and commuted from Camberwell to the City in the 80's,
the main problem was that you couldn't actually get along the streets becvause they were so jammed up with traffic. Then cycle and bus lanes started appearing, but the cycle lanes were frequently parked on and London buses are less than accommodating to cyclists. The problem was too big to be dealt with by enforcement so off-road cycle routes, as advocated by Camden Cycle Campaign, started to be built. These aren't ideal - often too narrow - but they do at least allow you to get around. That's an appropriate solution for that particular problem, given that congestion isn't going to disappear overnight, even with the congestion charge. Now that Boris is in charge congestion is going to get worse again.

I would still say that building a cycling culture is more important than infrastructure, but both are needed.

Boris reveals route for Freewheel cyclists

I would urge all cyclists to boycott this event. Boris is turning back the tide of sustainable transport in London. He is looking at removing the congestion charge from West London, to suit his Sloanie friends; he's cancelled the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square; he wants to break the unions and introduce low-wage, low-quality public transport.

Cycle campaigners know that you don't increase cycling, or walking and public transport use, through tokenistic one-off events, or even through introducing more cycle lanes, but by slowing down and reducing the amount of motor traffic on the streets. Boris doesn't get it. Let him and David "Wrong way" Cameron freewheel all by themselves.

Daily Mile

Some of us are using this to record our rides - seems quite good although a bit sport-oriented (when not commuting I ride for leisure personally) There are a South Yorkshire and Commuting groups to join.

It's still in beta at the moment so you need an invite to join. Leave a note in "comments" and I'll send you one.

Saxon Rd

Saxon Rd has been re-surfaced to Clyde Rd. Hooray! Couldn't decide whether to email blog or twitter this - isn't technology wonderful?

Supertram

Tandem plus trailer.

Putting bikes together

Gare du Nord

PM's Forum

Project handover

What's cool about Bike Week

What's cool about bike week isn't the events, the ride that half-a-dozen people go on, the breakfasts of instant coffee and bacon sandwiches that ordinarily you wouldn't go near in a million years. What's cool about about it is the 7 O'clock start, hauling a stall down to the Town Hall, or printing 250 leaflets on the sly while no-one's looking at work. It's the late night return after a brilliant night out with a waxing gibbous moon and a beautiful dark blue sky, close to midsummer.
It's the feeling after you've made the effort that it was worthwhile, that you showed someone how they could cycle that journey. that there was an alternative to life in a cage.

That's what cool about Bike Week, and that's why, even after all the effort and the pain I want to say, let's do it again next year!

Long Causeway

Not before time!

Green Roof

The Cube, Shoreham St.

Sculpture park

Sunday.

Journey's end

The Wetherspoons in Leicester-full of people who talk like Ian.Cambridge to Leicester in 9 excellent hours of cycling!

Oundle

Gateway to the Midlands I reckon. 5 hours from Cambridge-1 land ranger map from Leicester.

Tilney Fen End

Here's where I leave NCN1-so long old pal. Got two hours to get to Ely.

Making good time

Out in the fens past fossdyke bridge.

Camping up

Just south of boston-not as far as I would have liked to have got but should still be OK to meet Andy in Ely at 3:30 tomorrow. It's a shit tent by the way-don't get one.

Greenway into Boston

Longest flattest straightest road

Outside the american midwest it must be! This pic taken on the 1st bend for about 10 miles. Nr Boston.

Tattershall Castle

NCN1 Found at Bardney

Tandem'eers-Bardney

Branston...

...but no pickle. No sign of NCN so far.

Cycle parking at the station.

This bike parked on the rail near the booking office had a don't park here note on it . This rail was specifically put there so you could leave your bike while buying tickets. I had a word with station staff about it & ran into Andy Wild - how we laughed. I have the note :-)

Another Busy Week

First off, the Green Drinks visit to the Ecclesall Woods sawmill on tuesday. Sheffield Cycle Campaign has linked up with Green Drinks to provide sustainable transport for their series of visits to green initiatives around the city - followed by a social in a nearby pub of course...
























This house, made from local materials as far as possible, will be used as a showroom for products made of wood from Ecclesall.
















A useful piece of equipment parked outside Cole Bros Sheffield, last Tuesday.

Went to the YHTAR AGM on Saturday - http://www.yhtar.org.uk

Used the 09:29 Northern service to York via Pontefract. This used to be a regular service linking
South, North and West Yorkshire communities together (at one time the lunchtime train extended to Chesterfield, giving the opportunity for a quick lunchtime trip to Dronfield - handy for visiting GB cycles, now sadly closed) but is now pretty much much a rump service, with only two trains a day in each direction. However, if you want to get to York with your bike, it's a good service to choose, with no reservations required and generally light loadings. More on Pontefract later.















Cycle Rescue stall in York - more sustainable than Northern Rock?

We continue to plug away for better public transport, walking and cycling across Yorkshire (with some success). Our co-chairs, Anthony Rae and John Hoare go to YH Assembly meetings and try to bang some sense into them. The latest round of approved schemes aren't too bad - here's a quick list:-

• Yorcard, £28m
• Leeds Station Southern Access, £10.798m
• White Rose Way, Doncaster, £15m
• A61 Penistone Road Quality Bus Corridor, Sheffield, £9.959m
• East Leeds Parkway, Micklefield, Leeds, £19.4m
• York Park and Ride - Askham Bar, £5.241m
• York Park and Ride - A59, £10.401m
• York Park and Ride - Clifton Moor, £5.212m
• Rotherham to Sheffield Bus Rapid Transit Northern Route, £36.059m
• A684 Bedale, Aiskew, Leeming Bar Bypass, North Yorkshire £ 31.388m

As you can see only two of the ten schemes are new roads. However, there is concern that the Assembly is not fully taking into account Climate Change in its approval process, and we are going to press for this to be fully integrated in future.















Ray Wilkes holds forth at the YHTAR meeting


Last time I went to meeting in York, I took the train to Garforth, and cycled down the greenway to Castleford, which made me realise that the West Yorkshire rustbelt was really not that far from the capital of Elmet. This time, I started off thinking I'd try to follow the Pedal Pushers Recommended Route from Sheffield to York in reverse, then I just decided to throw away the guide book and make up my own route. Things started well as I powered away out of York through Copmanthorpe, then as I threaded the lanes I realised that there were really not that many crossings of the Ouse and the Aire, and if I was going to make progress I was going to have to either go to Tadcaster or head back to the York to Selby cycle route. This is an area with many railway lines (but not many stations) and I followed some yellow jackets in front of me
along a bridleway that cut many miles of the detour. I had the advantage of a North-Easterly wind that was certainly pushing me along.

Tadcaster offered water in the form of a bottle of Vittel and a bridge over the Wharfe, not far from Wharfe's mouth where this river that has taken its course from the high areas of the Dales, through Kettlewell where my family have had many enjoyable times, to Bolton Abbey where the tourist likes to wade in the brown waters, avoiding Leeds to retain the water's purity until it can be delivered to the Ouse and subsequently the Humber.

From here the logical thing was to take the A162 straight down to Castleford and Pontefract. This being around 5, I wanted to be back in Sheffield for 8 so my only hope was the 18:09 from Pontefract (told you I'd get back to that place) The signs said Pf was 15 miles so I figured I'd have to make an average of 15pmh (duh) . This being a pretty flat part of the world that seemed feasible. Things went well with a good stretch of A road with not too much traffic.

At Sherburn-in Elmet the A621 takes a bypass so the obvious thing was to go through the village. Elmet is a concept that interests me, the ancient Celtic kingdom of Yorkshire. Previously I was aware of Ted Hughes 'Remains of Elmet' photo-poem - researching for the blog leads me to some interesting web sites which I will have to explore. Certainly the idea of Yorkshire as a Celtic kingdom is intriguing.

The road I was following was clearly part of the old A1, or Ermine St; something that fascinated my father, and he passed on his enthusiasm for the old roads of England, although I prefer to cycle them whilst he was enamoured by the newly ubiquitous internal combustion engine, in the days when it was still a means of freedom rather than an entrapment.

At South Milford there were vestiges of a cycle route, although as is so often the case it was on the wrong side of the road, so any safety advantages it many have given me were negated by the potential hazards of crossing a major road twice. After rejoining the A621 another off-road route was available to me, but with the same problem. this one had clearly been constructed to enable cycles to access some local lanes -all well and good, but longer-distance cyclists then had to rejoin the main road for another mile, where there was a roundabout for the A1 - could the off-road cycle route not have been extended for that paltry distance?

After that obstacle had been negotiated, one got the ominous feeling that something nasty was approaching - this would be Ferrybridge, where an enormous power station once fed with British coal, but now I suspect from Eastern Europe, just to add to the carbon footprint, lurks by the river. The A-road turned into a dual carriageway with nowhere for cyclists to go other than a stone-covered hard shoulder - the potential for punctures was high. I took the first available exit which took me through Ferrybridge village - not someone you would want to linger despite the riverside vista - and the road took me under where the A1 meets the M62, a modern river of steel and plastic quite different from Wharfe's Mouth.

Here I was was struck between the difference between this country and our European partners - a civilised country would ensure that our vulnerable road users were protected as they passed beneath busy motorway intersections, but somehow the Brits can't quite bring themselves to do that. Somehow I survived that experience, and soon found a road that would take me to Pontefract Monkhill with every chance that I would catch that vital 18:09 train. Sure enough I made it to that station, waiting in company with the original Fat Slags who were off for an evening of debauchery in Wakefield. I was able to drown out their raucous howling by turning up my ipod touch to the max, At Kirkgate things looked up as the Leeds-Sheffield 'Fast' Service turned up and got me back to Sheffield an hour earlier than expected. That's how public transport is supposed to work!

So was in good time for 'Happy-go-lucky', the new Mike Leigh film at the Showroom which I really enjoyed.

Gwyneth Dunwoody

Sad to hear of the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody. She was the scourge of New
Labour's transport policy when it was really at its nadir - thankfully
things seems to have improved, and I am sure that is at least in part
due to the work she did as chair of the transport select committee.
People like her are hard to find, but I hope there will be more in the pipeline
that are prepared to tell it like it is and not just stick to the 'party line'.

New Concept in Zebra Crossing

From Namibia where the term "Zebra crossing" has a slightly different meaning.
Note: pic taken from 4wd with bull bars (those zebras are mean) Me? With my reputation?

Only fools & cyclists

Where Del Boy ended up.

Cycle parking installed at Dore

Not! If this is your bike please let us know what you think about the cycle parking and access at Dore. Incidentally the timetables are from Deutsche Bahn - someone showing a lot of confidence in National Rail!

Separated at birth?

Cycle-squashing traffic island on Leopold St





















The remote control for my telly. Spooks anyone?
(That's my CAMRA membership card on the right)

Just picking up some DIY...

Bad morning

Yesterday, had a meet with asst. director at 10 so made sure I set off in good time to prepare myself. Pumped up tyres before leaving -big mistake. Got to Chesterfield and the rear tyre was flat. Strong winds, raining. Decided to replace inner tube -first one failed, fortunately I had two. Set off again only to have gear cable break whilst trying to maneouvre round motorists who was trying to cut me up so he could get to the bus lane. Limped on on first gear, covered with dirt, not too late for meeting but not in good shape for it either. Quick wash and brush up, just about presentable by 10. Phew.

Comfort testing the bike lane

Aarhus...

Moonrise over burbage

About 3:30, Dec 23rd. Taken with phone.

quick trip

Got to work on time, for once, and realised that although I had brought the works laptop in with me had neglected to bring power supply & mouse. Team leader needed it for high-level meeting so only option was to leap back on bike, go home and get it. Did the trip in under 30 mins (it's 2.2 miles each way) and am sitting nonchalantly at desk when TL wanders in at 9:35 to pick up the machine. It could only be done by bike! Only casualty was my shirt that was soaked and needed an airing.

Busted p.s.

Further to my earlier post would like to say that an LBS whose name begins with L did a perfectly good job on my rear hub. It took them a while because they didn't have a campag hub in stock, but otherwise it was fine.

Derby to Sheffield the long way round

Self & Spouse dragged ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning and headed down to the station. Having missed all the fast trains to Derby, we found ourselves on a very slow one, and 1 1/2 hous later we dragged ourselves & our bike off. The plan was to follow the Pennine Cycleway up as far as Parsley Hey and then head across to Sheffield - we would have liked to have got back before dark but with our late start this was going to be tricky, no matter, we set off on the bike route which bizarrely starts off heading south-west out of Derby - it's part of the route to Burton-on-Trent, which after threading through the houses finds a rail trail on the outskirts, and then splits off to head north.

The well-signed route takes you through pleasant countryside to Ashbourne, with its spectacular tunnel (complete with train sounds) taking you right to the start of the Tissington trail. 10 miles of steady climbing follows with the trail in good condition after the dry autumn we're having. We came off at Biggin, took to the main road for a mile or so before heading on thw back roads towards Bakewell. This takes you above Youlgreave and down to Lathkildale, with a stiff climb back out before the descent into puddingtown. By now it was dark and there was nothing for it but to grit the teeth and carry on to Sheffield, it being too late for the infrequent train from Grindleford.

The ride back was fine apart from the swine who won't dip for cyclists, and the chill factor you get from the long downhill from Fox House. Home around 7 and straight on to the next fireworks party. Endless fun!

The Good Ship William Wilberforce

On the way back to Sheffield from Rotherham I travelled on the Good Ship William Wilberforce. This is not really a ship but a train, in fact a Class 158, and I do like the cut of its jib. The point I wish to make about this fair vessel is the excellent cycle storage facilities, a cut above many of its marque.

Here you see the main storage area:
















Whilst opposite is a flexible space area, where you could fit another couple of bikes:-
















The reason I blog this is that Northern, our excellent local rail operator, has taken delivery of a quantity of these class 158 units. They are certainly a cut above the Pacer trains, up with us poor Northerners have had to put for many years, but some of them have inadequate facilities for cycles. prams large suitcases etc. On this train the problem looked to have been solved, partly by cutting out the cycle cubby-hole that these trains used to have, where even with one bike you had to remove all bags before you could get it in the space, and partly by getting rid of the second toilet, not really needed on the local services these trains will now operate.

Well done Northern! For further ID here is the carriage number of that train:-















(The cycle sticker could be a little bit bigger, but at least there is one)

The Tale of the Lost Boy

I was cycling along the Rotherham canal at dusk, (don't ask) when an elderly Glaswegian stopped me and asked whether I was looking for a boy. I assured him I was not, whereupon he explained that there was a lost boy wandering along the towpath just a but further ahead and enquired as whether I would be so kind as to look out for him. I assured him I would, and sure enough a little further ahead there was a little lad in a bit of a state. I asked him whether he was lost and he explained that he had been fishing with his da and somehow they had got separated (it did rather seem as though aforesaid Da had buggered off somewhere and left him.) So I called SY's finest and explained the situation. They had the usual problem that unless you are on a road with a name they can't locate you, but eventually they worked it out and we arranged that I would take him to the nearby road bridge and a police car would pick him up.

First though we had to look for his fishing gear, which seemed to have disappeared, so I gave him a lift on the back of the bike. Soon enough a young PC turned up, and I have never seen a kid get into the back of a cop car so fast! I hope he got back home OK, and that someone had words with his so-called Da.

Go east young man

What is it about the East? West of Sheffield we have the fabulous Peak District, an easy ride with just a little tussock of a hill betweeen us and there, or the Hope Valley train if you want to cheat. To the North lies the Rust Belt, forty miles of post-industrial wasteland before the Dales beckon. South lies the Promised Land, where the cycle routes are paved with gold or at least tarmac. But east? East lies an hours (at least) worth of suburbia before you so much as see a hint of countryside. If you take the trail it's a litany of broken glass, stolen cars, roaring motorbikes and rough surfaces. On the road, the man with the biggest 4x4 rules. You'd take the train, but on a Sunday morning that train don't run here anymore.

Still the east calls to me. There's something about that corridor of green running along the Parkway, those patches of ancient forest amongst the urban squalor, the shoots of renewed vigour in an exhausted and depleted scene.

If you manage to make it out of town, Rother Valley will offer you a cup of your favourite beverage, and once you've made it up that last hill, there is rolling countryside to enjoy. Worksop might not have too much to entice you, beyond an easy canal route through town, and you might not want to linger long in Manton town, but beyond this Clumber Park and Sherwood Forest await, with plenty of off-road to tire you out and greenery to sooth your aggravated brain. Lincolnshire and the Wolds await you further east, and if you head south through Nottinghamshire you might just find yourself in Nottamun Town, sampling the ales in the Trip to Jerusalem or the Lincolnshire Poacher.

So I say - head east young man! you won't regret it.

Different trains

Got a ride out to Gainsborough with my brother to look at the 'O' guage model railway. This is a quite amazing mythical re-creation of a muthical East Coast steam railway. There are a few anomalies like Hitchin being stuck between Leeds & Doncaster but it's great.

Then set off to cycle back towards Sheffield, since Alex was heading south. The National Byway runs alongside the A631 and takes you down towards West Burton before it heads off south, ;eaving you on the road to Retford which is quite reasonable. At the bottom of the hill there's a route avoiding a low bridge which takes you on a quiet road to Retford - particularly so at the moment since it's closed for sewer replacements. Then on through Retford towards Worksop, passing Ranby prison. At Worksop got on the canal which takes you through town, part of Route 6 . Stopped to replace some signs on the bridge. Onward to Shireoak, passing the Lock-Keeper where there is a spring ride next year. Stopped off at Shireoak station to see when the next train was, and it came in, so given that it's a two-hourly service I got on it! This is one of those free services that Northern like to run, no-one collecting fares although all the stations are unstaffed. It had just got dark (at 6:30) so it was just the right time to end the ride.

Enjoyed this video

Busted

Set off merrily for Huddersfield for the Northern Rail Cycle Forum yesterday morning. Having negotiated the City Centre I had the bike pointing north at Shalesmoor when I heard an ominous sproing from the back wheel. Had a quick look & thought "bust a spoke". Was not far from a bike shop who's name begins with L so thought I'd pop it in there for a quick repair - had booked it in when I realised that actually about a quarter of the spokes had come out of the hub. This sort of repair on my expensive touring bike is not normally something I would take to that particular shop, as I prefer a shop whose name begins with B. so it will be interesting to see what they do with it. Anyway, got the tram back to the station and and the next Pacer to H'field, so made the meeting in plenty of time.

Across the woodhead

Friday 28th took the afternoon off, due in Litton early evening for caravan close-down party , thought I'd cross the Pennines on the TPT and work my way down to the White Peak.

Did the 5WW out to Meadowhall & up to Ecclesfield - this was OK apart from the closed Cobweb Bridge & Thessco sections, and the very poor surfaces between Warren St and Thessco. The Chapletown Greenway was particularly good.

Thought it would be a good idea to check out the state of the TPT through Parsons Cross - this really is very poor and not suitable for road bikes. I knew Iwas approaching PX as I heard the sound of gunfire and off-road motorbikes gunning up. If we are to maintain a bike route through this area I think it should be on Deerlands Ave, Hartley Brook Ave & Butterthwaite Rd.

Up into Greno woods which was fine as ever, then the Woodhead Rd down to Wortley - conscious I had wasted some time in the suburbs I stayed on the road through Thurgoland, down to Oxspring where I rejoined the trail. Stopped in Penistone for some snap - cycling culture seems to have taken off in this area, saw quite a few kids cycling home from school, either by themselves or with an enterprising dad who had cycled down to collect them. Headed onwards in the drizzle towards Dunford Bridge.

Up the hill and onto the Woodhead itself, with time slipping away I decided to stay on the road
and avoid the trail this time. It was whilst thrashing down the road I heard the familiar hissing sound that indicates a puncture. I ground to a halt and got out my tools, to discover a spare inner tube, a pump, a multi-tool - damn! no tyre levers! Managed to pry the tyre off, probably detroying the old tube in the process, and get the new tube in and the tyre back on by hand - my thumbs still ache though! Luckily the whole thing held and I carried on into worsening weather continuing on the Woodhead Rd into Glossop. It was around 6 and it was apparent Iwasn't going to get to Litton for my 7:30 dinner date by cycling. A quick examination of my rail optionds reveled that if I went to Man Picc I could get to Hope by 7:35 and up the hill by around 8, so that's what I did. The trains worked and I emerged into heavy rain at Hope, put on all the waterproof gear I had on me, and struggled up the hill in the dark, with drivers more than willing to put full beam in in my face. My fellow diners had already ordered a steak for me and rarely was a meal more appreciated!

August Rides

No time for full ride descriptions but just to note where I've been this week :

Saturday Chilterns (in the rain)
Sunday Vale of the White Horse (in the rain)
Monday Derbyshire (Litton - Cromford & back on trails)
Tuesday Bamford Moor with the council
Wed Carr Walk

Phew!

Fat Cyclist Blog

He isn't very fat really...

Cycling serendipity

Spent all Sunday morning cleaning and fettling my bike, set off the peak only to find something was seriously wrong - the freewheel just wasn't freewheeling properly. So limped back to the garage, swapped it for my town bike, about three hours later than I should have been to get to my secret hideout. Imagine my surprise when, turning up on spec at Dore Station, there was actually a train approaching! Leaped on with a couple of other cyclists, ( there was one on already, no problem) popped off at Hope and was in the White Peak in under an hour. Serendipity!