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!

Sunday Constitutional

You only get one sunday a week so make it a good one I say. Did a 60-odd mile ride: Lodge Moor Strines-langsett-flouch-TPT to Worsbrough-Old Moor-Elsecar-Wentworth. First bit was mostly on-road, then switched to the TPT from Hazlehead on the A616. 


Was interested to ride the Strines route, which the CTC have taken Sheffield City Council to court over as they say the poor quality of thr surfaces threatens a bid to get a Tour de France stage in Yorkshire. The Section just off the A57, which is in Derbyshire, was closed for repairs ands some mega patches had been put in. I was actually quite surprised how good the rest of it was  - The bad bits were the valleys where the flooding and frost bridges had had a go at the surface. However the road through Upper Hopestones was appalling - literally a patchwork quilt.




After a cup of tea and a chip butty at Langsett Cafe, I took the TPT through to the south of Barnsley, which basically meant 5 miles or so downhill with the wind behind, stopped off at Old Moor for more tea and cake, and finished off with a pint at Wentworth before the run back into Sheffield. Altogether a great ride!



View route in Mapometer

max height 1191ft

min height:82ft
total asc:3159ft
total desc:3159ft

Fast track to the YSP

Some pixs from our ride to the YSP on the 4th. 

View the route here.

TROs & Home Zones

Received a new batch yesterday - first tranche to come out of the new administration.

Lots of increases in the length of no waiting zones around junctions and near schools.
Prohibition of Driving on Club Mill Road - could be paving the way for the North Don Trail.
Wisewood 20mph speed limit zone.
Home Zone around Larkin Grove (Parson Cross) - new development.

Have supported all these.

By train to the Alps

Every time I take my bike on the train to Europe it does seem to get a bit easier, so for those of you who want to give it a try here's how we did it this year. To get the cheapest fares you need to cut the journey into bike-size chunks - like this

(i) Sheffield - London. Booked online via East Coast
(ii) London - Paris. Booked online with Eurostar, then you have to call baggage despatch and book the bikes on. £30 each way per bike which is a bit steep I think. When you get to the destination station you can collect the bike straight off the train if you're quick off the mark down to the baggage car.
(iii) Paris  - Grenoble. Booked by phone with Rail Europe. This is on the TGV which takes about 3 hours - 356 miles. How come people don't want High Speed Rail in the UK? The downside is that SNCF will only let you book your bike on certain trains, generally either very early or very late  - however these tend to be the cheaper  trains as well. Olaf our friendly guard was quite surprised to learn that we had actually booked the bikes on the train, so it seems SNCF are still getting used to the idea.

But it wasn't all sweetness and light - my travelling companion took her bike back by train from Briancon to Grenoble, but was caught by a strike and got her bike on the replacement coach with difficulty. In fact I got back to Grenoble only about half an hour after her having cycled the 112kms.

Plus  we took a little side-trip to Italy (without bikes) which was slightly marred by one of the Simplon tunnels being closed, although that did mean we got a stunning coach ride over the Simplon pass.

And the cost? About £250 return each, which might sound like a lot in these days of cheap airlines, but if you take bikes the extra charges soon add up and you don't have to leave your bike in the tender hands of the baggage handlers, so it's worth it if only for the stress-free experience.

A week in cycling

This week in cycling kicked off for me with a 20's plenty for Sheffield meeting on Monday. 20's plenty of course benefits everyone, not just cyclists. One of the items we discussed was how best to influence politicians - Cyclesheffield has kicked off the dialogue with the new Labour Administration in Sheffield through it's Manifesto for Transport in Sheffield  but we need the support of local MP's as well. Danny Dorling suggested he might be able to pull a few strings and sure enough in a couple of days we had an appointment booked with Nick Clegg. 


Tuesday night we had a Sustrans Volunteer Ride  (photos here) We fixed a couple of problems and found some more we couldn't fix, so we've referred them to the council. 


Wednesday night we went out to the Monsal Trail to explore the newly opened tunnels - photos here. A real mixed ride - some people car-shared, some rode out (44 miles round trip) and Jon got the train to Grindleford and cycled from there. This really is an impressive route - although open, there is some finishing-off work to do - and will be a real draw for the Peak District. We hope people will take advantage of the complete cycle route, eventually from Matlock to Buxton when it is all in place, to come by bike from the railheads rather than increasing the congestion in the Peak. There are opportunities for some circular rides as well using the High Peak & Tissington Trails and the Pennine Cycleway & Trans-Pennine Trail or you could make up your own on adjacent minor roads  - the A6 isn't a particularly pleasant road to cycle on, especially with the quarry traffic in this area. Sheffield CTC have been out there as well. 


Thursday night nothing much happened, but on Friday I popped off for a chat with Nick Clegg about 20's plenty. He was supportive, but thought it was something that was best decided at a local level - a fairly normal  
Lib Dem response. I mentioned some of the areas that had introduced Total 20 and he did register that Lancashire has just done it across the county - a conservastive council at that!We promised to keep him informed, and also had a good chat about bikes - he'd visited the Brompton factory and was very impressed. 
Richard Attwood has done a briefing paper - 5 Good Reasons for a Default 20 mph limit for Sheffield - which 


Then I set off for St Marys for a debate about Climate Change organised by SCACC. Nick Clegg was on the panel, and I got in a question about sustainable travel - "Emissions from transport stand at 24% of the UK total, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change. 

http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/climate_change/1515-statrelease-ghg-emissions-31032011.pdf 

Do you think the Coalition Government is doing enough to promote sustainable travel?  "

Nicks response was no, he didn't think the government was doing enough, and of course was able to mention that he'd been talking to me about 20s plenty. One of the other panellists pointed out that the cost of motoring to the user has remained stable over the past 10 years, despite the rising cost of fuel (& the constant whining of the motoring fraternity) while the cost of public transport has gone up by 50%.Other topics covered were the need to invest in insulation and end fuel poverty, the impact of Climate Change on developing countries and the role of capitalism in all this. Nick Clegg I thought put up a spirit defence of the government's green policies and I hope he will take the criticisms that were levied back to Westminster and do something with them. 

So the week ending, time for a couple of pints in the Rising Sun with friends and a chat about the joys of cycling in France!

A typical morning on Endcliffe Rise Rd

(or crap cycling in Sheffield Pt II)

Work has started to put in a residents parking scheme on this road. Let's hope it sorts it out a bit.

Just a few photos from a sunday ride...

Bluebell woods

 Sheffield has the best Bluebell woods in the World, and a fine selection of bridleways to allow you to see them by bike, on foot or on horseback. Here are some photos from a ride around the bluebell woods on
May 3, 2011.

Totley Brook Aqueduct

If you were one of the 65 people on the FNR Stations Ride 1, you might recall me blathering on about the way the river was diverted and an aqueduct built across the railway. It was going to be a bit tricky to get everyone up to see the aqueduct so we only went as far as the end of the culvert. I popped back today and took some pictures:-

Spotted in West Sheffield

Was out on my Sunday constitutional and noticed a few things:-

Good to see some thought about cycling going into the Bents Green School re-furb

New cycle stands outside the Norfolk Arms

 Plenty of bikes of differing shapes and sizes parked outside as well

This is the footpath that is due to be upgraded to a bridleway - Stony Ridge car park to Piper Gate. RideSheffield the MTB group have complained about it. Sorry Guys, but I think this path should be accessible to all. It's only a short stretch, but it gives roadies a short respite from the endless traffic on Hathersage Rd as well as hosting the CTC memorial tree and might even be part of an off-road route from Whirlow to Fox House one day.

The next part of the ride was through the Peak Park  to Litton  - nothing to see there of course...

Nice rainbow over Whirlow on the way back