RadWagon

Red Light Jumping vs Speeding Cars

2012-01-11T15:45:00.027Z

I'm not for cyclists doing Red Light Jumping, it's not a good idea. But think we should be doing more of other things to save more lifes of pedestrians and all other traffic.

General Ignorance

There's a lot of prejudice about red light jumping by cyclists around. From the camera junkie pundit on the One Show (at 4:41) that claims to know what all cyclists do, and including the BBC that puts this point of view against factual evidence, raising it to that status without reason. Combine that with the Cambridge resident who sent a letter to the Cambridge News and Crier stating in mock shock she'd just witnessed a cyclist stopping at a red light. And again, the newspaper printed it, albeit without any more substantial context thus leaving the reader to make their own mind up about the writer.

I used the word "prejudice" above which for many people would seem harsh. After all, cyclists are a menace and deserve what they get on the roads and the poor motorist has to suffer the consequence of the "war" on them with spiralling costs and charges and fines, yada yada (please do check the notes at the bottom for why this is a sarcastic statement).

The Facts

So let's have a look at some facts. First, from 2007 there's the TfL Study of Cyclists Jumping Red Lights which looks at several junctions in London. The summary conclusion is that watching 7,502 cyclists,

84% of them obey red light signals (in section 7.3 on page 29/30).

So, in other words, the opinion offered by the pundits above is a long way from the reality.

It can also be noted from this report that a quarter of cyclists (so 4% of the overall total) who did jump the lights were turning left. This is something that the RAC and Boris Johnson are seeking to legalise on safety grounds. If that would be the case, then 88% of cyclists obey red lights.

Now, here's a summary of the Cambridge Police Speed Surveys done in February to July 2011. It shows that the slightly smaller figure of 82% of drivers obey the speed limit. So, more drivers speed than cyclists break red lights. Additionally, as this article points out drivers often react to seeing luminous jackets, so it certainly could be argued that this figure is a low figure. As opposed to the Red Light Jumping Survey which, even if luminous jackets were worn, isn't likely to affect behaviour.

Anyway, it would seem that 158,219 drivers were seen speeding in 17 locations which even makes the 4000 caught speeding on three roads in Cambridge seem a low value.

This 82% figure being described as a high is borne out by another survey done by the police in South Cambridge and reported by Richard Taylor. In this survey, the highlight value is that watching in the region of 43,000 vehicles

only 25% drive in a way that would avoid prosecution for speeding.

The Outcome

What's the outcome? This is a crucial question as the difference between cyclists and drivers misbehaving is quite different.

Ironwit, in his ironically titled blog, quotes from Transport for London statistics that shows the following.

In a study of the figures from 1998 to 2007, precisely 0 deaths of pedestrians were caused by cyclists jumping red lights. In the shorter period of 2001 to 2005, 7 deaths of pedestrians were caused by car drivers jumping red lights.

The CTC on page 4 of their Cyclists’ behaviour and the Law document gives considerably more damning generic statistics about pedestrian casualties for 2001-2010.

Pedestrians killed by CAR 3722 and by CYCLE 22
Pedestrians seriously injured by CAR 50179 and by CYCLE 510

So, 100 times more serious injuries are caused by drivers than cyclists and 170 times more death.

Whilst we are here, we might as well look at that hoary chestnut of the danger of cyclists on pavements. On page 8 of the same report, the injury statistics for London pavements for 2001-05 are as follows.

Pedestrians killed by CAR 17 and by CYCLE 0
Pedestrians seriously injured by CAR 387 and by CYCLE 40
Pedestrians slightly injured by CAR 1793 and by CYCLE 52

So, even on the pavement pedestrians are over 40 times more likely to be injured or killed by a driver than a cyclist.

Finally from this document, on page 10 one study found that red light jumping is not even in the top ten of causes of death or injury to cyclists. But then from the other side of the coin.

in London (2001-05), 3 cyclists & 7 motor vehicle occupants were killed when a motorist jumped a red light.
in London 2006, over 130 drivers were caught jumping red lights every day, according to the Mayor

Also, there is growing evidence that cyclists staying behind the line next to traffic is a major cause of death (as Ironwit talks about in his blog).

In fact, there are rumours of an unpublished Transport for London report that shows it is riskier to cyclists to wait alongside traffic at a junction than it is to break the law and jump through the red light.

I've been asking Caroline Pidgeon (Lib Dem Leader on the London Assembly) about where this report has got to and she's promised to follow it up with the Mayor of London.

Summary

So, when I see headlines like Cambridge Police are to get tough on anti-social Cyclists I do have a certain gladness that something is done to stop the way cycling's image is tarnished by a small minority. However, I do think about the waste of resource that is going into this being based on ignorance. It will actually end up costing more lives than if the same resource was put into targetting poor driving.

Some Final Notes

Actually, most cyclists (that's the 84% mentioned above) dislike other cyclist's Red Light Jumping as well. Here's a nice anecdotal clip of a policemen catching one and being roundly applauded by other cyclists.

As for the "war on the motorist", it's utter pith. Driving a car is still subsidised in this country based on the revenue raised from motorists and looking at the costs of maintaining the road network (even without including details such as the £200-300m costs of mending pavements damaged by cars).

To answer Griff Rhys Jones who thinks cyclists should use cycle lanes (on the One Show at 6:00). That's all very well, but some are designed as death traps (by people who clearly haven't ridden bikes in their lifes) and should be avoided at all costs. Second, I pay for the roads (and I pay a lot), why should I not be able to use them?

I'll end by saying this is a very poor comparison based on different bases for either set of statistics. I wish there were stats for Cambridge cycling, as that is likely to be the biggest factor causing any kind of difference in these figures. Having said that, I can't see why or what other criteria should be used to tie these two sets of statistics together. I'm very sorry Ben Goldacre, I know this is a poor excuse but there it is.

Cycle Helmets

2011-07-29T15:48:00.014+01:00

the quandary that not wearing helmets actually improves the health of the nation

Oh no, not again! Yet another athlete appears on TV, shakily showing a broken helmet and talking about how it saved their life. The story is full of shots showing roads, traffic, maybe some rough camera footage, and talks in a scary way about an accident. Usually, they are backed up by a well known cause, most often Headway, a charity helping people with head injuries.

"What's wrong with this?" I hear you say. Well, a whole load of things.

We'll start with the backing, Headway. They are a magnificent charity doing fantastic work with and for people with brain injuries. However, that's it. They are not a cycling organisation and have no remit towards the health of cyclists, they simply want to reduce head injuries. So, they simply repeat the "wear helmets" mantra without considering anything else in the cycling sphere.

Second, although this is a good story, full of gripping drama, it's just an anecdote and not a very scientific analysis of the situation. If I were a parent, it'd scare me. I would start to think that perhaps I shouldn't let my kids out on their bikes. And if I wasn't a parent, it'd scare me. If I didn't have enough money to get a helmet, I'd consider stopping cycling, as it's clearly far too dangerous as this story shows.

The other effect of a heart-wrenching story is the upswing in calls for legislation. It's usually called for by people who have no interest or understanding of the issues, they just see a good story and get stuck in "righteous indignation" mode. Especially when people see cycling as mostly in the prevails of children.

I'm not going to pretend that cycling doesn't have a degree of danger to it, that would be ridiculous. But actually, for many it's much, much less than this story implies. And importantly, helmets have a much lower effect on safety than a whole series of other measures. More of them later.

Finally, there's the oh-so-subtle message "wear a helmet, it'll save you". The problem is, it's just not true in the majority of accidents. Most people think helmets are some kind of magic protection that will save cyclists in collisions with motor vehicles. Worryingly, most of these people drive cars! This study from the Transport Research Laboratory done for Department for Transport shows that helmets are just not designed to assist in these collisions. In fact, one study from Dr Ian Walker of the University of Bath, has shown that wearing a helmet actually makes cars passing more dangerous.

So what's the other angle here? Pretty much all cycling organisations say that helmet wearing should be a case of individual choice. So, why do they dislike this kind of newstory?

Well, for one, it doesn't promote cycling, in fact it detracts from it. The safety issue (as above) is the main factor here. This is saying that travelling by bike is inherently dangerous, when in truth, it's nowhere near as dangerous as the newstory purports.

Promoting cycling means the need to reach out to those people who don't already cycle. By running stories about accidents less people are likely to even try bikes. Also, there's the need to appeal to those who would consider wearing a helmet a detraction on their personal style. Most cyclists (or potential cyclists) are just trying to get a short distance to an event, be it work, a party, a social activity, a meeting. Many of these activities for many people would require a dress sense, some of which will not fit easily with helmet wearing. This may seem a silly issue when it comes to safety, but it's what a good proportion of people would cite as an issue to riding. The Institute of Advanced Motorists study found so, and it was seen as bad for business in Northern Ireland.

As for helmets being the main way to save lives on the road, by far the bigger impact would be for our collective driving standards (including cyclists) to improve.

Recently the AA got some stick after a cycle helmet promotion stunt. Their members thought it would be good to give helmets to cyclists, mistakenly believing it would save them in a vehicle collision. It concerned many cyclists greatly as it stank too much of "blaming the victim". Again, this promoted the idea that somehow cyclists are saved in motor vehicle collisions amongst drivers. And prompted cycling organisations to promote better driving standards as a better way of reducing cycling injuries.

Cycling is well known to be good for health. In fact a recent study shows (and I wish I could find a link!) that for every £1 spent now on cycling infrastructure will save £4 in healthcare later on. This means that putting in cycling infrastructure will actually save money.

Interestingly, another study (towards the end) shows that there are more child accidents when walking (whilst also finding some pro-helmet studies are shown to be misleading). So, why don't we insist children wear helmets when walking?

Of course, the whole helmet debate is quite poorly done in the media. Like a number of other issues (climate change & MMR spring to mind as examples of the media being shown getting it so wrong), they pick on a good story without paying much attention to the serious scientific work done which shows exactly the opposite of their narrative.

Luckily, there are a few good stories out there, based on the evidence and not just a good story. Such as the study in the British Medical Journal giving a reasoned point of view against compulsory helmets. And fortunately the Transport Minister Baker defends helmet-free cycling, so compulsion is not likely any time soon.

So, in summary, why is this kind of newstory bad?

it makes cycling look dangerous
it mis-states the way most people would ride
it reduces cycling appeal to newbies
it's setting the slippery slope toward mandatory helmets
it reduces the general health of the population by not increasing cycling

Athletes, lycra-clad speeders, off-road davedevils, and other higher risk groups probably should be wearing helmets. But they are a small minority of those who should be cycling. And athletes really shouldn't attempt to speak for these people generalising their experiences into everyones.

And now the revelation, I wear a cycle helmet. Yep, I do. But then I fit into several of the above groups and feel it may help me. But whether it'll help others is not for me to say or to tug at heart strings with anecdotal stories of woe that detract from the wonderful thing that is cycling.

For a much more in-depth analysis than my paultry piece here go to
cyclehelmets.org

Bateman Street

2011-06-22T16:46:00.015+01:00

Often a place with very awkward traffic management.

I've got it on Bikely here.

Sometimes I think this really ought to stop any through traffic in this area. It's difficult to get through at the moment, but possible, especially westwards along Bateman & Norwich Street. It's a residential area, why not bollard the roads to stop any cross-area routes.

Then, introduce a one-way mechanism for car pickups from school, keeping the roads two way for cyclists, of course. This has got to be better than the melée with two-way traffic & parking along the west end of Bateman Street. A circuit must be possible coming in from Lensfield Road, Brookside, and eventually down Panton Street.

A lot of kids cycle, it would be good to encourage more to do so. I suspect the car throng does not help this at all, despite some observations below.

I'm saying this even though I use Bateman Street in a car (at non-busy times!) to get through this part of Cambridge. I'd happily give that up to enable a better traffic mechanism in this area, prioritising local, low impact, traffic.

The big thing about this street for cyclists is the contraflow cycle lane, which goes for almost the whole length (aside from the two way sections at either end). This is meant ot encourage cycling around here and support kids going to school like this. However, there are quite a few issues with the scheme as it stands, which becomes obvious below.

See what you think of a couple of instances of cycling down it in winter at school turnout.

And...

In some ways it's a good example of what happens when so much traffic gets together and shares road space. Everything is at 5-10mph, nothing is faster. This is probably a good thing, actually. It makes all traffic work to the lowest common denominator, not just be bullied by fast moving vehicles.

Of course, often there are examples of vehicles stopped in the cycle contraflow (a big no-no!). It's something the police have suggested they will follow up if clips are shown with identified vehicles. Needless to say, pizza delivery, taxis, and work vans are the most common offenders, but it has got better recently.

Here's a pizza delivery. It's so important to shorten the amount of walking needed as the pizza may get cold in that extra minute required.

And in the snow, a lorry has to make a delivery. Now, I do have some sympathy here. What's the lorry meant to do to deliver here?

It just shows that we've been living like this (poor traffic models) for so long that we do not have the imagination to work out to use smaller vehicles for some deliveries.

And here's a series of photo's off Cambridge Cycle Streets.

Parking in the cycle lane (not contraflow section).

More school run chaos.

Hmm, drainage not so good.

Parking in contraflow cycle lane.

Roadworks in contraflow cycle lane. Just the ubiquitous "cyclists dismount" sign, because "you are not worthy of anything else being done to make sure you can get round.

Roadworks in contraflow cycle lane. Just the ubiquitous "cyclists dismount" sign, but this time completely incorrectly. It's a contraflow lane, coming from the other direction. No cyclists should be in this lane, they should be using the one-way road and have no reason to dismount!

Parking in contraflow cycle lane.

Parking in contraflow cycle lane.

Parking in contraflow cycle lane.

Then there's the night time.

This starts in Hills Road, but does show the entrance well.

Cycling Examples Tagging and Comments

2011-06-21T18:03:00.014+01:00

This is just a list of helpful tags for my clips of Cycling Examples.

Main Tags
Cycling Video Clips "Cycling Examples" Cambridge

Issues
"Too Close"
"ASL Infringement"
"Parked in Cycle Lane"
"In Cycle Lane"
"Closed Cycle Lane"
"Blocked Cycle Lane"
"Poor Road Surface"

Locations
Coton
Comberton
Madingley
"Brooklands Avenue"
"Trumpington High Street"
"Sidgwick Avenue"
"Shared Path"
"Comberton Road"

Other
"In Charge"
Dogs

Comments
I'm doing about 18mph. Why overtake?

Passing to Close
Again, breaking "Highway code rule 163".
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

As the Highway code picture shows, why isn't the driver all the way over the central line?

Too Fast for Shared Path
And for those saying I should use the cycle path, can I remind you of the advise from the Department of Transport (http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/archive/2004/ltnwc/annexdcodeofconductnoticefor1688) which tells me I should not use it at my speed. I'm sure the pedestrians would agree with that, and I'd like to protect them too.

Positive Postion on Road
The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) is urging cyclists to “claim their lane” (http://www.iam.org.uk/latest_news/cycliststakeprimepositionsaysiambook.html).

Phoning and Driving
Using a handheld phone whilst driving is illegal in the UK. However, all the studies show that it's not the holding of the phone that is the issue but the call itself.
http://www.dontphoneanddrive.co.uk/

Signalling for All Traffic
Signaling is required. Signals warn and inform other road users, including pedestrians of your intended actions. Breaking "Highway code rule 103".
http://http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070289

Red Lights
Going through a red light is often a charge thrown at cyclists, and for some rightly so. I don't, it breaks Highway code rule 109". Cars also shouldn't and will do a lot more damage than cyclists.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070289
A recent TfL study shows that despite RLJing being something that the general public believes all cyclists do, it's just not true.
Tfl: The majority of cyclists (84%) obey red traffic lights.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/businessandpartners/traffic-note-8-cycling-red-lights.pdf

ASLs
Yet another driver ignoring the law about ASLs. All too common.
The Highway Code Rule 178: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070332

Car Doors Opening
Although there is the below code, riding in the door zone (where opening doors hit cyclists) is something to be avoided at all costs.
Highway Code Rule 239 (backed up by the RTA).
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069860

As I approach the parked cars I move to a position outside of the door zone but am forced back in by car behind me just driving at my space. Even without that they're still too close.

Stopping on Pedestrain Crossings
This is breaking Highway Code Rules 192 & 240 (which is also backed up in law under the RTRA).
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070339
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069860

Overtaking Round Blind Bends
This overtake manouevre was started when there was no vision round the corner. If a car had been oncoming the car would have been forced back in (possibly into me) very quickly.

The driver does pass quickly, which I what I would want, but that is the only redeeming feature of this action.

Really Bad or Agressive Driving
Arguably, something along the lines of Careless Driving really should apply here.
http://www.driving-law.co.uk/offences/careless_driving.asp

Arguably, something along the lines of Dangerous Driving really should apply here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangerous_driving

Good Behaviour
I've often criticised drivers for poor overtakes in this location, so here's an example of how to do it.

That kind of thing dissolves all tension and promotes a great stress-free existence for both parties. You get Road Rage? It's because you don't do this.

Well done, driver!

Stopping or Parking in Cycle Lanes
Highway Code Rule 240 (backed up in law)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069860
You MUST NOT stop or park on a tram or cycle lane

Driving in Cycle Lanes
Highway Code Rule 140 (backed up in law)
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070308
You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line

Dog Walkers
I support dog walkers and pedestrians, and always give way to them and their pets. However, some dog owners fail in their responsibilities towards other path users.

Dog walkers should always be in control of their animals at all times. Note that should the dog cause an accident, it'd be me asking for compensation from the owner. I'd really hate that, especially if the animal was harmed.

One of Those Cycling Days

2011-06-09T15:58:00.026+01:00

Forgive me, I've not written much on here recently. Mostly as I've been loading hundreds (yep!) of cycling videos onto YouTube and putting them into playlists for routes around the country. I've also been compiling a Cycling Examples series of clips, mostly of cars doing stupid things, but also of other hazards when on a bike.

However, I thought I'd write about today. It seemed like a nice day, sunny weather, and, bar a little early niggle, not much to report from the roads. That little niggle was maybe a hint of things to come.

The niggle, unfortunately, was not recorded as it was behind me. I was coming down Brooklands Avenue (a road with no room to overtake if there's oncoming traffic, as you can see). I took a glance to me right to catch in the corner of my eye, a Stagecoach bus not 6 foot from my back wheel. Wooooeeeee! My heart skipped several beats, we are both doing around 20mph, so if I wobble a bit, I'm under the buses wheels. How comes this driver passed their pubic service vehicle license?

Brooklands Avenue has proved a harsh place for cyclists. This is undoubtedly the reason for the shared off-road cycle path, although this doesn't help me as you can see from this clip and the advise from the Department of Transport which tells me I should not use it at my speed and the IAM suggests positive postioning.

Anyway, that aside the ride seemed nice, until I met maddening Madingley Road! I did record a car coming the other way at speed over a blind summit. Do note that you do not see the car until the very last moment.

Now, I'm not sure there's too much wrong with this, but it puts into light previous interactions with vehicles here, namely this.

So, I'm still in a happy mood! Then, not 2 minutes later I get this.

Far too close at that speed, and again, the vision ahead is quite limited. This is breaking "Highway code rule 163".

So now I'm getting a bit angry. Muttering about drivers being blind ignorant idiots. Often this dispels as the joy of riding takes over. But then, 2 minutes later this.

Again, this is breaking "Highway code rule 163". Luckily driver number two shows everyone how you should do it.

Grump, grump, grump. This time, a few minutes later, the driver isn't dangerous to me, but shows the blind, robot-like driving skills of a dustbin.

And then it's all back to normal. 15 minutes of nice riding. No incidents down sections where I'm used to boneheaded decision making in 1 ton of metal at 40+ mph.

I'm just cooling down and enjoying myself when I get this utterly reckless action which leaves me completely shaken.

This driver utterly terrified me. It left me very shaky and worried for my life. I went back to an incident about 18 months ago in my head. Because of oncoming traffic this driver didn't even get across the white line in the middle of the road doing upwards of 40mph. I could hear the car coming and could work out that it'd be very close. I felt threatened, intimidated, and bullied off the road.

This is breaking "Highway code rule 163". Well not just breaking it, shattering it, jumping up and down on the pieces, then throwing the pieces in the fire.

And for those saying I should use the cycle path, can I remind you of the advise from the Department of Transport which tells me I should not use it at my speed. I'm sure the pedestrians would agree with that, and I'd like to protect them too.

UPDATE: I've put up a map giving some measurements of this incident at http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=212067751910826765581.0004b36b914519fc21b12 showing this car was doing ~45mph within ~1foot of me. I've measured the time using MS Live Movie Project on a frame-by-frame basis. I've taken the car width to be 5.75ft, the bike width as 2ft, and placed my centre at 2ft from the kerb (exactly placed as the IAM suggests).

Not 20 seconds later, completely shaken, I get another driver not using their brain.

If these 2 events happened to a parent I would completely understand them never letting their children on a bike. It's perfectly clear that riding a bike can be so dangerous because this country has so many complete idiots able to wield 1 ton of metal as a weapon. More cyclists die on the roads of this country (inferred 150 in 2007) than by a gun (59 in 2007). And yet it's the gun crime that gets the headlines. Worldwide, over a million people die on the roads every year, over 3000 a day. It ranks in the top ten causes of death worldwide (higher in the developed world!). Period.

So, I'm now not happy. I toddle on doing more than muttering. Luckily I had no more scares or close calls. But it's made me more determined to get laws changed, people educated, priority given over to the vunerable, and more done to calm our town streets and country roads.

This is a classic example of 1980s style thinking when it comes to cycling priorities.

It's always a trying time on a bicycle. The road to the right of me has straight on and left as roundabout options. You'd have thought most people would remember that they should signal when turning left, but it's very few how do remember. A driver learning site suggests everyone should be signalling as I'm in full sight.

It makes this junction lethal, as you simply cannot tell if the vehicle is coming down this road or not. The idea, I guess, is that all cyclists should completely stop, look around and wait until there's not a car in sight, then progress slowly and carefully across the road. Anyone who's ever been on a bike knows how ridiculous this is.

Finally, a van doing a rather ridiculous manoeuvre in the middle of Trumpington.

The usual case of "I do what I want, whatever the consequences for anyone else" rudeness. I can't help but feel that rather than reverse, this van ought to go 50 yards further up the road and turn around at the junction.

So, there it is. Just one of those cycling days. Although it's really very indicative of why, in the current climate, the UK will never become a mass cycling country. Depressing.

Ipsden - Mapledurham Circuit

2011-05-06T21:48:00.011+01:00

A map of the 20 mile route.

I didn't video all of the circuit just the bits that seemed interesting to me (mostly offroad!).

Out of the top field from Brazier's Park and up the road. Phone call interrupts ride.

Remainder of ride to King William the Fourth in Hailey. Pub with the best view in the country.

Ride up the green lane from the King William the Fourth in Hailey to the Stoke Row road through Ipsden Heath.

From Stoke Row along track to Wyfold Court

From Wyfold Court along to the old fort towards Cane End.

Route through stables at Cane End and on towards Mapledurham.

Small final section of offroad on towards Mapledurham.

Thames River Path from Mapledurham to Whitchurch Road.

Thames River Path from Whitechurch to Goring. The dangerous slope section have recently had the steps removed making it quite hairaising!

Thames River Path from Whitechurch to Goring. After the dangerous slope section the path becomes easier but no less exciting.

What We Did in the Wood Workshop

2011-02-13T15:10:00.005Z

and adjoining, well er, space!

We filled up the "fixed pole" bay.

And made new geodome struts from the willow out front.

And finished by playing pick up sticks.

Mind you, all the poles are nice new lat poles with properly nailed top ends.

An Hour in a Cyclepath: Hills Road Station Road to Brooklands Avenue

2011-01-18T22:52:00.016Z

Some safety concerns with 70 vehicles in 1 hour in cycle path

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

Along Hills Road there have been some fantastic developments to help cyclists travel and protect them from general traffic, whilst also aiding traffic flow. The new Hill Road Bridge is a good example of some well thought out design. I was a bit concerned that the previous version, which was so good, couldn't be improved upon. I was wrong.

Enough about the bridge, I'm more concerned with other bits here. The section of this city-centre-to-town-outskirts route between Station Road and Brooklands Avenue is proving a little difficult for road users. Here it is in detail on a sunny day.

Notice the cycle-path sign right at the beginning, but also notice the dashed white line on it's edge. What does that mean? Then, at 15 seconds in, a bus-stop appears, directly after which a cycle path sign appears. I assume this to make sure it's obvious that this is only a cycle path from the end of the bus-stop, so bus drivers know. Again, that dashed white line borders the main road. Then at 36 seconds a second dashed line appears in the middle of the lane, about 1 metre outside the bike lane. Now, what does that mean? At 46 seconds, the dashed line bordering the cycle path disappears leaving the other dashed line which gives the appearance of a two car-lane approach to the coming junction, despite roughly two-thirds of the inner lane being covered by red cycle path tarmac. Finally, the red tarmac disappears at 51 seconds at the pedestrian crossing.

So, where is there a cycle path along this section? Where should cyclists feel protected from traffic?

Let's start with what does that dashed line mean? Article 140 of the The Highway Code makes it fairly clear.

Cycle lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation. Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable. You MUST NOT park in any cycle lane whilst waiting restrictions apply.

Or does it? What does it mean by "unavoidable"? I have to cross a cycle lane when I park, that seems pretty unavoidable. But what about just to avoid non-moving traffic that isn't going the same way as your vehicle? As mentioned, this is on the way towards a junction with two separate routes for traffic. So maybe to avoid stopped traffic in the outer lane (waiting to turn right) is considered "unavoidable"?

I've tried looking up the Road Traffic Act (as referred at the bottom of the Highway Code quote) but can't find anything readable. Mind you, this means there's an interpretation under law here, not just the Highway Code. I think I'd choose the interpretation that short of crossing the cycle path, any entry is avoidable.

But then there's the problem of when does the cycle path end. When the second dashed line appears? When the first dashed line ends? Or when the red tarmac ends? Again, I, like most cyclists, would suggest that the red tarmac is the defining issue. But that second dashed line does confuse most vehicle drivers.

Here's a short video (turn the sound down, Radio 6 was on!), taken over one hour that I've cut to pick up vehicles straying into the cycle path. In all fairness, most vehicles did stick with my interpretation of the cycle path and avoided the red tarmac. However, this video is over 6 minutes long, implying that for 10% of the time, there is a vehicle on the red tarmac. This shows that a significant proportion of vehicles either are confused or don't share my interpretation. And, just to add, I didn't pick up the large numbers of vehicles that just clipped the edge.

I make that a total of 70 vehicles including 37 cars, 22 buses, 5 taxis, and 6 vans (please do check, I may be one or two out!). Two particular items to note: at 2:06 a learner/instructor driver and at 5:07 a cyclist having to make a manoeuvre to avoid a car pulling into the cycle path.

So, what's going on? Although there is clearly a need for better education around cycle lanes, especially if my interpretation of the cycle path is correct, there is a clear need for clarification along this stretch. The road needs to be clearly marked so that drivers and cyclists know what is where. At the moment this just isn't the case.

Clear road markings would help all road users understand their path along the road. Cyclists would know that they need to slow down earlier if their path boundaries are not guarenteed to be free of motor vehicles making manoeuvres. Drivers would know that they cannot just move over because their journey is slightly impeded.

Especially important is the high proportion of buses spotted to buses on the road. Other vehicles have a much lower proportion. (Sorry, no figures, but just look at 22 buses compared to 37 cars, that's 1 bus to every 1.68 cars!) One reason for this maybe that bus lanes and cycle paths are coloured using the same tarmac. Go into town a bit in the other direction, there's a good example outside St Paul's Church. So, I'd guess a proportion of bus drivers think that this is a bus lane, despite the clearly marked cycle path signs early on. Clearly, that's a big educational gap!

Now, I've had further experience of buses in this cycle path, down near the bus-stop. Here is a cyclists-eye view of when vehicles move into the cycle path.

Stationary traffic, what cycle paths where made for! A school student and I are making our way up the inside as allowed. The second bus along is determined to get into the bus-stop and accelerates forwards and into the cycle path whilsts we are on it's inside. HEE-BEE-GEE-BEES!!!! Both of us jam on brakes thinking we are about to be deposited either onto the pavement or under the wheels. With our space cut in half, the bus stops. Not because we have been spotted but because it cannot go any further forward in traffic. We can only tell this once we've both negotiated the limited space left to move along the cycle path. And it's at least 40 metres before the bus stop itself. So, why is it pulling into the cycle path in any case?

If you know any constructive answers to the above questions, please feel free to let me know. And the "constructive" is intended to show I'm not interested in the very-slow-to-get-it drivers who'd prefer to get all cyclists off the road, despite that approach increasing the congestion they'd have to suffer!

Oh, and a reminder of the financial breakdown to the answer of that age-old failed "You don't pay road tax" is here.

Almost the Upper Nidderdale 2 Lakes Figure of Eight

2010-12-30T16:01:00.007Z

North Nidderdale, Lakes and Ice

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

This route is almost the same as my summer time route but has, unfortunately, to remove the off road sections. This seems a bit chicken, but actually would completely destroy the fun of the ride and make it a hard mud slog. This would be fine sometimes, but it simply would be just a bit too far for me to do on a slow, winter's day.

Pateley Bridge High Street to Swimming Pool & School. The main high street of Pateley Bridge has a classic Yorkshire Dales look. I've done a more complete view from my last winter visit here. As always a joy to be here, especially as the snow has gone affording a reasonable ride up the valley to take place.

Near Wath to Gouthewaite Water. This is the last little bit before the main section beside Gouthewaite water. The reservoir itself is vaguely famous for being in the opening titles of Emmerdale, Britain's third soap. Today's water is considerably colder than the body shown twice weekly on TV. The ducks are stood on the surface, albeit covered in pools of just defrosted water. Vast cracks stretch across and up the lake as if a playful giant has been tapping their finger in various points across the expanse. And a dull mist hangs over and up the valley, keeping the small amount of warmth in.

Ramsgill. This little hamlet comprises a few small houses, and church, and The Yorke Arms, a Michelin starred restaurant. Yes, I did say, Michelin starred restaurant. I've often wondered what it's doing in the middle of the moorland of the Yorkshire Dales, well past the last town in the valley. The only thing I can come up with is that it's a beautiful little place to be! I have had the good fortune to eat here once, courtesy of my friends. However, the bill is not for the fainthearted.

Into Lofthouse from South. Lofthouse is the last village i the valley floor. There isn't much of the valley left and the next village, Middlesmoor, is perched on a outcrop of the medial moraine between the last two remaining valleys.

After Lofthouse, I turn up a non-public road owned by Yorkshire water which acts as an access road to Scar House Reservoir. It's a perfectly fine unclassified road but may not have permanent public access. The first bit has an water extraction point for the valley below, but luckily has preserved the small waterfall above. A delightful small fall that sets one for the remainder of the route up to the Reservoir.

The route up is just a steady slog gaining around 170m elevation in about 3.8miles. This is only around 2.5%, but it feels a tad more! The rough surface of the road can't help. It's split into a northerly section, then a westerly section with the final half mile to the car park near the reservoir really taking up a lot of the strain.

The mountain tops on either side close in the first section and remnants of old mine workings can be seen on the top and along the valley. Turning the corner to the second section opens out again with the height gained giving access to the mountain tops themselves. Scar House Reservoir looks about as bleak as anything up here, with it's Victorian Dam and cracked ice surface.

In the summer, I happily start up the tracks here and cut back across the moorland to the high village of Middlesmoor. It's an unforgiving track that would clearly destroy bikes of lower standard build. Negotiating rocks as big as coffee mugs whilst hurtling downhill is not for the fainthearted. And not for winter for me. There are sections where if you don't look out, you're suddenly 6 foot above the proper track and with 6 foot to stop before a sheer drop to it.

Downhill from Scar House Reservoir. So winter time means a straight reversal of my previous route. This is no bad thing and allows me the opportunity to do the fastest 3.8 miles I've ever done in this country. (Sorry, the Alpes and the Pyrenees offer much longer and faster rides!) The top mile is the joy and comes in at an average, even at this time of year, of around 30mph. After that it's a steady push all the way down. Although hat this time of year, with legs getting very cold on the descent, it's hard to maintain 25mph.

Ramsgill and Gouthewaite Water. A last section alongside the lake, taking in misty views.

Wath to Pateley Bridge up Silver Hill. And finally the back road to east Pateley, avoiding the climb in the town centre but pulling up some pretty tough ones along the valley side. Silver Hill, the first one I do, is graded as a 14-20% climb. However, that's only half of Silver Hill. The turn to the left at the top of the shown Silver Hill, gets you to the second section. Although it's not graded, I reckon it's 20-25% in places. It's at the edge of my abilities certainly. Well, the hard work is all worth it to see some spectacular views from the roadside of the river below.

Blewbury to a Snowy Churn Knob

2010-12-25T15:30:00.009Z

A New Year's Whatever

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

After being up The Chalk Pit for the past 3 days, it was time to look for a new route. And I didn't have to think very hard to remember the more demanding Churb Knob path, passing the delightful Frying Pan Wood.

First a little wander round the village. The Churchyard, Play Close, and further Cob Walls before passing The Red Lion and heading up to the beginning of the path.

Then, the delight of up.

The views are worth the effort.

Finally, to release all that potential.

Blewbury Snowy Circuit, Added Anglo-Saxon Walls and Hills

2010-12-22T16:24:00.021Z

A New Year's Challenge, Part Deux

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

After sucessfully negotiating the challenge to video my bike ride yesterday by @russwillis, I thought I'd raise the stakes and add in some further hazards. Again, I do the honour of sharing such an adventure, albeit on the same level as navel gazing. (No, that's not boat spotting.)

Since yesterday, with a degree of ice melting and further passing traffic, the side roads have become a lot more awkward on two wheels. Paths seemed to be the way forward, so my route was carefully planned.

The first section took a gentle route through the village past one of our historic monuments. The thatched Cob wall (appearing at 35 seconds) were partly built in Anglo-Saxon times and are thus over 1000 years old. I do confess that for that period it's like the old "I've 'ad this broom for 20 years, 3 new handles and 4 new brushes" joke. But, they are pretty rare and majestic, and there are several sections in the village.

After the wall, turning up a side road to the pub. Ah, many a happy teenage hour spent in there. Rarely get there now, just one day a year usually: Boxing Day (see Walk).

One last slow corner into Watery Lane. Why, did I choose to come down here? Lethally slippery mud and ice combo with the added attaction of falling off into freezing water. And on a sharp bend! What was I thinking? Then, I clearly lost sight of my marbles and rode across a two-plank wide bridge with very little to stop a slide to either side. Megatastic, not 'arf!

Well, that's where my camera decided it was too cold to work. Having charged the battery so I could get some of the fantastic off-road experience down, the card refused to get any acknowledgement from the machine. What did you miss? Well, quite a bit of fun.

After discovering the joys (and surprising ease) of offroading in the snow yesterday, I thought I'd up the ante. I thought I'd try the hill path to the chalk pit. Having seen the cob walls (and a lot of the cottages) are made of chalk, I'm now going to the place where they dug that chalk out of the ground. This is a haven for adventurous children. I spent many a happy hour (prior to the pub being an interest) performing stupid stunts down the steep sides of this place and up and down the path that goes there. I still venture there now in the summer, but tend to head onwards as it's not that far and coming off a bike brings a lot more bruises and pain than it did aged 10.

The path itself is a bit of a madness. It's just about as steep as you want it both going up and down. As it's in chalk and having had 100s of tons of chalk taken down it, the path is worn into the hillside up to about 10 foot deep. That means for much of the route, visibility is restricted to up and down only. Additionally, as a nice, out of the wind place, it's a great spot for small trees and shrubs to grow. This means the actual path is barely 2 foot across with a lot of scrub around and above. In a couple of places the small path makes it's way up the side of the scar leaving a nice drop into a muddy gully in case of lost footage. Of course, when ending the path and reaching the top of the chalk pit, the view across the Vale of the White Horse is the massive 180 degree view, unfortunately including the "delightful" Didcot Power Station.

Anyway, back to biking in the snow. Needless to say a lot of the path was a case of "push down on pedal, back wheel turns round full cycle, bike goes 1mm further foward, rider topples to left or right ranting mercilessly about the futility of it all". See, told you it was fun!

Actually, it was worth the ride up. I did manage to ride some of it but it was pretty hardpacked by the hundreds of children's feet who'd made the pilgrimage I used to make, with sledges. And also, it was worth seeing the incredulity on a sledging family's face as I made the past the last corner pedalling away in bottom gear!

Getting round the pit really didn't happen in the saddle, but from the top it was onto leather (well, modern plastic, I'm sure) and slide downhill with the brakes full on. Weee! A drop of 20 foot on one side and a barbed wire fence on the other. What could possibly go wrong? Actually it was the straight ahead that went wrong and a nice sideways slide with a flurry of snow as I hurtled towards the sledging family trying to get our of the pit. I dismounted gracefully* and let them have their right of way (* possibly read "shrieking"). The offered me the path for the entirely sane reason that they didn't want me behind them.

The path was a similar joy. A foot off a pedal pretty much all the time with the option of just putting the bike on the side and me ending up sliding down on my feet. The normal dip and tuck around the bushes and ditch that I'm used to down that path replaced with a plough and slip-slide just avoiding* the bushes on either side (* possibly read as "going through").

After that it was back to the normal flat path along crunchy snow until home arrived in view. But with a feeling that a hearty gin might just sort me out for nerves.

UPDATE!!
From Christmas Eve. I managed to get the camera to work for the trip up and down. Here they are.

The fun of up, including just a bit of walking.

The view is great, even if not sunny.

Then the joy of down. Feet did touch the ground but not entirely in a walking sense.

Then, the short path home.

Blewbury Snowy Circuit

2010-12-21T16:09:00.010Z

A New Year's Challenge

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

After being challenged to video my bike ride today by @russwillis, I thought I'd share it with all. A very short but challenging route based on the tricky surface, jumping between lumpy soft slush and rock hard crevatous ice without visible warning, and a complete lack of snow tyres!

Anyway, here's the map. Looks very simple, doesn't it?

Well, here are some videos of me slipping and sliding around until confidence slips in!

First of all up Church Road. The first section, a few corners and people to nod to and assuage them of my good purpose. All at the death defying speed of 5mph. I tell you, modern roller coasters have nothing on me!

Followed by South Street. A few twists and turns to quicken the heart rate, but now it all seemed a bit easy. However, pride comes before a fall. Or in my case, startlement, as a Post Office van skids out of a side track just in front of me! It wasn't as near as it looks though.

Then Berry Lane. A level of mastery starts to pervade my mind. "Ha, I've got this" I thought. Then a group of girls in front slip over without the slightest provocation. Instant karma as my confidence disappears in a flash!

Then, at 1:42 and 1:50 along Westbrook Street, what you all wanted to happen to me. Only I didn't go too far from off the saddle! Of course, I had to put up with the lads early on wanting to pelt me with snowballs. They did have the decency to ask if I minded. And people worry about the youth of today.

Unfortunately, the camera ran out of battery (and I couldn't be bothered) before I got to the completely offroad bit. It looked utterly treacherous, and I did question my sanity. However, once going, it was considerable easier than any of the road sections. The lack of compacted snow meant the underlying surface offered much more grip as the tyre mould sank into the powder. Fantastic! A good speed was achievable. I'm not saying over 10mph of course, but certainly more than the 5mph the road had offered.

Chalford Canal Path

2010-11-30T13:47:00.005Z

A short route along the Golden Valley near Stroud

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

The map of the route alongside a very down at heels section of the Thames & Severn Canal.

It's possible to extend the route at both ends but it's not for too much longer and gets a bit rougher.

The canal is part of the Cotswold Canals Restoration Project with this section being led by Stroud District Council. This map seems to show it a little better than we found.

Old Neighbouring, the Chalford Climb

2010-11-30T10:57:00.009Z

A short route up the side of the Golden Valley near Stroud

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

The map of the route (on Bikely) up the hill. The climb goes up the side of the Golden Valley from the west end of Chalford. It's dominated by the lower slopes that have a sharp slope. The road, called Old Neighbourhood, twists it's way up. The path, our choice, just goes straight up the side.

A few stills from the video. The first is at the junction with the A419 at hte bottom of the hill. The roadsign on the left warns of a 12% slope, but that's by the road and we're doing the steeper path!

This is a bit beyond halfway along the path. The leaves are starting to get thicker on a slope that's hard to ride when clean. This path starts at an impossible slope and just gets steeper. For the stats freaks, it averages 15.2% (673m-312m=361m distance with 143m-88m=55m gain) with the last 46m going up 10m to give 21.7%.

Finally, out of the top of the path and everything seems easy. Apart from it's still around 7% and drags on for another 1300m.

Yes, this is nothing like climbing the Alpes or Pyrenees, but does rate for the UK.

I did Plateau de Beille in 2007, which is one of the top rated Tour climbs. It’s 1220m up in 15.6km averaging 7.8%. That rates 150 on the widely adopted climb rating scale. On the same scale this climb comes in at 73. This is pretty high given it takes me around 5% of the time of the French ride. And, if you do the path, then shoot back down by road to the bottom and do it again 9 further times (thus taking half the time as Plateau de Beille), the rating is 152!

And finally, the video. It's cut in two places for adjustment stops. At first my gears needed to be checked to get to the very bottom ratio and then the weather changed sufficiently by the top requiring some camera protection.

Cycling Videos

2010-11-23T19:17:00.008Z

A series of videos of routes in and around Cambridge, Oxfordshire, and other rural places

This series of videos were taken by a simple Canon IXUS 105 running 640x480 (and converted smaller) on a homemade lightweight wooden mount on the front of my bike. I've gone away from specialised helmet-mounted cameras as they seem very expensive and deliver very little. The foreshortening of the video pictures does make this series seem a little racy in sections. I was not dangerous at any time, despite the view!

This blog was put together with a few aims in mind.

To encourage cycling, taking town cyclists out into the lovely country around and getting new cyclists on their bikes
To show easier ways to handle certain junctions
To highlight good and poor road layout and design
To highlight good and poor behaviour by (other!) road users

Sometimes I do get on my high horse about some aspects of poor behaviour. I think all I'd like to say is that it's a adenaline buzz usually, caused by feeling very vunerable next to anything between 1 and 10 tons of metal.

I want more people to get out on their bikes to challenge that kind of behaviour. It's been shown that the more bikes on the road leads to less accidents due to more familarity.

I cannot emphasise enough that despite some ranting and rolling, there's nothing better than getting out on your bike and the joys of the cycling and being out in the countryside far, far outweigh the perceived dangers. This blog can help people to find the right way to reduce the sometimes scary moments and good ways of avoiding them completely.

I have tri-bars (yes, I'm that fast!) which give me a nice mount position.

I've fashioned a wooden mount for the Canon Ixus camera. It does need the odd tweak to keep the camera steady, although road noise coming up the frame is a problem.

And this is how the screw mounting works.

Wenhaston, Bramfield, Sibton Green, Warpole, Halesworth

2010-11-10T18:03:00.020Z

A short route round Coastal Suffolk

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

The map of the route.

The Route sectioned into Videos.
Wenhaston to Bramfield
- The Street
- Hall Road
- Blackheath Road
- Bramfield Road
- Thorington Road
- Pitman's Grove
- Bridge Street
Bramfield to Sibton Green
- The Street
- Sibton Green
Sibton Green to East Warpole
- (unnamed lane)
- Warpole Road
- (unnamed lane)
East Warpole to Halesworth
- Halesworth Road
- Warpole Road
- London Road
Halesworth to Mells Lane
- London Road
- Bramfield Road
Some of Mells Lane
- Mells Lane
- Heath Road (unvideoed)
- Back Road (unvideoed)

Wenhaston to Bramfield.

A steady section of uphill through Wenhaston leading past the village hall and school and then a nice 25mph descent past The Star pub before turning onto Blackheath Road and past Wootons. The heath has got a couple of small hills just to get the blood pumping before turning left to cross a stream tributary of the river Blyth. This is where cyclists notice the sand, which has been drained by rain water into one place. It's sometimes piled up so high that cycling is really awkward. Then turn up and over the hill (ish) to Bramfield. Alomst a 30mph descent into the village and a turn left onto the main A road.

Bramfield to Sibton Green.

The A144 is possibly the busiest section of this route. Off it quickly and up the hill (ish) to the railway and past Bridge Farm. A steady pace all the way gently up to White Post Farm in Sibton Green.

Sibton Green to East Warpole.

Turning right towards Warpole joins National Cycle Route One! Yep, the middle of nowhere has this main cycle route in it. The route of this cycle-route is best described as "interesting". It's clearly not designed for getting from one point ot another but to swirl around the interesting and quiet places of this area. Hmmm. Anyway, after crossing Warpole Road, a nice downhill section to the B road into Halesworth.

East Warpole to Halesworth.

After joining the B road into Halesworth, the National Cycle Route wanders off to the left to do a nice loop to Cookley Grange before coming back to this route in Halesworth. And, yes, this section of B road is possbiyl also the busiest on this route. It's quickly over and Halesworth looms. The road surface just into town is fantastically smooth, and needs to be as downhill to the Co-op can almost reach 30mph before whipping into the garage for a newspaper.

Halesworth to Mells Lane.

Back out of the Co-op garage and up the hill (ish) out of town. Back onto the A144 to get out of Halesworth. This is where one or two motor vehicles seem to do silly things. Regularly on this section I will get up to, but not exceed, 30mph. Despite being a 30mph limit I've regularly been overtaken, even taking into consideration the turns onto the road adn number of houses close by.

Some of Mells Lane.

And Mells Lane is a nice, back route all the way to Wenhaston. Occasional tractors and locals, and the very odd lorry, as seen towards the end, going to the gravel pit. I managed to run out of camera battery, so didn't get it all.

Cambridge, Coton, Madingley, Comberton, Barton, Granchester, Trumpington, Shelford Ride

2010-10-21T20:47:00.007+01:00

A short route round west Cambridge

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

The route in Bikely is here.

Hills Road, Brooklands Avenue, Trumpington Street, Fen Causeway, Queens Road, Cycleway, Adams Road.

Adams Road Cycle Path to Coton.

Coton to Madingley Road A428 Junction.

Madingley Road to Madingley.

Madingley to A428 and Comberton Road.

Comberton Road to Comberton.

Comberton to M11 J12.

M11 J12 to Granchester and Trumpington.

Trumpington to Brooklands Avenue.

New Coe Fen Cyclepath.

Coe Fen Cyclepath and Brooklands Avenue.

Cherry Hinton, Fulbourn, Worsted Street, Magogs, Stapleford, Shelford, Addenbrookes

2010-10-21T15:42:00.008+01:00

A short route round south Cambridge

This series of videos were taken mid-afternoon in mid October by a simple Canon IXUS 105 running 640x480 (and converted smaller) on a homemade mount on the front of my bike. I've gone away from specialised helmet-mounted cameras as they seem very expensive and deliver very little. The foreshortening of the video pictures does make this series seem a little racy in some sections. I was not dangerous at any time, despite the view!

Hills Road to Cherry Hinton.

Cherry Hinton to Fulbourn.

Fulbourn to Worsted Street.

Worsted Street to Magogs.

Magogs on A1303.

Magogs to Stapleford.

Stapleford to Shelford.

Addenbrookes Cycle Path BRCA2.

Addenbrookes Cycle Path to Hills Road.

Hills Road including Railway Bridge.

Round Wenhaston

2010-10-20T01:29:00.003+01:00

A short route round the Village

This series of videos were taken mid-afternoon in mid October by a simple Canon IXUS 105 running 640x480 (and converted smaller) on a homemade mount on the front of my bike. I've gone away from specialised helmet-mounted cameras as they seem very expensive and deliver very little. The foreshortening of the video pictures does make this series seem a little racy in some sections. I was not dangerous at any time, despite the view!

Wenhaston to Queens Head.

Queens Head Look Around.

Queens Head to Heath Farm.

Over Heath to Wenhaston.

Worsted Street, Hildersham, Babraham, Stapleford, Shelford Route

2010-10-18T22:03:00.005+01:00

A short route round South Cambridgeshire

This series of videos were taken mid-afternoon in mid October by a simple Canon IXUS 105 running 640x480 (and converted smaller) on a homemade mount on the front of my bike. I've gone away from specialised helmet-mounted cameras as they seem very expensive and deliver very little. The foreshortening of the video pictures does make this series seem a little racy in the city sections. I was not dangerous at any time, despite the view!

Hills Road past Addenbrookes.

Worts Causeway Hill.

Worsted Street from Wandlebury to Copley Hill.

Worsted Street from Copley Hill to A11.

Worsted Street from A11 to Hildersham Path.

Hildersham Path.

Hildersham to Abington.

Abington to Babraham Path.

Babraham Path.

Rowley Lane from Babraham to Stapleford.

Cambridge, Coton, Granchester, Trumpington, Shelford Ride

2010-10-07T15:40:00.035+01:00

A short route round West Cambridge

A technical and emotional note about the reasoning behind these blogs.

The map of the full route (on Bikely) through the outskirts and villages just to the west and south of Cambridge. The view from this route will change a lot over the next few years with all the developments in this area. The West Cambridge development, the southern hospital access road, and Hills Road Bridge improvements should all make for a better cycling experience. Let's see if it delivers!

The Route sectioned into Videos.
Hills Road to the West Cambridge Cycle Path
- Brooklands Avenue
- Trumpington Street
- Silver Street
- Sedgewick Avenue
- Grange Road
- Adam Road
The West Cambridge Cycle Path to Coton.
- West Cambridge Cycle Path
- The Footpath
Coton to M11 J12.
- Brook Lane
- Granchester Road
- Barton Road Roundabout
M11 J12 to River Cam.
- Barton Road Roundabout
- Coton Road
- High Street
- Mill Lane
River Cam to Trumpington Crossing.
- Granchester Road
- Maris Lane
- High Street
Trumpington Crossing to Addenbrookes Cycle Path, Shelford.
- High Street
- Shelford Road
- Cambridge Road
- Granham's Road
Addenbrookes Cycle Path to Addenbrookes Roundabout.
- Addenbrookes Cycle Path
- Robinson Way
Addenbrookes Roundabout up to and over Hills Road Bridge.
- Robinson Way
- Hills Road

Hills Road to the West Cambridge Cycle Path.

With the work going on Hills Road Bridge, the turn down into Brooklands Avenue is a might awkward, and impossible by car. I'm not sure the cycle path comes all the way up Brooklands Avenue to the junction, but given there's nowhere to go if you are cycling up it, there really isn't anything to do but assume its okay. However, at this time of day, minimal use of it is advised as there are far too many pedestrians and side entrances to make it a reasonable cycle path.

At the end of Brooklands Avenue turning right into Trumpington Street means crossing a lane. I always find it slightly amusing how many cars overtake just before the lights only to pull up and get passed by my smaller bike. Again, a lot of people do the manoeuvre up to lights, I'm not sure how properly legal it is.

The offroad path across the Coe Fen is being rebuilt much bigger. It's been quite a time, but it's an excellent upgrade! Unfortunately, the only way round that makes any sense is to stick to the road for now. This brings up the first irk of the ride.

At 2:34 into the video, a Sainsbury's delivery van parked in the cyclepath, despite there being plenty of space to park elsewhere. Registration CE60 ORH at 13:35 on Thursday 7th October. Does Sainsbury's support this action? The danger is quite clear as a driving instructor passes me quite close as I'm having to pull out. And I do look before making the move, as with all other moves.

Now, it's not just Sainbury's van drivers that do this. Tesco's have also been spotted. Although I do find that Waitrose/Ocado seem to behave like they know that cyclists are also their customers.

Further along crossing the mini-roundabouts into town is awkward again. A lot of traffic is turning left here, and the cycle path just disappears depositing cyclists into a complex junction. At my speed, around 15-20mph, it's better to mingle with traffic as they are not doing anything too different. Even so the amount of traffic that simply passes and turns left across me at this junction is frightening. I spot the next car turning in front of me hesitating so I jump through the junction quickly. I was ready to stop if he'd had moved, but luckily I didn't get to lose all my kinetic energy.

Central Trumpington Street has it's own joys. Although starting off wide, it quickly narrows. It is also the only one of two way cars can get into the central car park, so can be quite busy. Lots of stopping and starting to pass bikes and I end up in the back end of a 4x4. The Fitzwilliam museum on the left is a nice distraction on less busy days. And the Loch Fyne restaurant on the right is fun at night too! Towards the end, pretty much all cars turn right to the car park, so some judicious moves on the side of the road are appropriate. Threading the needle between the 8 inch deep gutter and the cars looks a lot more dangerous than it actually is. At least there are no pedestrians right at the side of the road! Finally the almost traffic free Silver Street!

Heading into the student areas means a lot more cyclists and some moving reasonably quickly. Although central Cambridge is quite nice, the suburbs do have a more leafy feel. Grange Road is one of those nicer areas, although there seems to be a big increase in the amount of parking now available. Finally, waiting at the turn to go up Adams Road to the West Cambridge Cycle Path seems a little annoying. A good place for a left turn cycle slipway to avoid the lights.

The West Cambridge Cycle Path to Coton.

The entrance to the West Cambridge cycle path is almost certainly deliberately staggered to stop cyclists shooting out into the middle of a road and going under a passing car. This sounds very sensible, but actually doesn't really do anything apart from potentially putting riders going in opposite direction against each other.

After a steady drag (about a 1 metre increase in height over 100 metres, arrrgggg, so hard!) the last thing a cyclist travelling from Adams Road into the path wants to do is lose that hard-fought speed by looping around a frankly irritating wooden pillar. As you see with me, a shortcut allows the retention of that speed however putting me right in the path of oncoming cyclists. Although this is a rare event, it's not as rare as the chances of any kind of serious accident happening here.

The road is on a raised section, on a sharp, blind corner. Most cars are doing less than 10mph and when I say most, I'm painfully aware that this is around 30 or so cars an hour. Cyclists coming onto the road can see very clearly along one direction and reasonably clearly the other. The chances of them flying under a rare, slow moving car is about as good as seeing pigs fly. This is a classic example of an overplanned junction, with an eye on potential (albeit incredibly unlikely) lawsuits rather than helping cyclists have a good overall experience. This awkwardness is heightened by the complicated route ensuring you loose sight of any potential hazards whilst coming on and off the path. Why, oh, why!

Once on the path, the experience rapidly changes to one of delight. It is a joy to ride down a wide, cleverly separated path, taking you out of the leavy suburbs into the first fields of the country. The width of the path allows for cyclists to be going in both directions easily and for overtaking of slightly slower pedallers without interruption, ideal! Along with the wide cycle path, the cleverly raised footpath next to it naturally draws pedestrians out of the way without shouting, glaring, obstruficating, officious signage. It's a shame they didn't learn that one for the new Coe Fen cyclepath, a really awkward clash between cyclists and pedestrians could have enhanced that recent development so much.

The surface is gloriously smooth, allowing a good speed even into the prevailing westerly. However, despite the space and clear visibility, you still have to keep your wits abotu you when riding. At 1:22 into the video, this is ably demonstrated. A cyclist pulls into the middle of the path and signals to turn right. A the last moment he decides not to take this route and starts to pull back into the path that I'm rapidly approaching. Only a quick back glance allows us both the space to not collide.

I've thought about this since and remember the split second decision I made to keep going through which was more based on the notion that it was better to quickly get through the gap before it closed. The alternative of slamming on the anchors and still have a high likelyhood of sliding into the other cyclist who would have closed the gap by then seemed worse. This kind of thing happens in cars all the time, often with tooting of horns and raised tempers. The great benefit about bikes is that you can hear what's going on around you not just see what's in front of you.

The path narrows as it eascapes the clutches of the west Cambridge development. In years to come this won't happen for a good while longer. The expansion of the west Cambridge development will take away these fields. Although it's a shame in a way, it's also exciting to see Cambridge growing and enabling new scientific discovery to take place.

The path takes a couple of slightly unsighted corners round some small copse (I did see a black squirrel here once!) and heads towards the joys of the M11. The bridge gives a chance for a little harder work, maybe a jump out of the saddle to retain some momentum. Again, maybe a small moan about the lack of visibility just at a time when a cyclist really doesn't want to apply the brakes. This is true for the turn up onto the bridge as well as the turn away from the bridge at the bottom. Especially as during autumn there is this horrible build up of slippery leaves. Not sure there's too much that can be done about that though!

The last part of the path enjoys leavy shade (excellent in summer!) and comes out into Coton at the bottom of the green and cricket square.

Coton to M11 J12.

Turning left onto the road towards Granchester is a small relief as it starts dropping slightly allowing an increase of speed with less effort. Unfortunately, this joy is shared by car drivers who see the lack of houses as a good reason to increase their speed above the 30mph limit. Along these twisting narrow roads this seems a little scary to any cyclists and/or pedestrians. Once out of the trees, visibility improves significantly and the jumpiness subsides.

The road has been roughly resurfaced which brings me onto another of my general gripes about road maintenance. If you look carefully at the road about 50cm from the verge you can see that it is intermittently broken up. Sometimes this is slightly filled by a rough resurface, sometimes not.

The issue from a cyclists point of view is that you can't see when this happens after a rough resurface. Before the resurface it would have been very clear where the problems lay. So, the resurfacing process has evened out the tarmac for cars but made it a hazard for cyclists. Hmm, methinks that's not the best result. My action is to cycle outside this area, from about 75cm to 1m off the verge. And, yes, you've guessed it, this really irritates drivers! So, who's won?
Nobody.

The road heads south east which usually makes it wind-neutral. When it's not, boy, do you feel it! The M11 bridge heightens that considerably putting you another 10 metres into whatever wind is doing. Then the joy of descending the bridge into two alarming dangers: M11 exiting traffic and a roundabout that isn't for cyclists.

Taking those in order, Although there is no demonstration of it on this clip, I've had a number of drivers coming off the M11 pull out in front of me from the left rather too close. Again, it's drivers assuming that because I'm a bike, I must be doing 10mph and they have plenty of space. So, as I jam on my brakes and scream down from my 30mph to avoid pancaking into the back of their car/van/lorry, I'd like to reflect on the fact that they cannot actually go any faster than I am at time point with the impending roundabout.

The roundabout is designed for motor vehicles, with motor vehicles in mind, and carful consideration is placed to ensure anything that isn't a motor vehicle is sent away, the long way, the hard way, the "we faurt in yoore gineral directeeshun" way round.

Again, this is the "we must get cyclists safe, whatever the cost" process, where the cost is usually the cyclists comfort and ease of ride, not anything that might impinge upon those wonderful petrol engines. the one cycle route put in takes cyclists from town simply directly out of town. It takes them the long way round the junction ensuring that they have to stop for the darling gas-guzzlers at every point.

This might be fine, apart from the direction I'm going get's nothing at all! In some respects, this is BETTER! So, I mingle with traffic. I actually like this. It heightens your sense of life, gives you all kinds of flash moments, and ensures that I keep pedalling to maintain my speed throughout the experience so that I might travel at the same speed as surrounding lumps of between one and thirty ton metal. I can see that not everyone will like this.

M11 J12 to River Cam.

Ah, you say, now you're off the nasty roads and heading towards the tranquility of that worldly famous village of Granchester. Well, disallusionment follows. This next section of road is one of the nastiest bits I know. It's actually quite a nice area but the cars using it as a rat run ruin everything. Quite why it's used as a rat run is beyond me. The sections within Granchester and Trumpington are slow and have low priority at junctions. Surely the nearby M11 is much quicker?

This first section of road is very straight and will allow two cars to pass each other safely. This means that cars doing 60mph along here is not unexpected. I would perfectly well expect this and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. It's that if there is anything else on the road there is nothing like enough space. I have regularly been passed by cars doing 60mph within a few inches of my handlebars. At this speed, even a few feet away is enough for the airflow to knock my direction, so the really close ones get near to knocking me off completely.

It's not so different from this spot, where I had a really close call. Luckily, nothing has happened so far. But it's one of the roads I dread. I'm a fairly competent, strong cyclist. I can't think of how anyone who's a bit less confident would handle this bombardment. It's no surprise that despite being a very useful route very few people cycle along here. It's hardly a good advert to encourage people making short journeys to get on a bike rather than use the car.

The final fun with this section is a large manhole cover on a bend just before the village of Granchester. It appears at around 2:43 in the clip. Going anywhere apart from around the outside of it is a really rough ride, even on a mountain bike. Unfortunately, this does put you at odds with anything overtaking. Not everyone realises that as cyclists you have the right to avoid poor road surfaces and seems to assume that the space that all bikes take up is within 20cm of the verge. Maybe this is a Cambridge thing, where traffic is so used to having cyclists on the inside and expects that's where they stay at all times.

Anyway, Granchester arrives and is a fairly pleasant place. Past central green, Green Man pub, and the church then down the hill swinging to the left and to the right until passing one reach of the river Cam that runs through the mill. This is the highest point above Cambridge to which one can punt. It's a lovely pool with open banks, willow trees, and sculpture of a horse. In late spring you'll see a swan's nest with several cygnets. Across the plain to the main reach of the Cam that leads up to Byron's Pool.

River Cam to Trumpington Crossing.

Trumpington Crossing to Addenbrookes Cycle Path, Shelford.

Addenbrookes Cycle Path to Addenbrookes Roundabout.

Addenbrookes Roundabout up to and over Hills Road Bridge.

Some Pictures Taken Along the Way

2010-07-27T19:09:00.006+01:00

A photojourney

I have several hundred photos, far too many for here. Here's a few.

The rural scene at our first night hotel and restaurant.

The view up valley from our campsite at Port de Pailheres.

The view down valley from our campsite at Port de Pailheres after the fog cleared.

The begining of the caravanne.

The surprise rider, Rafael Valls Ferri.

Carlos Sastre cycles past Lorna

Carlos Sastre on TV on Port de Pailheres with Lorna in Turquoise in the middle of the shot.

A few more riders with the Polka Dot, Chartreau.

The view from just behind our tent on Col de Portet d'Aspet.

A butterfly just behind our tent.

The French entertainment. He didn't stop for 5 hours. The loved him.

The view down the valley towards Portet d'Aspet.

Voeckler in the first set of riders over Portet d'Aspet.

Schleck, in yellow, over Portet d'Aspet.

And the sprinters, with Mark Cavendish, bring up the rear.

Tommy Voeckler's win in Luchon on the TV coverage.

And our view of the same.

Andy Schleck trying to limit his losses into Luchon after the chain debacle.

A wine shop in Luchon, with a bike in the window?

Bradley Wiggins cycles past the Shack Attack tour bus at Luchon start.

Mark Cavendish has a mechanical at the start in Luchon.

Thor Hushovd on his way to the start at Luchon.

Eric Zabel, 6 times green jersey winner and Mark Cavendish coach, at Luchon start.

Christian Prudhomme, the organiser of the Tour de France, at Luchon start.

A butterfly in the hills near Port de Bales.

Another butterfly.

Lance Armstrong's escape group going into Pau.

That arrow is mine.

Our shelter when the rain appeared.

The view down the La Vallee d'Ossau above the clouds.

Another butterfly.

Our shelter at the col de Soulor, at 1540m above see level.

The 3 amigos, parked together as they always are.

Contador, in yellow, with Voerckler behind.

Lance Armstrong comes past with George Hincapie.

TV Coverage of Col de Soulor with my car (green Saab with yellow arrow) on left.

TV Coverage of Col de Soulor me (grey lump) and Lorna (white hat back from road) on left.

TV Coverage of Col de Soulor me (grey lump) on right.

Mark Cavendish's bike.

Mark Cavendish's bike detail.

Mark Cavendish.

Mark Cavendish's detail.

Sky management.

The Tour de France 2010 - My View of the Pyrenees

2010-07-27T18:57:00.004+01:00

A trip through the Pyrenees following a bike race

And this time in some kind of chronological order...

And just for a final say, Some Pictures Taken Along Way.

Well, the Vuelta d'Espana starts soon....

The Final Curtain

2010-07-27T18:49:00.002+01:00

Well the last 48 hours of the trip were not uneventful but just a blur of, mostly motorway. There was a brief flash when an unmarked police car caught me at over 130km/h.

We did see the race at the begining of Salies de Bearn. I did get some up close photos of Cav's bike as well as Cav himself. We did camp by the side of the Loire, but not in the usual place.

It's all over, the final curtain. However, I've brought loads of photos to add to the play.

And Now, the Time is Near

2010-07-22T21:02:00.001+01:00

Thusday Afternoon

The drenchitude continued unabated. Timw and again the passing French had many smiles but mostly wishing us well.

My adaptation to this hard weather is to eat and do loads. But there's only so much walking to the Col you can do before the "I've seen that sausage stall" and "I've seen that cheese stall" becomes an irritating nag in your head. And the rain ensured that anything off road was verboten.

As the morning wore on, and Lorna got out of bed, the rain slowed. Then it sped up again as if to say "Oh, what was I thinking, this is fun". The caravanne was due at 2pm but we had plenty of early callers. Mainly as so few hardy souls had braved it onto bear mountain that they had 3 people to sell to instead of 300. Lots of youngsters bounded out of vans to wish us well, ask where we were from and then try to sell us a cape or parapluie. So much time so little people to sell to!

And so it was with the caravanne. Where we'd been screaming for stuff a mere wave got us covered in delights. Bar one or two vehicles, that were clearly shut for bad weather.

After the caravanne wew dropped camp, in about 20 seconds. Yet another Rad & Lorna team production of efficiency. Again, this brought on onlookers. Especially when the car almost drove onto the route. Zut Alors!

Whilst all this had occured a Rabobank team car appeared next to us, rapidly followed by a Omega Pharma Lotto. This were handing out bidons and gillets for the descent. We sidled up, like everyone else to see what was in them. Rabobank were doing warm bidons, something I've not heard of before. One very giggly girl eventually stumped up the courage and asked for one. After a quick count up, she got a bidon and a couple of caps carefully sneaked out the back without the hoards seeing. From there on blank refusals all round.

The race appeared. A few stragglers trying to push on up front, then the yellow jersey bunch full of all the main contenders, except Sastre, who appeared about 20 seconds earlier. Weird huh? I spotted and shouted at a load of favourites. Then the wait and more stragglers, of the usual kind this time.

Finally, the sprinters bunch. Oh, did they look like this was enjoyment personified, not. Looking back at my photos, I see that Cav was staring at me all the way past. Melancholy all over his face. Probably thinking "who is this weirdo shouting my name on yet another climb".

Lorna came into her full. The bidon guys were wrapping up so she fluttered her lashes at the Omega Pharma Lotto guy, camped it up big stylee, and begged for a spare bidon. He, quite overawed by the display motioned her in and slipped something out of his pocket. Lorna came gallumphing back with a X bidon, the isotonic drink. So, Nick, labs are open, we need to find out what it is!

Fin de Course, a few more cars and we were off down the mountain. The journey to our designated campsite, chosen because we knew they had a TV in the Accueil and would be watching the race, was uneventful. A few delightful side roads, the odd farmhouse, an unweildy caravan ahead, but nothing really very reportful.

So, we site on the banks of the Ossau in full flood after the past few days. I reckon I saw a kingfisher just a little while back. Good luck in this muddy torrent! Tomorrow night we hope to be half of France away, on the banks of the Loire. Another trip gets closer to the end and it's almost time to bid you adieu. Well, unless any of the other slightly stiff drivel on my blog is of interest! Yes, it's mostly cycling. No, I don't. I will if you think it's legal. I haven't ever.