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Friday 30 August 2013

My @vmcyclone review in @cyclingweekly

It's always pleasing when you get a bit of coverage in the media. Even more so when your words are attributed to you! From this week's Cycling Weekly.


Wednesday 28 August 2013

Bike quote No 3 - HG Wells

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the human race." HG Wells



Tuesday 27 August 2013

Politics? On yer bike!

Next Monday a group of (mainly) upper-middle class white men in their late 60s will haul their well fed bulks into a room and try shape the future of cycling policy in the UK. Yes, Monday 2nd September Parliament will debate whether it will support the content of the APPCG's 'Get Britain Cycling' report.
The report - as previously blogged about here - sets target of getting 25 per cent of all journeys undertaken in the UK completed on bikes by 2050 - the year rather than ten to nine.
So what happens when the debate receives resounding backing of Parliament? Are we then freewheeling toward a cycling utopia in the next 35 years?
Well, my prediction is that we're not, no.



There debate will happen and people will say things about cycling and how its great. Patrick McLoughlin will then explain how much funding the government is putting into cycling and how that'll deliver a step change in cycling provision in the country for generations to come. If he actually uses these words I win £5.
In reality, there wont be any more money and the battle is still very much on to reach this conservative target.
So, keep fighting comrades, the roads are ours to shape!

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Knock, knock, knockin'...

It's been about a decade since it last happened but last night on my relatively innocuous ride home I managed to get the knock and it was a pretty awful experience let me tell you.
The knock - aka the bonk or hitting the wall if you're a joggist - is caused when you use up your stores of glycogen in your muscles and liver and begin the process of burning sugar in your blood to fuel your ride. This depletes pretty quickly leaving you in a semi-hallucinatory jellified state dreaming of home.
Froome mid-knock dans le tour
My ride started in good style climbing up out of Uppermill and to the summit of Huddersfield Road. It was here that it both literally and metaphorically went down hill.
Weak doesn't event come into it as I freewheeled down to the shop in Middlebrook and re-fueled with a can of pop and a double-decker. I eventually came round enough to get back on and struggle the final 16 miles home.
It was slow going and even managed to get dropped by some hipster guy on a sit-up-and-beg pushing the pedals with the arches of his feet - grim.
I arrived home white as a sheet and quivering.
The moral of the story? Eat breakfast and don't try a fuel your ride on grapes alone.
Ride safe.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Why the Fallowfield Loop flatters to deceive

The beloved 'Old Faithful' of off road cycling in Manchester - the Fallowfield Loop - has loads going for it as a bike / horse / jogging / dog walking route. The main attractions are of course that it's traffic free and for the most part is soundly surfaced.
It's pretty quiet, isn't covered in broken glass as you might expect and seems to be mostly populated by reasonable people.
But why oh why I ask you did the people responsible for it punctuate its entire length with a series of ever more elaborate barriers which serve no purpose other than to force cyclists to stop, get off, swear and blow their cheeks out. Oh, they also provide blog material too! I think there are about 16 of them in total.
I initially thought that they were there to stop the local scamps driving 'souvenired' cars and motorbike along. But, in a blinding flash of logic, it struck me that, if this were the case, then the barriers would be at the path entry points - on the side  - not blocking the path.
Another really annoying element is that they are all different. I usually celebrate difference and shun uniformity but its like they have been designed to specifically make it trickier for riders to get to the other end.
The worst protagonist is about 2/3 of the way along - travelling east - just before Gorton Cemetery.

As you can see in this picture, it's a reet pain for cyclists but its anatomy has changed a bit recently. The local scamps had managed to remove the top bar of this hilarious obstacle making it bunny hoppable. It was bliss for about eight weeks until some guys with an arc welder removed the bottom one and raised it back up to the old height - and painted it yellow.
If there is a more un-cycling friendly barrier on a cycling path anywhere on the planet then I don't want to know about it. Shite.
The sooner these things go the better for everyone...
Ride safe

Friday 16 August 2013

Cycling quote No2: Albert Einstein




"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."



Thursday 15 August 2013

Why would anybody cheat @strava ?

Couple of things have caught my eye relating to Strava recently. First off is this amazing image spotted on the cadenced tumblr blog and taken from the London Cycling Campaign page. It shows all the strava recordings over the 20 and 21 June including a load of people doing the Dunwich Dynamo night ride. On the animated version - see links - you can see the recorded activity pulse as people get up and go on their bikes. You can also spot some hardy souls doing a night ride in Shropshire somewhere - nice.

Strava: painting the country blue
But away from the beauty, there's been a lot said recently about cheating on strava. Yes, boosting your own recorded times via a website called digital EPO. Yes, digital EPO.
The idea is that you upload your route and then tweak the speed upwards until you're happy or travelling at the speed of sound - whichever happens first.
I sometimes lose my faith in humanity - most often when you see 'one life-live it' stickers in Land Rovers - and this is one of those times also. I mean, what is the point? What? Who in their right mind would bother cheating on Strava? OK, maybe for a laugh or to annoy somebody, like once, but jeez, please tell me that it aint common practice to Armstrong strava.
You can read a guide of how to spot tampered strava results here if you like.
I'm going to oil my chain.
Ride safe

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Is cycling elitist?

I caught about ten minutes of Call You and Yours on Radio 4 yesterday lunchtime and, interestingly enough, the phone in was all about cycling. It was following on from the earlier announcement of funding for cycling in various parts of the UK.
Among the usual drivel about road tax and who pays what for what, there was an interesting exchange about how cycling in the UK has been annexed by a group of die-hard blokes wanting to get from A-B as fast as possible - I'm paraphrasing. Is this true? Or is it a load of bollocks?
Well, I'm in the latter camp to be quite honest.
Cycling has never been about one group of riders over any other in my view. It is something that people from all walks of life, of all ages and genders take part in.

Cycling is for everyone!
I was reminded of a very good example of this while walking the hound in Longford Park recently. Trafford Wheelers is an all abilities cycling club which provides various recumbent and hand bikes to disabled cyclists.
Can there be a better example of how cycling is not the preserve of one group over another? 
Want more? The Team Glow Network of women cyclists  is another fine example and if that's not enough, go have a look at the people on bikes at the supermarket or any collage.
Yes more needs to be done to get more 'normal' people on bikes but you can't just say cycling has been hijacked without expecting me to blog about it!
Ride safe.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

A nod or a wink

If you've never noticed it, look out for it - it happens all the time. When motorcyclists ride past one another on opposite sides of the road, nine times out of ten, they'll give a little nod of acknowledgement. This behavior is not exclusive to bikers, oh no. drivers of certain models of - often classic - cars will do the same as will Eddie Stobart drivers and the like.
This little nod says a whole lot more than a simple hello. It signifies that you are part of a wider group; you're in the know; part of the scene.
But us cyclists tend not to do it - at least not as a rule anyway - there's no accepted acknowledgement of others culture in cycling is there.
Being a reasonably glass half full type guy, I'm often found saying 'how do' to passers by or offering thanks to people who shuffle their crazy hounds out of my way.


But many, many don't bother and I think it's to cycling's detriment.
Maybe we don't acknowledge other cyclists because if you did, then you'd do little else - a nod to each passing rider on the Fallowfiled Loop on a summer evening would end up looking more like a semi-permanent nervous tic.
But even when there are few riders around, some people just refuse to acknowledge their role as an ambassador of the cyclists union.
There's a guy who I ride past on a daily basis who I basically rub shoulders with in absolute silence.
I thought, incorrectly as it turned out, that saying 'alright mate' would make the whole process a bit less odd. He obviously thought I was some kind of simpering idiot on day release and didn't even acknowledge my existence.
Maybe he's just ignorant, but it's weird. 
So, I think it'd be a better world if we all said hello to each other. More often. When riding. As long as its not too often cos that would get too weird.
Or maybe I'm completely out of tune with public thinking on this one?

Monday 12 August 2013

£20m funding boost for Manchester cycling

The national media are again awash today with news about funding for cycling in a number of cities including £20m for Manchester.
This is the culmination of the TfGM led campaign to secure, well, £20m from central Government to improve cycling infrastructure in the city - I blogged about it here earlier in the year.
So, now that TfGM has a few extra notes under its mattress, what are they going to do with them?


Well, the objective is to create:

"...an integrated and strategically planned network of dedicated, high-quality, newly built or enhanced cycling routes that will be largely segregated from other traffic wherever possible. These will connect employment centres, schools and leisure opportunities with each other and with the regional centre."
This means building about 56km of new lanes linking various paths of Greater Manchester to the city centre. You can read the summary document here.

All looks and sounds good on paper, we await the physical changes it will bring.

Friday 9 August 2013

Is £25,000 too much to spend on a bike?

There is of course only one answer to the above: yes. This week's edition of Cycling Weekly has a feature on 'top end' bikes including the absurdly priced item from Aston Martin. Quite why Aston Martin would make a road bike for 25 grand and then put disc brakes on it is, frankly, beyond me. But there you go.
Obviously, nobody is really going to buy one and its just a stunt: a cupid stunt at that. But, there is a serious point isn't there.
Mr Abroamovic, your bicycle is ready
I have a few people ask me for advice on what type of bike they should buy and how much they should spend. Not that my knowledge of bikes is encyclopedic but its OK.
First thing I always as is what are you going to use it for. Lots of people automatically assume they need a mountain bike for riding on tracks only to get frustrated with difficulty of riding on knobblies on the road.
The advent of the hybrid section has given loads more choice and while the technology of road bikes has increased massively, they are still essentially two triangles stuck together.
For everyday use, I always advise to spend as much as you can and think about a second hand bike to keep the cost down.
Unless you're going to get very serious with your riding there's no real need to spend over a grand on a bike in my view.
Of course, there's always the temptation and if money was no object...



Thursday 8 August 2013

Where art meets cycling

If you have any interest in cycling – and you would if you’re reading this – then you can’t help but have noticed that cycling provides inspiration for a whole range of artists. There are some very fine looking pieces out there if you know where to look. The Cycling Art blog in the list opposite is a good place to start.



Of course this is nothing really new, cycling has long been an inspiration to photographers, painters and sculptors. Think about those iconic shots from le Tour of the peleton riding through endless fields of sunflowers or there’s the Alphonse Mucha Cycles Perfecta image in the top right hand corner of this blog.


Eliza Southwood 

So this post is really just an excuse to look at some nice pictures! Enjoy.


Wednesday 7 August 2013

@mancitycouncil to roll out 20mph speed limit in most residential areas - eventually

Manchester City Council has announced that it intends to set a 20mph speed limit on all non-major residential streets in the city. To begin with it has set up three pilot areas: Miles Platting, Gorton and Hulme. This will be rolled out across the city once Eric Pickles ceases hostilities and reaches his target weight.
The city council state that:

"...we see this as an important move towards a more pleasant and safer environment for residents.  Road safety will improve as a result of reduced traffic speeds, as well as creating a safer and healthier environment for pedestrians and cyclists."

As part of the program, the council is offering community groups grants of £200 for activities which promote the benefits of quieter streets. You can read more about the pilot schemes and will shortly be able to see maps of them here


Coming to a road near you?

On the face of it this move represents a huge step forward for cycling in the city and a massive success for the 20s Plenty campaign which has beating this particular drum for a number of years.

To my mind, anything which encourages people to ride or walk and knocks over one of the key barriers to riding simply has to be a good thing. So its chapeau to the city council on this one.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Pubs, bikes and railings

The link between coffee & cake and cycling is well established and is most wonderfully celebrated at the Patisserie Cyclisme website. However, if you happen to take a ride around your locale on a dry summer evening, you may well notice that your local boozer might just look like the local bike park.
This is certainly happening round by my gaff in Chorlton, South Manchester.
I first really noticed it at The Briton's Protection in town when I used to commute home that way and the Marble in Chorlton has long been frequented by riders.
The following bars - all of which have railings in front or close by - regularly have bikes outside: Pi, Marble, Beagle and the one by the bust station which used to be called Escape.
There's no time to go into why bar owners prefer one word names here, as we're concerned with the bike bit.

So, is this something genuinely new or have people always ridden to the pub for a swift half on their way home after a hard day in the mill?
Well, of course, people drink and some of them ride bikes. But, I'm not just talking about a couple of bikes here and there. There seems to be a definite sub-culture of cycling developing which centres around riding to the pub.
So, how long will it be before we see the first cycling bar pop up complete with crank activated optics and a chain driven bottle opener?
Well, some time perhaps, but if it does come can the owner please not call it the Cross Bar?
Ride safe

Monday 5 August 2013

Incidents and accidents

It's been correctly pointed out to me that somebody getting  knocked off their bike and killed by somebody who has possibly been driving dangerously is not best described as an accident. So the previous post from today would have been more accurate if it had referred to an incident or a collision rather than an accident.
I've not edited the original so you can make your own mind up.
Ride safe

The sad flip side of cycling's popularity

Those following cycling safety campaigns and the various ding dongs between riders and various public bodies in London will know that safe cycling is a crucial element of improving rider numbers in the UK.
There is a perception that riding is very dangerous.
Riding around Manchester in the last year, I've witnessed a couple of accidents  involving cars and been involved in one which was fortunately relatively minor.
Fatal accidents seem to be few and far between which is why when it happens on your own doorstep, it is more shocking.
Sadly a 44 woman was killed on her bike on Saturday afternoon. Apparently she was hit by a car somewhere around the junction of Princess Parkway and the Mancunian Way - yes on that massive roundabout. I used to ride this route on my way to work before deciding it was just a matter of time before something bad happened there.

One of the issues with this junction is that the bike lanes lead you to it and then just stop leaving you hanging out to dry.
It's badly planned and may well of contributed to this woman's death. It's desperately sad already but if it was partly somebody trying to follow the lanes, then it' becomes rather unbearable.
We can only hope that there will be fewer accidents and keep pressing for better facilities for those on two wheels.
Nobody ever wants to see white bikes chained to railings.
Ride safe

Thursday 1 August 2013

Sportive saturation?

Im sure that Audax and CTC riders gaze in bewilderment at the sight of a thousand or so cyclists lining up to pay £30 or so to ride around on roads which you can ride on for free.
The sportive is the manifestation of cycling's most recent flowering in popularity. Back in the day, if you weren't racing or on the club run, your only option was an event with one of the aforementioned organisations - my first was the Wild Wales in the mid 90s (he said in desperate attempt to gain some street cred).
In the intervening time the sportive has taken over to such an extent that you can probably take part in one every weekend between March and November.
I dont have anything against the events of course, I just wonder how many of them are driven by commerciality and how many will exist in a few years time.
Obviously, if cycling looses momentum and ends up back where it was a few years ago, there will be fewer events and it'll be the 'Johnny come latelys' which will disappear first.
Look familiar?
Tracking what happens to both the numbers of Sportives and the number of participants over the next few years will provide a good indication of where cycling is at in the national psyche. Should be interesting to see where it goes.