A lesson kneeded

Well this bad blogger now has a bad knee. Right leg very painful yesterday and my physio tells me I've damaged a meniscus (?) in my right knee.

How have I done this damage?

By not looking after my pedal clips. They're too tight and I haven't oiled them recently, so their a bit stiff to get in and out of and so the extra twisting motion has damaged my knee.

Fortunately I'm on the mend already with hot and cold presses and daily ultrasound treatments.

So, when I regularly service my bike I'm now going to include the clips!

Bad Blogger's back and in a bad mood

Probably like many of you, I subscribe to a forum. This one is specifically for cycling instructors.

I subscribe in the hope that forum contributors will share their experiences and nuggets of wisdom and best practice.

I am clearly way too naive.

The forum seems to be populated by extremists, bigots and self-satisfied prigs barking at the moon.

If these contributors are truly representative of the cycling instructor community I am gravely concerned for the future of cycling.

Bad Blogger

I'm sorry.

It's very poor form to start a blog, do some entries and then stop. I'm a Bad Blogger and I am sorry. In my defence, it has been a very busy summer, with a Summer School for Kids in Willesborough, some community days in Stanhope, private lessons and three Age Concern Summer CTC Cycling Clubs exclusively for the over 50s. Autumn looks set to be as busy with bookings all the way through to November.

The Age Concern CTC Summer Cycling Clubs project has been very special. We did all the recruitment work which included talking to the press, radio interview, emails, listings and posters. We had a great response and we got people coming along with very different levels of cycling from the very experienced through to complete beginners. Most people though were returning to cycling, some of whom had not been on a bicycle since childhood. It has been so rewarding to work with these cyclists, getting them back on their bikes and riding with confidence. Here's a video of the club in Maidstone.

There's lots happening over the next few weeks and I will endeavour to be a Good Blogger!

Telegraph promotes cycling

As Bike Week gets underway here in the UK, The Daily Telegraph, one of the most popular broadsheet newspapers, is promoting cycling.

Whilst I'm not aligned with the paper's political views, at least they are doing something positive to help get more people cycling. They kicked off their campaign yesterday with a wonderfully positive article about cycling including this paean to cycling from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”

Dave Smith's Road Positioning Advice

Had a great day cycling from Canterbury to Reculver and back providing mobile Dr Bike and First Aid support to the ride in aid of the Christchurch University St Gregory Development Project. I noticed that on the few occasions when we were on the road, most of the cyclists positioned themselves firmly against the far left side of the lane right up against the curb. Years of cycling proficiency has resulted in many experienced cyclists thinking this is a safe position. 

When we got back to Canterbury I popped into Waterstones to buy a book and have tea and cake. Whilst sipping my tea I noticed a book on the display shelves by Dave Smith called Cycling for Fitness. Flicking through it I found a section on safe road cycling which kicked off with a quote from the Highway Code along the lines of "always cycle as far left as possible". I've checked my new copy of the Code and thankfully it does not give the same advice. 

Dave Smith's book was originally published in 2001, which was a while ago, but Cyclecraft was first published by TSO in 1997. 

Dave Smith then goes on to advise cyclists to position themselves on the left of Giveway lines at T Junctions to turn left and on the right of Giveway lines to turn right. Now in my book, that's downright dangerous and if this book is popular a new edition should be published correcting this dreadful advice. 

Just to clarify this, when you are approaching a T junction on a minor road, you should take control of the lane, that means moving to the centre of your lane, then when you get to the Giveway lines you should be in the middle of the Giveway lines whether you are turning left or right. To do this safely and effectively you should be looking all around you throughout the manoeuvre and signalling if there is a driver there to tell. If it is a wide lane or junction then you should move slightly to the left or right of the middle of the Giveway lines depending on which direction you intend to go.

Given Dave Smith's credentials as an Olympic sports coach I'm sure the rest of the book is spot on.

Mark Beaumont

Why isn't Mark Beaumont  a household name?

This man achieved the most incredible feat. He cycled around the world, that's 18,296 miles, in 194 days 17 hours. Truly remarkable.

Well, this week his book, "The Man Who Cycled The World"  was launched at Waterstones in London. 

Go buy the book. 

If you can't make it to your local book shop here's a link to Amazon 

Murderous Maidstone

Maidstone has some great examples of down right dangerous cycling facilities. As well as that old chestnut the Advanced Stop Box with the undertaking cycle lane, there was a narrow strip and a roundabout lane.

Let me explain.

The Advance Stop Box is fine if the cyclist is at the front of the queue of traffic at the lights already. However, if cyclists have to use the short cycle lane feed, this encourages them to move to the curb and creep down the inside of the waiting traffic. This means that cyclists:

• Will be undertaking traffic
  
• Are in a dangerous position if the lights change whilst in the cycle lane feed
  
• Are in danger of being doored by exiting passengers
  
• Can frustrate other road users
  

The Strip

This cycle lane that has been installed on Sandling Road in Maidstone, as pictured here, shoves cyclists right into the gutter with the detritus, the metal drain covers and the deteriorating road surface. If cyclists follow this lane, they increase their risk of injury due to broken and slippery drain covers, wet and slippery painted lines, potholes, glass and metal fragments as well as pedestrians inadvertently walking into their path.

Cyclists should always cycle at least one step away from the curb. This cycle lane is ridiculously narrow. The recommended width of a cycle lane is 2.5m. This one is barely the width of my handlebars (68cm). In fact, taking one step away from the curb you end up right on the dashed line that denotes the outside edge of the cycle lane. 

Roundabout Threat

Which brings us to the last and most murderous cycle lane recently seen in Maidstone.

This cycle facility has been created at a roundabout on the intersection of Sandling Road and Stacey Street. It not only encourages cyclists to the curbside when they should be taking control by moving to the middle of the lane, it also disregards all the normal roundabout rules as set out in the Highway Code and puts cyclists in serious danger.

This cycle lane, as you can see in the picture, shoves the cyclist right against the entry and exit points of the roundabout where they will be most vulnerable to being hit by other vehicles. It reduces cyclists visibility and makes them less visible. This is aggravated by the beautification of the roundabout with high bushes.

So what can be done?

Well here's a list to start with:

1. Remove all the rubbish cycling facilities - you know where they are, complain!
   
2. Ensure that future cycling facilities work with the National Standards for Cycle Training
3. No highways planner should be allowed to create anything for cyclists without reading this paper first
4. Get more people cycle trained
5. Get all road users to understand that cyclists should and have a right to vehicular cycling, integrating with traffic rather than keeping away from it

Danger! Road Ahead!

I was talking to a very experienced cyclist the other day who said "the roads are dangerous". This struck me as quite alarming. Roads are busy. Some drivers do behave badly. However, good cycling dramatically reduces most dangers. There are a number of things cyclists should be doing:

• Cycling a sensible distance away from the curb (as previously posted)
• Taking control of the lane at critical points such as approaching junctions and road narrowings
• Being aware of everything around you, especially looking behind and getting the attention of the following driver
• Planning early and telling other road users what you're about to do
• Cycling at a sensible speed - not too fast and not too slow
• Ensuring your bicycle is in good nick

This isn't rocket science but few cyclists I see out and about are doing these things. Because bikes are affordable and easy to use, we just get on them and ride. Then we whinge about other road users and complain that roads aren't safe and this leads to pressure to create cycling facilities many of which are really dangerous for cyclists. (more on that later!)

The new initiative from CTC, Safety In Numbers is a great idea. The order of the actions seems to be wrong:

1. Encourage safer driving
   
2. Improve the road environment and make it more welcoming for cyclists
   
3. Fund schemes that promote cycling positively and improve confidence
   

Let's concentrate on improving cyclists' skills first not last! The infrastructure's already in place to do this. There are qualified instructors throughout the UK. We have the National Standards and Bikeability. At the same time, let's crackdown on rubbish cycling! (this includes the boy racers who insist on cycling everywhere at break neck speed whatever the situation)  

The roads are not dangerous if we know how to cycle on them properly. So, get more people on their bikes by giving them the training that will make them more confident and safer.

Two Tings

It's two years since British Waterways launched their safety campaign on their towpaths called Two Tings.

Just recently we've been doing lots of cycle training in Ashford which is a Sustrans Bike It location. To encourage more cycling quite a few miles of cycle paths have been created. Many of these paths are shared spaces with pedestrians. We recommend that our trainees follow the same sort of code as the Two Tings:

Ring with Two Tings 

• Use a bell, giving Two Tings when approaching pedestrians. Ringing with Two Tings is not an order to pedestrians to get out of your way. 
  
• Be aware that some pedestrians may have visual or hearing impairments and might not hear your Two Tings.

Pass people slowly. Give people space 

• Slow down when approaching pedestrians and only pass when it is safe to do so. Extra care should be taken when passing children, less able people and animals. 
  
• Be patient and courteous to pedestrians. Saying “thank you” to pedestrians who move to let you pass will make them more likely to move next time. 

Ride at a sensible speed 

• The path is never suitable for cycling fast as there are many other users.

Unfortunately, our work has a small sphere of influence. So we still get grumpy glares from pedestrians who don't appreciate that it's a shared space and we see cyclists who are not courteous. 

How do we sort this out? 

How do we create harmony in these shared spaces?

Well my suggestion is that we take the Two Tings campaign and expand it from the towpaths to the entire cycling network:

• Issue thousands of bells with Two Tings handlebar stickers. 
• Place Two Tings stickers on posts on paths. 
• Two Tings banners on school railings. 
• Two Tings six sheet posters on bus stops. 
• Adverts in buses. 
• Local media launches in every town and city with cycle paths
  

Get the message out there to both pedestrians and cyclists. Then we'll see less pavement rage and less of the us and them culture that divides us in these shared spaces.

Come on Paul and the Department for Transport, CTC, Sustrans and all those local authorities and Highways Agencies - Make It Happen!

Cycling Tip - Road Position

As well as ranting, this blog is about sharing some of CyclingAge's knowledge. 

I know that people are often put off cycling when they hear of tragic accidents. The two deaths in London last week are very sad. Eight people die on our roads everyday - thankfully very few cyclists are killed or injured in road accidents. However, bicycles are the smallest and lightest vehicles on our roads so we must do everything we can to stay safe. 

One of the most important ways of staying safe is to cycle in the right road position. When there is other traffic on the road, cyclists should be cycling a good step (as in footstep) away from the curb. This is known as the secondary position. This means we are not cycling over drain covers or in the debris that collects at the side of the road. It also means we can react to hazards from the pavement too. But most importantly of all, it means we can be seen by other road users and we have a better field of vision. Cycling a step away from the curb also makes other faster road users give us more space as they overtake us. 

On quieter roads and at times when it would be unsafe for vehicles to overtake us, such as on narrow roads or at road narrowings at things like traffic islands, cyclists should cycle in the middle of the lane. This is the primary position.

Bonkers Boris Explained

I've re-read my "Bonkers Boris" Twitter from earlier and it probably needs explaining as the 140 characters I've used seem pretty odd when strung together.

Boris has apparently written to the Department for Transport to suggest that they run a pilot in London that allows cyclists to turn left at red lights as long as they are careful not to knock over any pedestrians.

Most cyclists have supported the campaign to persuade cyclists to stop running red lights because it's dangerous. Obviously the few who do ignore red lights give cyclists a poor reputation as careless road users. Now I know "the few" appears to be vast numbers in major cities like London, but the ones you see are still only a small percentage of cyclists. So, why does Boris feel the need to blur the lines?

Secondly, one of the most dangerous things a cyclist can do is undertake vehicles, especially lorries. The Met has been running a campaign in London to educate both lorry drivers and cyclists. It's bad enough that highway planners created advanced stop boxes for cyclists at lights to creep along to. Now Boris is encouraging cyclists to undertake queues of waiting vehicles so that they can creep round a corner. 

What cyclists really need on all streets everywhere is less cars and less lorries, lower and enforced speed limits, and a sensible consistent approach to cycling infrastructure. 

Get on with it Boris and stop mucking about!

Is there something about the name Boris? I remember another one who heroically rescued Gorbachev's Perestroika only to sink into alcoholic buffoonery.

Minister Cycle Training

Had a good cycle training session with Paul Clark and a couple of members from his team.

Paul is the MP for Gillingham as well as the Minister for Sustainable Transport and a very nice chap. 

Spencer (www.cyclecircle.co.uk) and I started the training at The Strand in Gillingham. The weather was a bit windy but bright and sunny. The venue was ideal, on National Cycle Route 1, with loos, a cafe and tennis courts we could hire and use for the Level 1 activities. After some initial nerves everyone progressed well. After a tea break we went out onto the quieter roads in the area to practice the Level 2 disciplines. Again the location was ideal with different sites available to practice the different drills and so many drivers demonstrating their poor road skills. All the trainees including Paul demonstrated the necessary outcomes to reach Level 2. We finished with a press photocall. 

As ever the Level 2 Route included examples of cycle facilities. We enjoyed showing Paul the 15 foot long cycle lane and the sign post containing the signs for National Cycle Route 1 and the instruction "Cyclists Dismount"!

Photos from the session are on Flickr 

Bikeability £10m

The sun is out. The sky is blue. And the government has just announced a grant of £10m to help pay for 200,000 children's Bikeability cycle training.
In Kent it's not clear how this money will be allocated. Hopefully we will hear soon.
Paul Clark the minister who annonced the grant said "I will be doing my own Bikeability training next week and, like the children I've met today, I look forward to hopefully receiving my Bikeability badge." Well, Spencer and I will be training the minister next week and he will get his appropriate Bikeability Level badge according to the outcomes he can demonstrate.