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!

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.