London Cyclist Xmas 2011 by London Cycling Campaign

Xmas 2011

YOUR VOICE FOR A CYCLING CITY

GO DUTCH PRINCIPLES EXPLAINED p18

Blackfriars Bridge: our designs p24

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2 Newhams Row, London, SE1 3UZ ■ 020 7234 9310 ■ www.lcc.org.uk Editorial contacts

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Editorial, copyright & printing policy LCC is not aligned with any political party. All views expressed in London Cyclist are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, nor do they necessarily reflect LCC policy. Editorial content is independent of advertising. All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the editor. London Cyclist is printed by Wyndehams on paper made from 100% FSC sustainably-managed and carbon-balanced forest.

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Editor: John Kitchiner; londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk Design: Anita Razak Communications: Mike Cavenett; mike@lcc.org.uk LCC contributors: Ashok Sinha, Tom Bogdanowicz, Charlie Lloyd, Matt Mallinder, Gerhard Weiss

Contents news, letters & opinion

News London-wide campaigns, grassroots initiatives and latest cycling reports Letters Members’ comments, queries, rants and raves Ashok Sinha Equality, Continuity and Quality — the watchwords for a cyclised city Zoe Williams Ponders the mortality rate of cyclists in the capital

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features Go Dutch Understanding the principles behind LCC’s 2012 campaign Blackfriars Why LCC’s design must be taken seriously by the Mayor and TfL Road Safety How the Dutch ‘Stop der Kindermoord’ movement changed attitudes Awards The winning and shortlisted entries in the 2011 London Cycling Awards Best Ride Taking a foodie’s tour through the ‘Garden of England’ near Faversham Have Your Say Do you prefer the quickest or most scenic routes across town?

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reviews Children’s Bikes & Gear Balance bikes, trailers, tagalongs and kiddie clobber rated Grouptest Six of the newest lightsets tested by our experts Product More locks and winter gear — and last-minute ideas for your Xmas list Books Glossy guidebook inspiration and bike-related wordage

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members CBP0007421307115017

Local Groups Round-up of projects and events happening in your neighbourhood People Kate Evans, dancer with the Bicycle Ballet

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WHAT LCC DOES… ■ Campaigns for change ■ Promotes cycling ■ Supports our members LCC’S STRATEGIC AIMS ■ Promote cycling to the people ■ Redesign our streets for cycles ■ Promote cycling to our politicians ■ Make cycling diverse and inclusive (www.lcc.org.uk/strategy)

COVER: Tyson Sadlo LOCATION: Surrey Quays

MEMBER BENEFITS ■ Up to 15% off in bike shops ■ Free third-party insurance cover ■ Exclusive deals on bike insurance ■ Free bimonthly magazine ■ Free legal helpline

LCC is a charitable limited company, reg no 1766411; charity no 1115789

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Two cyclists killed in News weeks at Bow round Xmas 2011

LCC WARNED MAYOR ABOUT BOW IN 2009 Transport for London received clear advice from Jacobs Consultancy that Bow roundabout must be made safer for cycling more than a year before the two recent deaths took place at the junction. The recommendations, contained in a lengthy Cycle Superhighway Implementation Plan (CHIP), stated that traffic signals — specifically for cyclists and pedestrians (toucan crossings) — and separate cycle tracks should be installed. LCC chief executive Ashok Sinha said: “Documents show that Transport for London was clearly advised by its transport consultants, as well as by LCC. The Mayor has to explain why these measures were not carried out. We’re calling for an immediate redesign of the junction to reduce the road danger and prevent any more tragic deaths.” LCC advised TfL of the dangers of the junction as long ago as 2009, well before any consultation on proposed designs took place. And we also contributed to the consultants’ report which recommended toucan crossings and offcarriageway lanes should be provided. LCC again wrote to TfL in February 2011, after seeing the designs for the local Cycle Superhighway, to highlight the fact that the Bow roundabout still posed a serious danger to cyclists and this needed to be urgently addressed.

The death of two cyclists, Brian Dorling and Svitlana Tereshchenko, at Bow roundabout just three weeks apart caused widespread anger among London cyclists. There was strong condemnation for Mayor Boris Johnson from campaigners and relatives of Mr Dorling, the 58-year-old run over by a lorry. As we went to press, the Mayor still hadn’t committed to making safety improvements at the roundabout; instead instructing Transport for London to implement a review of dangerous junctions on all

the Cycle Superhighways. LCC chief executive Ashok Sinha said: “We welcome a wide-reaching review of safety at all London’s junctions, but in this instance the Mayor has been told countless times what the specific problems are at Bow, and what the solutions could be. “So far he’s ignored advice from ourselves, local cyclists, his own transport consultants, and the families of the victims. The Mayor should be showing leadership at this time by giving a firm commitment that

Bow roundabout will be made safe before more Londoners are killed. “We thank the thousands of LCC members and other Londoners who’ve shown their support for immediate action at Bow roundabout, including the many who emailed the Mayor via our webite. The mass support for change shown at Bow, Blackfriars and the ‘Tour du Danger’ shows there’s a huge appetite for making dangerous junctions in the capital truly safe for cyclists. We hope the Mayor isn’t out of touch with

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Photos: Ben Broomfield, Tom Bogdanowicz

three about

Award-winning towpath shows what can be done In sharp contrast to the farreaching condemnation of the lethal road layout at Bow roundabout, the £2.3 million suspended towpath just installed below it has received the highest accolade from the capital’s cycling community —

a London Cycling Award. The suspended towpath eliminates the need for walkers and cyclists using the Lea Valley towpath to cross four lanes of traffic at Bow roundabout. Speaking at LCC’s AGM in November, a representative of

LONDON CYCLING AWARDS WINNERS these emotions and shares our desire for progress.” Relatives of both the cyclists killed at Bow attended a moving candlelit vigil organised by Tower Hamlets Wheelers on Friday 18 November. Several hundred gathered for the memorial event, where a ghost bke was installed in memory of Brian Dorling. Family members and local politicians spoke of their strong desire that the recent deaths would not be in vain; the event was also shown live on BBC London news.

BEST NEW CYCLING FACILITY (joint winners) ■ British Waterways & Partners — suspended walkway and cycle path beneath Bow Flyover ■ London Borough of Lambeth and Cyclehoop Ltd — ‘1 car space equals 10 bicycles’ on-street cycle parking COMMUNITY CYCLING PROJECT OF THE YEAR ■ Wheels for Wellbeing — Wheels for Wellbeing new projects BEST PROJECT FOR CHILDREN OR YOUNG PEOPLE ■ London Borough of Hackney — Hackney Bikers’ Breakfast BEST WORKPLACE CYCLING INITIATIVE ■ Transport for London — Barclays Cycle Superhighways Workplace Scheme LONDON CYCLE EVENT OF THE YEAR (joint winners) ■ London Borough of Havering — Havering Bikewise event ■ Vanessa Celosse with Partners — Battersea Artists’ Trail Bike Tour LOCAL CAMPAIGNER OF THE YEAR ■ Danny Williams — Cyclists in the City

award-winner British Waterways said the Bow roundabout must be radically improved so its facilities match those of the new suspended towpath. LCC chief executive Ashok Sinha added: “Cyclists and pedestrians crossing Bow roundabout from east to west deserve the same protection from road danger that has been been provided for those travelling north-south. Bow towpath is a deserving winner of a London Cycling Award for its engineering excellence. Its popularity shows the need for proper investment to eliminate major barriers to walking and cycling.” The suspended towpath will eventually provide a north-south link to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, but the hazardous Bow roundabout and Stratford one-way system remain huge obstacles to safe cycling for people coming to the Olympic Park from central London or further east.

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NEWS

2,500 protest for better Blackfriars On 12 October more than 2,500 Londoners joined LCC’s latest peaceful protest against the flawed Blackfriars junction proposals in November. We revealed our own detailed design for the area just before the latest ‘flashride’ and we knew from the hundreds of positive comments, from cyclists and pedestrians alike), that they rung a positive note in your imaginations. You’ve told us loud and clear that you, your friends and your family desperately want the choice to cycle in and out of the city without taking your life in your hands. Even so, the turnout for the protest was astonishing: it’s not every day that over two thousand Londoners turn up to support a vision for peoplefriendly streets. The first thing that needs to happen now is for the Mayor to recognise the strength of public opinion, as well as the crossparty consensus, all of which is

telling him and Transport for London to think again. We’ve given TfL the ideal launch pad by positively reinterpreting its own double T-junction design (see page 24), so there’s no excuse. If a new design can’t be put in place next week (we recognise the station needs to open on time), then there must be a commitment to take action very soon. Every candidate standing for next year’s mayoral elections must commit to giving Londoners a safe and attractive Blackfriars as a top priority during the next term in office. Throughout the summer, we’ve been keen to emphasise that the campaign over Blackfriars is part of a bigger, more widespread push for a people-friendly London. And in the New Year, LCC will be officially launching its ‘Go Dutch’ campaign, voted for by our members. For out more about Go Dutch on page 18.

Charlie Lloyd

Minister approves 10-year lorry trial

Campaigners predict increased danger for cyclists with longer lorries trial

Transport minister Mike Penning MP has announced that his department will allow a 10-year trial of 1,800 extra long articulated lorries on our streets — despite its failure to fully assess the impact on cyclists’ safety, roads and infrastructure. Starting next January, freight operators will have the chance to use up to 900 artics with trailers up to 14.6m long and a further 900 up to 15.65m — a full 2m longer than the limit allowed by the EU for international freight. LCC and other groups objected to the proposals earlier this year when it became clear that there had been no study of these lorries on narrow streets and tight junctions. The DfT only examined the way these lorries negotiated a small roundabout of

EU standard design; most street junctions in London have tighter corners than such a roundabout. The 900 lorries up to 14.6m will not even have to meet this performance level as long as they meet other regulations on weights and load distribution. The longer lorries with 15.65m trailers may have special steering systems to get around corners, but none of these will work on really tight bends. In September Penning told the House of Commons that longer lorries did not pose a risk to cyclists and that the turning circles of such lorries are “much tighter than those of existing lorries”. These statements conflict with available evidence and we’ve asked the minister for clarification.

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Ian Jones

GOOD MONTH FOR OLYMPIC TRACK HQ The new 6,000seater velodrome won the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award which recognises new places and spaces that “improve the delivery of local services, give a sense of identity and community, are a source of local pride and help build a sustainable future”. NEWLANDS CORNER The Surrey classic was voted as one of the UK’s Top 10 Perfect Cycling Descents in a public poll (with Sky and British Cycling). Ham Common in Richmond also made the list.

Reporting roadworks Responding to years of gripes from many road users, including cyclists, the Mayor has set up a quick-reporting website where you can complain about inconsiderate or unnecessarily inconvenient roadworks. So next time you see a ‘Cyclists Dismount’ sign, and want to get it removed, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/roadworks TfL has pledged that its roadworks should be “safe for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users”. We assume this means not asking cyclists to get off their bikes in the middle of the road for no reason?

NEW ROAD STAT MAP Obviously a grisly thing in reality, but ITO World (www.itoworld. com) has unveiled a data visualisation map showing every road traffic casualty from 2000 to 2010. Hopefully easier for policy-makers to understand than bare statistics!

BAD MONTH FOR CAR DRIVERS The Treasury looks set to increase the price of fuel by 3p per litre from January. With 23 percent of all car trips less than 2 miles, that’s even more incentive to get cycling. MOTORING STATISTICS An IAM report showed that in 2010, 32,525 accidents were caused by illegal manoeuvres like exceeding the speed limit, illegal turns, disobeying traffic signals and disobeying rules for pedestrian crossings.

The principles of ‘Go Dutch’

In October, LCC unveiled the principles behind our Go Dutch campaign, which officially launches in January (see p.20). Our campaigns team has recently visited the Netherlands, where we met leading planners, engineers and cycle campaigners. Among others, we spoke with the Dutch Cycling Embassy and several leaders of the social and political action groups that brought about the changes in transport policy in the 1970s. One of the fundamental differences between Dutch and British practice is that there they begin by considering the needs of pedestrians and cyclists whenever they design or renew street infrastructure. As a result they make pleasant and calmed streets where possible, yet choose to provide separated

facilities for cyclists where necessary on main roads. Another difference is that street layouts and traffic law usually give priority to cyclists over motor traffic in urban areas. Our emphasis on main roads addresses the areas of greatest failure by Transport for London, which is why our members voted overwhelmingly for this ‘Go Dutch’ campaign. Eight of the 15 cyclist fatalities this year happened on TfL’s main road network, and six of these occurred in places where there have been serious questions about the lack of safe road design. These are the reasons why it’s imperative we start applying Dutch design principles at these main road locations as a first step towards transforming London into a European-style cyclised city.

NEEDED: GO DUTCH CHAMPIONS Do you love cycling, live in London and want to help improve our city for cycling? If you have some spare time between now and May 2012, how about becoming a Go Dutch champion? We’re looking for people with energy and initiative to be champion volunteers for our Go Dutch 2012 mayoral election campaign. Supported by LCC head office, you’ll meet people in your area to enthuse them about our campaign, which calls for continental-quality cycling facilities all over Greater London. We’ll provide training and materials, and we have an incentive scheme where the best champions could win a fabulous Dutch-style bike. The minimum commitment is around two evenings per month until May 2012, but the more time you can give, the more you can help us take Go Dutch to the people of London. ■ If you’re interested, please email info@lcc.org.uk, mentioning Go Dutch champions in the subject line.

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NEWS

Elections and awards herald AGM excitement A strong turnout from members at the 2011 Annual General Meeting ensured healthy interest and lively debate around LCC’s

future, including contested trustee elections. The event took place at the Keyworth Centre, near Elephant

& Castle on Wednesday 15 November, and was sponsored by Butterworth-Spengler, which provides our Urban Cycling Theft Insurance, and Levenes Solicitors, our recommended bike-friendly law firm. Chief executive Ashok Sinha (pictured left) received widespread praise for his speech at the ‘member launch’ of our 2012 mayoral election campaign, Go Dutch. He used the occasion to outline the ambitious and positive campaigning and organisational goals for LCC in the coming year. Later in the evening, campaigns manager Tom Bodanowicz dedicated this year’s

London Cycling Awards to former Southwark Cyclists’ coordinator Barry Mason, who died earlier this year. Lambeth Cyclists’ Claire Neely and Evening Standard comment editor Andrew Neather presented the awards, which once more saw the best of London’s cycle promoters rewarded for their hard work (see page 30). Motions passed at the AGM endorsed the launch of the Go Dutch campaign and the creation of an elected policy forum, with January elections, as well as agreeing to defer discussion of the name-change until after the 2012 mayoral election.

NEWLY-ELECTED TRUSTEES, 2011-13

Mustafa Arif

Rik Andrew

Alistair Hanton

Anne Kenrick

Tony Levene

Christian Wolmar

2012 LONDON CYCLING AWARDS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Writing’s on the cards Regular London Cyclist contributor, photographer Ben Broomfield, has produced a set of cycling greetings cards. Based on a vintage cigarette card set, ‘Cycling 1839-1939’, the 15cm-tall cards are blank inside so they can be used for any occasion; the rear of each card includes the original descriptive text. Each set of six cards with envelopes costs £10 from photo@benbroomfield.com, with £1 donated to LCC.

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NEWS

Private Eye magazine has revealed that Joao Lopes, the lorry driver who killed cyclist Eilidh Cairns at Notting Hill Gate in February 2009, has been involved in another fatal collision. In June, Lopes is alleged to have run over and killed 97-year-old Nora Gutmann, who was crossing Marylebone Road on a pedestrian crossing opposite Madame Tussauds. As the report awaits confirmation, the family of Eilidh Cairns is still feeling outraged at the failures in police procedures that resulted in insufficient evidence to prosecute Lopes for her death. Not only did police officers fail to collect names and addresses of potential witnesses, they also failed to check Lopes’ eyesight at the time of the crash (when tested several months later it was found he couldn’t see well enough to legally drive a 32-tonne lorry). Lopes was eventualy charged with the relatively minor offence of driving with uncorrected vision, for which he received only a £200 fine and three points on his licence.

100s join ‘Tour du Danger’ Nicolas Chinardet

Second woman killed by same HGV driver?

On Saturday 12 November hundreds of cyclists took part in a ride to highlight the 10 worst places to cycle in London. The ride was the brainchild of bloggers/campaigners Danny Williams and Mark Ames and visited one-way systems and ‘nightmare’ junctions including

Letters Xmas 2011

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE I get annoyed every time I read an article about cycling in the Netherlands compared with London. No mention is ever made of the massive terrain difference between the two. Unless you are living on the east-west axis in London there are hills to climb to get to and from work and for many local journeys. Then there is the geographic size.

Vauxhall, Elephant & Castle, Hyde Park Corner and Kings Cross. Several of these locations have witnessed fatal crashes involving cyclists in 2011, including Kings Cross and Vauxhall. Writing on his Cyclist in the City website, Danny Williams said: “It’s the same everywhere

In Amsterdam anyone can ride a three-speed bike with no problem. Where I live, front and rear derailleurs are needed to climb Finchley Road, Haverstock Hill, Highgate West Hill, Archway etc. And the hills — and the subsequent effort required — also dictates the type of clothing that can be worn as one tends to sweat more, even in mid-winter. I have just bought my daughter a new bike as her sit-up-and-beg ‘Dutch’ bike which was fine for Cambridge is useless here. We will never see ‘Boris Bike’ rental points north of Chalk Farm or Archway station. Michael Strelitz, north London LCC replies: Yes, some parts of London have hills, but that hardly negates the principle of providing clear space on main roads for cyclists. If anything, slow-moving people on bikes are in even greater need of protection from fast-moving motor traffic.

that Transport for London touches a junction or a main road. Cycling is at the bottom of the pile — and so are you if you’re on a bike rather than in a car.” LCC provided insurance for the Tour du Danger and many ride marshals were local group volunteers.

DOWN THE DRAIN

UPSIDE DOWN: drain covers on CS7 in Tooting

Beware of inappropriately-placed drain covers! I found these two upside-down storm drain covers (pictured) on the northbound carriageway of CS7 in Tooting Bec and reported it to TfL. Its officer told me: “All our technicians are trained sufficiently to current safety standards,” but after sending the image to her she said that they “would look into it”. I then called 101, the nonemergency police number, pointed out the defective drains as a safety hazard and waited six minutes before cycle-bound officers descended on the drains and filed it on their hand-held computers. Needless to say after eight days, the drains are still there upside down. So much for efficiency. Martin Ireland, Wandsworth

LAMBETH BRIDGE I wondered whether other cyclists

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Wooden spoon for Westfield woes Olympic Park legacy The 500-acre Olympic Park is the biggest opportunity for a Dutch-style cycling and walking idyll that London has ever had but it is in serious danger of being squandered if the latest planning applications are not significantly changed. LCC’s Olympic group’s robust response to the Olympic Park Legacy Company highlights the lack of ambition in the planning application for the park which promises sustainable development but then says it will only deliver ‘moderate’ cycling levels. In the case of travel to health centres it forecasts zero cycling

and only three percent of primary schoolchildren are expected to ride to school, despite the promise of miles of dedicated cycle routes and shared off-road paths. Cycle parking provision will be in line with the low London Plan standards. Campaigns manager Tom Bogdanowicz said: “To achieve the cycling levels befitting a flagship ‘sustainable’ development, the OPLC has to set ambitious targets for cycling and ensure that high quality infrastructure is delivered both in the park and surrounding areas to make that target a reality.”

using Lambeth Bridge have breathed a sigh of relief now that that the bus lane is wider and at long last there is a decent, relatively safe cycle lane running towards Horseferry Road. It took long enough for it to happen. But why aren’t there more decent cycle lanes in south-east London? Imogen Ridout, SE4

ELECTRIC BIKES Having read Rob Kittle’s email regarding electric bikes and his comment “that we should encourage ordinary folk to bike”. Well, electric bikes do exactly that. Firstly electric bikes have to be pedaled, the motor only supplies assistance. There are a lot of people who would like to cycle but for various reason’s are unable to use a normal bike — this includes people who are physically unable to cycle the distance required to commute to their place of work, people who are getting

Not content with erecting road signs in the middle of bike lanes outside its new shopping centre, Westfield Stratford now has a track with cobbles dotted along its entire length. The concrete cobbles in Westfield Avenue extend from under-tree paving into a whole lane of the new cycle track. Uneven surfaces can be dangerous to cyclists, especially those carrying shopping or children, and in wet weather. There are also questions as to how the surface will be maintained when the tree roots grow and dislodge cobbles. Another new lane in Mountfitchet Road makes cyclists stop for a minor access road and has a series of road signs and other obstructions placed in the middle of the lane. An extension of that lane leaves cycle users stranded in the middle of a roundabout. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, next door to Westfield, is expected to be a showcase of sustainable development. If any of the provision for cyclists matches the embarrassingly poor standards evident outside

older and find that hills and head winds are putting them off cycling, and people who want to cycle to work but do not want to arrive looking like a sweaty mess or looking like they’re dressed for a time trial. An electric bike also allows people to continue cycling well into their late 70s. You can ride an electric bike wearing ordinary work clothes and arrive not needing a shower, but having taken moderate exercise, while also keeping up your fitness level for those 40-mile rides on your conventional bike at the weekend. What Rob Kittle should think about is that one more bike, even if it is electric, is one less car. If we are trying to encourage more people on to bikes, electric bikes can play an important part in achieving this aim and getting bums on saddles is what we all want. I am even of the opinion that you should devote a page in London Cyclist

the shopping centre, a huge opportunity to create a Dutch-style cycling and walking environment will have been lost. The obstructed lanes in Stratford have made a laughing stock of local planners and have attracted the attention of London Assembly members and the media. Local authorities and the Olympic Delivery Authority need to take urgent action to remedy the basic design errors and ensure all future cycle provision in the area is radically improved as the development moves forward.

to electric cycling. It has taken time in Europe, but now in some countries four out of every 10 new bikes being sold are electric and this will eventually happen in the UK. Mike Barnard, email

MAYORAL ELECTIONS

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: londoncyclist@ lcc.org.uk

In the October/November issue of London Cyclist (page 4) you have a short news item on the ‘Go Dutch’ campaign to tie in with next year’s mayoral elections. You include the statement “all four main parties will be fielding the same candidates as in 2008”. That appears to be true for Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties, but not for the Green Party. Jenny Jones in 2012 is not the same as Sian Berry in 2008. Adrian Williams, Islington LCC replies: Our mistake — and apologies to readers and Ms Berry.

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NEWS

Except Cycles signs are commonpace on the Continent

Good signs for cyclists The Department for Transport is removing restrictions on ‘Except Cycles’ being added to No Entry’road signs, offering potential safety benefits and shorter journeys for cyclists. Transport minister Norman Baker announced a series of changes to signage regulations in a statement to Parliament recently, with some coming into effect in November 2011, but others still needing special authorisation until 2014.

Existing restrictions on signage have made it difficult and expensive for highway authorities to allow contraflow cycling on one-way streets. Contraflows can provide safety benefits and convenience, allowing cyclists to avoid busy major roads and traffic gyratories. LCC campaigns manager Tom Bogdanowicz said: “We welcome this outbreak of common sense. London can now begin to catch up with those European cities

ISSUE WITH GOING DUTCH While I’m fully in support of the broad aims of your ‘Go Dutch’ campaign, as outlined in the October/November issue, I want to highlight one aspect of Dutch cycling that Londoners could really do without for the time being. I refer to the barge-like ‘Dutch-style’ bikes that are especially designed to carry children in front, (as illustrated on the cover of the last issue). I live in a part of south-west London where there is a coterie of mothers who do the school run on such bikes. While not against them per se, I can only really see them as a safe mode of transport within the right context. I’m sure they are fine in Holland, with its cycling culture and ample cycle lanes that afford plenty of space to bicycles like these, that are slower moving and relatively hard to maneouvre. In London, however, their width and unwieldiness makes them something of a liability.

where two-way cycling is allowed on almost all minor streets that are one-way for motor traffic.” According to recent trials in London, there has been a 50 percent fall in the number of motor vehicles disobeying the No Entry and ‘Except Cycles’ signs. These results compare favourable with adherence to the bizarre ‘flying motorcycle’ signs, which were the norm before the rules were changed.

Xmas gifts by bicycle

Other significant changes at the DfT: ■ Approval for cyclists’ stopping areas, ASLs, without lead-in lanes. ■ Removing restrictrions on entering an ASL across the white line. ■ Signage to indicate shared use areas. ■ Permission to easily allow diagonal pedestrian crossings at major junctions — one of the possible innovations suggested for improving pedestrian flows at Blackfriars Bridge. ■ Fewer signage restrictions for 20mph speed limit areas, including part-time 20mph limits at schools ■ Cycle route signage with named routes and time to destination, as used on the Cycle Superhighways.

This autumn a new Yuba cargo bike has been seen out and about in Hackney, carrying gardening equipment tools for a local environmental group. The super-strength two-wheeler helped Sue Phillips from the Friends of Homerton Station carry tools so they could carry out wildflower seed planting at Mabley Green. The bike was lent to them by Carry Me Bikes, a new social enterprise set up with a Community Cycling Fund for London grant. Carry Me Bikes founder Alix Stredwick said: “This December we’re offering ‘Secret Santa’ deliveries for kids in Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Find out more about the cycling elves on our website.” ■ www.carryme.org.uk

And I am not just talking about the potential annoyance caused to fellow road users. Instead I refer to the danger and nuisance caused to pedestrians. The mothers I encounter on these bikes seem constrained to take to the pavement for some or all of their journeys. These bicycles are twice the width of comparable pavement traffic such as baby buggies or mobility scooters and require twice the stopping distance. In the hands of weaker cyclists they pose a genuine danger. Many people see them as a nuisance, and I have witnessed several ‘near misses’ and at least one collision with a pedestrian. In comparison, a well-designed child trailer or child seat seems to be the more practical solution for the cycling London parent. Indeed, in my experience of cycling with a child seat, the overwhelming majority of drivers are sensible and courteous when they see you riding with a child on board.

These ‘Dutch-style’ bikes will only become a truly welcome addition to the London scene once there are safe, designated lanes in which to ride them. Melanie Edwards, Richmond

BELT-DRIVE BIKES I noticed there was a belt-drive model in the review of hybrids in the last issue. Since belt-drive is still so rare, I was wondering if it might be worth having a feature just on these cycles in a future magazine? I’m sure they’re low-maintenance nature means they are the future for mainstream bikes. Mustafa Arif, email

LCC REPLIES: We’ve reviewed other belt-drive bikes before and rated them for their silent simplicity and easy maintenance. But until designers find better ways to attach the belts (as they can’t be broken like a chain), and prices come down, they won’t become mainstream.

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Cosmic Dreadnought™ 110

Radbot™ 1000 PDW Lights are exclusively distributed in the UK by www.paligap.cc

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OPINION

BEST RIDES IN LONDON

OPINION

Ashok Sinha Genuine freedom for Londoners to choose cycling for their daily travel is at the heart of ‘Go Dutch’

quality, Continuity, Quality. Okay, it’s not quite the same as Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, but if applied to the promotion of cycling in London it could almost be as revolutionary. It is of course a Dutch-style revolution that we are seeking in London, one that sees our political leaders summon up the courage to make our city more liveable for all by giving every Londoner the genuine freedom to choose to cycle as the best means of making everyday journeys. It’s the words ‘genuine freedom’ that are salient here. Not the qualified freedom to risk life and limb, joust with heavy traffic or treat every cycle journey as a test of nerve and skill. But the genuine freedom for every Londoner to safely — and yes, enjoyably — get around the capital by bike. In essence it’s what our Go Dutch campaign, which is warming up nicely ahead of a full launch in the New Year, is all about. At the heart of Go Dutch is of course our call for ‘clear space for cycling on main roads’. Since the last issue we’ve been developing what Going Dutch actually means on the great range of main roads that exist in London. In fact members of the campaigns team have recently visited the Netherlands to explore at first hand how precisely the Dutch provide for cycling in their busy cities. You can find out what we’ve come up with on page 18 of this edition but, details aside, the overarching need in London is for a whole new approach that can be summed up in three words above. Equality, Continuity, Quality Let’s start with Equality. Freely navigating our city by bike means being able to cycle safely on/alongside the busiest roads with the heaviest traffic. Even relatively short journeys to the shops, school, library, swimming pool etc will often involve using a busy road, at least in part. However cyclists do not have the protection that occupants of motor vehicles enjoy.

That’s why so many people choose not to make such journeys by bike. So equality of choice means priority provision for cyclists and their safety. This includes creating designated cycle tracks and lanes wherever necessary, reducing the speed of motor vehicles, and making the safety of cyclists (and pedestrians) the overarching priority at junctions. Some see this as discrimination in favour of cycling. I think this is wrong. I see it instead as the rebalancing of the liberty that we all have to occupy a large amount of roadspace and create substantial risk to others — ie to drive — with the liberty to cycle in safety. Only this way will we get a genuine equality of choice. Next Continuity. We’ve all been on those cycle lanes that appear out of thin air and disappear into the ether again a short distance later. Or cycle lanes with a signpost in the middle. Or junctions so snarling and hideous that we wished we had not used the cycle lane that took us there in the first place and used the backstreets instead. The everyday trips we know many Londoners would like to cycle need to be direct, unobstructed and built into a network that makes cycling an easy choice from every A to every B. In other words dedicated space and provision for cycling needs to be continuous and not fragmented — offering a seamless journey from wherever people live to wherever they want to go, by whatever route they choose. Finally Quality. Alongside genuine equality of choice and continuous routes, the quality of provision — from the width of the physical space demarcated for cycling to the quality of the road surface (my own particular bug-bear) — must be of the high standard we’d all expect. And indeed it cannot be overstated that cycling facilities must be properly maintained, not installed and forgotten. Londoners deserve the same general excellence of provision for cycling that the Dutch (or even, increasingly, Parisians and New Yorkers) enjoy. And let’s not forget that

the quality of life for all Londoners will be greatly enhanced by allowing cyclists (and pedestrians) to enjoy pleasant and hassle-free ways to

”Dedicated space and other provision for cycling needs to be continuous, offering seamless A to B journeys” negotiate their way around London’s busy streets. Put simply, Londoners increasingly expect the environment for cycling to meet international benchmarks, with the added consequence of improving the attractiveness and ‘liveability’ of the urban realm for everyone. Real commitment to cycling Simple really. But not easy or cheap. No serious investment in a more efficient, greener and happier London ever will be. But it can be done. They may not be words to stir the blood, but a commitment to Equality, Continuity and Quality is a real test of the seriousness underlying our mayoral candidates’ rhetorical support for cycling. Our Go Dutch campaign must inspire the next mayor to believe that we can and should transform London through cycling, and to have the confidence that Londoners believe it and will support it too.

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BEST RIDES IN LONDON

OPINION

Zoe Williams Why aren’t cyclists afforded the protection they deserve? Does it all come down to money?

ou just have to keep your wits about you,” was Boris Johnson’s answer to cycling safety, when someone asked him a question about the treacherous Elephant and Castle roundabout. In his defence, this might work if you actually are Boris Johnson, and your hair is a celebrity in its own right, and the traffic parts before you like a Biblical sea. But the regular cyclist will need more than wits to get through a career-long bike commute without injury. They will need more than they alone could possibly supply: they will need an insane amount of luck. Two tragic deaths recently on Bow Roundabout remind us of a number of distressing things: firstly, that it takes more than a death for a lesson to be learnt. Brian Dorling’s widow, among many others, warned that the traffic system was almost purposebuilt for accidents. Of course nothing changed instantly, but nothing was even slated to change: and three weeks later, another cyclist died. Many people think that it’ll take a case of criminal negligence against Transport for London before they’ll undertake to look seriously at the protection cyclists deserve, as London citizens. Nobody likes a near miss Secondly, there is too much casual acceptance of risk to cyclists, as if we were snowboarders and we embraced the risk as part of the thrill. This is patently rubbish, nobody likes a near miss with anything, not even a pedestrian. But looking at the top accident hotspots, it struck me that, perhaps inevitably, anyone who lived in the North or the South and commuted into the centre would pass at least three of them. If you live in south-west London and mix your route up a bit, you could pass six in one day: Vauxhall is lethal, so is Elephant, so is Kennington Road where it meets Camberwell New

Road. I won’t go on, already I sound like a cabbie from the Eighties. The point is, it is very well known where accidents happen, and it is very straightforward work to analyse why. A society that can design traffic smoothing systems, lights in the right places, even a society that can devise a working roundabout can figure out how to keep cyclists safe at a busy interchange. This isn’t undertaken because some people think, why spend money on them when they can just concentrate? It is an ongoing sadness and a phenomenal piece of bad luck that the main proponent of this view is also the Mayor of London. Why were CSHs built this way? Thirdly, and as a direct result of this attitude, I guess, the Cycle Superhighways cannot possibly have been designed with the cyclist in mind. I was puzzling this idly a while ago, before the deaths at Bow had made this question much more urgent: there are heaps of curious decisions; why do the cycle lanes go right up into bus stops? Do they mean us to stop too, just for a laugh? Who on earth was making the decision on roundabouts? Sometimes they criss-cross the traffic, which of course blithely ignores them, sometimes they peter out for no reason. I understand (sort of) that the Superhighways needed to be thrown up in a hurry, and I understand that they had to look bold and maybe this was of fractionally greater importance than their usability. But in the end I don’t understand why you’d undertake such a giant infrastructure without sitting down to the think about it. It’s all about the bottom-line The only reason I can think of is cost: you say “let’s do this properly” and an image immediately springs up of consultants, costing a fortune, charging by the hour, make

requirements and specifications that go way beyond a bunch of guys just painting things blue. But the flipside to this is how much it costs when cyclists are not safe. It

"There is too much casual acceptance of risk to cyclists, as if we were snowboarders and embraced the risk as part of the thrill" stops people cycling, when they have to go through a blackspot at which a cyclist has died. Even the fact that London is described by words like “blackspot” stops people cycling. What’s the point of the ‘Boris Bikes’, of the endless advertising and proselytising, of the ceaseless policy documents about the benefits of a cycling London, if a structural lack of care makes people believe, rightly, that they might do it, and they might enjoy it, but they might also be killed? Zoe Williams is a freelance journalist and columnist who contributes regularly to publications including The Guardian and New Statesman

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FEATURE CAMPAIGN

Learning from the

Dutch masters

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To explain the basic principles of LCC’s Go Dutch campaign, Tom Bogdanowicz and Charlie Lloyd took to the Continent... Additional research by Ashok Sinha, Mike Cavenett and Gerhard Weiss

he average Dutch person would be bewildered by LCC’s campaign for the 2012 Mayoral election: space for cycling on Dutch main roads, aside from motorways, is taken for granted. There are better and there are worse road schemes in the Netherlands, but it is all but impossible to find the equivalent of Euston Road or Stratford High Street where cycle users have been simply ignored. With cycling routinely addressed in Dutch traffic schemes over several decades it is not surprising that 27 percent of journeys in the Netherlands are by bike, up from a low of 20 percent in the 1970s. In cities like Amsterdam, where car parking charges are high and commuting distances relatively short, the cycling levels in the city centre rise to a traffic-dominating 57 percent. Making London’s main roads Go Dutch will require political will plus attention to detail and technical knowledge. The know-how is available it just needs to be applied comprehensively with a recognition of equality of transport choice, continuity of routes and quality of provision (see page 15). Underlying the Dutch approach there are some straightforward principles that characterise how the Dutch organise their main roads and that guide the way for London. We have developed a guide to these principles (see summary on page 23) that is now on the LCC website (www. lcc.org.uk/go-dutch). Here we take a look at how the Dutch actually apply such principles on their roads.

What the Dutch do differently What is different in the Netherlands, says Jan Laverman, an activist with the Dutch Cyclists Union, is that “straight on traffic has right of way over turning vehicles on the same road – it’s a Dutch rhyme children learn.” And what helps, observes Govert de With, representative of the Amsterdam branch of the Union, is that “virtually all Dutch drivers are also cyclists so they are aware of what it is like to ride in traffic.” Where Dutch planners recognise that a desired route is not sufficiently cycle-friendly they offer parallel alternatives — Amsterdam has its own cycle map which highlights a network of routes that includes some 300 miles of dedicated facilities along with those shared with cars. Because of their legal status Dutch cycle lanes, even advisory ones, are free of stopped or parked cars. Aside from delivering high-quality infrastructure the Dutch also provide education to budding cyclists. All schoolchildren do a written and practical cycling exam that includes

Photos: Tom Bogdanowicz

The basis for Dutch thinking “Dutch policy-makers start by deciding the function of a road,” says one of the country’s leading cycling experts, Hillie Talens, “and from this flows the design and then the use of that road.” When addressing the needs of cyclists the Dutch aim to deliver routes that are “coherent, direct, attractive, safe and comfortable.” That means consistent quality, clear signage, minimum delays along routes, adequate space for cycling and

good surfaces. On separation of different types of road user, Talens reiterates a Dutch mantra: “Mix if possible, separate when necessary.” In practice that means that in 20mph zones (which means most residential areas in Holland) cyclists mix with slow-moving cars, but on main roads dedicated space is frequently provided. In cities like Rotterdam, rebuilt after WWII, main roads typically have wide cycle tracks, but in Amsterdam, a city with plenty of canals, trams and narrow busy streets, a range of solutions is used. Unlike London, where the concept of filtered permeability is only gradually taking hold, you can assume that virtually all roads will provide two-way cycling even if they are one-way for cars. While tracks are common on the outskirts of Amsterdam’s centre, the old town has some roads with cycles lanes marked in the carriageway, not unlike some of those in London.

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FEATURE 1

3 an observed ride on local roads. Specialist training is also offered to new immigrants. The Netherlands has an advantage in that it started early in supporting cycle use (their first cycle path was built in 1885). But other countries have followed its example: Copenhagen is building up to Dutch cycling levels and Seville has recentlymade progress despite the low levels of cycling elsewhere in Spain. Cities around the world are recognising that without increased cycling levels they face gridlock and soaring health costs. Tom Godefrooij, a member of the newly established Cycling Embassy of the Netherlands says they prefer not

4 to say that cycling is ‘cheap’ but rather that it is “cost effective.” Godefrooij says: “You have to maintain investment to sustain cycling levels.” And the Dutch do not skimp on their cycling investment — to maintain cycling as an attractive option Amsterdam invests 27 euros per head per year — about three times the funding rate in London over the past three years. The lesson for London is clear. To achieve Dutch cycling levels (and the Mayor of London has stated that he’d like to see 20 percent of journeys in the capital by bike) we need political leadership and the funding to create conditions that will enable the quarter of non-cycling Londoners who say they want to cycle to do so.

CASE STUDIES Road Junctions The consistent, well thought-out design of road junctions is a prime example of Dutch cycling provision. Turning traffic gives way to cycles and other traffic going straight on. Signalled junctions often have bypass tracks for cyclists wishing to turn right (equivalent to left turns). Some junctions with low traffic levels have UK-style ASL bike boxes allowing easy left (like UK right) turns. Busier junctions will have separate tracks with cycle-only traffic lights, sometimes with twice as many green phases as for other traffic. At a few large junctions there is a green ‘scramble phase’ allowing all

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FEATURE 8

10 Many Dutch towns have tram systems, running down the centre of the road; tram stops are on islands separated from the cycle track and general traffic. Negotiating junctions with many tram tracks can be unnerving, but the drivers do watch out and give a good warning of their approach. Marijolien de Lange, a consultant to the Dutch Cyclists Union says: “You are not a real Amsterdammer until you have crashed your bike on the tram tracks.” Happily we failed to qualify on our visit. Bicycle Streets Where cycle flows are very high the Dutch create cycle streets along which cyclists have priority and motor

11 vehicles have to give way to them. As the sign says, ‘cars are guests’ here. The layout of these streets vary, but a common factor is that motor vehicles give priority to cyclists before attempting to overtake. Cycle Parking The Dutch recognise that cycle parking is a vital ingredient of their transport infrastructure. Amsterdam Centraal Station has 7,000 cycle parking spaces. Rotterdam is building a compound for 5,000 bikes at its main transport hub to meet demand. As well as large areas of open access parking, main stations will have guarded cycle parks available for a small charge to regular users. Currently almost 40 percent of rail

8 The Bicycle Street — cars are ‘guests’ here 9 & 10 Cycle Parking — ‘Fietshangers’ by the dozen on many residential streets 11 Cycle Highways — dedicated tracks that are at least two metres wide

travellers use a bike at one or both ends of their trip. On Dutch streets cycle stands are ubiquitous — residents of flats either have indoor parking or use street stands. Bike theft is a problem, but nationally a long-term anti-theft campaign helped reduce it by a third. Cycle Highways Dutch-style ‘Cycle Highways’ are light years ahead of their London equivalents. On urban streets the main routes are almost exclusively on separated tracks that are at least 2 metres wide and behind the parked cars. The lastest inter-urban cycle highways are being built, three to four metres wide, providing direct routes between towns and cities with very few interruptions.

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1 Junctions — busier junctions have separate tracks with cycle only traffic lights, sometimes with twice as many green phases as for other traffic 2 Buses & Trams — cycle tracks are usually located behind bus/tram stops or waiting areas 3 Cycle Tracks — these are at least two metres wide and allow people to either ride side-by-side or overtake

4 Cycle Lanes — again these are mostly up to two metres wide, coloured red, and have mandatory or suggested/ advisory status for cars 5 Roundabouts — cyclists use the outer lane and have priority over traffic entering or leaving the roundabout 6 Cycle Parking — tens of thousands of stands are found across all Dutch cities, with 7,000 spaces at Amsterdam station alone 7 Enjoyment — the excellence of Dutch facilities allow them to relax and enjoy journeys by bike

7 cyclists to cross in any direction. At crossings of major trunk roads the Dutch build totally separate routes, going under the roadway, enabling cyclists to continue through without stopping or having to give way. Side junctions in towns typically have effective ‘raised entry’ treatments. Roundabouts Dutch roundabouts are designed to calm traffic and improve safety rather than increase motor traffic capacity says Hillie Talens. That means the entry points are at a sharp angle to slow car speeds rather than at a wide angle to maintain higher car speeds through the roundabout. Exits for roundabouts are always single lane. At most roundabouts cyclists use

the outer lane and have priority over turning traffic entering or leaving it. They can be used confidently by cyclists of all abilities as cars universally stop and wait for cycles to pass. Cycle Tracks The popular Dutch cycle track is usually 2 metres or more wide, designed for side-by-side cycling or overtaking. They are often located on the inside of parked cars (on tree-lined streets parking spaces are often squeezed in-between the trees). At junctions, tracks either merge with the road, in a clearly defined way, to facilitate turns; or move away from the road to create a separate series of crossings for cyclists (often with priority over turning cars).

Cycle Lanes Dutch lanes, like those in the UK can be mandatory (cars may not enter) or suggested/advisory (which cars may enter). They are mostly 1.8 to 2 metres wide and they are usually coloured red. Cycle symbols in a lane, of either type, have legal status and prohibit car parking in the lane or stopping outside of permitted loading times. So called ‘suggested lanes’ without cycle symbols are not coloured and can be 1.5m in width. Buses and Trams Except on the quietest streets cycle tracks go behind bus stops and waiting areas. In some places a cycle lane will turn into a cycle track behind the bus stop area.

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GO DUTCH 2012 WHAT IS THE CAMPAIGN’S PURPOSE? Go Dutch is our campaign to make London more liveable for everyone by making our streets as safe and inviting for cycling as they are in the Netherlands. WHAT ARE THE KEY PRINCIPLES? 1 — Safety First Londoners young or old, occasional cyclists or experienced ones, will be safe, and feel safe cycling on main roads. 2 — Best Practice Londoners will benefit from the best available know-how in street design, public education and rules of the road, whether imported or home-grown. 3 — Adaptability Londoners will benefit from the full suite of solutions available to make our main roads Go Dutch, tailoring solutions to circumstances. 4 — Clear Passage Londoner’s will enjoy clear and direct passage throughout our city by bike. 5 — Calm Junctions Londoners will be able to negotiate all junctions safely and conveniently whether cycling or walking. 6 — Harmony with Pedestrians Londoners will be able to choose to cycle or walk to their destinations without impeding each other. 7 — Harmony with Public Transport Londoners will be able to safely cycle or use public transport alongside each other, and switch easily between the two. 8 — Quality of Life Londoners from all walks of life will be able to enjoy cycling on main roads, which will be improved to make them more pleasant and attractive places. 9 — Commitment Londoners will have properly managed and maintained cycling facilities. 10 — Engagement Londoners will be consulted on how their main roads should Go Dutch. Signage & Leisure Routes Signage matters to Dutch cycle planners. Routes are always clearly marked and direction signs help you find your way. A network of leisure cycle paths now criss-crosses the whole country, marked with green signs pointing to the next numbered node. At these points several routes meet and there will be a map helping you plan your onward journey. There’s also a network of international long distance paths, often on a scenic route, less direct than the inter-urban cycle highways.

GO DUTCH: WHAT NEXT? In the new year, we’ll be spelling out clear demands for the next mayor’s first term in office. And we’ll be giving you the chance to take action so your voice is heard — www.lcc.org.uk/go-dutch.

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FEATURE CAMPAIGN

RISK-FREE TURNS Right-turning cyclists have their own traffic lights to completely eliminate conflicts with motor vehicles and guarantee cyclist safety

PEOPLE-FRIENDLY PLAZA This newly liberated 750m2 public space is a great chance to expand London’s cool café culture. London needs more people-friendly places

SAFE BIKE TRACKS Bicycles are separated from motor traffic by continuous kerbed cycle lanes that are at least 2.3 metres wide for safe cycling and easy overtaking

OUR DESIGN

Better by design: Blackfriars junction With our plans winning plaudits and thousands joining the protest rides, what’s next for the bridge?

his autumn LCC enjoyed two major successes in the struggle to improve conditions for cycling in London. First, we published our redesign of the controversial Blackfriars junction — to widespread acclaim — and second, we organised another peaceful protest ride on Blackfriars Bridge, this time attended by a whopping 2,500 people. We’re delighted our alternative design encouraged so many to join the latest demo. The response from Londoners was overwhelmingly in favour of our positive vision, which features segregated lanes and safe turns for cyclists, along with an exciting new public space. Yes, there’s been some constructive

criticism of our plans, but we always said our drawings were a vital step towards a solution, not the final word. Indeed, it’s frustrating that despite all the interest from our members, the media, mayoral candidates, Assembly Members and the public, there’s not been a squeak from TfL or the Mayor. It’s a shame they think the debate is closed, when thousands are taking to the streets in a call for a better solution. Benefits of our design The starting point for our new Blackfriars was a layout orginally conceived within TfL itself. Sadly, this double T-junction was rejected early in the planning stages, even though it offers a more people-friendly solution.

In keeping with continental best practice for main roads, our design provides continuous, segregated bike lanes for cyclists travelling in all directions. It also removes the dangerous turns that cyclists currently have to negotiate when turning right, northbound, from the bridge into Queen Victoria Street, and from the bridge southbound into the Embankment. At present anyone on a bike tackling either of these turns has to fight for space with potentially fast-moving motor vehicles. By simplifying the road layout, in particular realigning the eastbound route that joins the Embankment to the bridge, we’ve liberated a massive public space (750m2 we calculate) outside the Unilever buidling. Rejected with false logic Sadly, TfL rejected the double-T design for being too disruptive to traffic flow

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ADVANCED STOP LINES ASLs or ‘bike boxes’ increase safety at the junctions for more confident cyclists who want to ride with the main motor traffic stream

FASTER ON FOOT Wide and direct crossings for pedestrians, and Oxford Circusstyle ‘scramble’ crossings would be possible at both parts of the Blackfriars junction

Here’s what some of our followers said about our design: @AsEasyAsRiding It’s really worth emphasising the vast improvement @london_cycling plan for #Blackfriars represents for pedestrians, compared to TfL layout. @joefeltham Just seen the @london_cycling plans for #Blackfriars. So much better than #tfl plans. @citycyclists As somebody who works in the Unilever building and cycles to get there, I think this looks fantastic. @CraigFoot Checking out the suggested plan for #Blackfriars by@london_cycling — particularly like the KERBED #bike lane @scsmith4 It’s almost like @london_cycling allowed for the increased pedestrian numbers predicted by the station remodel. Whodathunk? @ibikebrighton Important! @london_cycling design of #blackfriars is v relevant outside London. If this is done it’ll set a model for ALL cities to follow.

BUS LANES Priority lanes are retained for high-volume public transport, in both directions, while the design also retains lanes for private motor vehicles

@corin_ja The more I look at this, the happier it makes me. It’s like a vision of heaven! Inspirational. @AndrewTobert Your redesign of Blackfriars bridge alone is worth the membership fee. ILLUSTRATIONS: www.releasethechicken.com; TfL

and too expensive. These arguments flounder when you consider that cyclists already form a third of morning peak hour traffic, and that proportion is set to grow. Similarly, the huge increase in pedestrian numbers using the new Blackfriars station makes creating a more people-friendly space an imperative. We calculate that adopting our design would increase the total cost of the Blackfriars project by a mere one percent. Isn’t this a price worth paying to create streets fit for Londoners, and prepare our city for future decades of sustainable transport growth? The principles we used to redesign the Blackfriars junction are those that underpin our 2012 ‘Go Dutch’ campaign (page 18). And to support it, we’re commissioning more of these visionary street designs, so we can present a positive vision for London. Blackfriars is just the beginning, not the end.

TfL’s DESIGN EXCESS SPEED Wide motor lanes encourage drivers to increase risks

MULTIPLE RISKS Right-turning cyclists forced to cross lanes of fast-moving traffic

POOR DESIGN Delays for people on foot crossing staggered signals

WASTED SPACE Parkland enclosed by multi-lane roads EXTRA DANGER Cyclists squeezed into unprotected narrow bike lanes

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FEATURE CAMPAIGN

‘Stop der Kindermoord’ Ever wondered why the Netherlands is more cyclefriendly than the UK? Mike Cavenett finds out

f you’ve ever visited the Netherlands, you can’t help but wonder why Dutch streets are so much more cycle-friendly than ours. This question becomes more intriguing when you remember that the UK and the Netherlands are surprisingly similar in terms of culture and climate, with comparable degrees of wealth and education, while the geography of our urban areas isn’t a million miles apart either. Interestingly, our two nations have a fairly similar history of bicycle use up to a point, with bikes being the predominant mode of transport in both countries before World War II, yet falling into widespread decline during the 1950s and 1960s as the popularity of the car increased. These broadly similar paths continued until the 1970s, when our

transport policies diverged significantly. At this time, Dutch urban planners started to implement the measures that have created the world’s most successful cycling nation; while here in the UK, we continued to plan our towns and cities largely around the needs of motorists. What triggered the changes? It might be surprising to learn that cycle lanes weren’t the first bikefriendly features Dutch planners added to their towns and cities. No, long before the huge network of bike lanes arrived, planners worked to make residential areas safer, particularly for children. The early 1970s saw the arrival of the people-friendly home zone, or woonerf (plural woonerven). Pioneered in the town of Delft by Joost Vahl, an innovative transport

YOUTH CAMPAIGNING: Stop de Kindermoord President Steven Schepel (left) and friends meet Dutch Minister of Transport Henk Zeevalking

engineer of Hungarian descent, a woonerf is a street built on the principles of shared space. In Delft, shared space between walkers, bikes and motor vehicles was a necessity due to the many narrow canalside streets and the refusal of private property owners to sell their ‘stoops’ of land to the municipality to create space for separate pavements. Vahl’s experience working in the confined space of Delft’s narrow streets prompted him to experiment with traffic-calming measures in new residential developments. The town combined existing traffic-calming methods — humps, bends, street surfacing, signage and low speed limits — to create large areas of people-friendly streets. At the same time as these innovations were taking place in Delft,

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TAKING TO THE STREETS: Dutch families fought alongside progressive transport movements for improved road safety for their children

Child safety proved the key ‘Stop de Kindermoord’ was a powerful message, and it gathered widespread support among mainstream commentators and young urban political activists. In Amsterdam in the early 1970s, there were already organisations with the aims of demotorising cities, improving public transport, preventing the bulldozing of heritage sites and controlling pollution. These campaigners opposed the statist interventions of the Left and the laissez-faire economics of the Right, both of which they felt threatened the quality of urban life. Straddling the mainstream and the radicals was influential campaigner Maartje van Putten. A young mother from a wealthy and influential Amsterdam family, she was also involved in the burgeoning feminist

and progressive transport movements. Quoted in a Dutch magazine interview, van Putten said of that era: “Automobile traffic in Amsterdam had increased dramatically. On our street there was a primary school and children were run over frequently. When I saw Langenhoff’s article I thought: my God, what kind of society are we creating?” Not long afterwards, at the age of 23, van Putten was appointed President of Stop de Kindermoord, an organisation now dedicated to tackling the high level of death and injury on Dutch roads. By all accounts, Dutch campaigners of the era were a formidable bunch, but they also had favourable conditions within which to work. Dutch motorisation had taken place extremely rapidly after WWII, as the nation rebuilt its shattered country with wealth from natural gas. The huge increase in cars

Photos: Dutch National Archive

a crisis was taking place on Dutch roads. In 1971, deaths by motor vehicles reached record levels, with 3,300 people dead, 500 of whom were children. One victim of road death at this time was the child of respected journalist Vic Langenhoff, a senior writer on national newspaper De Tijd, based in the south of the country. Langenhoff wrote a series of articles, the first of which used the dramatic headline ‘Stop de Kindermoord’ (Stop the Child Murder) and called for children to be taken to school by bus, in order to reduce their exposure to danger from motorists. But it wasn’t long before more experienced campaigners contacted him and a policy of reducing road danger at source was agreed as the best way to tackle the unacceptable rise in road crash deaths.

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High-profile protests The Stop de Kindermoord organisation expanded rapidly in the early 1970s, with support for its ideas fuelled by many marches involving parents and children. Demos were carefully managed, providing maximum impact in the media, including early television. Alongside Stop de Kindermoord, this was also the time when the Dutch cyclists’ union was created. It was launched in a blaze of publicity when the national motoring organisation sued the nascent group for lampooning its name. The cyclists lost their court case, and had to change their name, but they gained 30,000 members nationwide in a short space of time. Stop de Kindermoord’s campaigning strengths were allied to a sympathetic hearing from national transport advisors. Goverment officials came to Delft, where the experiments with de-proritising motor traffic and creating people-friendly streets were at their most advanced. There, they recruited Steven Schepel, who had worked under woonerf-pioneer Joost Vahl. Schepel was given the crucial role of technical advisor within Stop de Kindermoord, promoting child-friendly street designs to the regional authorities, with his salary paid by the national government. When Stop de Kindermoord’s Maartje van Putten stepped down in 1976, Schepel became the next President: “One of the important things was that we came with feasible ideas. We not only made noise at the right moment, but we demonstated that it would be possible to make streets better places. And we never said don’t drive a car; we fought the bad consequences of too much car traffic.” The Dutch system of municipal government meant that ‘missionaries’ like Schepel played an important role in spreading the word to local officials about progressive road danger reduction techniques, and also creating local campaigns to support

these ideas. Civil engineer Dick Jansen, who was also employed in this role by Stop de Kindermoord said: “We were frontline soldiers, put in place by the national government so local authorities would get involved in this new kind of thinking.” The woonerf approach can still be seen in many Dutch residential streets, which retain a sense of place that’s distinct from busy arterial roads. Moving from a main road to a residential area frequently involves a change in road layout, including texture and colour. And even though the woonerf has fallen out of favour in today’s era of higher-density housing, what has been retained is the key principle, articulated simply by Schepel: “In places with good housing people should drive very slowly.” ‘Separate when necessary’ Road safety and mass cycling protests continued throughout the 1970s, given impetus by the energy crises, which put more pressure on the national government to improve facilities for sustainable transport. Regular car-free Sundays, a response to the oil shocks, reminded citizens of the pleasures to be had from city streets devoid of motor traffic. The decades that followed saw the widespread implementation of cycle lanes on busy roads and between urban areas, as the Dutch applied the lessons they’d learned at the local level all over the country: “Mix modes of transport when possible; separate when necessary.” Crucially, the introduction of cycle

‘150 DEAD PER MONTH’: Stop de Kindermoord campaigner Dick Jansen (right) helps send a blunt message to Dutch politicians

lanes was allied to other improvements for cyclists, such as widespread reductions in speed limits, as well as changes in the law that gave greater priority to cyclists at junctions. The law of stricter liability became enshrined in Dutch statutes too. Eventually, in the 1990s, Stop de Kindermoord merged with several other road safety groups, but by then their work was largely done: they’d created a cultural shift that saw cycling and walking treated with the same respect as motoring, and roadspace allocated accordingly. The lobbying combination of embattled parents and professional campaigners had convinced decisionmakers of the wisdom of reducing road danger and increasing cycling. Allied to the national government’s willingness to turn these campaigning groups into centres of street design excellence, it laid the foundation for the Netherlands’ incredible cycling successes.

CYCLING LEVELS: UK vs Dutch 100 Amsterdam

% OF JOURNEYS BY BIKE

CAMPAIGN FEATURE

had a shocking effect on the nation’s road fatalities, pushing the death toll to nearly twice the rate it was in the UK. Crucially, although cycling had declined massively post-WWII, it had started at such a high rate (see graph below) that it never dropped below a 20 percent share of journeys nationwide. These factors helped create a ‘perfect storm’: a highly emotive issue about which to campaign and bring about mass support for change.

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inners in the 2011 Awards range from major construction projects (the suspended walkway at Bow) to those generated by enthusiasm alone (the Battersea Artists’ Trail ride). Yet again the judges faced the challenge of deciding between a large number of outstanding nominations and in two categories they had to settle on joint-winners.

BEST NEW CYCLING FACILITY SHORTLISTED

PROJECT: Suspended Walkway and Cycle Path beneath Bow Flyover

NOMINEE: Lambeth Council PROJECT: On-street Cycle Parking

The walking and cycling path from the River Thames, along the Lea Valley to Waltham Abbey has long suffered from a nightmare obstacle at Bow Flyover — you had to leave the path, run across four lanes of traffic and return to the route on the other side of the roundabout below the flyover. It is not surprising that that the suspended path under the roundabout was nominated by Newham Cyclists for an award: it unlocks a key leisure cycling route. British Waterways implemented the project with support from half-adozen funders. The suspended path, which runs through a tunnel is both well lit and landscaped. Judges say they had no hesitation in selecting this nomination as a winner.

In the Netherlands bulbous sheds (Fietshangers) that enclose half a dozen bicycles are common place; in London they are a novelty. Facilitating access to a secure bike parking location without forcing the owner to carry the cycle up or down several flights of stairs to a flat makes a lot of sense in London. You can see the Dutch-style containers in the legendary Bonnington Square (once full of gaily decorated hippy squats). The council reports that the spaces were two times oversubscribed.

Photos: Tom Bogdanowicz, Cyclehoop

JOINT WINNER: British Waterways and Partners (London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Walk London, TfL, Olympic Delivery Authority , Design for London)

OTHER NOMINATIONS IN THE CATEGORY

JOINT WINNER: Lambeth Council & Cyclehoop PROJECT: 1 car space = 10 bicycles The judges were impressed by the innovation in this on-street cycle parking facility which spells out the message that bikes are a more efficient use of road space than cars. One judege said: “It send out a strong message about how environmentally-friendly cycling is.” Lambeth Council installed three of these novel bike stands in Waterloo and will be moving them to monitor local demand for cycle parking. Cyclehoop, the design company run by Anthony Lau, says that the car-shaped body has the additional function of protecting both the cycles and their owners (as they lock their bikes) from passing cars. The stands do not take up any pavement space in crowded areas and also include a built-in track pump.

■ Goldsmith Row, Hackney — modal filter creating cycling and walking street ■ Britannia Junction, Hackney — roundabout conversion ■ St Philomena’s School, Bromley — cycle shed ■ Public bicycle pumps at City of London car/cycle parks in Queen Victoria Street and Moorgate London Wall ■ Hackney Parks Cycle Route — see London Cyclist Aug/Sept 2011 ■ Hanger Lane, north Ealing — cycle crossing ■ Dufors Place, Soho — H2 Bike Run cycle parking/showers/gym ■ Horseguards Parade — temporary cycle lane

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CAMPAIGN

2011

London Cycling Awards Following a record number of entries this year, we can now reveal the winners... TEXT: Tom Bogdanowicz, with Katrin Wedepohl

in association with

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Photos: Richard Sarson, Dr Margot Lindsay

AWARDS

COMMUNITY CYCLING PROJECT OF THE YEAR WINNER: Wheels for Wellbeing PROJECT: Wheels for Wellbeing new projects What some people forget is that cycling is virtually open to anyone regardless of their physical or mental abilities. Wheels for Wellbeing has expanded from a relatively small project in Croydon to an organisation running programmes for thousands of people with disabilities in Brockwell Park and the Croydon area. New in 2010 and 2011 were special sessions for children with disabilities and the group participated in setting up an ‘Inclusive Cycling Hub’ at the annual Cycle Show. The group also became involved in cycle campaigning in 2010 by fighting a restriction on cycling along the Thames path which affected disabled as well as able-bodied cyclists. The group’s motto is ‘Discover cycling – dare to dream’. And in the space of a year more than 5,000 individuals participated in sessions in Croydon and more than 700 in Lambeth (Brockwell Park). The judges praised the inclusive nature of the project.

MANY THANKS London Cycling Campaign thanks everyone who contributed to the awards, especially the nominees, nominators, judges, presenter Andrew Neather of the Evening Standard, and photographer Ben Broomfield.

SHORTLISTED NOMINEE: Sanford Community Houseing Co-op PROJECT: Sanford Community Cycling Poject Cycling champions can form the nucleus of a cycling revival in a school or on an estate. The children and adults living at Sanford Housing Co-operative were unstinting in their praise for Luke Dickens, Alex Longman and Tomo who, they say, have made unsafe bikes work properly and helped people reduce their transport costs.

TOP RIGHT: community champions at Sanford Housing Co-op. BOTTOM RIGHT: Agewell on Wheels helps the over-50s rediscover the joys of cycling.

NOMINEE: LCC and partners PROJECT: Agewell on Wheels This project does what is says on the tin: it helps older people discover or rediscover cycling as a way of improving their health and fitness. The bespoke sessions for the over-50s were based on an idea developed in Hammersmith & Fulham but have now been extended to eight more London boroughs.

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Photos: Hackney Council; Isleworth Town Primary; Havering Council/Cycle Training East; Barclays CSHs

CAMPAIGN

BEST PROJECT FOR CHILDREN OR YOUNG PEOPLE

BEST WORKPLACE CYCLING INITIATIVE

WINNER: Hackney Council PROJECT: Hackney Bikers’ Breakfast (pictured left)

WINNER: Transport for London PROJECT: Barclays Cycle Superhighways Workplace Scheme (pictured above)

Hackney Council took its inspiration from a successful series of Bikers’ Breakfasts during Bike Week in 2010 to develop a year-long campaign. Using posters, stickers, record sheets and step-by-step guides, staff members at 15 schools organised more than 30 events. The response from schools and pupils was overwhelmingly positive: “The children had a fantastic time and I was amazed by the turnout,” said one teacher. “The children really enjoyed watching Dr Bike in action,” said another. Hackney Council reports that a total of 845 children brought bikes to school for the events and there was a 58% increase in cycling to school compared to pre-event counts.

SHORTLISTED NOMINEE: London Borough of Havering/Cycle Training East PROJECT: Cycle Awareness Day in Havering (pictured top centre) This initiative provides children with fun cycling-related activities. Since 2010 more than 140 sessions have been held at more than 40 schools. The organiser says it can train up to 180 children in a day.

NOMINEE: Isleworth Town School PROJECT: Travel Sustainably (pictured top right) Isleworth Town School took action when it found that its new bicycle shed was empty. An initiative that loaned bikes and scooters to pupils has encouraged sustainable travel to school and enabled those without bikes to enjoy cycling.

Every cyclist in London must have heard of the ‘smurf’-blue highways, but few know that along with the conspicuous routes came investment in what are known as ‘supporting measures.’ These ‘measures’ include cycle parking for workplaces, schools, hospitals and other organisations. TfL says it funded cycling provision at more than 80 locations in 2010/11, delivering almost 2,000 bike parking spaces, repairing 1,400 bikes and providing 1,400 hours of cycle training. The plan is to double those numbers following the implementation of two further highways. Workplaces within 1.5km of any Cycle S uperhighway are eligible for funding. To receive funding, workplaces have to enter a legal agreement with TfL to monitor the impact of the measures on cycling to their premises. One judge commended the “direct aims, real implementation and solid results”. ALSO NOMINATED ■ The Heathrow Cycle Hub ■ Transport for London’s Freight Operators Recognition Scheme

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Main photo: London Borough of Havering/Cycle Training East

AWARDS

LONDON CYCLE EVENT OF THE YEAR

LOCAL CAMPAIGNER OF THE YEAR

JOINT WINNER: Havering Council PROJECT: Havering Bikewise

WINNER: Danny Williams (City of London)

Compared to inner London, Havering has low levels of cycling and it’s aspirations for a cycling event on a wintry March Sunday were modest. The council organisers were therefore surprised to have attracted several thousand people on the day — four times their target. Among the attendees were Olympic gold medalist Mark Hunter, as well as both the Leader of the Council and the Mayor of Havering. Among the attractions were a virtual biking competition, free bike repairs, a BMX display and a bike polo tournament that included a team of local councillors. A survey and name gathering on the day has enabled the council to run organised rides and a second bicycle polo tournament. JOINT WINNER: Vanessa Celosse with partners * PROJECT: Battersea Artists’ Trail Bike Tour Small but beautiful was the judges’ view of the Battersea Artists Trail by bike. “It was the attention to detail that people enjoyed enormously,” said one. Art and cycling enthusiast Vanessa Celosse organised the four days of cycle rides which took groups of cyclists to see a total of 17 artists’ homes or ‘galleries’ — a feat only made possible by the use of a cycle. * (Wandsworth Cycling Campaign, Battersea Artists coordinators Martin Ireland & Louise Gillard, and Justine Kenyon, Arts Development Officer at Wandsworth Council)

SHORTLISTED NOMINEE: Hackney Council PROJECT: Bike Across the Borough

Danny Williams (pictured top right) has attracted London-wide attention with his “well researched, well argued and always up-to-date Cyclists in the City blog about cycling in London”. As a worker in the City of London, Danny has also attracted praise for his active campaigning to improve the Local Implementation Plan for the City and for his tireless efforts to secure changes at the Blackfriars junction. Danny coordinates meetings with City officials as well as Assembly Members to secure changes in cycling conditions. One judge described his blog as “simple, robust and powerful”. SHORTLISTED Geraldine Matthews (Tower Hamlets) Gerry (pictured above right) is described as “persistent, methodical and ruthless” in her campaigning. She also helps with the all-abilities cycling group, activities with Bengali women and local cycling events. Charlie Holland (Lambeth) Like Danny, Charlie Holland (pictured above centre) is both blogger and campaigner. He lobbied hard to successfully overturn a ban on cycling along Lambeth’s section of the Thames Path.

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RIDES

Old Wives Lees to Faversham Author Matt Carroll guides us on one of his favourite loops in Kent GET THE MAP AD DOWNLORg Qz

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here’s something magical about this hidden corner of Kent, as you’ll discover when you walk through the door of Pond Cottage. Beyond the archetypal red-brick veneer you’ll find a sumptuously decorated, spacious room decked out in lavish turquoise bedspreads and sumptuous drapes — all inspired by owner Jude Adams’ travels in India. And if that’s not enough to lure you in, there’s a hot tub in the garden — but that’s for later. First it’s time to head out into the surrounding lanes on a ride that includes an enchanting wood, a couple of idyllic pubs, a cider orchard and a collection of colourful cafés in Faversham. There’s plenty to feast your eyes on too, in the form of rolling fields, fruit farms and thatchroofed houses. This is England at its glorious best…

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FACTFILE START/FINISH: Pond Cottage, Old Wives Lees. LENGTH: 16.5 miles. TIME: 5 hours (depending on food stops). TERRAIN: quiet country lanes, with only one notable climb at Painters Forstall — but nothing to write home about.

FOOD & FUEL ■ Purple Peach in Faversham Market Place — serves cream teas, sandwiches and delicious homemade pies. ■ Macknade Fine Foods — these guys import their coffee from a historic roast house in Florence, Italy.

POND COTTAGE

PERRY WOOD

Half-a-mile after leaving Pond Cottage you come to a stunning Tudor house — all white wattle-and-daub walls and black wood beams. It marks your approach into Perry Wood, and after veering off left you find yourself entering an Alice in Wonderland-style world, where the lanes get narrower, leading you into enchanting woodland. Blackbirds scratch about in the leaf-litter on either side of the road, squirrels leap out in front of you as if to lead the way and all you can hear is the sound of

2 THE ROSE & CROWN

PERRY WOOD 1 START/FINISH

THE ROSE & CROWN

small birds chattering in the branches overhead. Topping it all off are the shafts of sunlight piercing the canopy, spotlighting the carpet of bluebells — make sure you bring the camera.

With all this gorgeous scenery around, you might think it couldn’t get much better. And then you reach the first pub. Emerging out of the woods, and hanging a left at the crossroads, you reach the Rose & Crown — the walls awash with ivy and brightly-coloured hanging baskets. Owner, Tim Robinson, serves up a range of real ales, from Adnams Bitter to Harvey’s Sussex Best, which you can sit and sip while waiting for your ploughman’s to arrive. Out back

there’s an enormous garden bordered by woodland, and if you fancy ditching the bikes for a bit, Tim (or wife, Vanessa) will keep an eye on them while you head off for a stroll. From here the cycle route takes you out onto open fields, cruising on through the village of Sheldwich.

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FAVERSHAM

The medieval streets and the marketplace itself is lined with wonky old buildings that lean on each other for support, many of them painted in ice cream colours. It’s enough to get you thinking about food (again), which is no bad thing because there’s a lot to choose from here. In the square itself you’ll find cafes galore — like the wonderfully traditional Havershams, where you can sit, sip your way through a pot of tea, and watch

the world go by. Walk it off with a stroll round the ancient streets; there are over 500 listed buildings to look out for. From here it’s an easy ride back to Pond Cottage.

FREE GUIDEBOOK WITH ALL NEW GIFT MEMBERSHIPS Have you got family or friends who are keen cyclists? Then why not buy them an LCC Gift Membership for Xmas? And until December they’ll also receive a FREE book worth £16.95. Escape Routes by Matt Carroll — from which this Kent ride is taken — contains a selection of 60 stunning cycle routes around England. Buy online now at www. lcc.org.uk/join or by calling

the Membership Team on 020 7234 9310. Order by 20 December for guaranteed smiles on Xmas morning.

DUNKIRK

POINTS OF INTEREST

SHEPHERD NEAME BREWERY

NISH

After leaving Pawley Farm it’s not long before you’re freewheeling downhill towards the town of Faversham, where you’ll pass right by the Shepherd Neame Brewery. Whether you’re a beer lover, history buff or both, you’ll love this place; they’ve been brewing ale on this site for 850 years, and the tour begins in the beautifully restored Medieval hall. Over the next 80 minutes your guide will whisk you behind the scenes of this family-run brewery, giving you a heads-up about some of the special ingredients that go into delicious tipples like Spitfire and the

■ If you’re heading to this part of Kent for the weekend there are tons of other places to see and most of them are rideable — provided you’ve got the energy. Whitstable is well worth a trip — essentially still a fishing village, where galleries, olde worlde sweetshops and traditional tearooms line the main street. Their doorways come up to your chin (testament to the age of the place) and if you carry on along to the harbour you’ll see fish being unloaded onto the quayside. Book a table at the Crab and Winkle (www.crabandwinklerestaurant.co.uk), where the menu includes dishes like grilled skate wing. Or take a stroll along the seafront and you’ll end up at a quaint little clapboard pub called the Neptune (www.neppy.co.uk).

evocatively titled Bishop’s Finger. There’s even a collection of old delivery vehicles in the vault. But, naturally, the bit you’re really waiting for is the tasting.

THE ALMA

Three or four leisurely miles later you arrive at the foot of a small hill, which leads you up into the curiously-named Painters Forstall. The climb is nothing to worry about (no-one will mind if you get off and push) and as you arrive in the village there’s a reward waiting — in the form of a white clapboard pub. The Alma dates way back to 1837 and although it’s breweryowned, country pub purists will be reassured by the authentic, olde-worlde atmosphere. Order a pint of Early Bird ale, grab a table

■ Then, of course, there’s Canterbury. Aside from the cathedral (which is a must), another thing you should do is take a boat trip on the river. Over 40 minutes you’ll feel like you’ve floated back in time, as the rowing boat drifts lazily past The Greyfriars island — home to a 13th-century chapel which spans the river — and continues on under various bridges dating back to the 1100s.

in the little garden out front and lap up fresh air tinged with the scent of freshly-cut grass. It’s tempting to spend the rest of the day right here.

PAWLEY FARM

When you do finally manage to tear yourself away from The Alma, you’ll find further temptation lurking just around the corner – in the form of Pawley Farm. This is exactly the sort of place that people have in mind when they talk about Kent being the ‘Garden of England’. Surrounding the farmhouse itself you’ll see 50 acres of neatly arranged orchards — the apple trees awash with pink and white blossoms every spring. Derek Macey and his family have

been pressing traditional cider and apple juice here for decades, and if you ring ahead they’ll happily give you a quick tour (and tasting). Best leave room in your rucksack for a couple of bottles.

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FEATURE COMMENT

Have Your Say Route choice is critical for safe and enjoyable urban riding, but London Cyclist asks LCC members whether they prefer the quickest or more scenic options

Erin Siddall Dalston I have been living in London for just over four years and cycling about half of that time. Cycling has opened up a whole new world of London for me as it makes the city so much more accessible compared to the slow pace of walking. I much prefer riding on quiet routes compared to the larger busier roads. I love exploring the city while getting to my destination. Although I moved here from Canada four years ago, I have never really gotten over the excitement of all the old beautiful buildings in this city. I love cycling through London‘s parks, markets and passing canals and amazing Victorian, Georgian and even Modernist homes. Those who stick to the main roads are missing out on some of the great scenery that our amazing city has to offer.

Jas Boual Redbridge I have always used the main roads to get around on my bike even if there has been a cycle lane on the pavement next to me. This is because I don’t want to spend an hour doing a 20-minute journey — on these ‘longer routes’ you can spend most of the time avoiding people walking on the cycle lane and hopping on and off pavements, and stopping every 50 metres to look around for traffic as you cross every small side road. Also, I want to travel in the most direct way to get me to my destination. Recently I have started to use some of the quiet routes, so that my kids feel more confident and are safer travelling around. I have to allow much more time for the journey and try to see it as a family experience rather than an effective form of transport, getting us somewhere in a reasonable amount of time.

HAVE YOUR SAY Why not join in the next fun debate at www.lcc.org.uk/pages/general. For the February issue we’re asking: how light is your ride? Are lightweight components important to slim your bike down, or is yours a workhorse with lots of sturdy extras?

Ruth Chiat Brent If I’m a bit pushed for time and don’t have a familiar route, I tend to go straight down the main roads. Main roads are often the only way to go in any direction for any length of time. I like going down stretches of main roads if you can build up some speed. Big roads can feel quite anarchic, it’s everyone for themselves, sometimes I love this and sometimes I hate it. Being on a main road can make me feel more like riding fast and there’s a bit of a buzz to nipping in and out of traffic. If it’s a regular route I tend to make for the quiet roads where possible. It’s great when you find a nice quiet route that goes in a direction you want to go, particularly when they have thought of cyclists and made links between little roads that are separated for cars. I like the feeling of being free from rules that bind cars. You can just enjoy the cycling then and travel fast too if you know where your going. You can really enjoy the beauty of London. I love the routes through the parks and it’s really annoying when cycling is banned unnecessarily.

Ian Jones Chesham I find that quiet roads work better for me. Often the quiet routes don’t make the journey any longer and can sometimes offer a short cut between main routes. They do, however, take a few times to learn so you don’t become lost (handy to have a map or GPS if this happens). I find main roads are unavoidable for some of the journey though and are useful for joining together some of the quiet routes. Also it is useful to learn the main road routes as a back-up in case the quiet roads are poorly lit at night as is often the case. I think that quiet routes also offer more variety because if you do the same route every day then it’s very easy to make a small variation. You could go down a different road, or through a park, or down a canal path for example and make things a little bit more exciting.

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15% Christmas Discount Code: NOEL

David Lyall Leytonstone During the last four years of cycling to work I must have tried out every route known to mankind, and some that aren’t. This has taken me down side roads, canal paths, main roads, round the Tottenham Hale one-way system, through parks, you name it, all in pursuit of the ‘perfect way to work’. I’ve got to say I haven’t found it yet. On a truly quiet road you can wend your way at a leisurely pace, pausing to wave to the postman in a kind of 1930s Ealing comedy way before the car took over. However you’re quickly jolted out of that reverie when the cars appear. Generally as a cyclist on a quiet road you’re not given a lot of room, people expect you to always give way and you have to negotiate a lot more junctions. These days I prefer being on the main roads. They are definitely quicker as you have to stop less often. But I can’t help feeling that cyclists on main roads are tolerated rather than welcomed. You feel like you have to ride aggressively just to survive. It’s not true, but it can feel like it.

Nicholas Fripp Battersea Main roads are usually the most direct route, and provided you can match the speed of traffic, offer a reasonably safe ride. Most drivers on main roads are aware of cyclists and do not drive right on your tail, as they tend to do on quieter streets, and the surface is mostly in better condition. Cycle lanes on the other hand dump you in the gutter and can be so rutted as to be unusable, to say nothing of the morons who step out into your path without looking, while yapping into a mobile. Main roads tend to be better lit at night as well as being adequately signposted, so you do not always need to take a map. I particularly enjoy speeding down the centre line on the approach to traffic lights, passing all the cars with gay abandon, and if I can time my arrival at the lights as they turn green, my happiness is complete — at least until the next junction.

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Bobike Poncho £19.99 www.greyville.com

friendly products

Without a rain jacket, waterproof trousers or boots children risk a soaking while stranded in a child seat. The Bobike poncho slips over both seat and child so that water doesn’t pool in the seat. It covers both body and legs and is suitable for use either when in a front or rear seat. It packs into itself like a ‘pac-a-mac’ and has an elasticated strap so it can be strapped onto the seatpost when not in use. The hood has a drawstring for further waterproofing and has a clear section around the brim to provide prov increased visib visibility for the child. Pros: keeps kids ki dry (still need layers for warmth) wa Cons: C very specific use u

Polaris Junior Basil Jada-Bag Aqualite Extreme Basket £36.99 £35 www.polaris-apparel.co.uk www.madison.co.uk

With its taped seams, stormflap, chinguard, quality features and materials this jacket has a decidedly grown-up feel. It worked well in light rain, the zips ran smoothly and elasticated cuffs and drawcord hem kept our young rider snug and dry. For the price it seems a shame that the hood is an extra, after all it is a rain jacket. Some kids might also want a choice of colours; this one comes in hi-vis yellow only. Pros: quality, fit, packability Cons: hood extra, small pocket

This is a good-looking modern day take on the traditional wicker basket. It’s roomy at 23-litres capacity (similar to a daypack), ideal for family cycling as nappies, drinks and extra clothing can all be thrown in and the full width opening means that everything’s easily accessible. The steel-framed basket shrouded in nylon is tough and has a waterproof rain cover. It clips on to the handlebar using the BasEasysystems mount (not included) and once off the bike the clip is hidden under the material and the carry straps provide a versatile shopping basket. Pros: stylish Cons: mount costs extra (£19.99)

Bell Faction Paul Frank £35

Bell Tater £24.99

Polaris Mini Hoolie Glove £18

www.greyville.com com

www.bellsports.com

www.polaris-apparel.co.uk

Front seats are commonplace on the Continent but less so over here. An advantage is that the child can see where they’re going and it’s easier for you to talk to them than when in a rear seat or trailer. Steering isn’t really affected and only on very small frames should you need to cycle with legs slightly further apart. Bobike seats are suitable from 9 months to 3 years (max weight 15kg) and they clamp to a standard quill or ahead stem. Children are secured with a three-point harness and feet strapped into adjustable foot supports. Dutch brand Bobike also offers a removable impactresistant windscreen (£29.99) to keep out the worst of the wind and rain, flies or flying grit. Pros: More fun for little ones Cons: too ‘European’ for some

This is a scaled-down version of the skate-styled adult Faction bike helmet — what the cool kids wear. Bell have teamed up with American cartoonist and fashion designer Frank for a range of lids featuring his unique artwork — this one features Julius the Monkey, one of his best-known characters. The helmet has a tough plastic shell, to protect it from inevitable scuffs, bonded to a standard dual-density EPS foam inner. Despite its look it is lightweight and has 12 vents to keep heads cool. Plenty of padding and an adjustable strap keep it in place. Sizes XS (48-53cm) and S (51-56cm). Pros: cool looking, tough shell Cons: pricey

The Tater ‘OneStep’ fit system promises to make fitting a doddle, with no faffing with fore/aft ear adjustment as this is set for you. You just turn the micro-adjust buckle under the chin. What’s nice is the rear of the helmet is shaped to be less bulky so doesn’t push forward when in a child seat. The in-mould construction makes it lightweight and tough enough to meet CE safety standards. What’s far more interesting for the kids is that the helmet features two integrated LED rear lights in the strap which can be constant or flashing. “Cool” said my 3-year-old. Sizes XS (4853cm) and S (51-56cm). Pros: easy fit, LED lights Cons: love it or hate it graphics

The Hoolies certainly provide good warmth when out in near zero degree temperatures. The gel padded palm area is comfortable, while silicon print grips give the wee one added control over steering and brakes. The gloves cover the wrists nicely in all riding positions and they don’t slip. The hi-vis colour and reflective detail really stands out from the front as well as when giving hand signals, but they are available in black with hi-vis details which may be better for everyday use. Considering how often your child is likely to use the gloves and how easily kids’ gloves are lost, the price might put some people off. Pros: good fit, grip and padding Cons: price

Main photo: Steve Rutherford Additional tests: Gerhard Weiss

Bobike Mini+ £70.95

Xmas 2011 London Cyclist 43

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REVIEWS

Children’s bikes & gear With bikes high on many Santa letters, Matt Mallinder looks at a variety kidRidgeback MX14 £119.99

Adams Trail-ABike £134.99

AT1 trailer £249.99

Scoot Beginner £99.99

www.ridgeback.co.uk

www.fisheroutdoor.co.uk

www.madison.co.uk

The MX, available in both 14in or 16in (£129) wheel sizes for over-3s, provides the next step up from a balance bike or trike. It’s singlespeed and can be used with or without stabilisers. The bike has alloy V-brakes with short reach levers so kids quickly learn to use and trust ‘real’ brakes, unlike many bikes in this size range which have pedal-back brakes. It’s got real bearings throughout rather than plastic bushes and the lighter aluminium frame is an excellent feature, making the bike easier to manoeuvre. Pros: V-brakes, light frame Cons: plastic pedals need swapping for metal

Even if your child can cycle their own bike they may not have the distance in their legs for a longer family ride. The Trail-aBike is suitable for children from 4-6 (up to 38.5kg) and with its singlespeed freewheel it gives them the option to do as little or as much pedalling as they want. Provided there is enough clearance, it connects to the seatpost of your bike and follows behind like a trailer, so there’s no danger of it going off on its own. A really handy feature is that the unit folds in half for either storage at home or transporting in a car. Also comes in geared versions for older children and a tandem for two children. Pros: folds for storage Cons: no lower chainguard — needs care on clean floors!

The single-seater aluminium AT1 is a top of the range adventure trailer — there’s also the AT3 alloy two-seater for £219 or the ST3 steel two-seater for £169. It hitches onto the rear axle of any mtb or road bike and a 20in wheel means that it rolls well and steers easily. The child has good visibility with large side windows and a front window that can be open so you can hear them shouting ‘are we nearly there yet’ or closed to the elements with mesh or clear roll-down windows. It has ample storage, folds easily and takes children up to 18kg/40lb (approx age 3-4). Pros: lightweight, value Cons: child out of sight line

The Scoot Beginner balance bike does exactly what it suggests by helping children from 18-months-old learn to balance a bike by walking astride the low standover frame. Children then quickly progress to sitting on the saddle and scooting along, without pedals getting in the way. When they move to a pedal cycle there’ll be no need for stabilisers as balance and steering will be second nature. The inclusion of a V-brake means that they also understand slowing down. The Scoot has an alloy frame, bold colours (pink, blue, green), quick running tyres and a saddle with grab-handle for runaway moments or easy portage. Pros: attention to detail Cons: heavier than some others

42 London Cyclist Xmas 2011

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21/11/2011 21:53

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15/11/2011 15:12

REVIEWS

Bike lights Tested: front and rear lights, helmet lights, even a combo pack with computer LEZYNE Super Drive £99.99 Mini Drive £49.99 www.upgrade.co.uk Perhaps the most widely ta talked-about lights at the various 2011 cycle shows, these latest offerings from Lezyne sit perfectly within its growing portfolio of beautifully-crafted tools and accessories. But portf on this occasion it’s the performance that we’ve found impressive, not the sleek design. im Both LED lights we tested here use what Lezyne ccalls a mirror-finish ‘reflector dish’ which effectively projects brighter light in the middle of the beam. In pr both on and off-road use, we found that they gave a really concentrated ccentral beam that spread its wings much further than times more. Off-road it was enough for the Super lights costing three tim p Drive not just a portion of it; it to light up a double-track n gives off an astonishing 450 45 lumens of light in n modes. The wee (66g) Mini the highest of three mode ni Drive maxes 150 lumens. Both units are made from CNC-machined aluminium and come with high capacity Li-ion batteries which are both rechargeable (USB cable included) or upgradeable (£14.99-£29.99). We found the supplied batteries needed regular topping up, so we’d buy an upgrade for long tours. And while bar mounts are included, a helmet mount costs an extra £16.99. JK PROS best compact lights for under £100 CONS the extras can add up

CATEYE Velo Gift Set £34.99 www.zyro.co.uk

PDW Spaceship/ ONE23 Ultra Bright/Super Radbot £35 Bright £35.49 www.paligap.cc

ELECTRON Millis £29.99 www.madison.co.uk These USBrechargeable lights are quick to attach using the soft silicone clips. Charging takes about four hours; a red light shows when charging, turning green once they’re ready. Both switch between steady and flash modes; we got 10 hours operation in flash mode, but only 2 or 3 with a steady beam. There’s a handful of colour options too — stylish and practical to boot. MC PROS simple, rechargeable CONS low burn timess

LIGHT&MOTION Vis 360 £139.99 www.madison.co.uk

www.todayscyclist.co.uk Though the front light is compact, its two AA-powered LEDs punch out plenty of light in flash or steady modes. The bracket is tool-free and the light can be slipped on and off in seconds. The rear has triple LEDs, powered by a pair of AA batteries and the bracket attaches to your seatpost with minimum effort; there’s also a rucksack mount for it too. Both lights provide roughly 100 hours in flash mode. The gift set also includes a cable-mounted computer with basic functions ons such as speed, max speed, distance and trip info. We’ve seen the set for as little as £30 online, including batteries, a real bargain. MC C PROS price, output, computer CONS battery cost st

The front lamp uses a single LED and lens to create a bright, tight beam with which it’s possible to navigate pretty well even without street lighting. You need a coin to insert the two AA batteries and there are flash and steady modes (expect 30-60 hours’ run time); the blue glow on top of the light is unnecessary though. The Radbot 500 rear light is unusual in that it features a large reflector below the main LED, which means it’s on even when it’s off; in use it pumps out 500 milliwatts of light. Comes with rack, seatpost and seatstay mounts, and backpack clip. MC PROS solid feel, Radbot design CONS that blue glow on Spaceship

Another great value front/rear lightset, this one offers slightly beefier output and longer burn times (a fortnight of two hour-long commutes) than many rivals. Up front there’s a wide beam 1-watt LED lamp (available in six colour options) with steady and flashing modes. Out back there’s two additional and very bright (white or red) LEDs. The Ultra Bright snaps onto a regular screw-on bar mount, while the Super Bright has a simple clip for seatposts or backpacks. MB PROS bang for buck, rear visible at 500m CONS if you don’t use rechargeable AAAs, battery cost mounts up over a long winter

As you’ll see from the picture, the Vis 360 is a very compact helmetmounted front/rear light combo. It weighs only 135g so you don’t feel it once attached — you do this by snapping both parts into the strap-on mounts (this varies depending on your helmet’s vents). Output is amazing from such teeny units, with 110 lumens out front and 4 lumens of red out back; there’s amber side lights at both ends too. Handily the micro USB port accepts most 2010 phone chargers (and USB cables); five hours’ charging gives a couple of hours’ run time in high mode or a week’s worth in flasher mode. JK PROS perfect for dark corners CONS you pay for that light weight and output

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22/11/2011 19:39

REVIEWS

Product Brand new winter clobber and bike locks — including four first test exclusives ENDURA Pakajak £39.99 99 www.endura.co.uk The Scottish kings of hardy mountain bike attire branched out into top-spec roadie gear last year and now they’ve ve added this super lightweight all-rounder to their collection, on, which is equally useful across all cycling disciplines whether ther on or off-road. As you can see from the inset photo (below) it’’s main attraction is its portability — it stuffs down into nto a palm-sized sack and can be left at the bottom of your pack for emergencies. The ripstop fabric is one of the best we’ve seen at this price point; not so bulky that hat it leaves you with boil-in-a-bag clamminess, but not so featherweight that it won’t see off a light shower wer or two. The underarm mesh panels help. It doesn’tt have taped seams or a DWR finish so it can’t be considered waterproof and isn’t the right choice in n Weather-beating’s aided by a all-out hoolies. Weather-beati decent stormfl ap and fairly sto snug ela elasticated hem and cuffs though. Night-riderss t will appreciate the a reflective trim on sleeves, e es, shoulders and rrear. Available in men’ en’s S-XXL in green, yellow, red, w white or black; women’ en’s XS-L in sky blue, pink, purple, white or black. JK PROS pric price, fit, packability — no excuse not to carry it CONS not for wearing in real storms

KNOG Straightjacket Fatty £25.99

ICEBREAKER Sprint Crew £62.95

www.todayscyclist.co.uk

www.icebreaker.com

We’ve looked at several Knog locks before and it’s fair to say the cable versions are very much a case of style over substance, aimed at urban fashionistas. But the Straightjacket Fatty’s a lot Stra meatier, with an 8mm m hardened steel chain and h 50mm shackled padlock; 5 while not given a Sold w Secure rating it’s the S ssame chain size as the Squire lock also tested S (right) which gives a (r decent indication of its d strength. The 800mm s st chain ch will wrap round most stands and you get three st keys ke included. Lime, pink or white colourways. JK PROS stylish, good value P CONS second lock needed C

Merino wool is soft, strong and machine washable, as well as being naturally wicking and almost completely odourless. The material in this jersey also has a three percent mix of elastane, giving it a slight stretch for a snug fit. This is a medium-weight base layer, ideal for cool weather commuting; it comes in four weights of cloth and various styles (zip, short sleeve, female cuts, etc). Pricey, but very effective performance-wise. MC PROS naturally wicking, whiff-free CONS quality doesn’t come cheap

TEARAID puncture kit £4.99 www.tear-aid.co.uk To fix a flat, simply clean the ‘wound’ with one of the solvent-coated wipes. Peel off a plastic patch and apply, and you’re ready to go. Quicker and easier than traditional glue, patches and sandpaper, the repairs we did weeks ago are still rolling fine. Each kit contains two 2cm squares and two 3.5cm squares. We cut the latter into quarters, giving us six patches from one pack. Wipes/ patches available separately. MC PROS unbelievably simple CONS most suitable for small rips

SQUIRE Mako CN8/900 lock £40 www.squirelocks.co.uk

VELOBICI Armwarmers £38 www.velobici.cc

This Mako model uses an 8mm steel chain allied to Squire’s own lock body. Our sample came with a 900mm chain, which fitted around most street furniture as well as front wheel and frame. The chain’s covered with a nylon sleeve, which is fastened at both ends and does a good job of protecting your bike’s paintwork. The Mako isn’t particularly bulky, though at 1.8kg it takes some effort to carry around. The key-operated lock is a 5-pin tumbler system, which is Sold Secure silver rated; in practice, this means it’s most likely going to need an angle-grinder to break. MC PROS SS rating CONS no carrying bracket

At first glance these sleeves look like a shrunken pair of woolly stockings, but they’re actually extremely practical and lightweight bike apparel. When the weather’s changeable but you’re too warm for a jacket, that’s when they come into their own and these seamless examples from Velobici are the height of luxury. Available in grey or black, they have thumbholes to stop them riding up your arms and a subtly-stitched logo on the inner arm. One size fits all (except perhaps the smallest ladies) and they roll up compactly to fit in any jersey pocket. MC PROS good for interseason rides CONS more ‘urban’ than ‘race’

46 London Cyclist Xmas 2011

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22/11/2011 20:08

REVIEWS

LEZYNE Classic tools £17.99 www.upgrade.co.uk They say ‘chain rod’, I say ‘chain chain whip’; they say ‘pedal rod’, I say ‘pedal spanner’... whether hether you agree with the German-founded, d, American-based sed manufacturer er on name, one’s thing’s not in n doubt — these wood-hand wood-handled ndled workshop tools are real eal beauties. The pedal spanner’ anne nner’s just over 14in long, with two wo offset 15mm slots, meaning you u get both great leverage and the CNC-machined NC-machined steel head’s always in the right place no matter the angle of the pedal flats. There’s an n iintegrated bottle opener for party y tric tricks too. The chainwhip has a custom custo stom chain attached, allowing g 8/9/1010speed compatibility, pluss there’s the usual lockring tool. The he shaped handles look even better after grubby mechanic mitts have ve been at them, but if you prefer there’ here’s CNC versions of each for £26. 6. JK PROS build quality, value CONS none — they’ll last for years

TIMBUK2 D-Lux Messenger s Bag £100 www.timbuk2.com Since our sample arrived after September’s Cycle Show, this new courier/laptop bag has been on the backs of a couple of testers and proved so durable that we thought we’d review it before it hits the shops next spring. The fabric’s known as ‘ballistic nylon’ and has already survived a series of rakes and scrapes, plus it has a waterproof liner to ensure contents remained dry. A padded strap and additional stabiliser,

together with the compression straps, keep loads from wobbling about in transit; the former’s cam buckle also makes setting the perfect length a doddle. Other features include a three-zipper front organiser, internal pockets for MP3 players/ phones, and a studded laptop sleeve to protect your computer. XS/S/M sizes, in various colours. JK PROS very robust, well featured CONS not enough reflectivity

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22/11/2011 20:17

REVIEWS

Books

Glossy guidebooks, paperback biographies and CD compilations to digest

Mountain High: Europe’s Greatest Cycle Climbs £20 Daniel Friebe & Paul Godling When you first pick up this coffee-table-sized hardback, it’s Paul Godling’s massive Pyrenean and Alpine vistas that instantly catch your eye. Next, you’re drawn to the ‘factfile’ for each climb, with its colourful elevation profile and neat map illustrating the aspect of each challenge.

Last, but certainly not least, you start to drink in some of Daniel Friebe’s exquisite descriptions. Mountain High features descriptions of 50 classic road racing climbs, ranging from the short-but-punishing 78m-tall Koppenberg in Belgium to the truly gigantic 3,384m Pico de

Valeta in the Sierra Nevada. Each climb is typically afforded four pages, giving plenty of room for a visual feast, as well as for the author to explain the incredible feats of sporting endeavour that all these ascents have witnessed. Flicking through, famous names from the Grands Tours leap out, most notably those in France including Tourmalet, L’Alpe D’Huez, Galibier, Izoard and Ventoux. Alongside those are equally respected climbs from the Giro d’Italia such as the Stelvio and Fedaia passes, as well as the peaks of Angliru and Calar from the Vuelta d’Espana. And it’s to the chapters with these familiar names to which one inevitably turns first, where you’re wowed by tales of Coppi, Pantani

and Armstrong. However, it’s a mistake to ignore the descriptions and histories of the lesser-known climbs because Friebe has done his research and isn’t afraid to drop in stories from the Roman Empire or quote a bit of Chaucer. And that’s the beauty of this book: at first you’re sucked into the breathtaking photography, but after a while you realise it’s the words that have truly captured your imagination. Don’t expect a book that’s full of travel advice, rather be entertained and inspired. If this doesn’t make you want to don Lycra and clip into your pedals, nothing will. MC

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48 London Cyclist Aug/Sept 2011

048049 books.FINAL.indd 48

You can secure two bikes and grow herbs and §owers at the same time. Once Þlled with soil and planted, PlantLock weighs 75+ kgs and the super-toughened locking bars resist bicycle thieves. See the PlantLock Strength Test video and other secure bike-parking products at: www.frontyardcompany.co.uk Or Telephone us for more information on 020 7485 7618

21/11/2011 21:55

1957 Flying Scot £20 Rab Wilson & Hugh Bryden

C2C Cycle Route £12.95 Jeremy Evans

Like London, Glasgow has a long tradition of building high gh quality bicycles. This book and two CD collection is a celebration of one of the marques of that industry, as well as of the simple joy that comes with owning a bike. The book contains a series of linocut illustrations detailing sections of the Flying Scot bicycle, by artist Hugh Bryden. One CD contains the poems by Rab Wilson, a series of linked sonnets with the last line of each forming the first line of the next, elegantly symbolising the process of propelling a bicycle forward. The second CD is a contemporary jazz musical rendering of the sonnets. The collection is priced at £20 (including P&P) and is only available online from www. hughbryden.com. Gary Cummins

The 140-mile Coast-to-Coast in the far north of England is one of the UK’s premier bike trails, which isn’t surprising given its off-road and on-road options and beautiful scenery. This pocket-size guide provides all the info you’ll need for a successful C2C, with a good 35 pages of background before you reach the route chapters. The intro has details of transport, accommodation, waymarking, equipment and much more — enough for even novice tourers. The route chapters have other useful details, including relevant sections of OS maps and elevation profiles, though there are no turn-by-turn instructions. Overall, this is a typically good Cicerone guide, though we’d have preferred a weatherproof cover, rather than the paperback. MC

Inside the Peloton Cycling Games £14.99 Nicholas Roche Compendium £10 CTUK

Irish professional cyclist Nicolas Roche is the son of Stephen Roche, winner of the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the World Championship. Roche junior has been a pro since 2004 and is now team leader with the Chamberybased AG2R-La Mondiale team. This autobiography, written ‘in conjuction with’ respected Irish cycling journalist Gerard Cromwell, tells the story of a young pro battling his way towards the top rank in his sport. There’s plenty of insight into the workings of a professional team, and the grit and determination needed to succeed in one of the toughest sports in the world. However, you can’t help feeling this man’s story is being laid out for inspection just a few years too soon. MC

This compendium comes from CTUK, the team that pioneered modern ‘Bikeability’ training. It includes 14 wellillustrated games which children and adults can enjoy and learn from. The ‘Slow Cycle Race’, for example, is akin to fixie riders’ favourite, the track-stand competition, while ‘The Dodge’ challenges you to cycle within an ever-decreasing space. One game it understandably doesn’t include is ‘Sumo Cycling’ which, as spectators will know, is for slightly crazed adults only. Essential reading for any cycle instructor, youth leader or teacher who wants to make lessons both entertaining and instructive; it is also a useful handbook for any parent who is helping their child to ride. Plus there’s discounts for orders of more than 25. TB

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FREE Book wo rth £16.95 with Christmas Gift Member ship. ‘Escape Rou tes’ by Matt Carroll conta ins a hand picked select ion of 60 stunning cycl e routes around Engla nd.

Do you have friends that love cycling? Then give them the perfect gift of LCC membership. Be super organised this year and buy your friends the gift that keeps on giving cycling beneﬁts all year. Buy online now at www.lcc.org.uk/join or by calling the Membership Team on 020 7234 9310. Order by 20th December for guaranteed smiles on Christmas morning.

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GROUPS

BROMLEY www.bromleycyclists.org.uk

EALING www.ealingcycling.org.uk Our programme of social rides continues through the winter months. We have started to run

two rides per month to keep the numbers manageable. Why not start the New Year on a high and join us for the three summits of Ealing ride (see website). ➤ Our annual meeting was held in October. Most officers stayed in post, but we also welcomed the return of a past press officer. On the campaigning front, we have been attending stakeholder meetings to discuss the design of the ‘bike hub’ at Ealing Broadway. The design is closer to being settled and now includes Brompton bike hire as well as secure, covered bike parking. ➤ We intend to revamp our website in 2012; we would welcome your ideas of what you would like to see on it. ➤ Our Ealing Bike Hub continues its monthly maintenance classes and drop-in service throughout the winter. A second wheelbuilding course has been run successfully; a session on preparing your bike for the colder months and some evening courses are planned. The classes fill up quickly so we recommend advance booking. To find out more got to www.ealingbikehub. co.uk. MEETING: first Wednesday of the

month (see website). Social ride: first Sunday of the month, depart 10am from Ealing Town Hall. CONTACT: David Lomas, 07908 540781 or David Eales, 07880 797437; ealing@lcc.org.uk.

ENFIELD www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups Several members of our group, along with some Green Party members, met with mayoral candidate Jenny Jones when she visited the borough in October. We cycled from Enfield Town to Palmers Green discussing the good and the bad points of cycling in the borough. ➤ We have also been asked by LCC Central to suggest one location in Enfield as a candidate for the ‘Go Dutch’ treatment. The committee has a few ideas of its own, but we would really like to hear from other members — email us with your suggestions. ➤ For info on our rides — www. edmontoncyclingclub.fsnet.co.uk MEETINGS: Thursday 5 Jan, 8pm at Winchmore Hill Cricket Club, Fords Grove, N21. Thursday 2 Feb, 8pm at The Wheatsheaf pub, 185 Baker Street, Enfield, EN1.

GREENWICH www.greenwichcyclists.org.uk Despite the best efforts of Greenwich Council to stop cyclists crossing the river and traversing the Thames Path, we've already enjoyed autumn tours of the Thames Estuary and Hoo Peninsula, plus a number of shorter rides within London, taking in some of the city’s architectural and cultural delights. ➤ Our relationship with the new borough engineer with responsibility for cycling is bearing fruit, with a plan to spend a considerable sum on cycling infrastructure along the Thames Path and in Thamesmead. ➤ The council will soon be hosting a number of workshops on the development of a 20mph speed limit across residential areas of the borough and we will be playing a key role in the discussions. Council officials involved in the Best Value Review appear enthusiastic and personally committed to the proposed 20mph limits, and are already discussing the challenges involved. The first workshop was due in early November. ➤ Weekend rides are, of course, on the cards over the coming months, though start times may have to come forward a little owing to the shortening daylight hours. MEETINGS: first Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm at the Armada Centre, SE8; plus we hold a rides meeting with neighbouring LCC groups on the last Weds of each month, 6.30pm in the Dog & Bell, SE8. CONTACT: Dr Francis Sedgemore, greenwich@lcc.org.uk.

Eric Gauster

Cycling is definitely on the up in Bromley, so a massive thanks to all those people who support the many and varied activities taking place across the borough. Here’s just a few examples of the many diverse activities: ➤ Look Mum No Hands — nine of us enjoyed a warm Friday evening ride to our favourite London cafe for a drink and cake, a real eye-opener for some of us outer London borough cyclists. ➤ The Metropolitan Masonic Cyberknife Appeal — to help raise £3 million, one of our members, Stuart Curtis, successfully completed a cycle challenge riding from Orpington to Hastings and then round the Kent coast via the ancient Saxon shoreline to Westminster Abbey. It was 260 miles in total, an added difficulty being that Stuart is partially sighted. ➤ Bromley South cycle parking launch — Southeastern Trains has recently completed the installation of new cycle parking facilities at the station thanks to funding from TfL’s London Rail team. This will coincide with the ‘Biking Bromley’ commuter event as part of Bromley’s Biking Borough programme, in which commuter cyclists will be offered security marking, Dr Bike services and HGV safety awareness — a great example of ‘joined up cycling’ involving The London Borough of Bromley, TfL, Southeastern and local cyclists. MEETING: second Wednesdays of the month (see website). CONTACT: Spencer Harradine, 07958 693518; bromley@lcc.org.uk.

Hampstead this time. ➤ This summer, after three months delay, Camden Council allocated a lane in Royal College Street for the cycle track — we hope this will set a precedent. ➤ In a few years time, Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street will revert to two-way working. We did a cycle count on Tottenham Court Road as background to the suggestion that 'Dutch' principles should be used in the design (see http:// tinyurl.com/count-tcr). MEETINGS: seasonal festivities on Monday 12 December, 7.30pm at Castlehaven Community Centre, 21 Castlehaven Road, NW1. Then on January 16 we will meet at Primrose Hill Community Association, 29 Hopkinsons Place, (off Fitzroy Road), NW1. CONTACT: Stefano Casalotti, 020 7435 0196 or Jean Dollimore, 020 7485 5896; camden@lcc.org.uk. Twitter: @camdencyclists.

CAMDEN www.camdencyclists.org.uk We accompanied two groups to September’s Skyride and back again. Then on 18 September James Brander led a 'claim the road' ride around the north and south circular roads (see http:// tinyurl.com/james-orbital). We've also had our fourth inspection ride, in West

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Local Group news Find out more at www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups BARNET www.barnetlcc.org Barnet Cyclists has been working hard to encourage more involvement and several members have come forward with suggestions for a more proactive approach to campaigning. We're looking forward to these ideas helping to give Barnet Cyclists a higher profile in the borough. Barnet Council isn't always the most cycle-friendly borough in Greater London, so if anyone else wants to be a part of our group,please do get in touch — and we’d welcome you at our next meeting. ➤ Our autumn rides had an architectural theme: first with our annual ride to the Open House events, to look at famous and interesting buildings in London. Even more interesting was the house of one of our members, open under the scheme, as it had recently had an architectural makeover. As part of another ride, we visited Harrow to look at the restored 16th century Headstone Manor tithe barn. ➤ Sunday 11 December is the Xmas ride and lunch. If you missed booking the lunch, come along for the ride beforehand. MEETINGS: last Thursday of the month, 8pm at Trinity Church Hall, Nether Street, N12. NB — there is no meeting in December. CONTACT: Jeremy Parker, 020 8440 9080; barnet@lcc.org.uk.

BEXLEY www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups We are having Xmas drinks on Tuesday 6 December in Crook Log Carvery. This is partly to say thank you to the volunteers who have contributed so much this year in sorting out rides, event stands, liaising with the council and also a thank you to those

SUNDAY SERVICE: Barnet members make the most of Open House weekend

who have contributed by taking MEETING: Tuesday 24 January, part in the rides. We're meeting 7.30pm at Crook Log Sport Centre. at 8.30pm, but if you want to CONTACT: Frances Renton, grab something to eat it’s bexley@lcc.org.uk. advisable to get there earlier. Twitter: @BexleyCyclists. ➤ On the campaigning front Dave Reynolds has raised concerns with the council over BRENT the potential loss of a right-hand www.brentcyclists.org.uk turn and lack of consultation on proposed roundabout changes in Brent Cyclists has been working Erith. The changes with consultants SKM nges have consulta not been decided Colin Buchanan on ded as Buc the funding iss not how to t spend HAVE YOU yet available the Biking and we still Borough Bo GIFT-AIDED YET? now claim have the grant g Remember that LCC can hip opportaround the Gift Aid on your members a ns atio don any subscription, as well as unity to so-called s UK you’re a you may have made. If raise our Cycle Hub C e if payer and you’re not sur tax concerns. of Kensal o us call , tion you’ve made a declara ➤ The Rise. R 0. Your call today on 020 7234 931 £8! to up rth Thamesmead Residents' d Re wo be could associations in Walking and asso Queens Park and Cycling leaflett Kensal have also been produced by the he constructively involved. It is council is nearing completion too early to say whether and gives some excellent routes anything permanent will come to explore in that area. Members of this, beyond probably more of Bexley Cyclists attended a cycle parking. The Biking meeting to provide comments. Borough grant for Brent (one of ➤ In January we will be planning the largest for any borough) the events for the year ahead so works out as 38p per year for everything can be in place early.

each Brent resident: a truly tiny sum given the scale of the problem it is trying to address. ➤ The two rides we ran to the London Skyride from Kingsbury and Gladstone Park were successful, with separate fast and slow rides from the latter, which worked well. Later in September some of us went to the New Forest for a pleasant weekend's riding led by Colin Waters, ex-coordinator of Harrow Cyclists. The same weekend also saw the annual Queens Park Day, Brent's busiest community festival, at which Brent Cyclists was represented. ➤ In October our new rides co-ordinator Charlie led an ‘Ordnance Ride’ (as in Ordnance Survey, not guns) around the trig points in Brent and Ealing; we also examined infrastructure and barriers, a theme we will be continuing in future urban rides. MEETINGS: Tues 6 December, 7pm at The Crown, Cricklewood Broadway, NW2; Weds 4 January, 7pm at Samaritans Centre, 1 Leopold Road, NW10. CONTACT: David Arditti, 07866 456390; brent@lcc.org.uk.

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CONTACT: Richard Reeve, 07957 591387; enfield@lcc.org.uk.

HACKNEY www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk Thanks to those LCC members who responded to the appeal in our October newsletter by writing to the mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, asking him to set a date for the return of two-way cycling on all boroughcontrolled streets. Recent government approval of simpler arrangements such as 'no entry except cycles' will make this job easier. If you haven't yet written to Jules, drop him a line at mayor@hackney.gov.uk and copy your message to info@ hackney-cyclists.org.uk ➤ We're still getting great feedback about the recent 'filtering' of Goldsmiths Row and now have filtering proposals for several other places, notably the Esdale Street area. ➤ We recently held our first-ever Hackney Cycling Forum networking evening for people who are actively involved in promoting cycling here. Organised jointly by us and the council's Streetscene department, the event brought together bike shop employees and owners, workshop volunteers, cycle training instructors, highway engineers, school- and estate-based bike projects, cycle sport clubs, housing providers, police officers tackling cycle theft, and assorted others, in an informal setting to meet and chat. ➤ Carry Me Bikes is offering a 'Secret Cycling Santa' service to deliver presents to children in Hackney. The price for a visit from Santa and his pedalling pixies will go towards raising funds for this new social enterprise to run other projects in the borough. So if you know some children who'd be excited to find a pedal-powered Santa is visiting their house to drop off some gifts, contact alix@ carryme.org.uk MEETINGS: first Wednesdays of the month, 7.30pm at Marcon Court Estate Community Hall, E8. CONTACT: Trevor Parsons, 020

CAMDEN CLOSURE: while the footway on Royal College Street is closed for building works, pedestrians are using the cycle track and two-way cycling has been allocated a lane in the road

7729 2273; hackney@lcc.org.uk. MAILING LIST: send blank email to hackney-lcc-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com

HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM www.hfcyclists.org.uk We're now using Facebook (http://on.fb.me/hfcyclists) to stimulate wider discussion between local cyclists, so please check us out and join in the debate. MEETINGS: we have a meeting/ social on Tuesday 6 December and on Sunday 11 December we do our annual ride to the White Cross in Richmond to meet up with other local groups for a seasonal lunch. We hope to meet many new members over this period — see website for details. CONTACT: John Griffiths, 020 7371 1290 or 07789 095 748; hammersmithandfulham@ lcc.org.uk.

HARINGEY www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups We have continued liasing with Haringey Council on Biking Borough projects, including improvements to make Wood Green a cycling hub, cycle training in schools and Smarter Travel. ➤ Representations have been made on the potential dangers from HGVs accessing the planned waste processing site on Haringey's northern boundary. In addition, trouble spots, or potential trouble spots

at Tottenham High Road (Tottenham Hale Gyratory removal scheme) and Green Lanes were visited with Jenny Jones, Green Party mayoral candidate. MEETINGS: see website. CONTACT: Robert White, 020 8340 6945; haringey@lcc.org.uk.

just a lick of paint — an outsider's view is good to point out poor practice we have accepted out of habit. ➤ It's all ammunition for our next regular meeting with Harrow Council. Other topics will include plans for improving cycle access to Northwick Park hospital, and the lack of maintenance of existing cycle facilities. Positively, the council has printed a series of maps for each high school, showing the practicality of cycling to school and how far pupils can travel in five and ten minutes — hopefully parents will note that this is often further than the same time in their cars. ➤ 40 cyclists joined us for our last big ride of the year to London Skyride, despite a poor weather forecast. MEETINGS: see website. CONTACT: Tony Levene, 07828 580931; harrow@lcc.org.uk.

HARROW

HAVERING

www.harrowcyclists.org.uk

www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups

City Hall finally came to Harrow In early October, we were in the shape of Green Party GLA delighted to welcome Jenny Jones for a brief visit on her lengthy member Jenny Jones. Arriving on a City Hall pool Brompton, Jenny survey of cycling conditions in saw the good (Kenton each London borough; she rightly Recreation Ground, part of a recognised that outer boroughs marked route from Harrow to like Havering have the most Kensington), the not so good potential for increases in cycling. (the promised Station ➤ Previously, Previously at the Road/College Road Group, Cycle Liaison Lia improve-ments ts ha THIRD PARTY we had which have welcomed we INSURANCE yet to be Havering’s Ha Remember, as an LCC member, finished), new n Cycling you are automatically covered by the bad Offi O cer, third party cycle insurance cover. (Hindes Amandeep A This vital cover protects you for claim s Road where Kellay, K made against you up to £5,000,0 00. the marked whose w If you took out equivalent cover as an individual, it could cost route is function will fu you up to £55. Why not barred by an be to promote tell your friends! old gate, plus the Biking B the lack of Borough Boroug Strategy. facilities in other We hope to see her parks) and the downright Amandeep at our next ludicrously ugly (the expensive regular group meeting to discuss 1980s mess under the College strategy and how we can best Road/Pinner Road roundabouts help him. that is always incomprehensible ➤ We were pleased to learn that and often only works in one the Highways Advisory direction.) We only had time for Committee had rejected the central Harrow but it is clear Engineers’ proposal for the that many improvements only junction of Mawney Road and need minor engineering or even St Edward’s way in Romford. This

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HOUNSLOW www.hounslowcycling.org.uk We held a useful and informative meeting in September with the Head of Transport in Hounslow. Among issues discussed were the design of CSH9 in Brentford,

Ruth Crumey

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would have caused considerable difficulties for cyclists. We hope to upload the drawings on to our e-mail group. Conversely, the improvement of central Romford’s Exchange Street and Waterloo Road junction is welcome, although facilities in Exchange Street fall short of expectations. ➤ Proposed revisions to the calamitous road narrowing in North Road, Havering-atte-Bower have been produced and shall be sent out for consultation. ➤ Extensive alterations and traffic-calming for Hornchurch High Street are still being readied for consultation, although the officers welcome preliminary comments at any time. E-mail chris.smart@havering.gov.uk. ➤ More funding has been earmarked to continue the Sustrans Connect 2 Project within Havering. ➤ In September, LCC Board candidate Ray Whitehouse and his team, Ol’Socs, completed the London to Paris charity ride for the British Heart Foundation. The team consisted of three people with an average age over 60; they covered the 244 miles in three days, arriving 30th out of the 160 or so riders and raising over £1,800 for the BHF — see the blog at http://olsocslondontoparis. wordpress.com . ➤ During the summer, following an LCC call for help, Ray acted as the front rider on a tandem for a blind ‘stoker’ who, until recently, lived in Hornchurch. Chris Blackabee is a keen sportsman who wanted a tandem available near Hornchurch, as his parents live there, so on 12 October, Ray met Chris at Paddington station with his new tandem and they rode from there to Upminster without any major incidents. MEETINGS: see website or Yahoo group (Have_Bike@yahoogroups. co.uk). CONTACT: Dave Gould, 01708 348031; havering@lcc.org.uk.

RIGHT ROYAL TREAT: for Kingston LCC in Esher

and the unfinished scheme at Hogarth roundabout in Chiswick. The next meeting is planned for January. ➤ We are planning bimonthly rides in the local area, and to link into those of adjacent boroughs. MEETINGS: last Wednesdays of the month. 28 December, 7.30pm at Express Tavern (north side of Kew Bridge); 25 January at Hounslow Civic Centre. CONTACT: Ashley Stanton, 07830 266548; hounslow@lcc. org.uk.

ISLINGTON www.icag.org.uk The canal towpath is a very popular space used by many people, including cyclists. It has become so popular that in the area through Islington, at certain times of the day, conflict between the various users has sometimes arisen. British Waterways is hoping to address this with a series of physical measures and are consulting with local groups, including us, with a view to work being done by the end of the financial year. ➤ They also want to get Islington Council and TfL to improve the road route in this area so that it is a safe

alternative for cyclists to use to bypass the canal. Please contact us with your comments. ➤ Islington, according to its ambitious (draft) carbon strategy, is aiming to reduce carbon by 37 percent by 2020. If adopted and supported locally this will be a way of increasing cycling. However the local draft Transport Strategy and LIP (finally made available for comment in October) does not mention encouraging a modal shift to cycling and walking as a means of achieving this. ➤ Tragically the recent death of a cyclist at King's Cross has highlighted the fact that the proposed safety improvements for the junction have not been implemented. ICAG will support Camden Cyclists in any actions they take to improve safety in the area. MEETINGS: second Wednesdays of the month (14 December, 11 January), 7.30pm at Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, N1. CONTACT: Alison Dines, 020 7226 7012); islington@lcc.org.uk. Twitter: @IslingtonCycle.

KINGSTON www.kingstoncyclists.org.uk We’ve got an environment grant

from Kingston Council of £3,680 to promote cycling. The plan is to spend a chunk of it on production of a local guide targeted towards new and less-confident cyclists, showing pleasant routes to places of interest in Kingston and neighbouring boroughs. The funding will pay for a robust public bicycle pump to be located somewhere in Kingston centre and for promotional leaflets and internet presence. ➤ Some Biking Borough projects have been given the thumbs up by the council and they will progress them in the coming year, including a trial shared pavement on Queen Elizabeth Road (by Tiffin Boys’ school), which is an important missing link in the local network. Other schemes will provide a contraflow cycle lane on Albert Road and trial removal of traffic lights at Fairfield South/Knights Park which we feel currently delay cyclists unnecessarily. There is some funding for cycle parking at flats too. Contact the council on 020 8547 5002 if that’s what you need. ➤ Green Party mayoral candidate Jenny Jones visited to get a better understanding of issues in our borough. She’s undertaken to ask the Mayor what’s being done to provide a

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secure cycle park at Norbiton station. Ed Davey MP has written to South West Trains and declared that we make a very strong case. We even have a meeting with SWT planned now. ➤ Don’t forget that we run regular guided rides on Sundays and that there are maintenance courses coming up (see website). MEETINGS: 13 December and 10 January, 8.30pm at the Waggon & Horses pub, Surbiton Hill Road. CONTACT: Jon Fray, 020 8549 1172; kingston@lcc.org.uk.

LEWISHAM www.lewishamcyclists.co.uk We are still having real problems getting any information out of Lewisham Council about possible cycling projects (£150k allocated) and it didn’t even send an officer to the Cycle Superhighway CRIM which uses only borough roads. FOI requests are returned with ‘data not known’; replies have even said "unfortunately we don't have the storage space for old records. This is been becoming more and more of a problem and in future we are likely to have still less information available". Perhaps we should send them some blank dvds? ➤ We have another public question scheduled for the next full council meeting as this seems the way Lewisham want to run any communications with cyclists. If you live in Lewisham, please write to your councillors asking them what's going on. ➤ On a positive note we liaise with the other local groups to co-ordinate rides, so between us we offer a little bit of something for everyone — check out the website for details. MEETINGS: third Wednesdays of the month at the Dog & Bell in Deptford (bring bikes through to the garden). CONTACT: Roger Stocker, 07903 740401; lewisham@lcc.org.uk.

MERTON www.mertoncyclists.org.uk A hard-hitting report on

were a bit disappointed to have London's vague and inept Road such a short time to show her Safety Procedures — UNSAFE the problems we face as cyclists — has been produced by Hugh in the borough. Like everyone Morgan, building on experience else, we are struggling to get any of the London Borough of kind of reasonable dialogue with Merton's and TfL's corporate TfL and perhaps we could have wasting of money, lack of impressed this on Jenny more professionalism, and complete than the infrastructure changes inability to see what they are that are needed. Thanks to doing generally, and at Martin everyone who helped with the Way. Available for download on ride and all the suggestions we the website, though printed received via email. copies are also available on ➤ The Cyclin Cycling Liaison request (020 8949 Group 0708). ➤ At the last has been going b PHONE Merton council through a cil thr S VOLUNTEER strange time liaison st Voice As part of our Double Our recently meeting, r m tea a g ldin bui campaign, we’re and we Pete help us run of phone volunteers to retention suspect Thomas and nt me ruit rec hip members a confident that there announced campaigns. If you have r and are his retirea certain and friendly phone manne ase would like to help out ple politicians ment as po 020 on ew tth Ma call within the Senior wit 0. 031 7234 council Engineer. His coun that would like successor li to see it disappear. We’ve will be Tony Robinson W already been kicked off the and we hope to ride with him officer-led Traffic Management soon. Liaison Group for no apparent ➤ Our rickshaw, complete with reason. We are seeking to hold match-lit lamps, made an the council to its LIP promise to appearance, with Wandsworth consult local cyclists on all traffic CC at Northcote Library, schemes. Wandsworth and rode with 10 or ➤ We’re looking to expand our so others to Tooting Common for local knowledge of the borough the Pumpkin Parade. The San Remo cafe produced a very tasty so that we can bring to bear a lunch — worth a detour. larger voice, so we’re looking for ➤ Hugh Morgan has also people we can turn to when we produced a survey (with are asked about their part of the borough or the parts they travel photographs) of the recent through. We’d send you an email, improvements and further asking your opinion and it would needs of the railway path between Wimbledon and Raynes be entirely up to you whether you responded or not. If you Park — and there was still no would like your voice to be heard ramp or dropped curb at Wyke Road, as of 30 October. This is also on our website. MEETINGS: see website. CONTACT: Charles Barraball, 020 8949 0708 or 07590 077445; merton@lcc.org.uk.

in this way, get in touch with campaign@richmondlcc.co.uk ➤ Our maintenance workshops have a new location, Ham Youth Centre in Ham Close. These sessions are on every other Saturday morning from 10am to noon; 10 December session is the next session. MEETINGS: second Mondays of the month, 8pm at The Ship Inn, Richmond. CONTACT: Jonathan Rowland, 07976 294626; richmond@lcc. org.uk. Facebook: richmondcycling. Twitter: @RichmondCycling.

SOUTHWARK www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk We’ve been joining the rest of London’s cyclists flashing for safety at Blackfriars, and will continue to do so. At Bermondsey Street Festival we spent a sunny day promoting cycling, gave our new banner an airing and led a few local rides. ➤ A series of eight winter rides are planned to explore London’s Lost Rivers. The first voyage, discovering the Earl’s Sluice and River Peck, set off in November. Our essential Saturday morning Healthy Rides depart fortnightly from either Decathlon or Dulwich Park. ➤ We’re watching and commenting on the plans and redevelopments at Elephant & Castle, Surrey Quays and London Bridge and on progress to convert the disused South Bermondsey Bridge into a Connect2 cycleway. ➤ We held a two-day initiative

RICHMOND www.richmondlcc.co.uk Jenny Jones visited recently, on a lovely afternoon, and we found her to be a very approachable and enthusiastic person. We spent most of our time at the London Road roundabout on the A316, but we

ENFIELD TOUR: at Mason's Corner with Jenny Jones

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on the Peckham Rye stretch of the Surrey Canal Walk to promote considerate cycling. Our ‘rush-hour’ presence to encourage speedier cyclists to slow down seemed to go down well with the footists so it was a worthwhile PR campaign. ➤ We work closely with our friends and campaign partners Road Peace and Southwark Living Streets who often join us at our monthly meeting. If you are a cyclist and you live in Southwark, please come along too. MEETINGS: second Wednesdays of each month, 6.30pm at Better Bankside, 18 Great Guildford Street (corner of Zoar Street), SE1; bring bikes inside. CONTACT: Alex Crawford, southwark@lcc.org.uk.

SUTTON www.cyclismsutton.org.uk Here’s a brief summary of some ongoing projects in the borough: ➤ Work on Mellows Park shared paths is in progress. ➤ White marking’s needed at the London Road cycle facility from Bedzed to the bus stop near the shops. ➤ The green wall by Wilkinsons could be the last High Street work — it means gates, dangerous drops and sharp edges not made safe, so watch out riding in the area. ➤ Stands have been requested for Green Wrythe Lane. ➤ 'Cyclists Dismount' signs have worryingly appeared at Wandle Bank, Beddington. MEETINGS: see website. CONTACT: Chris Parry, 020 8647 3584; sutton@lcc.org.uk.

TOWER HAMLETS www.towerhamletswheelers.org.uk Despite being missing from the last few issues of London Cyclist, the Wheelers have been busy! ➤ On 19 October Jenny Jones, Green Party GLA Member, visited Tower Hamlets. Several Wheelers met with her and a number of issues were raised. We will report on the outcome of these issues as we

hear back from Jenny. ➤ Think you can spare some ➤ We have also been out riding. brain and muscle power? Come We celebrated our first official and join us at our meetings events. midweek ride by and events MEETINGS: every heading out to o MEETIN ARE YOU second Windsor via seco Wednesday of Richmond GETTING YOURS? We the month, Park, with a th Make sure you receive the 8pm at short detour 8 LCC e-newsletter. Full of the latest news, campaigns and events, it’s an Hornbeam to look at H essential read; if you’re not getting Centre, 458 the Magna C it you’re missing out. To make sure it’s Hoe Street. Carta. We H delivered direct to your inbox Workshop: also did a W contact the Membership Team Low Hall ride out Lo on 0120 7234 9310 or sign depot, South to the dep up at www.lcc.org.uk Access Road, E17 mysterious Acce on first Foulness Island nd in — sale o Essex. The island and is Saturday of the month; recycling on Fridays from 9am to used by the MoD to test 4pm; public drop-in: on second, munitions, but their visitor third and fourth Saturdays of the centre is open to the public on month from 11am to 3pm (£3 the first Sunday of the month donation for tools and support). during the summer. We took the CONTACT: Gerhard Weiss, 07894 opportunity and visited them on 035571, walthamforest@lcc.org. their last opening for 2011. uk. Facebook: Waltham-ForestAnother ride out to the country Cycling-Campaign. Twitter: got us into wine tasting, this @wfcycling. Blog: www. time riding out to Chapel Down walthamforestcyclingcampaign. vineyard at Small Hythe. blogspot.com. ➤ For an in-town ride, 20 brave souls rode through Central London late at night, crossing the Royal Parks, and finally WANDSWORTH climbing up Swaines Lane, for a www.wandsworthcyclists.org.uk taste of what it's like to be scared at night in London. See website Wandsworth social rides still for info on upcoming rides and going great guns. Hopefully the events. Pumpkin Ride will have gone as MEETINGS: second Wednesdays well as other recent outings — of the month, 7.30pm at St we’re hoping for plenty of Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford families. Do come and join in the Road. Workshop on third next one! Saturdays of the month, 11am to ➤ Campaigning on several fronts 3pm at Limehouse Town Hall, 646 continues, with particular focus Commercial Road. on the local ‘20’s Plenty’ CONTACT: Rob Lister, 07903 018 campaign. We’re really going all 970, towerhamlets@lcc.org.uk. out for lots of signatures to back us in our dealings with the council, who reiterate that WALTHAM FOREST nothing will happen without plenty of pressure from local www.wfcycling.org.uk people. To get involved, look on the website (www.wandsworth. We have eased into the cold dark 20splentyforus.org.uk) or even months with a number of rides. better, make contact with the The latest at Halloween took us group for a petition sheet to get round cemeteries and sites of signed by your friends and ghoulish murders, thrilling us to neighbours. If we all collect a few the bone. We also paid our signatures, we really should be respects to victims of motor able to get local roads made safer traffic in Waltham Forest at the and quieter. borough's most murderous MEETINGS: second Tuesdays of junction in Lea Bridge Road. the month, 7pm at Friends ➤ We are looking forward to a Meeting House, 59 Wandsworth lively Christmas social, details on High Street (opposite Town Hall). the website.

CONTACT: Simon Merrett, 0208 789 6639; wandsworth@ lcc.org.uk.

WESTMINSTER www.westminstercyclists.org.uk For many years we have tried to find a solution to the Lancaster Gate gyratory system for cyclists using the Bayswater Road. The Royal Parks investigated a route across the north side of Kensington Gardens, but concluded that it could not be implemented safely. We have therefore suggested the Bayswater Road as the Westminster candidate for the LCC's 'Go Dutch' campaign. ➤ Cycle parking is often difficult in the West End and we regret the removal of stands in Leicester Square. But Westminster has proposed a number of new parking sites in the St James's area and is looking for more near Leicester Square. ➤ We had a number of concerns about the design of the Piccadilly two-way scheme and would be interested to hear how easy or difficult you find it is to cycle through when finally implemented. MEETINGS: Monday 5 December, 7pm at the Cleveland Arms, 28 Chilworth Street, W2. CONTACT: Colin Wing, 020 7828 1500; westminster@lcc.org.uk.

OTHER CONTACTS BARKING & DAGENHAM www.stibasa.org.uk CITY CYCLISTS www.citycyclists.org.uk KENSINGTON & CHELSEA www.kc-cyclists.org.uk LAMBETH www.lambethcyclists.org.uk REDBRIDGE www.redbridgelcc.org.uk

COPY DEADLINE Feb/Mar 2012 issue: Friday 23 December PLEASE NOTE — due to a tight Xmas schedule, all contributions (copy and images) MUST be received by the deadline date to ensure publication. Send your copy and photos to: editorlondoncyclist@yahoo.com

56 London Cyclist Xmas 2011

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15/11/2011 15:10

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Sample Bordeaux’s more leisurely routes and liquid pleasures.

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Dispel the Winter Blues with a Snowdrop Tour of the Scottish Borders: 19–25 February 2012 Later in the year spend a week touring Galloway or Hadrian’s Wall. Regular Edinburgh tours. For more information, contact Storybikes: +44 (0)7762 000 039 / andy@storybikes.co.uk www.storybikes.co.uk

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16/11/2011 20:18

PEOPLE

Kate Evans With London’s cycling culture growing more diverse by the day, Steve Rutherford catches up with a dancer from the Bicycle Ballet Steve Rutherford

“

There are three shows under the Bicycle Ballet umbrella and the one I’m in is called ‘The Dance of Cycling’. It is a five-person, 20-minute show about the highs and lows of cycling in which one of the dancers learns to ride a bike, another has a crash and someone else falls in love. It’s not a BMX stunt show, although there are some acrobatics; it is more part of the street theatre/dance world. I became involved with Bicycle Ballet at the time of the first show — ‘The Bicycle Ballet’ — a mass participation event with 50 people dancing with their bikes complete with pyrotechnics. The event was quite a spectacle with a core of dancers who were doing their own choreographed

58 London Cyclist Xmas 2011

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routine and a chorus of volunteers who did simpler moves. I was eight months pregnant at the time but when I saw an advert for volunteers I thought “Ha!, this is brilliant, I was made to do this,” because I’m a very keen cyclist and the idea of dancing with your bike sounded great. I managed to do all of the shows and so I can say that my daughter Minnie, who’s now four, was in the first Bicycle Ballet show. In the last three years the Bicycle Ballet has performed at a range of events each summer, including legs of the Tour of Britain, Skyrides and car-free days. One show in Holland was even staged in the middle of a cycle tour. The riders cycled to us, watched the show and then continued on their tour. It is really nice to be

For more details: www. bicycleballet. com

involved in these events because part of what Bicycle Ballet is about is encouraging and promoting cycling. I’m an A to B type cyclist. I use my bike for transport because I enjoy cycling and it’s the quickest way of getting around in London. I started cycling to school when I was 7 or 8 and when I moved to London I brought my bike with me. It has the standard kid’s bike seat on the back so that I can take my daughter with me if I need to. She’s already a keen cyclist herself; in fact, the last gig we did was in Leytonstone for car-free day and my daughter came along and joined in with the pre-event workshop on her balance bike. I think she’s our youngest workshop participant so far.

”

14/11/2011 21:21

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