Touring and sheltering

Touring Shelters.

Not only are there lots of cycleways in Germany, but the cyclist is well catered for along the way.

The touring cyclists may want to stop for a meal, for a rest, or for shelter, and shelters are frequently provided along the routes.  Here are some examples:-

Shelters come in a variety of designs, some more effective than others

 The one above, on the Weser-Radweg, has already been shown, but there are many more.

 Modern, and plain and simple

or a little ornate

The story behind the above picture is:-  that we were cycling through Switzerland in heavy, driving rain; desperate to find shelter, and in need to stoke our boilers.  When we came across what appeared to be a rather deserted railway-station with a rather battered shelter.  So we moved in and made ourselves at home; spread ourselves our ourselves down, and set the stove to work.  Quite cosy we were, as the picture shows, UNTIL that is, a woman arrived and entered 'our' shelter, and she just stood there silently:~ in ‘OUR’ shelter.  Hmmm.  Then after a while more people arrived, until the shelter became quite cramped.  People were standing shoulder to shoulder, .  How embarrassing!.  Fortunately nobody seemed to want to sit down.

    Fortunately a train arrived (fancy that, a train at a railway station) and the shelter quickly emptied, and we were left to ourselves once more.   As far as I can remember no one had said a word the whole time

.  In heavy rain on our way to Berlin, we deviated down a quiet road having spotted a bus shelter. But one can still get caught out if you are not careful, so on this occasion we checked the timetable, As it was about 2 hours before the next bus was due, so we had plenty of time to brew up and have something to eat.

      The smallest building we have waited in was a telephone box. 

In Chains

In chains!

When I first saw this scenario in Amsterdam, NL,  assumed that the bike, and its lock, had been abandoned, but I had only just taken this picture when a smartly dressed woman emerged from out of a shop, she mounted this steed (Navajo), and gamely road off on it.   I was too surprised to take any more photos.    
   As one can see, if one looks a bit carefully one can see that it wasn't actually locked ; this padlock and chain carried around as a race horse might a weight handicap; like some poor creature with a growth ~ I really felt sorry for it ~ and I guess it had done so for some time.

No sign of a bike, but we have a 'Rolls-Royce of a lock and chain here.  The chain looks almost as of it was gold-plated.  It might even be worth more than the bike!   It might almost weigh as much as a highly priced lightweight machine.  Whatever, it is going to be some-thing of a burden to have to lug around.   

  Our bikes that have taken us around for thousands of miles, cost less than 200 Euros each; a bike is a bike.

A bike is not just a bike.

Everything, but for Kitchen Sink.

An old picture which was taken at the mid point of the Oosterschelde Dam in Holland,  the dam is about 10km long, and when at the middle of it one can barely see land, because it is so far away.

    It would appear that the gentleman cyclists in the photograph is moving house.  He has decided that he would like to record the event at this mid-point, and so he has taken an old orange box from off his freight carrying bike; and set his 35mm camera up on top of it.   Gone down on his knees to arrange the view through viewfinder, and set it for delayed action.  Having pressed the shutter release button, he had about 10 seconds to get in position  to strike this pose for the perfect picture.

     Note the table, and a rolled up mattress.

     A bike is not just a bike.

The art of cycling

Birthday card drawn by an 8 year old:-

and a Card drawn by a cycling four(just) year old:-

Bikes can be very versatile

Bikes can be very versatile

This is a very old Picture, which I took in Brighton before there were any cycleways, of a British-Rail porter doing his best to catch a better view of a parade that was passing along the front.

Note the rod-brakes, that in itself dates it a bit.

There’s no comparison.

There’s no comparison.

Travelling by car just doesn’t compare with cycling,

and the children don't get bored.

    You can’t just stop like this group if you are travelling in a car.  They can look at the fish, or play ‘Pooh-Sticks’ even in Germany (where this was taken).  The youngest in this group was 10 years old, and the ride (traffic free) went for over 20 km, the oldest was in their late 70s.

      

     Please note the nice smooth cycleway.

     Then at another bridge on this route:-

        There is always something new to discover.

Cycle-Racks and stands

And parking.

There seems to be a problem with many cycle racks, and one wonders if the designers, and manufacturers, ever try them out.   However, it is not a problem that is just confined to this country.   

    For example:-

      This site is in Germany, none of the bikes here are making proper use of the cycle-stand.   The black step-through bike with the purple carrier basket may have its front wheel in place, but it has its prop-stand out to steady it (so as not to put too much strain on its front wheel), and once it is in position (at the front of a row of rack positions) then other bikes cannot get past.    That is, it acts as a barrier across the paved area.  Obviously not enough thought has been applied.

    At the back there is a mountain bike leaning against a wall, and a full size bike on its own stand and with its front wheel padlocked to the rack.   Two orange, 20”diameter wheel folding bikes (Dahons) have been leant against, and lock to, the rack.  That is, thy are not utilising the stand as it was intended.

   This type of rack would not be suitable for laden touring bikes.

The rack and its positioning, are hardly what one might call a resounding success.   Not much: "Vorsprung-durch- Technick"  there. 

    Back in England one can find this pathetic solitary cycle ‘rut’ outside a local garden centre (in Feb 2014) over the past 30 years, or more, I have made concerted efforts to persuade the manager to provide something better; but to no avail.  I will accept that cyclists are nothing like as frequent customers as motorists, but I have counted, up to, 5 bicycles outside this centre with nothing to lock the bikes to.

     Not too far away there is another garden centre, which has made much better provision, simple stands, well spaced, with protective rain cover ~ so we know that it can be done, and we cyclists know where to take pour custom.

   Cycling back from the garden centre I pass a block of new flats, where residents have been provided with a compound in which they can park their bikes.

The good part of this is that it has Sheffield type stands, and they are fairly well spaced (though they could be wider apart) but the surrounding structure offers no weather protection.  A very poor effort indeed.

About 100  metres further down the road there is another cycle-parking facility outside a corner store:-

    In fact it is at a little complex of shops.  There is only one very wobbly stand (for want of a better term) outside a ‘One Stop Shop’,  the bike really needs to have a prop-stand to be able to use it, but one can only padlock the wheel, not the frame.  With quick release it would be easy to remove the best part of this bike.   Although I have passed this spot frequently, I have never seen a single bike using this equipment.   No prizes for this stand either. 

   I expect we have all seen lots more such cases.   There are some cycle parking facilities about which are good, but they are not that common in this country, and not usually on a grand enough scale.   

    In some German/Dutch railway carriages they have racks for bikes, but whilst they have provided for bicycles, in some cases it is necessary to point the bike up into a vertical position, and place the front wheel onto a hook.  This is not always easy to do.  

      

Ramps on stairs

Ramps on stairs.

Ramps on steps that do not just benefit cyclists, but are appreciated by parents pushing most 4 wheeled buggies, and wheelchairs, are very common in Germany.

We haven’t got any that I know of in the South East.  They are not difficult, or expensive, to install.

Such ramps could be in a railway station, or anywhere else around a town.   It is still very tough going up the stairs with a laden touring bike.  However, one can detach the bags from the bike, and make several trips; or, use the lift (if there is one).  There may be a lift of course.

     Descending (laden) needs good control, and efficient brakes.

Bückerburg., Germany.

    Surely It can't take much to make life easier for cyclists and pedestrians, even just going up 3 steps.  But, that seems to be a British trait: that pedestrians and cyclists are not seen as a priority.    This example is also likely to benefit the disabled in wheelchairs etc.

   Maybe there is a Health and Safety issue that prevents thus sort of thing coming to pass.

Or they just don't think.

Well they do, but if they can find a way of turninng into expensive major prestigious project, costing the earth, with loads of hype attached to it, then there might just be a chance.  

    

Cycling should be fun

Cycling should be fun

These two were cycling around and around this square in the park in Geneva, thoroughly  enjoying themselves, though, no doubt, some would consider what they are doing as a bit dangerous for the child.

Geneva, Switzerland.

Cycling isn’t just fun, it is very healthy too.

The pier complex at Herne Bay in Winter.

In the Winter sun, this little 4 year old girl can't resist riding through a puddle, again and again and again.

Puddles are irresistible for a four year old, but what freedom, what joy, and what a development of self-confidence; given a safe environment in which to ride ~ We need a lot more of that, and that is for sure.

We need many more places where all ages, and abilities, can ride with safety; with links to shops, schools, etc. 

Health rides?

“Health walks” so why not “Health Rides”?

Some doctor’s surgeries arrange weekly Health Walks, it might be an idea to start some Health Cycle Rides, but the trouble is that the local cycling environment (e.g. in Ashford) is not really good enough.  Any leader of such a group would be concerned about safety issues, and probably concerned about their responsibility there to.

    And yet:

In Germany, it is already quite common to see groups of jolly ‘Silver Cyclists’ (OAPs) out for a ride together, and making a Pit-Stop at some café, or place of interest.

and in Holland:-

In this particular case there was a flower festival on in the town, with many competitive displays in gardens and at businesses scattered around the town.   The bicycle was an ideal means by which individuals, or groups, could get around to view them.  

No fancy outfits, no Lycra, no helmets, no cars; just ordinary everyday clothing.

And in Belgium:-

 When I quote Cambridge, or Oxford to people, they usually respond~:-  "Oh, but they are university towns".    One doesn't need to have a degree to ride a bicycle!

The School Run

Cycling to school/Cycling at school

When I was of school age I cycled about 4 miles to school; on a second-hand bike with rod-brakes, and no gears and I went on my own.  There was a war on at the time, and quite a lot of enemy activity overhead. 

     There were no street lights when it got dark.  No waterproof clothing apart from a cape, no helmets, no high viz jackets.   As far as I can remember we did not receive any training.

     There were very few cars about, but there were a lot of military vehicles.

    We were not collected or met after school, there were few male parents anyway (they were doing military service of one sort or another.

     I don’t need to show pictures of typical scenes outside the standard school at the end of the school day.   You will be familiar with the picture; hundreds of cars blocking the local streets with parents waiting to pick up their children.

 

     The situation in Holland and Germany can be startingly different to that of UK as this picture illustrates:-

When I was surveying NCN routes in the South East, I came across cycle training exercises in progress, in several places, Folkestone, Pluckley, Kennington, and one other place which I have forgotten for the moment.

     I was not impressed with the teachers methods, who, and in each case, especially in Pluckley, the poor pupils (once they had earned their cycling proficiency certificate), they had nowhere in the village, or near their school, where they could cycle safely.   Sending them out into such un-cycle-friendly  environments is like throwing  lambs into the ring to be slaughtered.  

     By chance I came across a number of school children with bicycles, who were wearing, yellow, full length High-Visiblity jackets, but they where wheeling their bicycles along the pavement, not riding them!

     When I asked why, I was told by one of the adult supervisors, that the pupils were only allowed to ride on cycleways, and that was the reason why they were walking back to their school from some cycleways which were at least 500m away.

        Three days previously, I had been in Germany where I had filmed school children of the same age, leaving school; most of them were cycling, many wore helmets, few were accompanied by an adult, and these children were very confident doing so.

      As I have already stated: when I was of that age, I cycled 4 miles to school, unaccompanied, and there was a war on.