Who cares?

With so many faults, ones that adversely affect cyclists (10 examples within 5 miles on one particular road), direction signs wrong, danger spots and so on, and examples that have been around for years, one wonders if even cyclists accept this as a normal state of affairs.

Just look at the sate of that ~ but who cares?

On NCN Route 18 on a modern housing estate.

Not far from direction signs which are pointing in the wrong direction, and they have been doing so for more than 4 years.  And it is not route 18, and this isn't the only one.

Who cares?

and so on.

When is a cycle-lane a cycle-lane

When is a cycle lane a cycle lane? 

Does this look like a cycle lane on the right of the above picture?

That is the infamous Junction 10 of the M20 in the far distance.

There is also a signed cycle route on the lefthand side, but it is actually a narrow footway.

This is the self same cycleway looking in the opposite direction; tis a bit narrow!  Would you want your child to cycle along it?  It is a very busy road.

This is the very busy A2070, Badmünstereifel Road, Ashford.

One is never clear whether or not a white tramline down the side of a road is meant to be a cycleway of not.  It is where all the drain gratings are, and most of the debris.

This is the very same 'cycleway' (looking back to the site of the picture above) which is terminated by shooting the cyclists(s) off this arterial road onto the berm just before it arrives at a roundabout.

In my opinion this is just not good enough, and it gets worse after it gets further on after the roundabout etc.

If we want to increase cycling we need to do one hell of a lot better than this.

Bikes to make you wonder

Sights to set one wondering.

Outside at the front of a house were seen no less than 5 bicycles all for sale.  Had they suddenly given up cycling?  Were they emigrating?  Were they in desperate need of money?  Was someone starting up  business?  They can't have all outgrown their bikes.

I've not seen this one around before;  a tricycle recumbent ~ power assisted I think.  Looks like a scorpion.

Cycleway? What's that?

Cycleway?  What's that?

There was absolutely no need to park on this cycleway, there was plenty of available spaces nearby.

NCN Route 18, Ashford.

We have cycled right across Holland from The Hook to Berlin, and I would recommend it. The only difficulty was getting from Home(UK) to Harwich.

A way-mark for a similar long distance, one which links Holland to France.  

Crossing a waterway in Holland, bikes are always well catered for, even for the long distance tourist.

Cycle Touring (Wishful thinking)

CycleTouring as it not done in the UK

But could be.

Take any town in Holland, Belgium, and Germany, especially at the weekend, on a fine day and apart from a few exceptions it will look something like this:-

 This Market square is surrounded by hundreds of parked bicycles.

Bikes outnumber cars, they ride against the flow up one-way streets.

Cafes do a roaring business.  All ages are cycling.   During a period of about an hour we saw lots of cyclists coming and going, but only one Lycra clad.   

Cyclists were coming and going continuously, few, if any were obese.

Bikes can be very personal and something of a fashion statement. Note that this one has two baskets, handy for carrying shopping or dogs.

In Germany it is much the same, the facilities are generally excellent.  The two dogs arrived in this market square in those wicker bicycle baskets.  But, it is in Germany where Touring Cycling is in a big way.

This grand display of key cycle routes (maps and information packs) is In a typical book shop in Germany.  Touring cycling is Germany's number one leisure activity and they have the cycle network to match it.

   every two minutes a touring Cyclist travels along the Weser Radweg in Minden.  Which means 25,000 to 35,000 cyclists need provisions and accommodation, ll good business for the local economy.

Touring cyclists explore the town, Take photos, buy a meal, etc.

A family of cyclists arrive at the Tourist Information Office.

 many stop for a snack.

Touring cyclists of all come in all types and classes of society.

It is nice to see so many families of cyclists touring together, and this is not in a town which is renowned for cycling.  

As acorns grow

As Acorns grow

Giant oak trees from little acorns grow.

Good old Lidl in this case haven't just stuck a few cycle-stands out of the way around the corner, but bang in front of the entrance to their shop.

Trusty Steed

Many a cyclists may think of their bike as their trusty steed. Not least this one:-

And it wasn't that far from Newmarket!

Saddle

Saddles

A variety of saddles have appeared earlier in this blog, a comfortable saddle is critiocal for riding any distance, and especially when touring.
       

What's left of this one would be none too comfortable. 

I rode a new Brompton today, but only went a few miles before the (smart new) saddle got the better of me, it was so uncomfortable; why, oh why do the make their saddles so uncomfortable?

NCN Route 2

This is the new cycleway which I surveyed and recommended to the local county council in 1994. It links the approximately 7km between Bexhill and Hastings and obviates the necessity to otherwise cycle on a busy main road. It was opened last year (2014) 20 years later!

Compare that with WW2, and all that involved which lasted only six years.

The surface varies from sealed tarmac to pebbles held together with a plastic grid mesh.  It passes quit close to the sea, and in heavy storms of about six months previously parts of the track were damaged by overflowing heavy seas but has since been repaired.

Cut-out figures have been placed at about half way between the towns.  Route 2 passes through Eastbourne onto Bexhill and beyond to Rye and along the Kent coast finishing up in Dover.   I carried out the initial survey for all of that route (Eastbourne to Dover).

Whilst I did represent Sustrans at various meetings, I was actually employed as a Cycling Consultant by East Sussex County Council.

When cycling it is most important to ensure that the rider has a comfortable saddle!  Perhaps there here there had been an explosion 'Down-under'!

This bike was parked in the main street in Bexhill.

Cyclists dismount, why?

Cyclists dismount

WHY?
This is the turn round of a short cul-de-sac.  Why was it necessary to deploy the 'Cyclists Dismount' sign.

The road surface is not to smart.

The Kent Cycling Battalion

The Kent Cycling Battalion

I knew that some members of the '1st. Kent Cyclist's Battalion' of WW1 are commemorated on a plaque, on  wall, inside Wye Church , what I hadn't realised  however was the existence of this grave near the entrance to the church and cemetery. 

There could be others, but I haven't looked at everyone of the many headstones here.  What  I do know is that there is a commemorative plaque to the Kent Cyclists Battalion on a wall in Canterbury Cathedral.

As Wye church lies conveniently on NCN 18 perhaps it could be a little pilgrimage for cyclists.

CYCLEPATHS A SELLING POINT!

CYCLEPATHS A SELLING POINT

The estate agent 'Hobbs Parker' is advertising this 4 + 2 bedrooms barn conversion for sale quoting as its key attraction: nearby cyclepaths. [Hobbs Parker/Little Burton Farm Barn].

The following text has been lifted from their website.

Little Burton Barn

George Williams Way

Kennington, Ashford, Kent TN24 9RZ

A detached Kentish Barn conversion,

wonderfully spacious proportions,

many exposed oak timbers and

enjoying a central and convenient

location - cycle paths run close by

directly to Ashford International

Railway Station.

Guide Price: £745,000

Strolling in the park

I was strolling in the park one day

Do I care I am on the cycle-way?

No MOT

No MOT

Look at this.  no brakes, no bell, and most likely no lights, AND by the time he had come out of the shop he had two shopping bags to carry on his handlebars.

It would not be so very difficult to fix the brakes, nor that expensive.

It is a criminal offence to ride a bike on a public highway which is unroadworthy, and this one would certainly fit that category .  What is more, having faulty brakes is downright dangerous both to the rider and anyone who happens to get in his way. 

Keep your eyes peeled.

It pays to keep one's eyes open; just look what has been put into a skip!

Usually there is a snag, and one finds that there is something irreparable wrong with it, but no. They hadn't used it for at least a couple of years, and so they had decided to bin it.    One man's rubbish is another man's treasure they say.

After a slight clean, its hardly used tyres given a slight pump up, and a squirt of oil here and there, there she is; bingo!

It'll do fine for the grandson.

Cycling on country lanes.

Becomes ever more difficult.

This picture is not untypical of the state of our country lanes, and they are getting steadily worse.  It is not just the holes, the nasty edge, but the excessive amount of debris covering the surface.

Who was to blame?

An aid to establishing who was at fault in a crash

There has been more than one occasion when a driver cut up a cyclists whilst making a left turn.
As the cyclists received head injuries, and was unconscious for 2½  hours it was important to make a statement to the police.
The victims were surprised to realise that the police were blaming the cyclist(s).

Fortunately independent witnesses came forward.

At a second meeting with the police, I knocked up an improvised quick physical representation using toys.

Initially the police didn't want to know, but when pressed they said that clearly the cyclists were in the wrong place.

So I asked, the cyclists were moving fairly slowly so  where should they have been?

They couldn't really ride on the outside of the traffic flow, especially if most cars were likely to overtake them.

At this point the police got quite angry, one saying:  "We are not going to be cross-examined by you!.

However, with the aid of evidence from two witnesses, our statement, and the CTC Legal Department,  we were able to counter the claim from the driver's insurance company for damage to his car, and we successfully claimed injury damages to ourselves.

The base for the model was a length of plain wall paper, the car from the 90p shop, and the two cyclists: Playmobile which we already had.

We also knew that the left turn was being used as a rat-run to try and avoid road-works further down the main road, and we think that the driver was in a bit of a hurry.

This dates back a number of years, but even today, not every cyclist carries a helmet-camera.

Nasty cycle lane

Yes,  that is right, the cycle-lane is under the nearside front wheel.

The cycle-lane is too narrow.

There is insufficient space to accommodate a bus and a bicycle.

I am trying to get the council to swop over the footway on the left of the picture, with the cycleway.   The profiled tiles mark the route from the road to a bus shelter.

Bikes on buses.

Bikes on buses.

Regular bus services that carry bicycles in a trailer operate in the summer months in Ribnitz,  north Germany, near the baltic coast.

Some buses in Switzerland and Germany carry bikes by hanging them on the back of the bus. A few will accommodate a couple of bikes inside the bus.