Cycle Friendly Cities

This YouTube video is about cycle friendly cities. It shows how bicycles can be part of everyday life and how increasing use results from good town planning, improving awareness of individual needs and the importance of safe coexistence of pedestrians, cyclists and other forms of transport. Holland, Denmark and Columbia are shown as examples. I particularly like the concept of accessible meeting spaces where people come together and can relax in a car free environment.

Here in Blackburn only 1% of commuters use a bike to get to work. In Copenhagen it is 33%. There's a gulf in the difference in the mindset. In England we need to reach critical mass where it feels normal to be able to take the bike anywhere local, whether it is to work, or to a social function.

To get an example of what that 'normal' car-free culture is like, stay somewhere like a Centre Parcs village. Once you leave your car, all facilities are in easy reach by paths and cycle ways. After a few days the driving drug starts to wear off and the cycling bug hits. If we could replicate this model on a larger scale, England could start to catch up with the rest of Europe.

Want to be a cycle hero?

Do you want to be a cycle hero? There's nothing particularly heroic about using a bike to get to work. It can be fun, invigorating, and rewarding on many levels. Of course, in this age of environmental concerns, one of the major benefits is reducing carbon emissions and helping to save the planet. You can also benefit from the savings you get from not running a car.

If you go to the cinema this summer, you are likely to see a commercial entitled 'CycleHero' funded by DEFRA and made by the CTC. The film features actress Genevieve Love Lake. It is aimed at commuters using cars for journeys of 3 miles or less and hopes to emphasise the difference you can make by giving up the car and cycling to work.

With less than a week to go to CycleHero week (July 14th-22nd), it's time get down to the shed and dust off that old bike. Try it for a week. You might just enjoy it more than you think. The CTC have dedicated the week as Climate Change Activation week. CTC clubs are arranging a series of dedicated rides and public events + film evenings across the country. See www.cyclehero.com for more details.

Mind how you go

Usually the daily ride is without incident. The only thing of note today was that it is still raining. Occasionally I get the odd car or van trying to pull out of a side road at me. This week I nearly got side-swiped by a 4x4 turning left. He must have misjudged my speed, because he still hadn't overtaken me before the junction came up. Luckily we both slowed down and he let me through.

The same can't be said for Marty. He ended up in hospital. His story is here. A sobering thought for when next out on the road.

Psychalist supplemented his weekly commute cycling with a trip out last night. Here is the river Ribble at Ribchester.

The river is high but thankfully it hasn't got to the levels experienced in Yorkshire. Just upstream from here the Lancashire Showground looks in good shape for the Royal Lancashire Show. It is quite vulnerable being in the bend of the river just below Dinkley.

Just across the road from the bridge is the De Tabley hotel. It looks like it closed again.

Laws and Physics

Most of the UK has been under deluge of heavy rains for the past week or so. It's like the monsoon season here. Psychalist has been getting wet this week, which is OK, but the camera has been staying in the dry. Here's a topic that isn't easy to get a photo of anyway - Seatbelts.


Not everyone enjoys physics at school, I'll grant you. However, the simple relationship between mass and velocity called momentum can't be lost on so many people, can it?. Every day there are reminders of these laws of physics: knocking down skittles; dropping something delicate on a hard floor; even walking into a door or other hard object.


Why, in the space of a 15 minute ride, can I see so many people in cars not wearing their seatbelts? Some days I don't notice so much but if I try, I can sometimes see, in the length of two and a half miles, up to a dozen folk risking theirs and other's lives. I would say this is significantly more than the 10% that research shows are not wearing belts. Perhaps I ride through pockets of resistance.


I used to think it was predominantly a certain sector of society but it isn't. It doesn't appear to be particular to any one community, religion or class. I see it all over. Some places it may be more noticeable but you can see it everywhere everyday without much effort. Perhaps the only consistent feeling I have about the people that I see without belts is that they tend to be younger drivers but not exclusively. This is confirmed by the Department for Transport's 2007/2008 road safety campaign:

"The 'Backwards' (Pizza) campaign was developed in 2003 and aims to demonstrate the importance of wearing a seatbelt in the front and back of a vehicle. It particularly targets short trips at low speeds in urban areas, as it is most frequently on these types of journeys that drivers don't belt up. 17-24 year old males are the main targets for the media as research suggests that this age group are the worst offenders, but the campaign will be seen by, and is relevant to, a much broader audience."

A recent newspaper called for a review of our stance on speed cameras because they aren't contributing to road safety. Apparently the UK road safety statistics used to be some of the best in the world but are now slipping down the league table of countries. One aspect of deploying speed cameras must be as a solution to limited police resources. The disadvantage of less patrols though, is more folk thinking they can get away with moving traffic violations. I don't think you notice as much from the inside of a car. Being on a bike enables you to see a lot more. I not only see belts not used but also more crafty culprits who leave the belt fastened and then sit on it to make it look like they are wearing it.


Education has to be major factor. I know from first-hand experience the value of a seatbelt. I wouldn't even be writing this today if it were not for one. Some degree of lazyness is also a factor and the younger drivers tend to have a greater sense of immortatlity. Perhaps it's time to bring back the public information adverts with the hammer and the peach. The Think Road Safety campaign is not so sure:

"Seatbelt wearing is not identified as a priority area in FY0607 but following the publication of the 2005 KSI statistics it was agreed that this topic still requires public education. It may be necessary to review the current creative strategy, partly because it is beginning to suffer from over-exposure and partly in order to target more explicitly the occasions when seatbelts are not worn."

Actually, I think my straw poll survey would have an even higher percentage for the non-wearers if I include all the van, bus and taxi drivers. They'll tell you they're exempt but they're not. Only the likes of milkmen and refuse collectors are. The rest are covered by the same laws but I bet not many of them know that.


I think a couple of patrol officers could have a productive hour every few weeks just to remind drivers not only are they breaking one law but they can't break the laws of physics.