Cyclists and drivers – lets kiss and make up

The War on Britain’s Roads documentary has insensed drivers and cyclists everywhere.  While the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group and various others bemoaned the irresponsibility of the BBC airing the programme, having watched it I am of a mind to disagree.

Mostly there were lots of angry people but for what it's worth here is what I took from the programme.

• Slapping the side of a moving vehicle is pretty stupid and just riles people.
• Clapping and jeering other road users is pathetic and childish.
• Taxi drivers are not all out to kill cyclists, although they can have a tendency to drive on the edge of the limit and carve us up. 
• It is very scary when buses or cars drive close to the cycle lanes.  But if they are not overlapping they are not doing anything wrong.   Cyclists need to get used to it.
• Driver blind spots occur in different places depending on the size of the vehicle.  HGV, buses and car drivers all have different perspectives.  
• Weaving in and out of traffic at pace is perhaps the quickest way to get you killed.  Drivers can’t see us and it is bad practice.
• The police cyclist on the programme is doing one hell of a job.   Not sure about suggesting we might use a whistle to be seen though?   I don’t have a bell on my bike but I have a voice.
• The tragic death of one cyclist and the courage of the mother to challenge Cemex at its AGM is a cracking example of how well thought through actions and communication has actually led to the company taking corrective action.  Well done!
• The guy riding around pretending to be a cycling guardian angel looking for drivers offending cyclists (@trafficdroid) is a bit of a mentalist.

One journalist wrote this week “cyclists need to be vigilant not vigilantes”.   I wish I had written that but it is certainly a motto I will take to heart.  There is fault in all corners with examples of cyclists riding badly and drivers driving irresponsibly.   Given it’s supposed to be the season of goodwill can I appeal to the citizen within you whether you are a cyclist, bus, lorry or taxi driver and lets see if we can’t try to rub along together and maybe even kiss and make up.

Cycle hatred must stop – time to spread the love.

I read an article recently about the Yemen National Cycle Foundation.  Sounds grand, but this is essentially a small bunch of keen cyclists with little funding to speak of and bikes and kit that have seen better days.  Despite this they train hard, share a love of road cycling and aspire to take part in competitions whenever they can afford it.  While training around the Yemen countryside these cyclists regularly have to withstand rocks and abuse being thrown at them by car drivers who take umbrage not that they are on the road per say but because they are wearing shorts and tight jerseys.  They have also been intentionally targeted and knocked off their bikes by motorists.  What a dreadful state of affairs, surely this unmerited prejudice wouldn’t happen in our country.  
 

Unfortunately, I am not so sure.  If you have come across the @cyclehatred twitter feed you will understand what I am on about.  This is basically a twitter account that RT’s any nasty comments it picks up about cyclists, there is clearly a significant number of the driving population that consider cyclists as just a damn nuisance.  Okay that is not news but I had hoped that after the events of the summer, cycling was gradually getting the right side of the motorati. 

The crowds that lined the streets of London and delighted in cheering on the Team GB road cyclists included people who were drivers and pedestrians.  All over the UK people were hailing Wiggins a national hero after winning the Tour de France.  Not all these people were cyclists.  So what’s happened to the flagwaving feel good factor, the pride in our cycling prowess after the domination at world class cycling events?

Perhaps it is an investment in changing opinions and attitude rather than infrastructure that we need.   I do support the 20 is Plenty campaign, I am watching with interest how Stephen Hammond’s £30m investment into improving dangerous junctions for cyclists is actually spent and I am pretty sure more cycling lanes (although planned in collaboration with cyclists might be helpful) and filling in pot holes are all good things.  But we have to find a way to cross the attitude barricade between motorist and cyclist and stop viewing each other as archenemies otherwise even more people will be discouraged from cycling on the road.

 

Now I get that driving is essential for many people. Where I grew up it was pretty rural and there was not much in the way of public transport this meant as soon my friends and I turned 17 we jumped at the chance to get behind the wheel and pass our test as soon as feasibly possible.  Today, I run a business which requires me to be able to drive to meetings where using public transport is simply not practical.  I also run three kids which requires me to drive them to and from various activities (they do walk, cycle and scoot to some as well though).  My point is I drive for necessity rather than pleasure - that is what my bike is for.   

 

A “them and us” culture in any walk of life is not healthy; it serves to breed prejudice and hatred.   Education and communication has surely got to hold part of the key to achieving any sort of cultural shift.   It seems we could do with instilling morale values by using real life examples to give proper context and meaning to proverbs such as “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” .  It’s not just up to teachers, churchgoers or parents to deliver this message as cyclists we can do our bit as well.  Spread the love.  Encourage our relatives, friends, neighbours, and colleagues to leave the car at home and give it a go - I do believe participation is key, it is really all about getting more bums on saddles!    

 

Perhaps we cyclists could make a start by taking the moral high ground.  Acknowledge considerate drivers and pedestrians as we cycle and try giving the benefit of the doubt to those who are less considerate,  avoid pointless public slanging matches (particularly on twitter) and suppress the desire to make fist shaking gesticulations – it just fuels irrational rage and unnecessary hatred between complete strangers.  It achieves nothing (well maybe just high blood pressure).

I cycled to and from the gym this morning. It was chilly, a bit wet and the roads were dirty and busy but it was a great way to start my day.   

Winter training blues? Get on your Wattbike

I can't remember exactly when or why the fad for exercise bikes in the home started to appear but I am pretty sure Jane Fonda was to blame.  The trend of wearing leotards and leg warmers and exercising in the comfort of your living room sounds ridiculous, but boy did it catch on.  There was a time when no self-respecting household was complete without its own library of fitness videos and cassette tapes.  Exercise bikes in the 80s were truly useless contraptions, which after a while tended to be abandoned to the spare room to be used as glorified clothes horses.

So when the boys at Vibe Fitness started to wax lyrical about the new Wattbike (@wattbike) they had purchased for their gym you can forgive me for initially feeling less than enthusiastic.  But the Wattbike is no ordinary exercise bike, in fact to call it that does it a considerable disservice.  Without wishing to get too technical the Wattbike closely replicates the feeling of pedalling a bicycle.  It is spectacularly sensitive to your pedal pressure, complete with a monitor that accurately shows the balance between your left and right foot and constantly adjusts as you do. 
 

Feedback on the monitor shows cadence, rpm, heart rate and stores your progress minute by minute. Endorsed by British Cycling and used by the Pros it really is a whole new way to build up both stamina and leg speed and gain an understanding about the way you cycle and areas you need to improve on.

 

(Here is Paul from Vibe Fitness, clipped in for a bit of training on the Wattbike.)

 

 

 

However, it also has an extraordinary ability to turn ordinary Joe cyclist into a pretty competitive being.  The board at the Vibe Fitness gym is covered with Wattbike times - storer test accuracy, 5k & 10k time trials and my personal favourite the 3 minute challenge. This 'easy' little test is basically about how far you can pedal in 3 minutes.  What is interesting is to see how you fair against the trainers and the pro times.  It is all good fun and importantly it gives you something to aim at or in my case respect.

Here are the Vibe Fitness trainer’s stats for the 3 minute challenge and mine.  How do you fair?
 

Simon     2333 m @ 375    @simonridleypt

Paul        2463 m @ 440    @vibe_fitness
Joey        2203 m @ 323    @joeyrossipt
Me          2136m  @ 295

 

So if you have winterised your bike and don’t relish the prospect of hours on a turbo trainer then find a local gym that has a Wattbike, the Wattbike website has loads of training plans and set yourself a challenge.

Above all don't discount it until you've tried it.  Happy training!

Linda


Vibefitness is based in Bath and run by personal trainers Paul Ransome and Simon Ridley.  see www.vibe-fitness.co.uk

 

 

 

Cities fit for cycling - we need to make it happen

Today, The Times relaunched and reviewed it's Cities fit for cycling campaign. It marked the launch of a cross party parliamentary 'Get Britain Cycling' inquiry aimed at getting more people to cycle and ensure cycling is safer in Britain. The report is due out in April 2013, which will be more than a year since Mr Cameron and 75 other MPs congregated to debate cycling safety.

Philip Pank's review of The Times campaign to date, made interesting if not slightly depressing reading with 4 of the points from it's 8 point plan charting a score of 2/10, and the highest one scoring 5/10, forgive me for feeling down heartened. Now don't get me wrong, I think the campaign is well thought out, the ideas for change pretty sound, feasible and most even practical to implement. The campaign has raised significant awareness nationally (36,000 people have pledged support) and shifted cycling safety up the political agenda. So one year on from launch why does progress feel painfully slow?

In an interview with Cycling Weekly Kaya Burgess, the reporter behind the campaign, suggested that "Cyclists need to seize their opportunity with both hands". He is right. We can't simply e-sign our support, write a letter to our MP and local councillor and then sit back and wait for the changes to happen. If we truly want to properly galvanise support in our cities, our towns, and on our doorsteps we have to be prepared to get off our backsides and help make it happen.

I live in Bath - a beautiful city for cycling. There are cycle lanes and plenty cycle paths. There are also loads of keen cyclists, cycling groups and independent cycle shops. The city also has its own version of Boris's bikes and a well used commuter cycleway connecting Bath with Bristol thanks to Sustrans. On paper Bath should be a cyclists haven but unfortunately, like most modern, busy cities, cyclists still suffer safety issues. Bath is massively congested, having been built well before the motor car, the roads are narrow and can be difficult to negotiate for a cyclist, particularly in the rush hour. It attracts tourists by the coach load and is a city in desperate need of a bypass to help reduce heavy traffic entering the centre.

There are lots of ideas and initiatives as The Times campaign suggests but if I was to choose one to champion here in Bath it would be to introduce 20mph as a default speed limit in residential areas. The Police quote your chances of surviving being hit by a car at 20mph are 80:20 but if you are hit at 30mph it's reversed at 20:80. The stats speak for themselves. Surely, just implementing that one initiative would mean a significant proportion of the centre would get slower and safer. That in itself would encourage more people to get on their bikes and help parents introduce their children to cycling on the roads. It would also make the city centre residential streets a nicer place to live. There is a street in Bath that already has a 20mph limit restriction but having watched cars entering the zone it really needs much better visibility at the point of entry both to allow the motorist a chance to spot it and to slow down in time.  Overall, we need to find better ways to promote the 20mph and enforce it, maybe by simply painting 20mph Zone on the road in big letters would be a start and a bit more effective than a sign on a lamppost! I recognise there are no easy answers but there is room for common sense to be added into the communication and effective introduction of new initiatives like this one.

So, I for one am going to do as The Times suggest and continue to lobby my MP, councillors etc but I am also going to ask more questions and above all find out who is driving change for cyclists in Bath and what plans are afoot to make our city and the outlying areas, fit for cycling. And if I can't find the answers, or don't get satisfactory ones, I might just have to 'be bothered' and do it myself.  How about you?

Cycling - a man's world?

Anyone can ride a bike. Regardless of height, weight, or age it's a pastime and a sport enjoyed by millions. I was taught to ride a bike by my father. No stabilisers just him hanging on to my saddle running hell for leather behind me while I got my balance. And balance I did and then off we rode for miles on end. That was some years ago, so when I was asked to ride 30 miles for charity in June I did not hesitate to dust down my old Halfords shopper and give it a go.

It was harder work than I thought it would be. I pushed that heavy bike up more hills than I care to remember and cursed enviously as cyclists on lightweight racers flew past me on the route. By the end I was knackered and sore but had been reminded just how much I enjoyed and missed cycling.

I needed a decent bike if I was going to do more cycling. I read some stuff online, got confused. Spoke to some experienced cycling chums, got even more confused and scared by the amount of money suggested I needed to part with to get a decent bike. I decided to venture into my local cycling shop.

Cycling shops are by and large where men congregate. But while they may have a predominantly male audience they are no less welcoming or helpful and desperate to encourage newbies like me into the sport they love. I guess it helps if you want to buy a bike but I have never been made to feel out of place. I bought my entry level specialized bike (cost the same as a family holiday!!) from a small independent dealer in Bath and I have not looked back. The shop staff have become my main point of reference for all my bike related queries. I have come to the conclusion that bike retailers operate like micro- communities, the smart ones pass their customers around, happy to introduce to competitors in order to solve problems rather than trying to get a sale at all costs. It is refreshing. They can be a great source of info for the new cyclist, recommending routes, clubs to join and general cycling tips (like how to practise riding with spds) my advice is don't be afraid to ask regardless of how stupid you think the question may be.

So far most of my cycling miles I have completed on my own but rarely do I feel alone. Whenever I ride I find, regardless of the bike you ride or the gear you wear, there is a real brotherhood between cyclists that is not gender specific. We nod and smile. I particularly like the camaraderie of a sportive where cyclists pedal past shouting "keep going" or come alongside for a chat. Cyclists share jelly babies, pick you up when you fall off, help you change a flat, share the agony of a hard hill and a smile at the end of a long day. It's a friendly sport.

So when asked to write about my experience as a female entering ‘our’ sport by Cyclerecyleuk I have to admit that is the first time I had really considered it as potentially an issue or as a male exclusive activity. But it did get me thinking.

While I have met lots of nice cyclists along the way, I have still not joined a local cycling club. I am sure there are lots of friendly ones but from reading their websites there appears a tendency to take it all a bit too seriously complete with club hill climb race stats generally it all feels a bit mannish for me. But admittedly I have not actually spoken to anyone at a club so my next step is to get in touch and experience a ride,

By the same token women-only cycling groups hold even less appeal. I am just not a fan of segregation in sport or generally in life. As I said anyone can ride a bike.

My female friends are mostly surprised at my new found passion for my road bike. I find that odd since women have been riding bikes for decades, long before it was deemed acceptable for them to drive a car! My male friends are mostly envious of my bike and impressed by my achievements whereas my male cycling friends are a mixed bag generally desperate to know how far and how fast I have gone or blind me with science and food nutrition advice but they are equally encouraging.

Professional and amateur cycling maybe a male dominated sport but there is no barrier as I see it to entry for a female rider. With pro-female cycling suffering a considerably lower profile, and consequently funding, it is little wonder the dominant perception is it's a man’s world. Matrix’s Stefan Wyman’s attempts to encourage a fan backed women’s team is a good example of how difficult it has become to attract sponsorship and funding for women’s cycling and it is also disappointing to see a reduction in the number of women’s Olympic track cycling events.

So while there are nubile, fit young and old men pushing themselves to their Strava limits there are equally women doing the same just in fewer numbers. There is nothing stopping women participating, perhaps the media, British Cycling and amateur cycling clubs could do more to encourage female entry but if my experience is anything to go on maybe it's simply a need for someone or something to trigger a forgotten passion.

 

Clocks back - mind that cyclist!

As a schoolgirl in the 70s, we walked to and from school every day in all weathers. Few families owned second cars and while the roads were less congested the instance of traffic accidents still as significant and certainly not taken any less seriously, than they are today.

It was dark walking to school back then. So dark the local council issued us with glow in the dark armbands which we wore on top of our duffle coats. We resembled a mini fluorescent army marching up and down the road to school.

This week the days have got noticeably shorter and as the clocks go back tonight our mornings and evenings will become darker still. ROSPA reports the most dangerous hours for a cyclist are between the hours of 8.00- 9.00am and 3.00 - 6.00pm and that most fatal cycling accidents occur in the dark. One fifth of cyclists killed are children, with the instances increasing as they get older, the age group 10 to 15 years being the most at risk.

As the mother of a 10 year old cyclist I am admittedly concerned. However, what concerns me more is the lack of cycling proficiency skills in this age group and lack of parents cycling with young kids on the road.

I recently took my son for a ride on the roads around central Bath. He was understandably nervous, even a little scared, but he carefully listened to my instructions and gradually built his confidence. The experience was surprisingly good. When cycling with a small boy I found car drivers slowed down and gave us a wide berth. Smiling and thanking every driver as they past us also helped. The sense of achievement that my 10 yr old felt at the end of the ride was pretty good too.

Sharing my experience with other parents and friends, I was disappointed how few felt it was a responsible action on my part and even fewer would consider cycling on the road themselves let alone allow their child to do so. So how do we create a safer cycling culture if we don't teach how to go about it at an early stage? As a cyclist, I see plenty examples of cyclists displaying poor road awareness and as a car driver, witness some equally bad driving.

Not all schools run cycling prof courses, some of that is down to funding but mostly it is not seen as an educational target so it is up to us adults to teach the next generation of riders.  In Bath, the local council offers cycle training and their are examples of learn to ride initiatives all over the country.

Lots is written about who owns the right to a space on the road, inconsiderate and aggressive drivers, inconsiderate and foolhardy cyclists, unobservant pedestrians and so on. Should we maybe focus harder on looking out for each other? Imagine if we just cared a bit more about our fellow man rather than jostling for position. Drivers who care about cyclists and vice versa as well as cyclist caring about pedestrians are surely happier and safer for it.

I for one will be getting my fluorescent jacket on and lighting up a smile for all those drivers, cyclists and pedestrians who watch out for me in the darkness.

100 carbs an hour...really?

Much is written about nutrition and its relationship to sports performance. Reams of well researched data and case studies exist showing how professional sportsmen can and do significantly enhance their sporting prowess simply by changing their diets. All interesting stuff. But how much of this knowledge should the amateur sportsman or woman take to heart?

As a relatively new road cyclist discussing my intentions to take on my first long ride (80 miles) with more experienced riders I was surprised by the almost immediate interest in my ride rations. Energy gels, wraps, bars, basically anything carb based was recommended as a must. Being more concerned about how on earth I was going to deal with a puncture along the way, I will admit this aspect of my race preps was a bit of detail I had completely overlooked. That and the fact I had not cycled further than 30 miles before. The more I spoke to other cyclists the more i could feel my initial enthusiasm for the ride rapidly fading.

I am married to an ex-navy man with a history of taking part in some fairly stupid endurance events, so when I admitted my fears to him, after a conversation with a particularly competitive and dull cyclist who advised "You need to take on board 100 grams of carbs every hour you cycle or you won't make it" his response of "It's an endurance race you are taking part in not a sodding picnic" was not entirely unsurprising. His advice to put a mars bar in my pocket and get on with it seemed a little unsympathetic even by his standards. But thinking back to my first cycling adventures of the early 80s, when a half day ride involved a very heavy bike and no more than a bottle of water and my Dad's extra strong mints to sustain us, I began to reconsider my initial concerns.

 Now taking on board food and drink at regular intervals while cycling is obviously important but there is a risk at being a bit over scientific. A little knowledge goes a long way even when misinterpreted. Gone are the days when sources of reference were a copy of the Oxford Dictionary and several volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Today, with the help of our friend google, we can and do absorb information at an astonishing rate but often without fully understanding the context.

It's little wonder then that we can be guilty of over reading and over thinking what are some fairly straightforward situations and scenarios - umm like riding a bike from A to B. Okay, I am generalising and I recognise if you are cycling at the speed of a small car you do need a bit of extra fuel in your tank, but there is an awful lot of unnecessary information passed between amateur cyclists.

 On the day, the ride was tough (I fell off twice) but I was proud to get in among the early finishers despite wearing a lot less lycra than most. Fitness, the right mindset and sheer bloody determination is what I needed for a long distance road cycle. Mind you the odd Mars Bar and square of Kendal mint cake in my back pocket also helped.