• Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #45. Never mind going Dutch, let’s Go London!

    Submitted by benirvine on 12 June, 2012 - 22:26

    #45. NEVER MIND GOING DUTCH, LET'S GO LONDON! The LCC’s Love London, Go Dutch campaign was presumably partly inspired by Cycle Lifestyle’s slogan Love London, Love Cycling, so I think it’s only fair that I borrow an idea from them.

    In any case, going London is much more appropriate in London than going Dutch. The biggest city in Holland – Amsterdam – is very different to London, despite the LCC touting the former as a cycle development model for the latter. Whereas the population of London is 7,556,900, Amsterdam’s is just 790,654. And whereas London covers an area of 1583 squared kilometres, Amsterdam covers just 219 squared kilometres.

    Clearly, cycle journeys in Amsterdam are shorter and easier to navigate. These two factors have helped to swell the numbers of people on bikes there, which itself has had a positive feedback effect, encouraging more people to cycle.

    In contrast, lots more journeys in London require a car simply because of the distances involved and the difficulty of navigating by bike over those longer distances. Those cars, in turn, have had a negative feedback effect on cycling, scaring people off.

    Without the problems of size and navigation, in Amsterdam cycle development tends to get more people cycling. But the same is not true in London. We’ve been developing the London Cycle Network for thirty years, yet it has hardly made any difference to the numbers of cyclists in the capital. The obstacles of bigness and navigation are just too severe.

    We can’t do much about London being big (apart from riding electric bikes), but we can make cycle navigation easier here. Simon Parker’s London Cycle Map suggests an ingenious way of signing the London Cycle Network, to make it possible for cyclists to get from anywhere to anywhere in the capital by following a few coloured routes, just like on the Tube. With fewer cars, these routes would be less scary to new cyclists, and soon more and more cyclists would follow, reassured by the safety in numbers.

    London and Amsterdam have different needs, and need different solutions. In Parker’s London Cycle Map, we should be celebrating a magnificent piece of British design – an innovative, world-leading solution to the problem of how to make cycling more accessible in a metropolis.

    Never mind going Dutch, let’s Go London!

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign

  • Storybikes - guided cycling holidays in Northern England and Scotland

    Submitted by benirvine on 11 June, 2012 - 20:27

    Some of us only ride our bikes as a leisure activity, some use them only for commuting or going to the shops, and yet others use them for a bit of everything. Whichever group you fall into, have you thought of spending a whole week enjoying the delights of cycling in some glorious landscapes?

    Storybikes offers just that opportunity. A variety of guided holidays in Northern England and Scotland – all starting and finishing near railway stations so you don't need to drive to get there (but remember to book cycle spaces on the train). You generally meet on a Sunday evening, and start cycling on the Monday. The pace is moderate; daily distances vary from 18 miles up to a little over 30.

    Not only are stops made to rest, drink coffee, eat lunch and admire the views, but also to listen to stories about where you are, be they mythological, legendary, humorous or historical. Andy, who leads the tours, is an accomplished storyteller.

    There is one more week-long tour this year – along Hadrian's Wall from 29th July to 4th August. Otherwise, the first tour of 2013 will be towards the end of February, in the Scottish Borders – a tour that's timed to enjoy the snowdrops.

    If you don't have a whole week to spare, you can join a half-day tour of Edinburgh. Andy will arrange a cycle for you if you aren't bringing your own, and he now has a Wisper electrically assisted cycle from The Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative – so you needn't worry about the hills or headwinds being too much for you!

    Find out more at www.storybikes.co.uk or phone Andy on 07762 000 039

  • Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #46. You can't start a fire without a spark.

    Submitted by benirvine on 11 June, 2012 - 19:25

    #46. YOU CAN'T START A FIRE WITHOUT A SPARK. ‘You can’t start a fire without a spark’, sang Bruce Springsteen (in one of the only songs I’ll dance to at a wedding).

    Cycling in London needs a spark. The LCC are proposing further cycle development – the equivalent of loading more and more wood onto the pile – but that’s not going to be enough. We’ve already got a decent cycling infrastructure in the capital – 2000 kilometres of London Cycle Network spread throughout the city – yet the public mood remains lukewarm.

    It is ironic that while cycling is safest when lots of people cycle, lots of people refuse to cycle because they think it’s not safe enough. Somehow we need to break into this circle.

    Simon Parker’s London Cycle Map would provide the needed spark. By installing the corresponding road signs and markings on the streets of the London Cycle Network, we could provide easy navigation and safe passage for Londoners new to cycling - enabing them to get from anywhere to anywhere in the capital by remembering just a few coloured routes like on the Tube.

    Soon, these routes would be heaving with new cyclists, and the cycling mood would spread, like wildfire, to other streets in the capital.Then, of course, we could start throwing more and more wood on, providing new cycle developments. But first, let’s get this fire started!

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign 

  • Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #47. Great for silver cyclists.

    Submitted by benirvine on 10 June, 2012 - 23:07

    #47. GREAT FOR SILVER CYCLISTS. I love seeing ‘silver’ cyclists – those inspirational pensioners who demonstrate that you’re never too old to ride a bike, or even to learn. Indeed, many of the core benefits of cycling are especially helpful to older people: independence, social interaction, mental stimulation, affordability, good health. And because you can exercise gently on a bike – or even choose a model that supplements your efforts with an electric motor – you can keep fit within your limits.

    It’s a fact of life that the older you get, the less hassle you want. Anyone who has ever seen their grandma trying to write a text message will tell you that clarity and simplicity make life a lot easier when mastering a new skill, or reviving an old one. A London Cycle Map would make venturing into a new part of the capital so much more straightforward, with easy-to-follow coloured signs and markings on the streets corresponding to Simon Parker’s routes. The pace of cycling on these streets would also be slower and calmer, perfect for people who want to go at a more leisurely pace.

    Let’s hope the London Cycle Map is implemented before I start collecting my pension!

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign

  • Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #48. Evolution, not revolution.

    Submitted by benirvine on 9 June, 2012 - 13:35

    #48. EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION. No, I haven’t turned into Tony Hayers. When I first met Simon Parker he described himself as a fan of Richard Dawkins – which, coming from the inventor of a cycle map, surprised me somewhat. Then I realised I shouldn’t be too surprised – I, too, am a big admirer of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary evolutionist, and I’m an avid proponent of Parker’s proposal.

    Understanding evolution equips a person with all sorts of mental tendencies, all of which are conducive to sound reasoning.

    You develop an awareness, for instance, of how various ecological conditions promote different survival strategies in organisms; of how natural selection creates pressures which favour certain adaptations over others. Cold environments favour furry coats; tall trees favour long necks; dry environments favour succulent plants; and so on. In these conditions, sparse coats, short necks, and tropical plants hardly get a look in.

    Thinking in terms of natural selection comes easily to evolutionists, which is why Parker intuitively understands the selection pressures exerted by London’s current transport infrastructure. With Britain’s capital being so huge and populous, its transport arteries groan with the largest, most efficient vehicles and the heaviest footfall. These main roads provide a harsh environment for bikes, favouring only the most aggressive and determined cyclists.

    Other cyclists opt for the quieter, safer backstreets. But this is a niche which is mentally rather than physically tricky to thrive in. Planning a complex route – involving hundreds of turn-rights and turn-lefts – is beyond the daily abilities of most Londoners. That’s not to say that people couldn’t perform the mental feat – only that there just aren’t enough hours in the day for most Londoners to indulge in cycle route planning. The rigorous requirements of cycle navigation in London create a selection pressure which forces cyclists off the backstreets.

    So what should we do to promote cycling in this great city of ours? There are two obvious alternatives: provide better cycle facilities on main roads, or make navigation on the backstreets easier.

    London’s aggressive and determined cyclists favour the former option, a position I agree with when it comes to individual cases assessed on their merits but not as a rule for cycle development. I’ve provided reasons elsewhere for why we should prioritise backstreet cycle development, but one relevant factor is worth elaborating on here, because it comes straight out of evolution: gradualism.

    Evolution is gradual in the sense that it progresses via the accumulation of small genetic mutations which affect the shape and behaviour of organisms over many generations. Whenever large mutations occur, they almost invariably do more harm than good, resulting in a ‘hopeful monster’ that fails to thrive.

    Parker’s London Cycle Map, as he recently pointed out to me, has gradualism at its heart. Over the last 30 years, some 2000 kilometres of cycle routes have been developed in London, forming a vast network of safer, quieter backstreets. The only thing these ‘London Cycle Network’ routes lack is a decent map and system of signage to make navigating on them easy. Providing these way-finding resources is the logical next stage in the LCN’s gradual development.

    In contrast, the proposal to focus cycle development on main roads is a hopeful monster. It seeks revolution rather than evolution when it comes to the capital’s cycling infrastructure. It doesn’t matter how aggressive or determined the proponents of such a plan are; as cyclists we simply cannot usurp the juggernauts of the road and the transport needs of a metropolis – not in such a short space of time, anyway. It is a revolutionary leap that’s destined to fail. If we must ‘reclaim’ the main roads, let’s do it gradually, by shifting Parker’s routes over time, or adding new ones.

    With his London Cycle Map proposal, Parker has recognised the selection pressures which are placed on cycling in the capital and the importance of gradual change. Richard Dawkins would be as proud as he is inspirational. His pioneering campaign against obscurantism in all its forms gives Parker and I confidence that, when it comes to the London Cycle Map, reason will prevail.

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign

  • Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #49. Salient cycling.

    Submitted by benirvine on 9 June, 2012 - 00:43

    #49. SALIENT CYCLING. A London Cycle Network organised in accordance with Simon Parker’s London Cycle Map blueprint would be a beacon for cycling in London.

    The streets would be emblazoned with clearly visible signs, periodic road markings, and beads of light studded into the tarmac. Each of the junctions on the network would feature a tall totem-like signifier, like the ‘roundel’ signs outside Tube stations, as well as a mounted London Cycle Map accompanied by local cycle route information.

    Then of course there’d be the cyclists – floating unmissably along the routes, like colourful autumn leaves on the surface of a river. As the routes became more popular, more and more cyclists would fall in line: nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.

    Everything about a London Cycle Network as such – from signs to cyclists – would declare: this is a place where cycling belongs.

    Granted, the same was supposed to be true of TfL’s Cycle Superhighways; but, alas, being based on main roads and major junctions, these routes seem to be sending out a message to cyclists too: this is a place where HGVs, buses, motorcycles and cabbies belong.

    With far fewer of the juggernauts of the road present, the routes on Parker’s London Cycle Map would be a cycling oasis in the midst of a capital city that can otherwise be hostile to bikes. A fully comprehensive network where cycling is salient. Now that’s an idea which would encourage regular Londoners to take up cycling.

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign

  • London Green Fair, 9th - 10th June

    Submitted by benirvine on 8 June, 2012 - 12:09

    The annual free festival returns, celebrating its 20th birthday, on the 9th-10th June in Regent’s Park. The event features the Electric BikeFest, the festival within the festival of all things bike. Major electric bike manufacturers will present their newest models and brands, which are available throughout the event for test rides in a safe and purpose built area. More highlights include Dr Bike’s free safety checks and minor repairs, bike maintenance workshops and cycle-powered music (to live bands). Other festival features include two live music stages with cutting edge contemporary festival music, a high profile debating arena, plus an 80-piece symphonic orchestra from Holland, a great children’s area, theatre and dance, the permaculture zone, the sustainable living zone and hundreds of boutique market stalls, campaigning groups and organic food and drink.

    Powered entirely by renewable energy, with education and entertainment at its core, it’s a wicked day out in a beautiful central London park with some 20,000 visitors. It recently won Best Event at the National Climate Week Awards and best of all it’s FREE.

    www.londongreenfair.org

  • An exciting magical musical mystery tour of RBKC.

    Submitted by benirvine on 7 June, 2012 - 15:45

    This Saturday (9th June), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Bikeminded campaign is running an exciting magical musical mystery tour of the Borough.

    From the music that has graced the royal palaces of William III to punk bands that used to make their male fans wear skirts to their gigs, and taking in the legendary hang-outs of hippie and rock stars of the 60s, punks and reggae artists of the 70s, synth pop-stars of the 80s and contemporary musicians of today, the tour will showcase some of the key locations of a borough that is home to the richest musical history in London.

    There’s also a treat for the avid cyclist as the tour group will be racing up the hors category climb of Col du Ladbroke Grove, charging across the cobbles of Kensington and cycling through some of the beautiful streets and parks of the borough too! But do not fear: the tour is designed and paced with those new to cycling in mind, so turn up with your own two wheels or pick up a 'Boris' bike at a docking station near you! There will be four tours on the following dates:

    Saturday 9th June – public tours

    11:00-13:00 and 14:00-16:00

    Saturday 7th July – public tours

    11:00-13:00 and 14:00-16:00

    Find out more at: http://www.bikeminded.org/events/bike-tours

  • Olympic countdown - Reasons for a London Cycle Map, #50. Nothing else is working well enough.

    Submitted by benirvine on 7 June, 2012 - 13:45

    50. NOTHING ELSE IS WORKING WELL ENOUGH. “I can’t help it if you might think I’m odd if I say I’m not loving you for what you are but what you’re not”, sang the inimitable Bob Dylan.

    If you’ve don’t really ‘get’ the idea of the London Cycle Map, Dylan’s lyric hints at a reason why should you still back our campaign: current cycle development in London isn’t working well enough.

    By ‘not working well enough’ I mean ‘not making cycling mainstream’. As a proportion of all journeys in London, bikes are currently used around 2% of the time, despite all the recent hype and initiatives to promote and facilitate cycle usage.

    Sustrans’ Greenways are great – but a selection of pastoral corridors in the capital will not make Londoners cycle en masse. The Cycle Superhighways are better than nothing – but a handful of blue lines painted in the slipstream of some of London’s most aggressive traffic is not going to get millions of people onto two wheels. The LCC’s Go Dutch campaign has achieved good salience, but has only managed to get mayor Boris Johnson to commit to some minimal demands, none of which will make much of an impact on the anti-cycling mentality of the vast majority of Londoners in the foreseeable future.

    Costing just £50,000 per borough (as estimated by LCN development manager Brian Deegan) the London Cycle Map is surely worth a punt, especially when compared to London’s expensive current cycling initiatives.

    When you consider what the London Cycle Map would offer – safe and easily-navigable routes for novice cyclists on signed and marked quieter streets extending throughout the entire capital; a Tube-style network for bikes – it’s a certainty that implementing Parker’s proposal would make a big bicycle-shaped dent into that remaining 98% of journeys.

    www.petition.co.uk/london-cycle-map-campaign

  • Cycle Lifestyle issue 7 is here!

    Submitted by benirvine on 6 June, 2012 - 23:02

    I’m delighted to unveil Cycle Lifestyle’s summer issue 2012, available for download, or in the magazine browser on the right.

    All the usual favourites are back – The Peddler, New Bike on the Block, Give it a Go, and the Best Cycling Streets in London – plus best-selling author Robert Penn writes about why he is backing the London Cycle Map Campaign.

    Cycle Lifestyle is the only free magazine in the UK that’s designed to appeal to potential as well as regular cyclists. In celebrating all that’s great about cycling, we’re reaching out to newcomers across the capital. Over the next few weeks, 10,000 colourful printed magazines will be distributed to workplaces, commuters, cycle shops, cafes, doctors’ surgeries, libraries, schools, student unions, and many more outlets as detailed here. You can also order a copy by postal delivery.

    A big thank you to Hannah Lewis for her uplifting cover art, to our designer Jon Haste for doing a tremendous job as ever, and to our regular contributors. Thanks also to our sponsors Barclays Print and all our advertisers for supporting us in our efforts to make cycling mainstream in London.

    Enjoy your Cycle Lifestyle this summer!

    Ben Irvine, Editor, Cycle Lifestyle

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