What mass cycling looks like...

It feels like I've been in back-to-back policy meetings recently, squeezed in around the day job, about cycling in various parts of London.  For anyone unfamiliar with the processes involved in cycle advocacy, essentially anything you want done or propose usually has to have a study done about it, be referred to committee, get rubber-stamped by a sub committee and then put out to public consultation before anyone has even opened a tin of cycle lane paint.  The processes are there for good reason, of course, but that's not to say they aren't wholly uninspiring or indeed a real disincentive to a wider group of people getting involved with the whole cycle advocacy movement.

Sometimes, to remind myself of what I want to achieve I look to the works of video blogger Mark Wagenbuur who uses YouTube to show us what can be achieved, if we really start to think big.  I came across Mark's work via David Hembrow's excellent blog about Dutch cycling infrastructure "A View from the Cycle Path"

It's good to dream a little sometimes, right?

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y o u b i k e l o n d o n; Anne from Finsbury Park

Name / age?
Anne, I'm 30
Where do you live / ride to?
I live in Finsbury Park and I ride all round London; a bit of commuting and a bit for fun but in fact I live so close to home I'm able to walk when I'm going to the office - it's nice!

What do you ride?
I ride a Trek hybrid, her name is Daisy
It's pretty!
I know right?
And TWO bottle cages?!
Ah ha, yes, that's because I cycled from London to Paris last summer for the awesome homeless people's theatre company, Cardboard Citizens.  It was an amazing experience that really got me into long distance cycling and hopefully this summer I'll be doing a 9 day trip across Poland for The Alina Foundation, which was set up by a friend.
Excellent, that sounds really exciting, and its great that such an adventure could be for cool charities too.  How often do you ride, on a day to day basis?
Now more than before, I'm taking a bit of a winter hibernation at the moment, so it's just once or twice a week at the moment I guess.
Helmet or no helmet?
Tonight I've no helmet, but that is only because it is so cold I put on a big hat, but usually I wear a helmet.
What's your primary reason for cycling in London?
I have two primary reasons; because it is better for the environment, and because it is better for my health too.
What's your least favourite aspect of cycling?
If there are loads of white vans and mini-cabs cutting me off that's never any fun...
What's your most favourite aspect of cycling?
Being able to get anywhere in town faster than the cars, it feels fantastic.
When you're riding, what do you never leave the house without?
My phone, and if it is night I have my lights.
How many locks do you carry and have you ever had a bicycle stolen?
I carry one lock and I have not had a bicycle stolen, but I lived with someone who had their bicycle stolen from right outside our house, overnight.  He was really pissed off and annoyed, but fortunately he had it insured.
What advice would you give to an aspiring cyclist thinking of riding in London for the first time?
Don't be afraid, actually just be confident and you'll be really happy with the results.  Don't be afraid, you can do it!
Lastly, if you were Mayor for the day what would you do to improve the lot of the London cyclist?
That's a good question... Perhaps, maybe, I'd just close off more streets to motor traffic.  Not just creating the Cycle Superhighways but actually building cycle-friendly roads and ensuring cyclist rights are more widely known so that there is not such an antagonistic view that we sometimes have between drivers and cyclists.


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Introducing Street Talks

In 18th century London men of distinction had a favourite coffee house which the leaders of their industry would frequent to take refreshment, get the latest news, share gossip, make contacts and formulate the sort of policy that went on to give birth to behemoths of business like Lloyds of London.

Not much has changed, and indeed London still has it's favourite haunts where the great and good of certain schools of thought gather.  Those of us who care about the state of our city, the way in which we move around it, how sustainable and liveable (or not) it is becoming, conditions for cyclists, or maybe just a passing interest in why the Central Line is always so god damn busy are about to be blessed with a 'coffee house' of our very own.

Street Talks has been set up by a group of people who keep a keen eye on transport and the built environment (with a fairly heavy emphasis on walking, cycling and liveability) and aims to provide a forum for people to come together, hear an expert speaker, have a bit of a debate, meet like-minded thinkers and industry professionals and to share a beer or two.  A drink tank, if you'll excuse the pun, or a 'literary salon' for liveability buffs.

There's a spring season of monthly speakers lined up, with the first event on Tuesday the 8th of March upstairs at The Yorkshire Grey pub. 

Tom Barry, all-seeing Mayoral eye and editor of Boriswatch is the first speaker; Tom not only “reads through TfL Board minutes so you don’t have to,” he lives under the flight path at Heathrow and is first to guess when the Piccadilly line might break down and why.. he's kicking things off with a transport-focussed address; "State of the City - the highs and lows of London transport policy 2000 - 2011". 

Future events feature guest speakers Andrew Cameron, author of the new Manual For Streets, Jim Davis, founder of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain, and Harry Rutter (tbc) director of the National Obesity Observatory amongst others.

Street Talks have their own website and mailing list, and there is a Facebook page to signal that you're coming, too.

I'll be there, tell your friends, bring your beer money and I hope to see you on the 8th!

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Get ready to register for the 2011 Tweed Run!

It's back!  For the third year running London will play host to the original ride that promotes sartorial elegance; the Tweed Run. 

The date has been fixed for April the 9th 2011 at 11AM - sunshine has already been booked, apparently, but if you want to attend you'll have to act fast...  Registration opens at tweedrun.com at noon on Saturday (Feb 26th) - last year all 400 places went within 45 minutes.  This year the organisers will be charging £5 entry, which goes to the cycling charity Bikes4Africa.

The Tweed Run 2010 from ibikelondon on Vimeo.

My video of the 2010 Tweed Run - tally ho!

As usual there'll be the Best Dressed Bicycle competition, best vintage bicycle, best moustache (which last year was won by, erm, a woman) and best dressed lady and best dressed gentleman.

I covered last year's ride, and it stands out as a real highlight of the year; "On Saturday London felt like the most friendly city in the world; tourists gawked and took photos as we passed, people cheered and applauded, children watched wide-eyed as the spectacle rolled on; even London’s famous drivers were (largely) hospitable. Everyone taking part enthused what an incredible event it was; indeed even those I saw fixing punctures at the very start of the race did so with smiles on their faces."

Have your plus fours at the ready this Saturday, and good luck! 


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y o u b i k e l o n d o n; Andy from Brixton

Name / age?
Andy, and I'm 34.
Where do you live / ride to?
Live in Brixton and ride to and from the City.
What do you ride?
It's a Surly Cross Check
How often?
Every day I'm on my bike, or nearly every day..
Helmet or no helmet?
No helmet.

What's your primary reason for cycling?
I cycle because I find it fun.  Any hill that I have to go up I know I get to fly down the other side.  That's fun, that's what it is all about.
What is your least favourite aspect of cycling?
I think at the moment it is probably other cyclists... ..I don't think we do ourselves any favours sometimes.  I have been known to go through the odd red light, but if I do it is when there is no one else around, but there seems to be a certain type of person who constantly goes through red lights when there are people crossing or it isn't safe.
Do you think it is a specific type of cyclist who does this, or is it endemic now?
I think it is endemic.  I think we used to point fingers at the cycle couriers but now there are so many of us and many of us seem to have picked up some bad habits along the way.
What's your most favourite aspect of cycling?
My fellow cyclists!
Ha ha
You roll up to the traffic lights on Monday morning and you're feeling a bit down, then someone sparks up a conversation... that sort of thing never happens when you commute on the Tube.
What do you never leave the house without when riding?
My lock so that I can have some security to leave the bike and be able to go and do stuff.
How many locks do you carry and have you ever had a bicycle stolen?
Yes, I've had two bikes stolen and at the moment my bike is looking battered so I only carry one lock. When it was new I used to carry two locks.  When my bike was stolen it was because I forgot to twiddle the combination lock...
Oh no!
Yes, now I'm a bit more worldly-wise.  The other bike was stolen, many years ago, from home where they just chopped straight through the lock.
What advice would you give to an aspiring cyclist thinking of riding in London for the very first time?
Go to your local bike shop, find out who is your local cycle trainer and get them to ride your commute with you.  If you are thinking of doing a commute get them to go along and give you the confidence to do it and under guidance you'll find out whether it is for you or not.
Lastly, if you were Mayor for the day what would you do to improve the lot of the London cyclist?
I think it would improve our lot as cyclists by looking after pedestrians.  If I were Mayor I'd bring in far more pedestrian areas which would then discourage far more people from using their cars and use a bike instead, but I think we have to treat pedestrians as number one in London.  We need more pedestrianised streets... central London streets could be a great place to be to go out and about but they're full of cars driving up and down, why is that?  There is no sense, and there is so much potential for a bit more cafe culture, nicer places to hang out, they could make Oxford Street a traffic free zone so that it is a safer place to walk and then maybe there could be provision for us cyclists in those measures as well.

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