London Cyclist August-September 2009 by London Cycling Campaign

magazine of the London Cycling Campaign August-September 2009

SUMMER CITY IN THE

Bike Week • Skyrides • Smithﬁeld Nocturne • Bicycle Polo

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AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2009

020 7234 9310 www.lcc.org.uk

What LCC does… ➤ Campaigns for change ➤ Supports our members ➤ Promotes London cycling LCC’s strategic aims ➤ Promote cycling to the people ➤ Redesign our streets for cycles ➤ Promote cycling to our politicians ➤ Make cycling diverse and inclusive For more info, visit www.lcc.org.uk/strategy Member benefits ➤ Up to 15% off in London bike shops ➤ Free third-party insurance cover ➤ Exclusive deals on bike theft insurance ➤ Free bimonthly member magazine ➤ Free legal helpline Read more about member beneﬁts on p.45 Editorial contacts Editor: John Kitchiner, londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk Products: Matthew Moore, m.moore@lcc.org.uk Design: Anita Razak, design@lcc.org.uk Communications: Mike Cavenett, mike@lcc.org.uk Advertising contact Mongoose Media: Anthon Linton, 020 7306 0300; lcc@mongoosemedia.com Contribute to London Cyclist Please email londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk to discuss feature ideas and photography www.lcc.org.uk For the latest news, campaigns and events information, visit the LCC website, where you can also sign up for our fortnightly e-newsletter Printed on 100% recycled paper LCC is not aligned with any political party. All views expressed in London Cyclist are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, nor do they necessarily reﬂect LCC policy. Editorial content is independent of advertising. All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the editor. London Cyclist is printed by Wyndeham Grange on paper made from 100% de-inked post consumer waste. London Cycling Campaign is a charitable limited company, reg no 1766411; charity no 1115789.

opinion Koy Thomson Why BikeTubes make perfect sense Zoe Williams On reclaiming the streets in a bike boom Mike Cavenett Suggests 20mph speed limits are the future Will Butler-Adams Brompton MD on folders and business

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news & letters News The stories behind the latest cycling headlines Letters Your rants, raves, opinions & competition entries

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features Bike Week Photos from London's biggest cycling event Smithﬁeld Nocturne A night at the races Skyrides Sign up for the new 'Freewheel-style' ride festival Security The best ways to deter bike thieves Best Rides in London Visiting six Hawksmoor churches Bicycle Polo The capital's hottest sport explained Overseas One commuter's tour of classic Alpine climbs Technical Five easy upgrades, with step-by-step guide

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reviews Products Six 'hybrid' city bikes, plus summer clothing Culture Tour de France themed books and theatre

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members Members’ pages New section dedicated to LCC members Local Group News The most colourful round-up ever Communities Updates on exciting local initiatives Events diary Full August to September ride guide Workshops Courses to improve your maintenance skills Discounts Find the best savings with our listings

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BIKE WEEK IN PICTURES: see if you can spot your friends

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Opinion

LCC CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Koy Thomson Sometimes you need a trigger to become a regular cyclist, says LCC’s chief executive, and in June we had one such event: the tube strike

nsults were flying around last month. London Cycling Campaign has been called right-wing strikebreaker and shallow leftist on the same issue: the tube strike. Both views are wrong. As a charity and an organisation we don’t take sides in political disputes. However, acting and not acting are both deliberate courses of action. We could have let the strike pass by and done nothing to encourage more cyclists; then we would have avoided the risk of accusations of being strikebreakers (I’ve received one or two angry emails to that effect). But LCC’s raison d’être is to get people cycling and to make that change in travel behaviour permanent. London commutes can be unbearably expensive, congested, uncomfortable and unreliable. But despite these problems (push factors), and despite the wellknown benefits of cycling (pull factors), ‘push’ and ‘pull’ are often not enough to change travel behaviour. Habits do die hard. A third ingredient is needed: the trigger. Triggers are life changes such as changing jobs, moving house or major disruptions in daily life, such as a tube strike or a new congestion charge. A strike on the underground disrupts tube travellers, but also causes hell on the roads and on the rest of public transport. LCC chose to exploit that disruption. In running the BikeTubes we discovered a whole group of occasional cyclists who needed direct support to try out commuter cycling. The desire to cycle commute was there, the strike was the trigger and the BikeTube the opportunity. This has convinced us to run BikeTubes again as a regular fixture through the summer and outside the politically-charged context of a strike. We will be working with Transport for London on these, because we share the goal of a modal shift to cycling.

We are the champions Another course of action, rather than doing nothing during the strike, would have been to run the BikeTubes and then bask in the glow of City Hall approval for a job well done. Instead we repeatedly made it clear to the mayor and the media that we weren’t taking sides. If we had taken sides the mayor might not have felt compelled in an interview in The Sunday Times to call us politically ‘shallow’ or imply that we’re lefties upset by a Conservative championing of cycling:

“Some of these cycling groups are not sympathetic to me because they regard me as a Conservative. It is an agony for them to see me as a Conservative, championing the thing that they think is a wonderful, leftist, liberating thing… It is psychological torture for them to see something they regard as anti-establishment to have been captured by this creature of the Conservative liberal establishment. The more I do, the more painful it is.” Are we in agony over the mayor’s championing of cycling? Absolutely not! Are we of one party political persuasion? No, how dull that would be. We are

“With BikeTubes we found a whole group of cyclists who needed direct support” constitutionally non-party political and as an organisation we are a very broad church. LCC’s vision is for a London so improved in safety and environment that cycling and walking are the natural choices. As we have always said, this is not about numbers of cyclists alone but a changed London. Cyclists are not like sand to be poured into the cracks between lorries, cars, vans, motorbikes and taxis; cycling is not the solution to squeezing the last miserable drop out of London’s road capacity. When the mayor said ‘a cycle-lised city is a civilised city’, it sounded like he intuitively shares LCC’s vision. We challenge the mayor to show the whole city how deeply these beliefs are engrained in all of his transport and planning policies, not just the so-called cycling ones. And if in doing so, he goes far beyond anything LCC has ever advocated, none will celebrate more loudly than us.

FURTHER UPDATES To ﬁnd out more about the forthcoming BikeTubes, go to www.biketubes.org.uk

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News For campaign updates, news reports and contact info: www.lcc.org.uk

Grand canyon in Islington

IN BRIEF Bike Trainers Cycle Training UK is recruiting new cycling instructors and LCC members are invited to apply. If you’re interested you can ﬁnd further details at http://www.cycletraining.co. uk/jobs/index.php

Guardian podcasts The Guardian Online has launched a new series of podcasts about cycling. The ﬁrst in the series includes a segment from Sir Chris Hoy. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/audio/2009/jun/23/ the-bike-podcast-chris-hoy

BRITISH WATERWAYS USED a novel method to encourage cyclists to slow down on the Regents Canal towpath during Bike Week — a giant hole was painted on a canvas on the ground by 3D artists Joe Hill and Max Lowry. Cyclists slowed to avoid falling into the illusory canyon and waterways staff were on hand to give safety advice. Towpath ranger Joseph Young said: “The majority of riders share the space amicably, but there's a handful who refuse to slow down. That's why we commissioned this art; we hoped it would shock.” He added that rather than an attempt to restrict cyclists, the art was there to encourage appropriate use of the path. British Waterways said it will keep the artwork, complete with waterfall and plank, to use on other occasions.

BikeTubes are back this autumn LCC WILL PROVIDE 100 guided rides from the suburbs into central London this summer in an effort to encourage novice cyclists to commute to work. The BikeTubes were first run during the tube strike in June when

LCC staff and volunteers marshalled over 100 cyclists to work during the two days of public transport disruption. The new service will start in early August, and will involve ten rides on one day per week for ten weeks. The new rides will involve

LCC working closely with TfL in order to attract an even larger number of new cyclists. LCC chief executive Koy Thomson said: “The BikeTubes were a tremendous success, and we’re really pleased to be running them again. We look forward to seeing a great many more people choosing to cycle, and we hope a good number of them are inspired to enjoy riding to work every day. We know more people want to cycle and these rides can help give them the confidence.”

TELL YOUR FRIENDS If you have friends or family who are inexperienced cyclists, direct them to the www.biketube.org.uk website for more details on this summer’s rides.

Deal on family memberships YOU CAN NOW extend your individual LCC membership to your whole family for only £12. Family membership usually costs £55, so you make great savings, while your family receives the same fantastic money-saving benefits and insurance cover as you. And by making your family members of LCC, you add real weight to our campaigning voice. Call 020 7234 9310 (option 1) to speak to the membership team, otherwise fill in the online form and we'll contact you via email.

OFFER TERMS ■ Offer open to all current LCC individual members. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other. Valid until 21 Sept.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: many new cyclists joined the BikeTubes in June Maps out his transport plans for the capital +++ Sign up for the Mayor of London's Skyride on 20 September at www.goskyride.com +++

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News News

Cycle Highways need to tackle major obstacles A MASSIVE EFFORT is required to turn the proposed Cycle Highways into cycle-friendly routes, according to LCC staff and volunteers who inspected the routes recently. LCC has expressed support for the Cycle Highways project and is investing hundreds of hours of volunteer time in analysing the routes and making recommendations. The official inspection, in conjunction with the Transport for London team tasked with implementing the scheme, came just days before a cyclist was killed by a leftturning lorry outside Oval underground station on the proposed Wimbledon to City highway. That was the seventh cyclist fatality this year caused by a collision with an HGV.

TAKING NOTES: on future actions

STOCKWELL GYRATORY: a hazard on the proposed A24-A3 Cycle Highway

The subsequent route inspection meetings took place over four days and involved more than a dozen experts from LCC, including staff and volunteers representing all the boroughs affected by the first two proposed routes, from Wimbledon to the City and

Barking to Tower Hill. LCC’s Koy Thomson said: “During the inspections LCC representatives made specific recommendations to improve the safety of the junction at Oval tube, the site of the latest tragic fatality.” However he believes the mayor has set ambitious targets, adding:

“If the Cycle Highway improvements are to encourage a threefold increase in cycling along the proposed routes, as the mayor himself projects, then the major junctions must be addressed. LCC has campaigned for years to have junctions like Oval, Stockwell, Canning Town and Tower Hill made safer for cyclists — and this is how the first two Cycle Highways should be judged when they’re completed in 2010.”

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number of illegal ca seized by police in rs London in 2008/9

Improving London’s cycling provision AS WELL AS Cycle Highways, LCC is channelling its expertise to improve provision in three other areas: London Cycle-Hire scheme, Permeability and Local Implementation Plans (LIPs).

and Royal Parks with a lack of cycle paths. ■ Creating a ‘tube map’ of cycle routes for Zone One, including a north-to-south and east-to-west cycling grid. ■ Creating urban greenways linking major green spaces in central London.

London Cycle-Hire scheme

Permeability This refers to the process of improving streets for cyclists by providing safe, direct routes that encourage drivers to leave their Trevor Parsons

LCC believes the Cycle Hire scheme due for May 2010 could radically improve central London. We're concerned, however, that the central London cycling infrastructure won't be ready to make the experience of riding the hire bikes match the ‘Parisian promise’. TfL has a significant budget within the scheme to fund ‘complementary measures’ — cycling improvements in the Cycle Hire zone. LCC local groups have started producing a comprehensive analysis of the improvements needed and will present this to TfL in the near future. Recommendations will include: ■ Addressing the major barriers to cycling in Zone One: bridges, mainline station access, gyratories

DE BEAUVOIR TOWN: good example of 'ﬁltered permeability'

cars at home. It can refer to making one-way streets two-way for cyclists, or having cycle-only cut-throughs on junctions. Because permeability isn't an easy concept to convey, LCC is producing a project to document and photograph the best examples already in London. We'll supply this to TfL and local councils as soon as possible.

Local Implementation Plans The transport funding relationship between TfL and the boroughs is changing. There will no longer be central pots that boroughs bid for (and this includes cycling). Boroughs will receive transport funding calculated from a formula relating to transport infrastructure needs. They will put forward their own LIPs based on local priorities. The big question is how the mayor will guarantee that the LIPs are consistent with his transport strategy. It is LCC's task to ensure cycling doesn't slip off the agenda altogether.

Source: London Assembly Green Party report

IN BRIEF ing goes 'naked' Ealing Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in Ealing are soon to be part of a trafficsmoothing experiment, with three junctions to become more ‘naked’ this autumn. The council plans to remove traffic lights in a scheme aimed at reducing congestion. If successful, the experiment could be rolled out across the borough. The junctions affected are those of Western Road and Montague Way, Twyford Avenue and Creffield Road, and Gunnersbury Lane and Bollo Lane. Tim Gould, Ealing Council’s Transport Project Manager, said: "We’ll see how it works with the traffic lights out. If it's chaos on day one we’ll live with it. If it's still bad by day three, chances are we’ll call TfL and write it off to experience.”

Maps out his transport plans for the capital +++ You can now follow LCC on Twitter: visit www.twitter.com and sign up to London_Cycling +++

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News

Call for fresh thinking on car-free streets

CAR-FREE LIVING: the model already exists in Freiburg, Germany

A FLAGSHIP CAR-FREE property development should be built in London to show the public that living without cars can be a benefit, not a burden. This is just one key idea in LCC's official response to the mayor's 'New Plan for

London’ consultation, which covers planning in London. Chief executive Koy Thomson said: "We're responding to the fact that many Londoners don’t own a car — 40 percent of households are car-free — but no-one

has the choice to enjoy living in a family-friendly car-free environment. Car-free developments still give people access to motor vehicles through car clubs if they need them, but parking is kept away from homes and streets.

Mobility is planned around bikes and feet." The type of car-free development mooted already exists in the suburb of Vauban in the city of Freiburg, Germany, where 5000 people live. Other measures suggested in the LCC response include mandatory cycle parking standards for new residential, retail and service developments, and for the London Cycle Network to be properly developed as a healthy and viable travel network. The mayor's 'New Plan for London’ consultation is one of four major consultations to which LCC is currently responding. There are more details about these on the website ebsite at http:// tinyurl.l. com/ Number of bike LCCra created in New Yo cks conrk Ci in last three year ty sults. s Source: Ne

6,100 w York Transport Department

New cycle-friendly transport minister CYCLISTS WELCOMED LAST month's appointment of Sadiq Khan MP as Minister of State for Transport, following his involvement with an LCC cycling project. Mr Khan, Labour MP for Tooting since 2005, completed one-to-one cycle training as part of Wandsworth Cycling Campaign’s 'Movers & Shakers' in spring 2007. The project gave key decision-makers in the borough experience of being a cyclist in London. Mr Khan told LCC: “I'm determined to ensure that cycling is central to our overall transport vision. There's still more that can be done and I will ensure the interests of cyclists are well represented in all our policies.” After the training, Mr Khan said: “It’s really important that we put into practice all our good

intentions and spread the word.” The project, which ran from autumn 2006 to spring 2007, was funded by what is now the Community Cycling Fund for London, run jointly by LCC and Transport for London. Susie Morrow of Wandsworth Cycling Campaign said: “As well as raising the profile of cycling here, Movers & Shakers improved our access to prominent local individuals, including Sadiq Khan MP, who has now moved into a key policy-making position at the heart of government.”

Redbridge roll-out Movers & Shakers is now being replicated by Redbridge Cycling Campaign, encouraging local MPs, GLA members, council and religious leaders, among others, to get riding.

YES MINISTER: Sadiq Khan MP has ﬁrst-hand experience of LCC projects

+++ Stay up to date with cycling news in London, go to www.lcc.org.uk and hit the news tab +++ 8

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News

More funds needed to hit parking target

IN BRIEF Summer style The inventor of the Cyclehoop, Anthony Lua, has just unveiled a range of subtle Londoncentric T-shirt designs. Check out www.ibikelondon.com for more details

PILE UP: bike are being stacked on top of each other at places like Paddington station

A TOTAL OF £5 million is being allocated to the capital's rail stations to improve cycle parking. The money was announced the same week as a London Assembly report showed that growth in cycling is being held back by the lack of bike stands. Echoing this point, the new Transport Minister, Lord Adonis, undertook a guided ride of London's rail facilities and was appalled at the lack of provision. He told the Evening Standard: "For the most part, storage is very limited, unsupervised, badly signed and difficult to access." More than 40 percent of respondents to the Assembly survey said they would cycle more if there was better cycle parking and LCC is calling for a massive increase in bike stands at workplaces and on the streets. Bike stands cost £50 per bike and last forever, but shops, employers and councils are not putting in

enough stands to meet demand. It's estimated that to meet the Mayor’s target of more than a threefold increase in cycling by 2025, an extra 100,000 additional bike parking spaces are needed. At the same time, the London Assembly report recommends that Transport for London draw up a cycle parking strategy and that it identifies where bike stands need to be installed. LCC campaigns manager Tom Bogdanowicz said: "We know that thousands more Londoners would like to cycle, but they don’t have anywhere to leave their bikes at work, near shops or at other destinations — bike stands are overflowing this year and we desperately need more."

LCC survey reveals undercapacity An LCC survey in early July found that 99 percent of bike stands at key locations were

fully occupied. In the London Assembly survey 75 percent of respondents said that there was insufficient cycle parking at shops and 70 percent that there was a severe lack at tube stations. Charlie Lloyd, LCC’s cycling development officer, said: "LCC members consistently report that they choose to spend their money at shops that have nearby bike stands, so other shops are definitely losing out."

GET INVOLVED Lobby your local shops to install parking. Members of the public who want to draw the attention of retailers to the lack of cycle parking can download a postcard from http://tinyurl. com/LCCparking. The card tells retailers how they can arrange for bike stands to be installed near their premises.

New communities section online The LCC community team — which runs more than 50 cycling projects among difﬁcult-to-reach groups in London — has launched an online news section. Follow the link below to keep in touch with what's happening and maybe ﬁnd inspiration to form your own group: http://tinyurl.com/ LCCcommunityNews

Win VIP treatment at Tour of Britain The 1000th person to register for Prostrate Cancer's Family Tour Ride on Saturday 6 September in Stoke-on-Trent will receive VIP hospitality at the stage of their choice. The Tour runs from 12-19 September, ﬁnishing in London. Go to www.prostatecancer.org.uk

Cycling groups demonstrate against CPS AROUND 30 LONDON cyclists, including representatives from LCC, assembled and then handed in a statement of protest at the Crown Prosecution Service, 50 Ludgate Hill on 3 July. The protestors were objecting to the lax treatment of motorists who kill vulnerable road users. Charlie Lloyd, LCC cycling development officer, said at the protest: "It's essential that drivers

who kill are made to account fully for their actions in court. That's the only way victims' families and other vulnerable roads users can achieve peace of mind. If a driver is genuinely not at fault, then the courts will establish their innocence. Many incidents never get to court, even when the facts appear to show a level of culpability on the driver's part." The 3 July was the first

anniversary of the death of Berkshire cyclist Anthony Maynard, who was run over from behind in 2008 by a van driver who claimed in his defence that he didn't see Anthony. Another cyclist was seriously injured in the incident. Reading CPS decided not to prosecute the driver, prompting Reading Cycling Club, of which the two cyclists were members,

to organise the demo outside Reading CPS. The London protest was to show solidarity with the Reading cyclists on this important issue.

SEE THE STATEMENT The full demonstration statement is available on the LCC website at http://tinyurl. com/LCCstatement

+++ Learn more about the forthcoming series of LCC BikeTubes at www.biketubes.org.uk +++ August-September 2009

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News

Act now on lorry deaths LCC IS CALLING for all London lorry drivers to receive cycle-awareness training. LCC welcomed the latest TfL videos on lorry safety (www.tfl.gov.uk/ cycling) but insisted more action is taken to prevent collisions. Seven out of nine cyclist fatalities in London this year have involved heavy goods vehicles. A small number of employers such as Lambeth Council already insist that its haulage contractors put its drivers through cycleawareness training. LCC wants London companies to voluntarily put their drivers through the same, with a view to the measure KENNINGTON JUNCTION: lorry problem area on the proposed Cycle Highway becoming a permanent part of the UK's statutory driver training. WHAT CAN YOU DO? LCC campaigner and former ■ At work, insist that your employer and suppliers use companies lorry driver Charlie Lloyd said: that take a pro-active approach to the safety of unprotected cyclists, “Employers should sign up pedestrians and motorcyclists. for the scheme as part of ■ As a consumer, look out for companies who support the safer their corporate social responsip g drivingg campaign. bilities. We'll be advising ■ oout for the launch of the training programme, then get Watch councils and other her your co company to subscribe. large employers ■ Lo Lobby your local council to sign up, following the to train exa example of Lambeth Council. their drivers se in claimed yearly increa appropriately.” ing a demand for bikes, caus try us ind the shortage in

300%

IN BRIEF

Source: The Independent

Ba Barrier to safe biking in Wa Waltham Forest

London courier ourier goes for record A 23-YEAR-OLD London cycle courier and former LCC volunteer, is attempting to beat the current round-the-world cycling record. Julian Sayarer began his attempt at the cathedrale de Rouen, in northern France at 11am, on Wednesday 10 June. The record for the fastest 18,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle stands at 194 days, 17 hours, set by Mark Beaumont in 2008. Sayarer told LCC: "I'm doing this for the simple love of cycling: there's no corporate sponsor to ﬁnance me, no national media outlet, no Ewan McGregor-style support team in a 4x4 — just one man and his bike. I hope I'll just inspire others to ride their bikes for the hell of it." ■ Follow Julian's attempt at www.thisisnotforcharity.com

BEFORE: no obstruction

LOCAL CYCLISTS HAVE criticised the installation of a barrier in the middle of a London Cycle Network+ path in Waltham Forest. The metal posts — part of a new puffin junction project for nearby Forest School, which aims to encourage pupils and parents to walk or use the bus — forms a potentially dangerous obstruction on Snaresbrook Road. Gerhard Weiss, co-ordinator

AFTER: barrier, before tape added

of the local LCC group said: “The first I knew about the barrier was when I nearly rode into it one evening. When I emailed the council, they did at least put some reflective tape on it.” He added: “LCC welcomes measures to get school users out of cars, but this treatment is fairly typical of how LCN+ is implemented locally. I can't understand why the road wasn't narrowed and the pavement widened.”

'08 WINNERS: Frampton Park Estate

Nominate your local cycling initiatives THE LONDON CYCLING Awards 2009 are your chance to nominate the capital’s best cycling projects and reward the hard work that has gone into them. This well-established awards programme, run annually by LCC, recognises and celebrates the greatest contributions to the growth of cycling in the capital. Anyone can nominate a cycling project or facility for an award; self nominations are also welcome. All projects should have been initiated or completed since April 2008. The categories for this year’s nominations are: Best Cycle Facility; Best Community Cycling Initiative; Best Cycling Initiative for Young People or Children; Best Workplace Cycling Initiative. Tom Bogdanowicz, LCC's campaigns manager, said: “The London Cycling Awards are an opportunity to let everyone know about the exciting work that is going on in the capital and give them the recognition they deserve.” Last year’s winners included STA bikes and Hackney Council for Family Cycle Clubs, Kingston Council and Police for a bike recycling scheme, residents on the Frampton Park Estate in Hackney for cycle lockers, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust for a Well at Work project and DLR and TfL for cycle parking facilities. ■ Deadline for nominations is Sunday 18 October and the awards will be presented at LCC’s AGM on 17 November 2009. Details on how to submit a nomination can be found at www.lcc.org.uk/awards

+++ Sign up for LCC's fortnightly e-newsletter at www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1305 +++ 10

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Letters Comment, opinion, rants and raves — send yours to londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk

WHITE BIKE: memorial to another cyclist fatality in Woolwich

Magazine makeover

World class cycling city?

Congratulations on the London Cyclist makeover! All the best magazines need to have a shake-up every so often and the June-July edition definitely hits the spot, providing a positive and upbeat feel straight away. It's hard to pick out the best as it's all good stuff, but highlights (and I've only got up to page 36 so far) are the no-holds barred opening opinion piece from Koy Thompson, Oliver Schick's very upbeat piece on London and the folding bikes review. Keep it up! David Cohen, London N16

Oliver Schick's enthusiasm for London as a world class cycling city (June-July issue) is touching, but to talk of London in these terms is to imagine that the rest of the world consists only of America and Australia. In the real world there are hundreds of cities, from Copenhagen to Calcutta, from Berlin to Beijing, who are way ahead in using the bicycle as a means of transport. If we truly want to be world class, we will have to raise our game — a target of 5% of trips by bike in ten years time is derisory. The kind of shift necessary to catch up with the 21st century requires a reallocation of road space. Here’s a few ideas: as a start, reallocate 2.5 metres in each direction on every bridge, closing Westminster Bridge to motor traffic entirely; all of Soho should be cycle and pedestrian only; cycle-only corridors should be introduced along all the boulevards of South London; introduce secure bike parking for 1,000 bicycles at each of the mainline stations; roll out Hackney's famous permeability across the whole city. Other cities have done

Koy’s column I was concerned to read Koy Thompson's article in the last issue which implies that the LCC's policy is anti-car. If Koy has a realistic and properly thought-out vision for London that does not include cars, he should share it. At the moment, huge numbers of people find cars essential for both their work and their daily lives and cannot see any practical alternative. For these people, equating cars with guns will just look ridiculous and extremist. Tony Woolf, London NW6 12 London Cyclist

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these things and all sections of their populations have got on their bikes. As long as cyclists themselves do not ask for real change and spend all their energies on 'soft measures' and lorry mirrors, London will remain a cycling city only for a tiny cultural elite. The kind of people who are prepared to cycle under the current conditions are physically, financially and emotionally capable of spending the weekend abseiling in Snowdonia. Dream on, Cycling Londoners. Ann Warren, by email

White bike in Woolwich I was distressed and saddened by the Greenwich CC group newsletter item about the accident on the Woolwich Road-A102 junction and my heart goes out to the bereaved. (http://www.greenwichcyclists.org. uk/pedalpower/MayJune09.pdf ). I cycle through this junction each day, and I cycled past the incident shortly after it happened. The reason I'm writing, though, is to say that my partner was knocked off her bike by a hit and run driver at this junction last

August. Luckily she was not badly hurt, just a bruised coccyx, some cuts and bruises. Some helpful people stopped and noted the number plate of the driver, which we duly reported to the police — and received no further information. Six months later we contacted the police again to ask about the incident and a couple of weeks later received a letter saying the investigation had been abandoned because the plate number did not respond to any registered vehicle. Each day, often both morning and evening, I see cars running red lights as I cycle through this junction. This morning I watched a lorry run a red light at full speed — right past the white memorial bike. Additionally, from this busy junction all the way to the Woolwich ferry, cars routinely break the 30mph speed limit by a large margin. There's a yellow speed camera box on the rise just before Frances Street where there were fatalities a few years ago, but given the way all the traffic seems to go at 40mph (or often more), it doesn't appear to have been active for many a year. (I've lived

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Letters in the area for three years and I've never seen it flash, are they meant to?). I believe that the junction here needs red-light cameras and lane markings. And I believe that the Woolwich road needs to have an active speed camera a few times a year. Any suggestions on how I can get some action on this, please let me know. Reuben Anderson, Woolwich

Shine a light What a marvelously intolerant email from ‘Anon’ about bicycle lights in the last issue — I was surprised you didn’t title the letter ‘Incandescent with rage’. He/she must have known it was a load of tosh otherwise they would have had the courage to put their moniker at the end. The world is full of many types of different people who like different things and is the better for it. I loved the line “wholly unnecessary” — I don’t care if I do look like a Christmas tree, I want to be seen by cars,

buses, bikes, lorries, pedestrians and any other possible road users. We are all vulnerable on our bikes and need to make sure that we do all we can to minimise that risk. Lighten up! Phil Ament, by email

Poor advertisement I couldn't agree more with Chris Elliott's objection to the TfL's ad campaign: ‘Lose your licence and you're just a kid again’. I see this every time I catch a bus at Finsbury Park station and feel very aggrieved. Not having a car is a positive thing these days and I don't like being treated like a third class citizen (or a kid) just because I use public transport or cycle. Grow up TfL and get with it. And yes, I think LCC should complain about the ad. The Advertising Standards Authority might well be interested too. Alison Johnston, London N8

piece on potholes — page 9 of June-July issue — that you did not mention the CTC site 'Fillthathole'. I have used that site for a couple of years and it has been more effective than repeated reports to the local council who manage to ignore both telephone calls and emails over months, in my experience. Perhaps it might be worth passing on details to other members? John Roscoe, by email

Fixed mentality Why do so many trendy owners of fixed-gear bikes not lock them up properly? Most of the time I see only a lock around the frame, or just on the frame and wheel without the lock being fastened to anything solid. As a sociologist, I'm very curious about this nonchalance... Laura, by email

Good samaritan Pothole probe I was intrigued that in your news

I agree with many of the rants on the Letters pages, but I'd like to

POT LUCK? Not if you report it...

bring a positive tale for a change. Many thanks to the Good Samaritan who found my house and bike keys (dropped without realising) under my parked bike on Britannia Street near Kings Cross. S/he wrapped them in paper, put them in my toolbag and left a discrete note on my handlebars telling me where to

PHOTO COMPETITION WINNER

As we'd hoped, the choice of theme for this issue's competition — Bike Week — resulted in a mammoth entry. We had images sent in from members of just about every local group, plus a fair number from individuals and families who were experiencing Bike Week for the ﬁrst time. Certainly the superb weather helped draw the crowds, but it seems the sheer volume and variety of bike events across the capital proved an inspiration. Hopefully as many of you will get snapping for the next issue's shoot-out! Theme for Oct/Nov issue: London landmarks Email your images to: editorlondoncycling@yahoo.com

This issue's winner comes from Simon Bath. The judges loved his picture of Haydon the Womble (AFC Wimbledon's mascot) climbing aboard the Merton Cycling Campaign's rickshaw at the Wimbledon Village fair. MCC was there as part of a Bike Week promotion when the furry funster put in an appearance. Good work Simon!

MAD HATTERS: on the TH 'Glamour Ride', by Owen

INDIAN SUMMER: at Blackheath Bike & Kite, by Ivan

COMP RULES: Only digital images will be accepted. Please include your name, location and a small caption about what your photo depicts. Only one submission per member per issue will be considered — so please select your favourite image carefully! The judges’ decision is ﬁnal. CLOSING DATE FOR OCT/NOV ISSUE: Friday 21 August. THE PRIZE: Will vary between issues, but Simon wins the LCC T-shirt of his choosing.

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Letters look. "How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!" (George Elliston) Mary Ann Hooper, by email

Critical Mass confusion The 'Critical of the Mass' letter in June-July’s edition confused the regular monthly CM ride with various rides which sometimes take place purporting to be CM and which are usually associated with various campaigns. It has become customary now to refer to the latter as 'Critical Mass style' rides as there is an important difference. Even the police have been known to tar them all with the same brush. The regular CM monthly ride has no single purpose and its only discernible mutually agreed campaign is to sometimes visit places in London where the violent road death of a cyclist has recently occurred. Individual riders may sometimes manifest their own personal views on CM London rides, say by chanting or holding their bikes high, but these are not shared by the Mass as a whole. In fact any group of cyclists can call themselves a ‘critical mass’, or be referred to as such in publications, but it doesn't make them the same as the regular monthly rides, which have occurred worldwide since 1992 and in London since 1994. Doug, by email

Spectator letter I have just read a letter in The Spectator and feel that its contents

are likely to be of some interest to everyone who rides a bike. What happened to the cyclist and what happened to the bicycle? Is the writer serious, is it some sort of joke or what? This is what it says: "I fully concur regarding the menace of hooligan cyclists racing along the Embankment (Standing room, 23 May). When I was driving there a fortnight ago I had to perform an emergency stop because a dog ran out in front of me. A speeding cyclist who was 'tailgating' me crashed into the rear of my vehicle and was thrown right over the car before landing on the road. The dog (a dear Welsh terrier) was unhurt and my sturdy car received only modest damage, but it was all most unpleasant. Moritz Frost, Oxford." Yours appalled Jean Elliott, Upminster

Partisan pedallers I am a cyclist and occasional scooter rider and I don't believe there are that many motorbikes/ scooters going past me on an average ride along a bus lane (certainly far fewer than there are buses). And it’s only the red route ones that allow this anyway. Those that are there tend to pass at a reasonable distance (there’s certainly more room for this than on most roads without red route bus lanes, which are obviously a majority of all main roads across the capital). If you are prepared to ride around London by bike (whether

DUTY CALLS: Reader Kate in Iraq

beginner or long-term cyclist), then you need to be confident or trained enough to use main roads with or without red route bus lanes. So the main issue as I see it is hardly whether there are a few motorbikes going past on some clear stretches of bus lane or not. I think this objection by cyclists may be more about partisan and territorial struggles of 'us' (virtuous cyclists) versus motorbikes, rather than a proportionate argument of what really makes a difference cycling around London. Patrick Mansfield, Balham LCC says: We disagree that there are not many motorcycles using bus lanes. On the contrary, we see a large number taking advantage of the space there. And this is the problem: give a motorbike space and the rider frequently accelerates into it. Buses, by contrast, are slow-

moving and predictable. We're pleased that you're not intimidated by motorbikes, but LCC must fight for the rights of novice cyclists (and not-yet cyclists) as well the experienced. That's why we oppose the motorbikes in bus lanes trial.

SheSpoke from Iraq Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the launch party for SheSpoke as I’m currently working in Iraq. However, I still keep abreast of cycling developments back in London — here's a pic of me outside work in Baghdad with a well-known cycling publication. Good luck with the new website. Kate Halpin, Baghdad

EMAIL THE MAG londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk

Read more online If you can't wait for the next issue of London Cyclist magazine, you can read daily doses of this subtlely subversive cartoon strip (based in a Wisconsin cycle repair shop) by visiting www.yehudamoon.com

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Opinion

COLUMNIST'S VIEW

Zoe Williams Being off your bike during a bike boom's no fun says our regular LC columnist, but it gives you time to think of ways to reclaim the streets

ou’d think I would be pleased that there’s a London-wide cycling boom. Boris Johnson wants little invisible mirrors in lamp-posts. I’m not sure how they work, but I think the short version is, they would make getting killed by a lorry a thing of the past. TopShop has launched a cycle range. I’m not sure what the point is (their studded ankle-bands are £19 — I can tuck my trousers into my socks for a fraction of this amount) — but I can guess: goodbye sweaty bike-nutter, hello pedalling fashion fox. There are bike shops in London selling ten bikes every lunchtime, and everybody knows what that means — a load of bikes. This must be the first time ever that there’s been a healthy-living poster campaign, and people have actually done what it said (though I am pretty sure this is just coincidence). So this should be good: more cyclists, more provision for cyclists. Bigger lobby, more bike racks, more people to get outraged with, in solidarity, when boy racers act up at traffic lights. But I’ve lived in a cycle-heavy town before, and I can tell you exactly what is wrong with it.

Numbers game Well, it is distracting. When there are only four bikes in a town, they’re all couriers and eccentric grannies. Maybe you know them, maybe you don’t, but even if you do, you don’t need to do a maypole dance, a quick raised eyebrow will do. When the whole town is on its bike, all in varying degrees of camouflage (a helmet, maybe a neurotic face-mask), you are constantly caught off guard. Is that just another eccentric? Or my mum? How are you supposed to swear at another cyclist with impunity, when it might be your boss’s boyfriend? Swearing, I say? You will be wondering where all the camaraderie went. Some cyclists rub along nicely together. Too many cyclists are like locusts. One will be slow, one will be unsteady, some will be fast, perhaps there is a hostile dynamic already built up between two of them from the last traffic lights, and you will be busy watching that, so suddenly you are the slow, unsteady one. So much can go wrong. You can’t break rules when there are too many of you. Shoot a traffic light when you’re just a pair, you look like a fast pair. Forty of you do it, you’re civil disobedience. Motorists don’t like it, pedestrians probably don’t either. I say “probably”, of course I don’t know — a whole crowd

of bikes will turn all self-policing and suddenly nobody is going down the one-way street. Except the right way, I mean (I know how this stuff works…)

Boom or bust I’m sour and twisted as well, because every time there’s a surge, for some reason I’m off the road. Maybe I’ve taken a tumble, or busted the bike, or got pregnant, or something… I have to stand by the front door, waving my common-law spouse off with a metaphorical hanky of bitterness, as he disappears on my bike (my bike! His stupid bike is not cool enough for W1) and I have to

“Shoot a traffic light when you're a pair and you just look fast... forty of you do it, you’re civil disobedience” slog in on some inhuman, medieval transport like a tube or a sedan chair. I hate you, with your urban hybrid, your speedy journey times and your slim-fitting sweatresistant top. Having said all this, it’s not going into reverse, this curve: when people cycle, they realise cycling is better, and they don’t stop. We need to think of a way to use our numbers to our advantage, for when I get my MOT back. There was talk when Ken was still mayor of creating six or seven arterial routes, north to south, for cyclists. I was against it at the time; they would not be devised for cycling convenience, they’d be designed to keep us out of motorist’s way. That’s how these things work. But what if there were so many bikes we could seize our own arterial route? Like some kind of war? It’s a place to start. Zoe Williams is a freelance journalist and columnist who contributes regularly to publications including The Guardian and New Statesman

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Opinion

GUEST COLUMNIST

Mike Cavenett LCC’s communications ofﬁcer explains why 20mph speed limits are a crucial step towards improving public health, safety and communities

long with a broad coalition of policy-makers, transport planners and campaigning groups, LCC believes that reducing the speed limit in urban areas from 30mph to 20mph will significantly improve the quality of life in the UK. Lowering speed limits in residential areas does two very important things: first, it reduces the number of killed and seriously injured road users by around half (45% according to Transport for London’s latest figures, with collisions involving children down as much as two-thirds). And second, it increases the proportion of people who choose to walk and cycle instead of driving. The impact on journey times is surprisingly small because urban trips involve so much time waiting at junctions. The speed limit in residential areas in many European countries is 19mph (30kmph), and their towns and cities function just as well as ours, if not better because of the greater numbers walking and cycling. Driving at 20mph at first seems incredibly slow (try it). But, wait, you soon realise you have time to look around, to see what others are doing in the street, and nothing ahead of you comes as a shock. You can relax your grip on the steering wheel. It’s actually rather pleasant.

Lower speeds, lower costs It’s even possible to make a strong financial case for 20mph. Fatalities and casualties suck up resources: emergency services, medical treatments, lost earnings, sick pay, police and court time, the list goes on. In 2005, the Department for Transport quantified the loss to the economy of a year’s worth of road casualties at £18 billion. Yes, billlion. Persuading people to cycle and walk instead of drive also has positive monetary implications. The World Health Organisation quantifies the health benefits of cycling with its Health Economic Assessment Tool, which calculates that every kilometre cycled by every cyclist generates around 70 pence in improvements to public health. That’s over £1 billion annually in London — and that’s at the appallingly low level of only two percent of all trips being made by bike. The potential gains are mind-boggling, even before adding in the benefits of reduced congestion, pollution, noise and CO2. Now campaigners can demonstrate that encouraging people to switch to cycling and walking is a rational policy and 20mph limits form an integral part of this. There are social benefits from 20mph too — one study found people who live on streets with slower-moving

traffic interact more with their neighbours. Other research has found that at speeds below 20mph we regain the ability to maintain eye contact. 20mph could bring badly needed social improvements to our cities, helping to reverse decades of car-driven decay.

Make streets more social 20mph certainly helps reduce fear on our streets. At that speed there’s a 95 percent chance of surviving an impact with a vehicle, whereas at 30mph there’s a 20 percent chance of death; at 40mph this is 80 percent. Crouch down next to a busy thoroughfare today and you get some idea how an eight-year-old feels trying to cross the road. We want to make our streets into play and social areas again. The good news is the arguments are being won at policy level. The London Assembly’s Transport Committee endorsed 20mph in April this year. The Department for Transport also sees 20mph as a major tool in its drive to reduce road casualties. Nearly a million

“Policy-makers are not convinced the public is ready for 20mph — we must tell them we are” Britons in areas like Islington, Portsmouth, Norwich and Hull do, or will, live with 20mph limits. LCC is proud to have been putting 20mph on the agenda for over a decade. We count the policy’s current high status as a sign of the success of our persistent lobbying. There’s still important work to be done though. Many London councils are holding back, not because they’re unconvinced by 20mph, but because they don't think the public is ready. It’s your job to tell them that we are — more than ready.

GET INVOLVED If you favour 20mph speed limits in your area, or just want to tell your representative to support cycling more, write to your local council using www.writetothem.com

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Bike Week

Bike Week in pictures Hundreds of thousands of people enjoyed one of the most diverse and exciting Bike Weeks earlier this summer — here’s your photos to prove it Magdalena Lawrence

robably the best Bike Week ever? That was the overwhelming opinion of most event organisers. Thanks to a dose of genuinely old school weather, the capital was teeming with cyclists in mid-June. The bottom line is that more people than in previous years got on their bikes to join in the fun — which is what it’s all about. Occasional cyclists have become more frequent cyclists, non-cyclists have been dipping their toes in the water, while old hands have been thinking of increasingly more entertaining ways to enjoy some two-wheeled time with friends and family. We had an overwhelming response to our Bike Week photo competition announced in the last issue, so we’ve compiled a couple of pages of our favourite images. If you or your group’s not featured here, check out the Local Group News pages later in the magazine too, where there’s a dozen more pictures. Here’s to a similar success in 2010…

ENFIELD: Big Bike Ride brought record numbers onto the borough's streets owen@flickr

Jean Dollimore

EALING: original big-wheel action

GLAM ROCKS: for the TH Wheelers

CAMDEN: quick stop in Hampstead during the 'Peripherique' Jon Fray

John Ackers

LITTLE GREEN RIDE: lunch at Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire

BARNET: Greenacre Bicycle Rally

KINGSTON: Thames Path tour

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Bike Week Ivan Sergalis

RIDER POLL TALIA HUSSAIN 32 Islington

63 Islington

WALTHAM FOREST: riders assemble in Town Square

TOWER HAMLETS: just love dressing up

owen@flickr

How often do you cycle in London? Daily What did you get up to during this Bike Week? Handing out cake at the local cyclists' breakfast. Also volunteering at the cyclists' cool-down event in Highbury Fields What’s been the best thing about this year's Bike Week? Looking forward to improved cycle crossing that’s due to be built at the breakfast location (City Raod/ Colebrooke Row) What would you like to see added to Bike Week in the future? What we need to add is another 51 Bike Weeks — and they should run every year too

owen@flickr

CHRIS ASHBY

LEWISHAM: the MAD trials display team entertains the masses at Blackheath Bike & Kite Festival Duncan Holmes

How often do you cycle in London? Daily What did you get up to during this Bike Week? Volunteering at a cyclists' breakfast. Also spent time handing out leaflets about Islington events What’s been the best thing about this year's Bike Week? The breakfast attracted so many different people – young, old, couriers, girls in pretty dresses, it was great to see What would you like to see added to Bike Week in the future? It would be lovely to have a big London event to act as a focal point for the week’s acitivities.

HAVERING: visited new BikePark

TOWER HAMLETS: making an impression in the City

PHOTO COMP Next month’s photo competition is on the theme of ‘London landmarks’. So if you’re out cycling near a famous building or monument, on a bridge or in the park, get snapping and send us your images. Go to page 14 to find out about entry details and closing date. BROMLEY: 'Parks & Ride' gets set to depart Orpington Station

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Nocturne N octurne Photos: Kai Ilchmann

FAST AND FURIOUS: Rollapaluza has become a huge crowd pleaser

Smithfield Nocturne With the number and variety of cycling events in London expanding monthly, Phillip Moore visits a firmly established favourite — the Smithfield Nocturne

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s a prelude to Bike Week — and for the third year running — the historic Smithfield Market hosted some of the UK’s top pros and keenest amateurs, all primed to do battle on the famed and ancient local streets. They were joined by a record crowd of 10,000 spectators for an evening of racing and pedalpowered entertainment. Extended familes and ardent roadies mixed with single-speed hipsters and the courier clans, packing every pub around the course and creating a festival-type atmosphere. Every inch of the gallery was taken, ten deep in places, the high turnout no doubt helped by the first dry outing since Nocturne became part of the cycling calendar in 2007. LCC was there too, with six staff and volunteers manning a stall, mingling with racers and public alike. It proved a great success and

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Nocturne

MEAN STREETS: pro-level racing

The Cycling Weekly Support Race then saw decent-level amateur riders testing their mettle on the tight turns, before another heat of the folding bike event ensued. With the crowd in fine voice, and to keep the momentum going, it was the turn of the Citihub Team Challenge next — this injected an edgy pace to the proceedings, as teams from City businesses competed in a fourperson relay. Riders carried Condor waterbottles as their batons. A more serious interlude followed with Hannah Barnes (CandiTV/ Pinarello RT) leading home the field in the Women’s Criterium race. Then it was the turn of another new event to take centre stage — the fixed-gear longest skid competition. Almost as eagerly anticipated as the folder frolics, this featured a number of fixie riders attempting to perform one long continuous skid (that is, with backwheel locked) along the home straight. It proved a big hit with the crowd, with some riders coming a cropper and others racking up impressive distances. As the light began to fade, the folding bike final got underway. By now the humour from the heats had been replaced by grimacing race faces;

Keith Henderson of Dahon took top spot on the podium. The grand finale, and highlight for the hardcore Lycra lovers, was the Elite Men's Criterium, with professional teams from Rapha/Condor, Halfords

Dressed in office attire, the folding bike racers faced a ‘Le Mans-style’ start — basically a 30-metre wobble BikeHut and London Dynamo competing for honours. Olympic, world and national cycling champions were among the field, racing for one hour and five laps at speeds of up to 45 mph. Russell Downing (CandiTV/ Marshalls Pasta RT) was the eventual victor, narrowly edging out rivals Tony Gibb and Ben Swift.

Rolling stock Alongside the evening’s circuit racing, another sort of competition was also being played out on the main stage. Rollapaluza’s roller-racing antics kept

“

On the skids

FANCY DRESS: in the folding bike races

”

next year LCC hopes to sponsor its own a race. The route itself took in two of the market’s warehouses, with the majority of the spectators crowded around the start/finish line on West Smithfield Street. Many had come specifically to watch the highly anticipated folding bike race, undoubtedly one of the evening’s highlights, which kicked off a packed programme. For this event, competitors dressed in office attire — suits, shirt, ties, even the odd bowler hat — faced a 'Le Mans-style' start. Basically this was a wobbly 30-metre dash to their respective Bromptons or Birdys, after which they hammered round the circuit five times. By far the most amateur of the races on the night, yet possibly the most keenly contested, it gave a whole new meaning to ‘rat race’.

the crowd animated, as regular Joes queued up to take a spin against the clock. Massive queues formed as friend challenged friend for nothing more than bragging rights in the pub. As well as the riders, the event welcomed special guests such as Beijing gold medallist Geraint Thomas and fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, who presented a new folder to the winner of that crazy race. Event director James Pope commented: “This Nocturne was bigger and better than ever before. Our spectator base just keeps growing; it’s a real testament to how cycling is developing in the UK.” Dates for next year have yet to be announced, but for a cycling occasion that combines English eccentricity with more than a dash of elite competition, it's certainly hard to beat. See you on the start line next year...

ROLL UP, ROLL UP! ■ Roller-racing is a race between two riders on stationary bikes attached to two rollers. Usually 500 metres in length, the ‘race’ is displayed on a large clock with different coloured hands representing each rider. ■ Popular in 1940s and 1950s Britain, roller-racing ('Goldsprints' on the continent) were a frequent attraction at cinemas and bingo halls, drawing huge crowds as competitors spun furiously, combining showmanship with speed. Eddie Wingrave, the only British professional roller-racer, toured the country with a big band. ■ In 1999 London couriers witnessed Goldsprints at the European Cycle Messenger Championship in Zurich. Among their number was track racer Greg Tipper who wanted to do something similar and the resurgence in roller-racing in London gave rise to Rollapaluza. Putting a contemporary spin on it, DJs accompanied races held in pubs, once again delighting onlookers. Rollapaluza has now hit the big time, making appearances at the Tour de France prologue and the Smithfield Nocturne.

BLURRED VISION: these guys are fast

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Skyride S kyride

COMING THROUGH: get your family and friends out riding on 20 September

Saddle up for Skyride The next big mass-participation cycling event this summer is Skyride — and luckily there’s more great rides to tackle than ever before

uilding on the success of previous Freewheels, this year the capital’s cyclists have the opportunity for double the fun with two new London Skyride events. The first of the Sky-sponsored events is the Hounslow Skyride on Sunday 9 August. It is based on the popular Sky Sports Freewheel event that last year attracted 50,000 Londoners to central London. A 10km car-free route will offer cyclists of all ages and abilities the chance to enjoy Hounslow’s green spaces including beautiful Osterley and Syon Park. The Mayor of London’s Skyride, on 20 September, will again welcome tens of thousands of people, only this year to a bigger and better route in the centre of the city. With views over a sea of cyclists rather than the usual traffic, this 12km car-free route takes you past iconic London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, St James Park and the London Eye. LCC chief executive Koy Thomson said: “It’s great that there’ll be another mass cycling event this year. Last year’s Freewheel was a tremendous success, demonstrating that when you make the streets family-friendly, thousands of cyclists pour on to them. We hope LCC members and the 24

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public support the event wholeheartedly, and that the weather stays kind too.” The Mayor, Boris Johnson said: “London is a fantastic city to cycle in, but for a plethora of reasons many of us don’t do it as much as we would like. The Mayor of London’s Skyride will be a chance for people to get on their bikes and enjoy a ride through some fantastic green spaces free from the interference of cars, which can sometimes be off-putting.” The Skyrides are a truly unique experience with a riot of colour, noise and activity. The carnival-like atmosphere is punctuated by the sound of ringing bells and cyclists in a wild array of fancy dress. When you need a rest from the cycling, the event villages at both events offer riders the chance to relax, get refreshments, meet LCC staff and visit the activities including Dr Bikes.

Other information ■ www.goskyride.com For news, event information and online registration for each of the Skyride events. ■ Skyride city events There are also new mass-participation rides in trafﬁc-free city centres in Manchester (2 Aug), Glasgow (23 Aug) and Leicester (30 Aug).

Become a Skyride marshal The London Skyrides are looking for cyclists, aged at least 18, to help make the rides run smoothly. Ideally you'll be a confident cyclist who regularly tackles the London traffic. A knowledge of bike mechanics and people skills would also be useful for the role. All marshals will receive training on how to lead a ride, details of how the day will unfold and what to do in an emergency. ■ If you're interested in being a marshal at one of the London events visit http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/ skyride/london/marshal-registration

LCC LED RIDES If you didn't join us last year, an integral part of the Skyride events are the LCC led rides. Led and marshalled by LCC groups these rides, which can attract up to 200 riders, are a great fun way to get to the Skyrides and are suitable for riders of all abilities. ■ There'll be five led rides to Hounslow Skyride on 9 August from Feltham rail station, Bushy Park in Teddington, Ravenscourt Park in Hammersmith, Ealing Town Hall and Barra Hall Park in Hillingdon. All leave at 10am and return at 2.30pm. ■ There will also be 60 led rides from all boroughs into the Mayor of London's Skyride on 20 September. To join us, volunteer as a ride leader or marshal, or for more details visit the LCC website: www.lcc.org.uk. Or phone Charlie at the office on 020 7234 9310.

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Security

Beat the bike thieves Bike theft is a huge problem in London, but here are five steps you can take to make life difficult for thieves, says Mike Cavenett

ike theft is probably the single biggest deterent to cycling in London among experienced cyclists. The number of thefts in London — 17,000 reported, true figure from 40-80,000 — is far higher than the number of collisions, which means a typical cyclist is much more likely to be affected by the former. And a terrible side-effect to this crime is that a substantial proportion of cyclists that have a bike stolen don’t buy another one, at least not straightaway. Some studies have put this percentage of ‘lost cyclists’ as high as 44 percent. LCC has campaigned for many years to improve cycle parking and to push cycle theft up the police’s agenda. See the end of the article for more details.

1. Choose the right lock(s)

4. Take out LCC’s bike insurance

2. Lock your bike in a secure way 5. Register your bike online for free. In a couple of minutes you help to foil the thieves

3. Think about where you leave your bike — don’t expose it to unnecessary risk

1 Choose the right lock(s) There are three main criteria for choosing a lock: safety, cost and weight. The table (shown right) should help you select the right type of lock, but here are some other pointers: (i) Don’t ever leave your bike unlocked, even for a second. The number of people who’ve regretted this is staggering. (ii) Don’t ever use a thin cable lock. Even a cheap bike is likely to get stolen eventually. (iii) Spend at least 10% of the value of your bike on a lock, up to around £150. (iv) If your bike is worth more than £1000, think carefully about how long you leave it anywhere out of sight. Maybe buy a cheap second bike too? (v) You can store locks at your destination, so you don't have to carry them.

TYPE OF LOCK

PRICE

WEIGHT STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

VERDICT

LIKELY SOLD SECURE RATING

Thin cable lock or thin chain/ padlock

£5-£15

Less than 0.5kg

Cut easily with pocketsized tool even by casual thieves

Better than nothing, but not suitable for a bike of any value

None

Thicker cable lock

£15-£30 0.51.5kg

Needs larger/heavier bolt-cutters; easy steal for many

Deters casual thieves, None or Bronze but not for a bike of any real value

Smaller D-lock

£15-£40 0.5-2kg

Slow break with a car jack, but angle-grinder beats them fast

Deters many thieves, but not for bikes of significant value

None or Bronze

Heavy-duty chain £30-£60 2-4kg or armoured cable

Can be cut by an angle-grinder in a few minutes

Deters many thieves, but a valuable bike is vulnerable

Bronze or Silver

Armoured cable £45-£90 2.5-5kg or chain & D-lock

Requires jack and strong cutters, or an angle-grinder

Deters all but wellequipped pros, but still vulnerable

2 x Bronze or Silver

Heavy-duty D-lock

£40-£80 1.5-3kg

Will take time to break, even with an anglegrinder; heavy

Pros will think twice about your bike unless it’s worth a lot

Silver or Gold

Heavy-duty cable/chain & heavy D-lock

£80£150

Only vulnerable to the most determined pros; heavier

2 x Silver No-one is likely to steal your bike unless or Gold it’s worth a fortune

3-6kg

August-September 2009

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London Cyclist

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Security

2 Lock your bike up in a secure way

3 Be careful where and for how long you leave your bike AVOID VULNERABLE LOCATIONS Outside a cinema or football ground, thieves know you won’t be back soon. Outside a busy café is safer. Quiet alleys give thieves time. USING THE SAME SPOT EVERY DAY? If you’re parking at work every day, consider buying a heavy lock and leaving it in situ. SAFETY BEGINS AT HOME Many bikes are stolen from the home. Bikes in sheds should be locked to secure anchor points. Cellars should be padlocked to slow thieves down. REMOVE BIKE ACCESSORIES Lights, bottles, panniers: it’s a shame but anything not ﬁrmly attached to your bike will go eventually, and probably won’t be insured either.

5 Register your bike online for free A huge number of stolen bikes are recovered from thieves, but only a tiny percentage of these are returned to their owners. ■ Visit www.immobilise.com to register your bike (or any other valuables for that matter). It takes only a few minutes and makes life much harder for criminals. ■ The police and reputable secondhand traders check this register all the time to see if they have your bike.

BAD LOCKING PRACTICE (i) just around frame; you'll lose your wheels. (ii) any position where the lock can be manoeuvred onto the ground and broken with a hammer. (iii) bikes can be lifted over some objects, even tall posts; signs at the top of posts can be unscrewed, other posts can be lifted out of the ground. (iv) bike locked to insecure object such as a wooden fence or drainpipe. BETTER LOCKING PRACTICE Frame and wheels attached to a strong stand — no room to insert a jack in the D-lock, no slack in cable or chain. BEST LOCKING PRACTICE Frame and both wheels locked, two kinds of lock used, strong stand, lock can’t be put on ground, lock is kept off the ground.

4 Take out LCC’s bike insurance London Cycling Campaign has negotiated a great deal on theft insurance with all these features: (Costs approximately 10% of the replacement cost of your bike) Beneﬁts ■ Covers theft from home/street/ vehicle/accidental damage ■ New for old cover, no matter how old the bike ■ Covers more than one bike ■ Up to £150 get-you-home expenses if your bike is stolen ■ Extra discounts for members aged 40+ ■ 5% discount if claim-free for three years on take-up ■ Build up your no-claims discount to 30%

More information: ■ www.lcc.org.uk/security Always check the terms & conditions, such as the excess and that you’re using an approved locking system

BREAK THE CYCLE OF THEFT How to avoid buying a stolen bike Lots of bike shops claim to not buy stolen bikes, but their checks often appear to be based on an instinctive appraisal of the seller. If you want to be sure not to buy a stolen bike, take these measures: 1) BUYING ON EBAY? Ask the seller for the frame number of the bike or a receipt before you bid. If they refuse, go elsewhere. You can check whether a bike has been reported stolen at www.checkmend.com for £1.99. However, even asking for the frame number umber will reveal many disreputable sellers. 2) ONLY BUY FROM A TRUSTED SHOP, SUCH H AS THOSE THAT... ■ only sell bikes donated for free (so thievess can’t proﬁt) ■ only sell bikes taken in part-exchange for new bikes ■ only sell their own ex-hire bikes ■ demand a receipt from all sellers 3) BUY FROM SOMEONE YOU KNOW

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19/7/09 20:51:24

Best rides in London

Hawksmoor churches Between Greenwich and Bloomsbury, there’s six stunning examples of the church architect’s craft. Ride courtesy of Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign

SHOREDITCH

WHITECHAPEL 5

Waterloo Bridge

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St Mary’s, Woolnoth 3

St George in the East, Shadwell

SOUTHWARK

BERMONDSEY

Vau xha ll B rid ge

Hawksmoor began his career as assistant surveyor to Christopher Wren at Greenwich Hospital, at a time when the town was not yet a suburb of London. St Alfege’s (also known as St Alphege’s) is named after an Archbishop of Canterbury killed by Viking raiders in 1012, and is one of the two churches built for existing parishes. The church, designed by Hawksmoor after the original collapsed in a storm in 1710, holds the grave of General James Wolfe. Best known for defeating the French in Canada, Wolfe also helped defeat the Jacobite army at Culloden. A foot-tunnel now links Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs, which in the early 18th century was still the sheep-grazed marshland of Stepney parish.

London Cyclist

Christ Church, Spitalfields

Alfege’s, 1 StGreenwich

St George’s, Bloomsbury

dge Bri ter ins stm We

his ride will appeal to those who love beautiful locations, as well as anyone with an interest in the macabre. Architect Nicholas Hawksmoor (1660-1736) designed six of the most impressive Anglican churches in the whole of London and this 7-miler links them all up. Together they offer a fascinating insight into the relationship between architecture, religion and politics, as well as allowing you to cycle in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper and Charles Dickens. In chronological order, Hawksmoor’s churches run from east to west and that’s how the ride is presented here. However, there’s a permanent Hawksmoor and Bloomsbury exhibition in the undercroft of St George’s in Bloomsbury, which provides a multimedia glimpse into the architect and the area. The church and exhibition are open most afternoons, but these are staffed by volunteers, so check before you visit at www. stgeorgesbloomsbury.org.uk.

LAMBETH

ELEPHANT AND CASTLE

ROTHERHITHE

FACTFILE Distance: 6.8 miles Location: south-east to central London Terrain: urban Gradient: ﬂat Time: 3-4 hours Get a map: http://tinyurl.com/ LCCHawksmoorRide

Anne’s, 2 StLimehouse

Riverside development had reached Limehouse by 1710 and St Anne’s was established for the new parish; the generous grounds reﬂect its suburban character. The church might have been named in honour of Queen Anne — who, like St Alfege, also met with tragedy: of Anne’s 18 pregnancies only one survived past infancy, then died aged 11. In later years, she became severely overweight and was so obese when she died of gout that she was buried in an almost square cofﬁn in Westminster Abbey. The purpose of the small pyramid in the graveyard of St

Anne’s is a mystery, though it’s well known that the stonemasons of the time constituted the craft elite and their traditions were one element in the development of freemasonry, along with its occultist associations. Nicholas Hawksmoor was a freemason, and it has been suggested this inﬂuenced his work.

August-September 2009

18/7/09 22:04:45

Best rides in London

HAWKSMOOR AND POPULAR CULTURE

George’s, 6 StBloomsbury

Lunch stop At this point you can cross the road to the Ten Bells for a quick pint and soak up the atmosphere of what was reputedly a haunt of Jack the Ripper. Alternatively head into Spitalﬁelds Market or to nearby Brick Lane.

St George’s parish was formed from the ancient parish of St Giles-in-the-Fields to serve the fashionable area of Bloomsbury. Home to a notorious slum called the ‘Rookery’, it is an early example of social division in Anglican parishes; the land was already too valuable for a generous-sized graveyard, so rich parishioners were interned in the crypt. The church holds a statue — funded by William Hucks, a royal brewer — of George I, dressed in a Roman toga, to show the authority of the Hanoverian regime in an

age when Jacobite sentiment was strong. The church has been substantially altered over time. Major works to restore it to the original design began in 2002. The interior is a perfect cube, with a proportion and elegance that makes it a diamond among the Hawksmoor jewels.

St Anne’s, Limehouse

ISLE OF DOGS

St Alfege’s, Greenwich

■ Artists Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell created the graphic novel From Hell. Set in Victorian London, this finely crafted book sees Jack the Ripper using Hawksmoor’s churches to perform human sacrifices. The book was made into a film of the same name in 2001, starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham.

St Mary’s, Woolnoth

Georgian Londoners would recognise the vibrancy and diversity of the current East End street markets, but be astonished by the absence of inhabitants in the City of London. Following the Great Fire of 1666, the City churches were rebuilt, notably to the designs of Christopher Wren. St Mary’s was not completely destroyed, however, and for a few decades was simply patched up. By 1710 a new building was required, allowing Hawksmoor to design his only City church. The buildings that hemmed in the modest church were later demolished, giving

■ Thriller, ghost story and metaphysical tract, Peter Ackroyd’s Whitbread award-winning novel Hawksmoor features a series of gruesome murders in 21st London. To solve these, a detective must delve deep into 17th century history, including the satanic practices of Nicholas Dyer, an architect based on Nicholas Hawksmoor.

St Mary’s a prominent presence. Around 1900, there was an outcry when the station’s development threatened demolition of the church. The railway company eventually agreed to acquire only the crypt, reburying the bodies in Ilford.

■ St Mary’s, Woolnoth, is mentioned in TS Eliot’s poem The Wasteland. London poet Iain Sinclair also wrote about Hawksmoor in his 1975 collecton Lud Heat.

Church, Spitalﬁelds 4 Christ

George in the East, 3 StShadwell

St George in the East is noted for its ‘pepper-pot’ towers, with grounds that were laid out as public space in 1886. As with St Alfege’s, the church suffered substantial WW2 bomb damage but, uniquely, has been partially

rebuilt to include ﬂats on the western nave. Cyclists travelling from St George’s, Shadwell to Christ Church on a Sunday morning can visit the markets in and around Brick Lane. Take extra care and be sure to dismount when crossing areas heavy with pedestrian trafﬁc.

London in the early Georgian period was a sausage-shaped city, hugging the north bank of the Thames. Hawksmoor’s churches in the Thames-side parishes were designed as landmarks for river trafﬁc, and anyone leaving the City from Brushﬁeld Street cannot miss the imposing presence of the portico, tower and spire, of Christ Church. All of Hawksmoor’s churches were constructed in an age when ‘masters’ and workmen lived close by. In the Victorian era, the East End saw great social deprivation and by the 1979s Christ Church had fallen into disrepair, with

demolition seriously considered. However, The Friends of Christ Church was established in 1976 and over £10 million has been spent on restoring the church and grounds and surrounding area. It is open on Sunday afternoons from 1pm.

August-September 2009

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London Cyclist

18/7/09 22:05:07

Bicycle polo

FIXED GRINS: bicycle polo is enjoyed by hundreds of players in London

School of hard knocks With the European Hard-court Bicycle Polo Championships heading to London this August, well-known local player and organiser Bill Chidley explains why the sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been growing in popularity

id you know that grasscourt bicycle polo has been played for more than 100 years? It was even a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics, held in London. Well it will almost certainly also surprise you to learn that its hard-court cousin has been around for a much shorter period. Sometimes described as bicycle hockey, the hard-court

London Cyclist

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version only really sprung to life on the west coast of America in the last dozen years and has been popularised, like many other urban cycling habits, by bike messengers. Mirroring the boom of singlespeeds and fixed-wheel bikes in the capital over the last three years, the sport has grown impressively here. Now more than 100 players of both sexes, ranging in age from 14 to 50,

regularly attend casual games (also known as 'throw-ins'). For the uninitiated, hard-court is contested by teams of three, playing to five points. Goals can only be scored off the end of the mallet, and players that touch the ground ('foot-down') can only rejoin play after touching their mallet on the centre-side of the court ('tapping-out'). In London, the most popular venues are almost all

August-September 2009

18/7/09 22:08:07

Bicycle polo slamm@flickr

ShinScarCheung@flickr

GAME ON: at the EHBPC qualiﬁers

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

tarmacked pitches, like the ones found out at Newington Gardens, SE1 and Downham Road, N1. In 2008, London's bicycle polo community hosted two open tournaments, attracting players from Paris, Munich and Cambridge. Additionally, London also organised the world's first Hard-court Bike Polo league in winter 2008/9, which was contested by 14 teams. Inspired by the growth of polo in Europe, the London Hard-court Bicycle Polo Association decided to host a tournament for Europe's best teams, the first European Hard-court Bicycle Polo Championships. Forty teams, from Barcelona to Berlin and from Cambridge to Catania, including five from London, have confirmed their entries, and will be contesting the title over two days in Southwark. Why not come to check out the action?

■ BICYCLE Most of the regulars play on a singlespeed, usually equipped with a low ratio (e.g. 40-tooth chainring, matched to a 20-tooth sprocket), at least one brake or a fixed wheel. Nearly all polo bikes have flat (not dropped) bars. ■ MALLET Most mallets are home-made, and consist of a ski-pole screwed to a hollow plastic pipe, about 4cm in diameter and about 10cm long. If you are a novice player, you will be able to borrrow a mallet (and probably a bike as well) from one of the regular players for your first games. ■ SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE Hard-court bicycle polo can be fast and furious, and sometimes looks a little intimidating to the novice. However, it is a friendly sport, played for fun and new players are welcomed. You can get more info about casual games in your area in the bike polo section of the londonfgss.com forum, or in the 'sport cycling' section at www.lcc.org.uk/advice. Casual games are played six days a week across London.

CHECK OUT THE CHAMPS The continent’s best bike polo players contest the European Hard-court Bicycle Polo Championships on 1-2 Aug at the Marlborough Playgrounds, Union Street, SE1. Visit www. ehbpc.org for more details.

August-September 2009

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London Cyclist

18/7/09 22:08:25

Overseas O verseas

My first Alps tour

CLASSIC CLIMB: riders names adorn the Alpe d'Huez ascent

When lifelong commuter Katy Rodda wanted a new biking challenge, she opted for a tour of classic Alpine climbs. Would it prove too much?

hen my little brother Tom asked if I’d join him and two friends to ride seven famous Tour de France climbs, I only hesitated for a second — at last, some serious payback for year-round commuting. However, while Tom, Ian and Peter were all fast and experienced roadies, my speciality's long distance cruising and I'd never cycled outside the UK where even a long hill takes just 40 minutes to scale. Had I bitten off more than I could chew? I didn't want to back out so I read up on altitude sickness, worried about vertigo (which sometimes hits me downhill) and I promised ’im indoors that I wouldn’t let extreme heat, cold, exhaustion or hairpins catch me out.

London Cyclist

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I was confident my base fitness — from commuting 60 miles a week on a hybrid or Brompton, and running regularly — would see me all right, but in preparation I upped the hilly weekend rides in the south-east and sought out more severe climbs in the Cotswolds. On good advice, I also swapped to clipless pedals. A few months later, and a 36-hour journey from Charlton, I was stood with the three lads in Bédoin, at the foot of Mont Ventoux (1912m), hoping my prep had been sufficient. Mont Ventoux is the most notorious mountain in France for cyclists, and though it lurks alone behind Provençal vineyards some way south of the main Alps range, up close it’s a monster. We set off early on a

run up the My acclimatisationtoux famous Mont Ven clammy Sunday morning and all was going well until we reached the final six kilometres, where the tree cover ended abruptly and we could see across the bleached moonscape to the massive striped tower on the summit. The heat was blinding and utterly relentless. Tom Simpson, the mountain's most 'celebrated' fatality, died on this stretch during Le Tour, but it’s claimed many other victims too. That day I learnt about long climbs (nearly two hours), fast descents (30 minutes) and temperature extremes. But two out of

August-September 2009

18/7/09 22:13:28

Overseas www.waughphotos.com

tank for a sprint finish.. many are left and the man Messages painted incline over the next iincli across the road and one; usually between o corners named after 6-10%. The descent 66-10 stage winners show its was ffantastic and, after w history in Le Tour. quick break in Bourg a qui Our cheerful summit Stt Ma Maurice, we photo showed returned re eturn to conquer the gathering clouds and Cormet Co orm de Roselend. we descended in rain. covered 105 miles We co W I was lucky my tyres and climbed over 4000m an d cli didn’t burst; my rims that day, though half of tha at da were still scorching that was hanging on to tha at wa two minutes after the bike trying to stop it At the Col de L’Iser an I’d stopped. taking off. taki ing o on ou r ri d e from Bourg St Mau Emphasising the Our O llast day saw our rice danger, our last b big cclimb to the Col evening meal was du P Petit St Bernard accompanied by flashing (2180m), weaving ngg (2180m) (218 blue lights and helicopter after er drone after through the tourist hordes someone had crashed over the fourth and stalls selling 'produits régionaux' to hairpin barrier. the small border sign with Italy. Then Feeling well acclimatised, we chose one last balmy valley ride — three another classic climb the following times higher than Ditchling Beacon — day. The Col du Galibier (2646m) and we were done. We ate enough for road goes through long tunnels in six and by 8.50am on Monday I was on places, but drivers seemed sensitive to the first of seven trains back to cyclists; higher up, people drove south-east London, arriving home at slowly and I never felt worried. I 8.15pm and very grateful to everyone became cross grinding along until who’d helped move my huge bike box Tom pointed out that we’d climbed at stations. Strange how my bike 1,100m, so we took on local fuel for turned to stone that day. the last 600m at the Col du Lauteret (2058m). Level with glaciers, the road winds up through pale meadows dotted with small flowers, cold despite bright sunshine. By the time we Getting there: If you’re planning day rides, hire a large topped the Galibier, the third highest estate car; it’s flexible if it’s wet, you can lock bikes in it and alpine road pass, it was packed; from move your gear around easily. We hardly drove except for hired support vans to fully-laden camp moves, even shopping by bike. You can always join/ touring bikes. We stayed just long leave by train, as long as someone can collect you and all enough to put on windproof clothing, your gear. Flying with your bike is an option, though it's returning via a café and a short ski greener to take the train and there's less chance your bike station climb for fun. As the sun set, will be damaged on route. we saw Ian and Peter off home with Places to stay: I spared expense on accommodation to mountains of garlic saucissons, local spend on kit. Camping makes it easier to eat good cycling wine and cheeses. food in cyclists’ quantities and look after your bike. Bourg St Maurice, four hours’ drive Campsites around Mont Ventoux vary; we chose the second north, was the next port of call for one we checked in Bédoin. At Bourg d’Oisans there are Tom and me. As I was enjoying the three campsites within easy walking of a supermarket and lush banks and river on the Cormet the town centre. The one campsite in Bourg St Maurice has de Roselend (1967m) ascent the next good access to the town. morning, a French cyclist flew past Websites: www.raileurope.co.uk; www.climbbybike.com me downhill shouting: "Il neige! C’est mauvais!" Tom was ahead and I WHAT TO TAKE hadn’t seen him for half an hour, so I Spares: inner tubes, tyres, brake blocks, chain, lube, carried on. A minute later Tom also stick-on Kevlar liners, rear light (for long tunnels), spare sped past, slowing enough to say, "It’s SPD cleats (for shoes) — I only used the lube and light. snowing up there, we’re getting off Essential clothing: base layers (to wear beneath this mountain!" We were soon in a standard tops), waterproof gilet, arm and knee warmers café in town and spent a couple of (for descents), waterproof jacket. Helmet plus liners, hours watching as violently shivering gloves, sunglasses. bikers hunched over hot drinks as the Food: energy bars, gel packs, isotonic, carbohydrate and deluge continued outside. recovery drink mixes, Haribo sweets, homemade flapjacks. With Friday written off, we had Supplement with 'jambon et fromage' baguettes. some miles to do on Saturday. The Col Tips: service/test your bike thoroughly. Take baby wipes de L’Iseran (2770m) is the highest road to clean yourself and the bike. Get onto SPDs (if you're not pass in the Alps. From Val d’Isere, already). And use chamois cream — don't be shy! signs mark each kilometre saying how

FACTFILE

three routes up was enough for me in one day and feeling as if one more mile uphill would finish me, I found a stunning road round the edge from Malaucène to Bédoin. Tom and Ian managed all three ascents and became members of the Mont Ventoux Club.

Climb every mountain Next day we decamped to Bourg d’Oisans, a small town between Grenoble and Briançon. A place as close to cycling heaven as you'll find: bike bling and fit people everywhere. Tuesday saw our first real Alps climb: the Col de Glandon (1993m). Tom and Ian went ahead, and with Peter stopping for photos I managed to match his pace. The cols were bleak, only cyclists brightening them in summertime. We heard someone took a fatal shortcut off a Glandon hairpin recently, but we got down in one piece. Later Tom rejoined us to climb the Alpe d’Huez (1860m). The record for this sharp nine-mile ascent is 37:35; taking 90 minutes I had enough in the

August-September 2009

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London Cyclist

18/7/09 22:14:24

Technical

FIT AND PROPER: ensure washers are in the right order when you ﬁt new brake pads

Five quick fixes With a little practice, there’s plenty of bike ﬁxes or upgrades that you can sort yourself. Julian Thrasher from ATG-Training runs through ﬁve of the simplest FITTING NEW TYRES

FIXING A PUNCTURE

1. Remove the wheel from the frame/forks by undoing the quick release lever or loosening the wheel nuts. You may need to disconnect your brakes in order to remove the wheel. 2. Unseat the tyre from the rim with a good quality tyre lever (for particularly tight tyres you may need to use more than one tyre lever) and remove the inner tube.

1. Remove the inner-tube from the tyre and check the inside of the tyre using a tyre lever. BE CAREFUL — the sharp object that caused the puncture could still be in the tyre. 2. Inflate the inner-tube and find where the puncture is by holding the tube to your ear. Use the crayon from your puncture repair kit to mark the puncture. 3. Deflate the inner-tube and use the sandpaper supplied in the kit to ‘key’ the surface of the inner-tube. This helps the adhesive to stick to the tube.

Unseat tyre with quality tyre lever

3. Some tyres have to be put on in a specific direction (usually stated on the sidewall of the tyre) depending on whether they

London Cyclist

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Put air in tube before ﬁtting new tyre

are intended for front or rear. 4. Partially inflate the inner-tube, this will help to avoid ‘pinching’ the inner-tube when installing the tyre. Inflate the inner-tube to the correct pressure (stated on sidewall of the tyre). 5. Install the wheel back into the frame/fork and check the tightness of the wheel nuts or quick release lever. Check the operation of the brakes before riding. 6. TOP TIP A correctly tightened quick release should leave a light imprint on your palm when closing and not be tightened against the fork leg or frame).

Mark the puncture site with crayon

August-September 2009

19/7/09 21:36:31

Technical

FITTING NEW BRAKE PADS (V-BRAKES)

Key the area with sandpaper

Apply patch ﬁrmly and remove backing

4. Apply enough adhesive to cover the size of the puncture patch you will be using. Let the adhesive dry for about thirty seconds so it is tacky. 5. Apply the patch firmly and remove the backing cover. Use the chalk to absorb any excess adhesive. Partially inflate the tube and place back into tyre before inflating to desired pressure. 6. TOP TIP Glueless patches can save time and take up little space in your pocket.

1. Undo the quick release mechanism on the brakes, in the same way that you would when removing a wheel. 2. Use a 5mm allen key to remove the old pads. Pay attention to the orientation of the spacer washers used — these are easily confused, but you will want to set up the new pads in the same way. 3. Inspect the wheel rim for any signs of cracking or damage. Most modern rims have a ‘wear indicator’ guide fitted which tells you whether they may need replacing. If you are unsure as to the condition of the rim get it inspected by a qualified bike shop mechanic. 4. Install the new brake pads, making sure that the washers are fitted the same way as on the old pads. Press the pad against the rim to secure it in place whilst you tighten it up using a 5mm allen key. You may find it useful to place your finger under the pad to stop it from twisting. 5. Do up the quick release mechanism on the brakes. 6. TOP TIP A piece of paper folded over four times times, then placed at the rear of the pad when adjusting, will help ‘toe in’ the pads and prevent squealing.

Use an allen key to remove old pads

'Toe in' new pads using folded paper

FITTING A NEW CHAIN/ QUICK LINK

1. If fitted, remove any bar ends or accessories from handlebars to allow you to remove the old grips. 2. Ease a long flat-bladed screwdriver or old spoke between the bars and the grip itself. Using a lubricant such as GT85 makes this much easier. Be careful not to scratch the bars, especially if they're carbon. 3. Twist the grip free when the lubricant has sufficiently loosened it and dry the exposed section of handlebar with a cloth. This will help the new grips adhere. 4. TOP TIP Using a small squirt of hairspray in the end of the new grips will help you slide them on and secure nicely in place once the spray has dried. Ensure you leave enough time for the grips to set. 5. Re-fit any bar ends or handlebar accessories and go ride!

1. Put the bike in a low gear (small at the front, small at the back) and use a chain splitting tool to push a joining pin from the chain. 2. Remove the old chain from the bike and count the number of links on it. Count out the same number on the new chain (lining the chains up side by side may help). 3. Thread the chain onto the bike, making sure it is correctly routed through the derailleurs. Use an old spoke linked through the chain to temporarily hold it together whilst you insert the joining pin. 4. Once fitted, snap off the guide portion of the pin using pliers. 5. Check that the rejoined chain has no stiff links; a stiff link can be eased with the splitting tool. 6. TOP TIP Using a 'quick link' will save a lot of time as it requires no tools to split.

A squirt of lube helps ease old grips off

Snap off guide portion of pin with pliers

FITTING NEW GRIPS

Undo the quick release mechanism

A quality chain tool makes light work of joining links

FACTFILE ■ ATG-Training is the largest provider of cycle maintenance courses in the UK and has centres in Aylesbury and Manchester. Contact 01612 306241 or visit www.atg-training.co.uk for info. ■ Mechanics courses are also offered by the Bike Doctor Academy — www.the-bikedoctor.co.uk — with special rates offered to LCC members on some courses.

August-September 2009

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London Cyclist

19/7/09 21:36:53

Products

Hybrids and town bikes This month we review a selection of mile-munching machines, some with traditional derailleurs and others with hub gears

Product editor Matt Moore organises our ongoing reviews schedule. Contact: m.moore@lcc.org.uk

Trek Valencia £475 www.trekbikes.com Unlike some bikes reviewed here, there’s no range of Valencias to choose from. There is a version with a step-through frame, but in all other respects it’s an identical bike to this model. Both versions of the Valencia have an aluminium frame, with steel forks. The 24-speed drivetrain includes a Shimano derailleur, with Shimano mechanical disc brakes providing plenty of stopping power. Other components include discspeciﬁc 700c wheels and puncture-resistant tyres, saddle and seatpost from Bontrager, plus some ergonomically-shaped in-house bars. These may look a bit strange with their heavy sweep, but we found them very

comfortable; the same goes for the ergonomic grips. There are no mudguards or rack, so budget for these if you need them, though the chainguard is a useful addition. The Valencia’s ride is reasonably forgiving and the riding position is fairly upright, which makes for an enjoyable journey around town. The integrated brake and gear levers are slick and easy to use, with the

Pinnacle Stratus 3.0e £500 www.evanscycles.com

disc brakes in particular inspiring conﬁdence, even in the wet. All in all, there’s little to fault the Trek at this price. It might be a little more sluggish away from

Specialized Sirrus Comp £650 www.specialized.com Specialized pitches its Sirrus range as ‘road bikes built to be more comfortable’ and they genuinely are capable of both longer day-rides and fast commutes. As well as an aluminium frame, the Comp comes with vibrationdamping carbon seat-stays, forks and seatpost, plus a pair of Shimano Tiagra derailleurs like you'd get on a decent road bike. The 27-speed drivetrain means this bike will

This is the dearest bike in Pinnacle’s Stratus range, which starts at a recession-busting £250. Like the rest of the range, the 3.0e is also available with a step-through frame. The ﬁrst thing you notice is the absence of a derailleur. Evans Cycles (who produce Pinnacle bikes) have chosen a hub gear, an SRAM i-Motion 9-speed unit allied to a 42-teeth front chainring. A twist-shifter selects between the gears, allowing you to change at rest and move through several gears at a time. The gears are 38

London Cyclist

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the lights than one or two here due to its heavier weight, but that aside it’s a winner — a goodlooking, well-designed and sturdy steed that won’t disappoint.

handle any gradients you throw at it, while Kevlar-lined Armadillo tyres add to reliability. It might be muted in appearance, but this is a high-performance roadster which combines low weight and easy speed with the comfort and stability of a ﬂat handlebar. It's effortless to keep rolling at a rate of knots and with higher gearing than the Trek, it makes an ideal choice for rides like the London to Brighton too.

uniformly spaced, providing sensible ratios for navigating all parts of the city. The SRAM hub gear is also easy to disconnect and connect if you get a puncture. The steel frame and forks, plus a set of hefty 700c WTB rims can take a pounding or kerb drop, but along with that rear hub, plus mudguards, chainguard and kickstand ﬁtted as standard, it's no lightweight racer. However, stylish, sensiblyspecced and in a range of options, the Stratus should last a long time.

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Products

Dawes Discovery 501 £700 www.dawescycles.com The Dawes Discovery 501 sits near the top of this British company’s well known range of hybrids. Unfortunately, there’s no stepthrough frame version of the more expensive models, though if you’re looking at the 101, 201 and 301 (in the £250-£400 price bracket), then that style is an option. The 501 is equipped with some great features, not least a set of hydraulic disc brakes. These Shimano anchors work exceptionally well with the deep-treaded 700c Comodo tyres to make stopping in all conditions a breeze. These type of brake enjoy long periods between servicing, but they do require some new fettling knowledge if you haven’t maintained them before. The Discovery’s frame is made from steel tubing, allied to forks of the same material. This and the choice of other slightly weighty components like the discs and suspension seatpost mean the

Specialized and Cannondale edge it for sheer pace. The Dawes, however, is no porker and is more than capable enough to tackle mid to long distance commutes. A 27-speed Shimano Deore/LX drivetrain is as good as you'd ﬁnd on

Charge Mixer £800 www.chargebikes.com

Charge is another British company, one with just two ‘town bikes’ in its stable. This is the more expensive of the two, with the £600 Tap sporting a lower-spec Shimano hub gear and Tektro rim brakes instead of the Mixer’s discs. Both bikes use the same steel frame, decorated with smart yet subtle graphics, but it isn’t the lightest; it’s built to take knocks and feels both strong and responsive. Shimano hydraulic disc brakes provide bags of stopping power in all conditions, while the Shimano Alﬁne 8-speed hub gears work well. It compares favourably with the SRAM i-Motion hub on the Pinnacle and there’s plenty of range, despite having one less gear; although the unit adds a bit more weight to the

bike, it doesn’t seem to affect the nippy handling. The back wheel can be fiddly to engage if you get a flat, however, but on the road the gears feel precise and run quieter than the Shimano Nexus system found on the Tap. The Mixer gears are controlled by thumb-shifter, while the Tap uses a twist-shifter. There are no mudguards or rack supplied on the Mixer, though Charge does make a custom clip-on mudguard that may be worth investing in. Aptly named, the Mixer is one of those all-rounders that's happy to, well, mix it in any conditions. The geometry's fairly compact, keeping the bike manoeuvrable in traffic and it's one surefire head-turner that luckily rides as well as it suggests.

some mid-range mountain bikes, which means the 501’s gearing is pretty easy on the hills, though it’s still capable of rattling along the ﬂats at a fair clip. The ﬂat bar and upright riding position allow a good view in

traffic and journeys pass in safety and comfort. If you've ever owned a Dawes tourer you'll be familiar with the quality of this pedigree brand — and the no-nonsense, well-specced 501 will keep that British flag flying.

Cannondale Bad Boy 8 £1000 www.cannondale.co.uk At first glance the Bad Boy 8 appears to be something of a stealth fighter in its jet-black, head-to-toe livery. But it'll also draw admiring looks for its Shimano Alfine 8-speed hub gear, Avid hydraulic brakes, and singlelegged ‘Lefty’ fork. Other models in the 'Dale urban range include 26-inch wheelers, a single-speed, plus derailleur and front suspension options. There’s even a Rohloff version, using hub gear technology more frequently found on high-end touring bikes. The frame is aluminium, although the Lefty's made from steel, and other notable components include a pair of 700c Schwalbe slick tyres, Fizik saddle and Truvativ chainset. Overall, there’s definitely a sense that the Bad Boy 8 is a step up the evolutionary scale from most of the bikes here.

You won’t be disappointed in the saddle either. The brakes are high-quality mountain-bike derived items, with lever adjustment and one-ﬁnger operation, which improves control no end. Steering is precise, with the wide bars encouraging a point-and-shoot style. The hub gear's the same as that on the Charge Mixer and provides good range and slick changing. This bike is a ﬂyer. It's not hard to rate the Bad Boy 8 as the nippiest, best-equipped and best-looking bike in our test. But then it’s more than twice the price of its cheapest rival here and two hundred quid more than the Charge. Yet if you’re buying via the Cycle To Work scheme (and £1000 is the limit in most cases), it's worth remembering the Bad Boy would cost you a whole lot less. Tempted? You should be.

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Products

Summer clothing As the ﬁne weather looks set to continue into autumn, here's some more suggestions of cool clobber to try Foska Simpsons jersey £45 www.foska.com

For advice on bike buying, plus a competition, go to www. londoncyclist.org.uk. There's also a brand new 'product blog' coming this summer!

OuterEdge Windster gloves £15 www.billys.co.uk Any kitbag could benefit from a pair of these soft Lycra gloves, made from fabric that's breathable, as well as being wind and waterproof. They're most suitable for shoulder seasons (spring and autumn), but are also light enough to wear on cooler summer days. The palms and fingers feature a rubberised grip, meaning your hands will be firmly on the tiller at all times. ■ Tel: 01223 568368

Many of Foska’s previous designs have been decidedly British in ﬂavour (Marmite, London Pride, Irn Bru), but its latest racing jerseys reference America’s best-known family, the Simpsons.

Why advertise Coﬁdis or Liquigas when you can pledge allegiance to Homer’s favourite poison 'Duff beer' or Apu’s Kwik-E-Mart retail emporium? Whatever the choice, you’ll be

Third Transition T-shirt £27 www.thirdtransition.com

A range of comfy and stylish cotton tops with suitably understated cycle-centric designs. The choice of dark colours is fashionably subtle and, rest assured, Third Transition is

a company with a conscience: all fabrics are ethically sourced and designs are printed in planet-friendly water-based inks. ■ Tel: 020 8650 8330

treated to a technical racing jersey with three pockets and a standout design — ‘woo-hoo!’ as Homer would say. Women's and kids' sizes also available. ■ Tel: 0845 310 0120

Minx Girl Terry Flare Skort £70 Terry Schrader Top: £45 www.minx-girl.com This bright blue outﬁt features an extremely feminine ensemble of skort and top, perfect for the summer or the young at heart. Our tester particularly liked the fabric which is light, stretchy and 'swishes' in all the right places. The Schrader top (also available in orange) has two useful back pockets while the under-short and bra provide excellent support without being heavy or rigid. The Somerset-based company also does a range of other lifestyle clothing. ■ Tel: 07979 700363

New Balance 920 £60 www.newbalance.co.uk Designed for water activities, the New Balance 920s double as casual lightweight summer cycling shoes in men’s and women’s models. They marry features of trainers and sports sandals; a mesh upper and drain holes above the outsole allow good

ventilation, but there’s a toe-bumper at the front to provide protection. Pull the drawstring lace to ﬁt the 920s tighter than a sandal, then tuck away neatly so that it doesn't get caught in your grubby chain. ■ Tel: 0800 389 1055

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Culture Tour de France themed theatre and books, plus more oddball paperbacks Pedal Pusher Directed by Roland Smith Until 1 August (www.theatredelicatessen.co.uk) IT'S 2004, AND the goateed Tour de France legend Marco Pantani is slumped on a grotty hotel ﬂoor, the debris of cocaine excess littering the room. Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich muse sadly over this latest tragedy, another episode in the most turbulent period of the greatest bike race in the world. Pedal Pusher is a play that doesn't shy away from controversy, which is a good job as it tackles drug scandals and strikes, ending with the graphic death of 'Il Pirata'. And, of course, it comes to chart how the race in this period came to be dominated by the greatest Tour rider of all time, Lance Armstrong, who overcomes testicular cancer to win seven in a row. The show runs something like the highlights reel from a BBC documentary, weaving the protagonists' stories alongside commentary from major players and journalists. It's a coherent narrative that even non-Tour aﬁcionados can follow, and there are some moments to savour — such as the the climb up Mont Ventoux in 2000 where Pantani and Armstrong ride pedal to

ALLEZ, ALLEZ: Pantani steps on the gas

pedal, and the look Armstrong supposedly gives Ullrich as he buries him on Alpe d'Huez in 2001. The actors strongly portray the main protagonists: brash Armstrong, intense Pantani, and boy-next-door Ullrich. The staging is lively, with the players making excellent use

of the sparse set, which constantly shifts about the audience, gripping your attention. It's a thoroughly involving experience and on the journey home you can't help but drop your shoulders and imagine you're ﬁghting for 'le maillot jaune'. Mike Cavenett

Chris Sidwells

Tour de Francee Travel Guide

£18.99

Graham Watson

Indurain: In A Tempered P Passion

JUST OVER A century ago the first stage of the first ever Tour de France included an ascent from sea level too 700m. Since then Le Tour has been defined by its climbs, whether in the Alps, or the Pyrenees, or on isolated peaks like Mont Ventoux. Broken down into seven areas, this impressively detailed bible covers every mountain climb the riders have ever faced during the race. The major ones in each region get a full spread each, while the less prominent share a page, but all include stats on length, altitude, height gain, gradients and ratings for difficulty; the former also has interesting snippets relating to stages that have been fought on the mountain’s flanks — for example, the late Marco Pantani still being the record-holder for his 1995 Alpe d’Huez assault of just 37 minutes 35 seconds. Additional chapters look at the history and highlights of the event, plus there’s advice on how to ride these mountains yourself and link them up into a planned itinerary — the photography’s so inspiring throughout that you might just be tempted. For mountain goats and masochists alike, this is the ultimate cycling compendium. One that’ll impress your mates when they see it on your coffee table; even more so if there’s a few dozen ticks against the ones you’ve actually ridden. JK

£17.99

Javier Garcia Sanchez Ja

Tour Climbs

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IN THE WORLD of professional sports photography, Watson ut figure, having is something of a standout covered every major Tour ffor the last 30 years. If you’ve read a roadie publication in that period, you’ll have seen his work — it’s the stuff that makes you pause. Unsurprisingly then for someone who’s spent most of his life on the road, the author has acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge of places to eat, drink and stay. As the title suggests this book focuses purely on France and acts as a hand-holding companion, guiding prospective peleton spotters through the various départements. Wade through the generic stuff on trip-planning and rural culture, and you get masses of useful info on the logistics of getting about as a spectator and an excellent region-by-region collection of personal recommendations; it's supplemented by high quality maps and accompanied, as elsewhere, by the pick of Watson’s lenswork. A real bonus are the final 40 pages where author becomes tutor and explains how to get the best images on different types of race stage, whether it’s mountains or flats, time trials or sprints. JK

£14.95 £ TE TEMPERED PASSION is a book that evokes th ur winner and Spanish the success of multi-Tour ffolkhero Miguel Indurainn and his ability to respected champion; remain a popular, well-respected rs of the pro race it will captivate followers scene without disclosingg anything of particular sitively, describing in depth. It begins very positively, detail the extreme and challenging conditions ’ faced by farming families suchh as hi his. Th There’s some reﬂection on his early childhood and the motivations behind his early racing success that led to junior and ultimately professional acclaim. The problem is that it’s very anecdotal and somewhat subjective in places, bearing testament to the former champion’s ability to shut down on journalists, ﬁercely guarding his privacy — a theme touched upon in soundbites when Sanchez makes references to pivotal points, such as meeting the woman who would later become his wife. A smattering of photographs from his racing career adds some colour and the book itself is well written, yet strangely disappointing, especially for those wanting to gain insight into the Indurain enigma. Michael Stenning

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Culture

The Mountain Bike Book Steve Worland £19.99 ALL-PURPOSE GUIDES of this ilk tend to be ten-a-penny in most specialist sports or hobbies, so you need to go the extra yard to make yours stand out. This one comes from the Haynes stable — though it shouldn’t be confused with the exploded diagram type of car manual — and is penned by one of the most experienced names in mountain bike (mtb) publishing. It starts with the obligatory scroll through the sport’s formative years in the 1970s, progressing through chapters dedicated to bike types, racing, ﬁtness, bike and component anatomy, technique and maintenance — all solid, simplyexplained stuff, perfect for those fresh onto knobbly tyres. What gives

I is second edition a competitive this edge, however, is the sharp, up-to-date photography from Steve Behr and Seb Rogers, almost a universal failing in its rivals. The technology sections are where all such books fall down — it's so fast-moving that you’d almost need a quarterly print revision to stay on top of things — but few make as good a ﬁst of covering the basics as this. JK

Map Addict Mike Parker £12.99 WHEN THE JACKET notes on a book claim it’s a ‘celebration of all things map’, that’s not usually a good sign. Time to quickly put it back on the shelf and dive into the model railway volumes for safety. Luckily it fell into the hands of a reasonably curious mapping aﬁcionado who thought, if nothing else, he might gain a few tidbits for the next pub quiz. It has to be said that it’s not the most accessible of reads, linking as it does a succession of political and military histories from a cartographic perspective, though there’s humour in the ongoing

n 1954 the architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, wrote: ‘Essex is not as popular a touring and sightseeing county as it deserves to be. People say that it is due to the squalor of Liverpool Street Station. Looking round the suicidal waiting-room on platform 9 and the cavernous left luggage counters behind platforms 9 and 10, I am inclined to agree.’ Well, that squalor is no more, though I have to admit to fond memories of the smoky, gloomy old station, with the romance of the platform for the Harwich boat train — the first step to that mysterious and labyrinthine patchwork of countries that was once simply known as ‘the Continent’. In recent years Essex has been undergoing something of a change of image, rightly presenting itself as a county of hidden gems and wonderful estuaries and marine skylines. I’m writing this having recently returned from a day out touring the area around Hanningfield Reservoir and the exquisite RHS gardens at Hyde Hall. The occasion was the launch of a series of detailed cycle routes published by Essex Tourism Office, offering one or two day jaunts of between 30 and 60 miles, OS standard maps, and details of B&Bs, pubs, places of interest and much more. All these trips can be had by simply turning up at Liverpool Street Station with your bike and friends, and getting away from it all, sometimes within the hour.

Seaside special

debatee about who has the best maps, the British or the French. Clearly it’s the Brits. But to ﬁnd out where the Ordnance Survey has named as the most boring square kilometre in the land, or whether Milton Keynes was really built to Pagan alignment, you’ll just have to take the brave step of carrying this book to a till. JK

A journey round the world: a cycling memoir David Sore £12.99 GAP YEAR TRAVEL is now commonplace and cyclists vie to set records for round-the-world journeys. In March 1966 a youthful Sore left his job in engineering and bravely set off on a Raleigh bicycle from his Suffolk home. His global adventure took in 21 countries and by November 1969 he had covered 35,000 miles in total. His book is a rich insight spanning North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and a home leg through Malaysia, the Khyber Pass, Iran and Eastern Europe. The style and his enquiring approach makes for good reading, with interesting facts about people

Ken Walpole

and placess to complement his es. He also writes experiences. ely about the practical side informatively of cycling, camping and managing the extremes of climates and routes. The book includes eight maps, a detailed inventory of what he took, a brief bicycle speciﬁcation, and statistics including costs. In short, an inspiring story. Mark Mitchell

The day after the Hanningfield ride I was back again at Liverpool Street again with non-cycling friends to take the train to Walton-on-the-Naze, from where we walked the seawall footpath around the isolated Hamford Water, on which Arthur Ransome set one of his enchanting if rather dated children’s books, Secret Water. Stepping out at Walton station we looked down on wide sandy beaches, almost completely empty, the sea ruffling and glinting in the light breeze. In the far distance, and only just visible through a sea haze, there are now the ghostly turbines of an offshore wind farm, like Don Quixote’s illusory army. In the course of an eight-mile walk no-one else was encountered or seen. We did, however, come across several tiny riverside hamlets, where a small group of cottages gathered their skirts around a landing jetty, with three or four ageing wooden boats moored on the mud. Oyster-catchers and gulls patrolled the foreshore, skyla skylarks sung above the inland fields. On the map you could see that though they the wider world either connected to th by private lanes or bridlepaths, to purposes, they all intents and p remained their own separate worlds. The lesson less of these excursions was that a bike gets you wonderfully wonderfull round the Essex interior, but it iis better to follow the shoreline on foot. Whichever you’ll be surprised you choose, you magical this at just how mag much-maligned county can be. ■ For free Essex cycle t www. maps go to visitessex.com ■ Ken’s latest book, Modern Hospice Design, has just been published by Routledge. www.worpole.net August-September June-July 2009

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members’ Our new section provides everything you need to know about how to get the most from your LCC membership

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP OFFER You can now extend your Individual LCC membership to your whole family for only £12. Family membership usually costs £55, so you make great savings, while your family receives the same fantastic money-saving benefits and insurance cover as you. To apply, call LCC on 020 7234 9310 or visit www.lcc.org.uk/ membership

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP LCC is a campaigning charity significantly funded by your membership. We work to improve conditions for cyclists and to promote cycling throughout London.

INSURANCE & LEGAL: Third-party insurance If you cause damage to a person or their property while cycling, they may make a claim against you. As a member of LCC, you are covered for up to £5 million. If such an incident occurs, phone the LCC office for immediate advice and assistance.

Free legal advice If you need any legal assistance on cycling-related issues, please phone the LCC office and we will put you in touch with a cyclist-friendly solicitor.

pages

INFORMATION & CAMPAIGNING: Local groups LCC has a local group in every borough, plus the City of London. Groups campaign on local cycling issues, and also organise events, meetings, workshops and rides. See page 40 to find out what your local group is up to.

Maps LCC, in partnership with Transport for London (TfL), has produced free cycle maps that cover all of London. These can be ordered by phoning Transport for London on 020 7222 1234.

London Cyclist magazine This magazine is sent to members every two months. It is packed with news, features, cycling tips, product news and all the latest on our campaigns. It has been voted the number one benefit by our members.

How to join LCC If you like LC but you are not a member, why not join the campaign to receive the magazine every two months? Members also receive other benefits listed on this page. You can join on 020 7234 9310 or via www.lcc.org.uk/join

MINI CONTENTS 46-50 51 52-53 55 56-57

HOW TO HELP LCC GROW: Gift membership A gift membership to LCC will enable your friend or relative to enjoy year-round benefits. You will also receive a limited edition LCC T-shirt (while stocks last) — keep it for yourself or give it away as part of the gift. Call 020 7234 9310, and quote ‘gift membership’.

Theft and damage insurance

Volunteer with us

The new LCC urban cycling theft and damage insurance comes with a benefit unique to LCC members. If your bike gets stolen, vandalised or accidentally damaged, there is up to £50 ‘getting you home’ cover. Theft insurance costs about 10% of the value of your bike. For a quote, see www. urbancyclinginsurance.co.uk or call 01514 279 529. Have your membership number to hand.

Much of LCC’s work would not be possible without volunteers. Much of our membership, administration and campaigning work is carried out by volunteers — if you have any spare time and and would like to put it to good use, phone Matthew on 020 7234 9310. LC also relies on voluntary contributions — see www.lcc.org.uk/ londoncyclist

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Local Group News Communities Events Diary Workshop Listing Discounts Listing

London Cyclist

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Groups Groups

Local Group News Find out more at www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups

TIME TEAM: at the churchyard of St Margarets, Barking

BARKING & DAGENHAM

BARNET

www.stibasa.org.uk

www.barnetlcc.org

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Barnet's best ever bike rally? The 'Greenacre Bicycle Rally' organised by local environmentalists at the beginning of Bike Week certainly felt like it. Families, beginners, young and old on a 3-mile circuit around the centre of the borough with fancy dress, musicians and entertainments was a great success. There was another family/ beginners ride to at the end of the week to the always popular East Finchley Festival where we had an information stall. In between we had an evening ride and a day ride to Hatfield House. And as always we had an early ride to work into central London, where some members decided to abandon work completely to catch a train and go cycling in the country. ➤ Membership's steadily growing, including local MP Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport minister. Is this our chance to have input into Conservative transport/cycling policy? ➤ Please note our usual August evening meeting has had to be deferred to 3 Sept. It will include a session on 'gears' — if you have always wanted to understand them better or get your dodgy ones adjusted, just come along with your bike. MEETINGS: normally last Thurs of the month, 8pm at Trinity Church Hall, Nether Street, N12 7NN, but for Aug see above. CONTACT: Jeremy Parker, 020 8440 9080

Tues 4 August, Weds 2 September & Tues 6 October at Samaritans Centre, 1 Leopold Road, NW10 9LN. CONTACT: Ben Tansley, 07941 050161; coordinator@brent cyclists.org.uk COUNTRY BREAK: Barnet bikers head off for Hatﬁeld House

BRENT www.brentcyclists.org.uk

During May and June we took part in Queensbury Eco-Cultural Festival and Gladstonbury Festival, meeting two Brent MPs among others, and enjoying rides in the Chilterns & North London. ➤ The revelation that Boris’s Cycle Highway Route 11 may run down the A5 all the way from West Hendon, and consequently through the disaster zone of the new Staples Corner junction being planned by the Brent Cross Cricklewood developers, may lend us ammunition in our fight with them — but the lack of clarity in the Cycle Highway plans revealed so far does not inspire confidence. A second Highway, Route 10 from Park Royal to Hyde Park Corner, also skirts Brent on the Harrow Road. ➤ We are much indebted to Ian Saville for doing a lot of work on the new interactive website, which is now live. All LCC members can now contribute through blogs, forums and by submitting photos. MEETINGS: 7.30pm (preceded by business meeting at 6.30pm) on

BROMLEY www.bromleycyclists.org

The Bromley Go-Ride Project creating cycling clubs for children across the borough gained a significant impetus in July with the first Inter-Club Championship held at Pickhurst School, one of the three schools with a Go-Ride. There has also been a summer holidays’ activity for children at Alexandra School. July also saw a hoped-for extension of the schools cycling with the start of a weekly Mum’s Ride from Alexandra School. If all goes well, this will be offered to the other venues in some form. ➤ In addition to the first four children's coaches trained in the spring, five more will be trained in the autumn term, enabling more schools work. In the spring of 2010 we aim to stage a boroughwide primary schools cycling competition. ➤ Our next big event is the London SkyRide on 20 Sept, for which we need lots of marshals (we had over 200 riders last year). MEETINGS: 7.30pm, second Weds at Bromley College, London Road, Bromley BR1 1PE. CONTACT: Charles Potter, 07951 780869; coordinator@bromley cyclists.org Ian Saville

The 10th ‘Bygone Barking By Bike’ history bike ride in Bike Week was quite a success, with 12 riders, many celebrating 10 years of BBBB with drinks in The Barking Dog after the ride. Thanks to local historian Colin Ramage for spending his speaker's fee at the bar and for ten years of giving the history talks on the ride. There are photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/ cardinal1962/Bbbb16June2009. ➤ I spent a few hours on 8 July out with the council's cycling officer looking at recent and on-going works mainly in the A13/A1306 area to the south of the borough. Thanks to him for finding the time in his busy schedule. The emphasis in the borough does seem to be on off-road facilities at the moment and what we saw, therefore, was either paths in parks and green spaces or tracks alongside roads that lead between parks and green spaces. It must be said that riding in green spaces — and in particular the Beam Valley path — brings pleasant respite in an area like south Dagenham that is dominated by the A13/A1306, but greenways should be an aid to and not substitute for permeabilty. Cycling must not be sidelined into being purely a leisure activity — it is a form of transport too. We discussed the problems of cycle signing — it should be integrated with other signing where possible and there should 46

not be too much emphasis on route networks. We also spent some time at the six-way Chequers junction which, despite being 'detrunked', is still badly congested; progress is hard to see as much work is sub-surface, but eventually sustainable modes will be able to cross carriageways using toucan crossings. MEETINGS: check website CONTACT: colin.newman@ stibasa.org.uk BLOG: www.stibasa.blogspot.com E-GROUP: http://groups.google. com/group/stibasa2

TALKING SHOP: Brent Cyclists' coordinator Ben Tansley talks to Brent East MP Sarah Teather at the group's stall at Gladstonbury Festival

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Groups Groups

LOCAL GROUP IN FOCUS

SIGNING ON: for Bromley 'Parks & Ride' at Orpington Station

CAMDEN www.camdencyclists.org.uk

Bike-Fest: when Camden Green Fair was cancelled, Royal Parks agreed to hold a 'healthy living' event on the Broadwalk. This was a good chance to promote cycling. BikeTube: Camden Cyclists helped commuters reach their workplace on the days of the tube strike. These included riders that had never cycled to work before. Bike Week: We enjoyed a very full Bike Week in Camden. For the first time, we held a business event in Fitzroy Square — a great location with plenty of activity The new site for our cyclists breakfast in Ossulston Street proved better for cyclists to stop and for Dr Bike sessions. We ended the week with 80 riders out on the Camden Peripherique. MEETINGS: our next meeting is 10 Aug at Primrose Hill Community Association, 29 Hopkinsons Place (off Fitzroy Rd), NW1 8TN. CONTACT: Stefano Casalotti, 020 7435 0196; stefano@lamsamcasalotti.org.uk. Or Jean Dollimore, 020 7485 5896; jean@dollimore.net

EALING www.ealingcycling.org.uk

Bike Week '09 was the best to date for Ealing Cycling Campaign. This was largely due to the many volunteers who made it possible for us to run four social rides and three stalls, two on the same day (a first for the group). The week got off to an excellent start on 13 June with a Dr Bike and information stall at Ealing Green — 85 bikes were checked, and more than 160 people registered for our e-newsletter. The first social ride took place on 14 June, a delightful loop to Hammersmith for the Greenfest. Two evening rides followed: a canal ride on a warm summer’s evening which finished with a waterside cheese and wine party; and our sunset ride to Richmond to meet other

LIMBO TIME: for the kids on Blackheath at the annual Bike & Kite Festival. And the stall was busy all weekend (below)

Lewisham www.lewishamcyclists.net

Bike Week for Lewisham Cyclists kicked off with the Blackheath Bike & Kite Festival on the weekend of 13-14 June, with a joint effort by Lewisham and Greenwich Cyclists, spearheaded by Tom Crispin of Young Lewisham and Greenwich Cyclists. This weekend included led rides to Surrey Docks Farm, the O2 and the Olympics site, special cycling games, face painting and useful promotion of LCC within the local community. Overall it was a great success and many thanks to everyone who helped out! The fun did not stop there — on Tuesday 16 June around 18 of us ascended the Peaks of Lewisham ride, where Paul Taylor skilfully led us around some glorious parks, vistas and special monuments which many of us had never seen before. It was truly a revelation and ﬁnished with a LCC groups. The week drew to a close with information stalls at the Hanwell Festival and at Acton Market where we were impressed by the constant stream of cyclists having their bikes checked by CTUK. The social ride programme came to an end with a family ride round the borough — a great event that demonstrated the many ingenious ways parents are finding to cycle with their children. Look out for the new

few pints on top of a hill in Dulwich. The back end of Bike Week culminated in the Brockley Fayre, a day of local group activities, bric-a-brac, as well as events on the main stage such as salsa dancing and falconry. Plus there was the chance for Lewisham Cyclists to engage with cyclists from all walks of life, to answer some (at times) tricky questions about cycling issues and to raise our profile in the borough. ➤ Unfortunately it seems that as there is now no LCN+ to fund a cycle officer position Lewisham might lose its cycling officer, or at least a full-time position. We will be seeking answers from the council, who will be spending approx £400k of funding for the rest of this year and one assumes a similar amount to work towards LCN+ completion in subsequent years. ➤ Other campaigns we are working with the council to solve is the impending closure of the programme of family rides during August. ➤ Join us for the SkyRide in Hounslow on 9 August and in central London on 20 September. Also first Sunday of the month, meet 10am at Ealing Town Hall, details on website. MEETINGS: first Weds of the month, venue details on website. CONTACT: David Lomas, 020 8579 0805; david_lomas28@ hotmail.com

Greenwich foot tunnel for months, the long existing cycle ban on the Catford bus lanes, closure of parts of the LCN+ and the apparent ditching of a key signalised crossing around the Sustrans Connect2 project. ➤ For more info about us (including our rides and events), please visit the website. MEETINGS: third Weds of every month, check website. CONTACT: katie.williams@ lycos.com

ENFIELD www.lccenﬁeld.fsnet.co.uk

We had an excellent Bike Week. More than 150 members of the public took part in our nine-mile mass ride, ‘Enfield's Big Bike Ride’. Seeing Enfield Town centre filled with bikes was a sight to behold and the Nightingale Community Hospice charity has estimated that around £5,000 will

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G Groups John Legate

347226; CurtisBernieS@aol.com or HCC@dynoweb.f9.co.uk

ISLINGTON www.icag.org.uk

HOLDING COURT: Kingston Cyclists show their friends from Oldenburg around Hampton Court

be raised by the event. The event was witnessed by the Mayor and several councillors, at least one of whom took part, and it also received good coverage in the borough papers. So, hopefully, our local politicians now realise that plenty of people in Enfield are keen to get on their bikes. A big thanks to all those members that helped out in all sorts of different ways, from marshalling the event, to designing t-shirt logos, and setting up and clearing away. ➤ There was also a lot of interest in our stall at the Enfield Festival of Cycling. As a result, we have a lot of new names on our email list and several of the people that we met at the festival turned up for our family-friendly ride on the Sunday after Bike Week. Let's hope they remember that a bike is for life, not just for Bike Week. MEETINGS: 8pm, Thurs 6th August at The Old Sergeant pub, 29 Parsonage Lane, Enfield, EN2 0AG. 8pm, Thurs 3rd September at The Wheatsheaf pub, 185 Baker Street, Enfield, EN1 3JT. CONTACT: Richard Reeve, 020 8363 2196, r.reeve@blueyonder.co.uk WEB: find our rides list at www. edmontoncyclingclub.fsnet.co.uk E-NEWSLETTER: send a blank email to enfieldcyclists-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

In previous years we had cycle try-outs provided by TfL, but this year we used bikes and child trailers rented from Go-Pedal, and also trailers and tag-ons provided by Colin Murphy. This worked very well, with many parents and children enjoying the ride. Go to www.greenfest.org.uk to get a feel of the event. ➤ Finally a ramp to get cyclists off the Uxbridge Road and onto the toucan crossing on the northern arm of the Holland Park roundabout is about to happen, which is very pleasing. Westfield has now been open for a year and it's time for cycle routes to get sorted out; still unresolved is a poor bike route around the complex and hairpin descent on the other side of the A3220 bridge leading to K&C when that is finally opened. MEETINGS: ﬁrst Tues of the month, see website for details. CONTACT: John Grifﬁths, 020 7371 1290 or 07789 095748; john@truefelings.com

HAVERING www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups

In perfect conditions 15 members set off from Hornchurch Country Park on 18 June for the third Orde Eliason

HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM www.hfcyclists.org.uk

Our main event for Bike Week was organising the Greenfest, which went spectacularly well. 48

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DANCE PARTY: at Greenfest ‘09

Havering Cycle Liaison Group Borough Inspection Tour, rescheduled to coincide with Bike Week. This time we concentrated on the south of the borough and were pleased to be joined again by Cllr Mike Armstrong (Member with Cabinet Responsibility), Kate from Essex Wildlife Trust and several Council officers. On the outward leg we visited the new FoC-owned southern extension to the park, known as ‘Ingrebourne Hill’, and Rainham Village, where another access point was planned to enable safe crossing of the A1306. We later followed the new shared-use sealed paths through the Marsh on the way to the riverside and enjoyed lunch at the RSPB Reserve. Returning via the new riverside path, our final leg took us on David’s alternative ‘quiet route’ from the A1306 to Elm Park, avoiding principal roads; it’s hoped that it’ll appear in the next edition of the local TfL Cycle Map. ➤ Terry has written to the Highway Engineers asking for action to correct the cycle lanes at Roneo Corner gyratory system, as they are too narrow, especially on the corners. Finally, our preferred ‘tall & narrow’ bike stands have now been installed prestigiously right outside the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch. MEETINGS: next Meeting is 18 August at 2:30pm in the large meeting room on the 9th Floor, South Side, Mercury House, Mercury Gardens, Romford RM1 1SL. Another Inspection Tour is currently scheduled for 20th October. CONTACT: Bernie Curtis, 01708

Andrew Gilligan was a great speaker at our AGM on 10 June, which was exactly three years to the day since he'd taken up cycling. His views on London's cycling infrastructure and the LCC generated plenty of discussion and it was a good evening. Many thanks to everyone who has stayed on, joined or left the committee for all the work they've done or will be doing for the group. ➤ Our Bike Week events were as popular as ever with plenty of maps and info leaving our stands and an endless demand for Dr Bike. We're very grateful to the council for supporting our events and to all our volunteers wh helped out. ➤ Beware bike thieves around Sadler's Wells theatre — despite a warning sign and plenty of CCTV in the area, it seems to be common. If you've been unfortunate enough to lose your bike there, please let us know. MEETINGS: 7.30-9.30pm on second Weds of the month (12 August, 9 September, 14 October) at Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. CONTACT: Alison Dines, 020 7226 7012; alisondines@clara.co.uk

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups

The council is hoping to hold the first ‘cycle forum’ in the borough, hopefully on an annual basis if it goes well. A target date is due for late September but this and other specific details are yet to be confirmed — check our web pages for the latest news. ➤ The council also has several other cycle projects in the pipeline, most notably a youth bike recycling project in the north of the borough, and a ‘shop locally by bike’ campaign. More details online as they emerge. MEETINGS: Note we have a new meeting place! Next meetings on 4 August (with Westminster LCC group) at 7pm at Hyde Park bandstand (check www.westminstercyclists.org. uk); also at 7pm on 7 September at Market Restaurant, upstairs at The

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G Groups OTHER GROUP CONTACTS

MERTON www.mertoncyclists.org.uk

FLAT OUT: on Havering's Cycle Liaison Group borough inspection tour

Barkers Building, 63-97 Kensington High Street, W8 5SE. CONTACT: Philip Loy, 07960 026450; philip_loy@yahoo.co.uk

KINGSTON www.kingstoncycling.org.uk

all other road user road user groups saw big increases. ➤ Our six-evening maintenance course has 12 new enthusiastic and grateful graduates ready to take on the next challenge. MEETINGS: 8:30pm on 11 August and 8 September, at the Waggon & Horses pub, Surbiton Hill Road. CONTACT: Rob James, 020 8546 8865.

Our German friends visited from the cycle heaven that is Oldenburg. We don’t think they were especially impressed with our cycle network; they were LAMBETH amazed that we needed road www.lambethcyclists.org.uk humps and so many of them. We shouldn’t need a visitor to We had a busy Bike Week, kicking point out the unfairness of off with our popular cyclists’ prohibiting cycling in Clarence breakfast on Brixton Road and Street at all times, but that’s what ending with a ‘Best of’ Architecture happened and we’re working up a Ride with highlights of the plan to address that. borough. Check online for photos. ➤ Several members attended the ➤ Kingston Town Neighbourtechnical inspection ride for one hood has agreed to a trial of the use of ASL areas by motorcyclists of the mayor’s Cycle Highways, as at the junction of Richmond Road one of the first of two pilot routes and Kings Road. It is likely to run will run through Lambeth. To for six months, starting in find out about what we’re doing, October. Any comments on your come along to our monthly experiences to the council, TfL meetings; they’re open to all, with and us please. a social afterwards. And don’t ➤ A little later than planned, we forget our monthly Architecture should now have the contra-flow Rides – details are posted online. MEETINGS: third Tues of every cycle lane active at the northern month — 18 August and 15 end of King Charles Road across the railway. If you like this facility, September, 7.30pm, upstairs at The Priory Arms, 83 Lansdowne write to the council and tell them so; your view can help to make it a Way, SW8 2PB. CONTACT: lambeth_cyclists@ permanent fixture. hotmail.com ➤ We’ve teamed up with British Transport Police to promote bike security at Surbiton station. The campaign has put its own money towards providing security hub skewers to deter wheel theft. ➤ Fewer cyclists were reported injured in the borough last year compared to 2007, while DR BIKE: in Hyde Park with K&C members

Our wrestling with TfL and Merton Council continues, and one epic, Martin Way, leads to another — this time Green Lane. Martin Way's dangerous traffic-calming is still in the throes of an Ombudsman's inquiry, carefully crafted replies taking up a lot of time and talent, refuting and rebutting TfL's wild assertions and presumptions. The council has, however, shown us early drawings of the remedial measures. At Green Lane we minuted more than once the borough's declared intention to provide a marked door-zone, for which there was ample room — it has not been provided. It would seem that our monthly meetings with councillors and engineers are worth little; advice from experienced cyclists, TfL's and national design standards ignored with even-handed thoroughness, presaging yet more wastage of public money. We are very fortunate that we have the necessary skills to call on from within our membership. ➤ Richard Evans, who has been our Borough Coordinator for 16 years, is stepping down at the Annual Meeting. We are very grateful to him for taking the handlebars so willingly for so long. Fortunately for the group, he is going to remain a source of knowledge, inspiration and wicked wit. Many thanks, Richard! ➤ Bike Week was a busy time, and we had events most days, culminating in our carriage-like tricycle-rickshaw providing a popular photo-opportunity at Wimbledon Fair. MEETINGS: tbc CONTACT: Charles Barraball, 07590 077445 or 020 8949 0708; charles@barraball.com

NEWHAM www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups

We meet on the last Monday of each month and the next meeting is at the Forest Gate Hotel in Godwin Road on 27 July. Transport issues connected with the Olympics continue to be the current major issue and the group continues to profile cycling as a prime means of transport to the Olympics and as an Olympic

BEXLEY Contact: Frances Renton, 01322 441979; f.renton@gol.ac.uk Website: www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups CITY CYCLISTS Website: www.citycyclists.org.uk CROYDON Contact: info@croydon-lcc.org.uk Website: www.croydon-lcc.org.uk GREENWICH Contact: Julian Dobson, 07771 692 344 Website: www.greenwichcyclists.org.uk HACKNEY Contact: Trevor Parsons 020 7729 2273; info@hackney-cyclists.org.uk Website: www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk HARINGEY Contact: Adam Coffman, adam@tao.org.uk Website: www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups HARROW Website: www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups HILLINGDON Contact: Sarah James, 020 8868 2912, or Steve Ayres, 01895 230 953 HOUNSLOW Website: www.lcc.org.uk/localgroups SOUTHWARK Contact: Barry Mason, 07905 889005; info@southwarkcyclists.org.uk Website: www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk SUTTON Contact: Chris Parry, 020 8647 3584; cyclism@blueyonder.co.uk WANDSWORTH Contact: Simon Merrett, 020 8789 6639; coordinator@wandsworthcyclists.org.uk Website: www.wandsworthcyclists.org.uk WESTMINSTER Contact: Colin Wing, 020 7828 1500; cyclist@westminstercyclists.org.uk Website: www.westminstercyclists.org.uk

COPY DEADLINE For Oct/Nov issue: 28 August Send your copy and photos to: editorlondoncyclist@yahoo.com

legacy. Currently it is in contact with the Olympic Delivery Authority concerning closures to the Greenway and recently helped lead a ride for ODA staff from Canary Wharf to the Olympic Park. Additionally the group is providing user input into the Mayor’s proposed Cycle Highway schemes that cross the borough. ➤ Turning to on-the-saddle activities, the 8 June ‘Cycle Day on the Greenway’, at which the group assisted the local Rotary Club, was a great success in attracting schoolchildren to ride sections of the Greenway. Group

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Groups owen@flickr

co-ordinator Bernard McDonnell continues to run his series of ‘New Newham’ rides, following a route set out in the ‘Ride and Stride’ map which has now been updated and reprinted. The next rides are on 1 August and 22 August. MEETINGS: see above. CONTACT: Bernard McDonnell, 07947 236965.

REDBRIDGE www.redbridgelcc.org.uk

The Movers & Shakers in Redbridge campaign (see page 51) has exceeded expectations. Thirty local worthies enjoyed messing about on bikes at Redbridge Cycling Centre on 6 June and after lunch we heard speeches in favour of more mainstream cycling from our GLA rep Roger Evans, Lee Scott MP, plus council leader Keith Prince and Chief Inspector Paige Kimberley talked about cyclists and lorry safety. Hamilton Pruim produced a wonderful photo montage of riders in Redbridge and four of our Movers & Shakers won LCC membership; we hope some of them continue with cycle training. ➤ The Roding Valley Way path between the A12 and Vista Bridge is reopened, now with two separate paths, but the surface is still unsatisfactory and we await reinstatement. Also the path by Empress Avenue stables has been left by contractors Barhale covered in large stones — so take care and email both Gill and chief leisure officer Iain.Varah@ redbridge.gov.uk if you're injured. ➤ Improvements at the junction at George Lane, South Woodford, on the Green Man-Woodford Green LCN+ route are currently being implemented with extra facilities for cyclists such as road widening on the bridge over the A406 to allow for a cycle lane and ASLs at the junction. These Duncan Holmes

SQUARING UP: for a ride with WFC

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DRESSED TO IMPRESS: LCC's Tom B and close friend at the annual Tower Hamlets Wheelers' 'Glamour Ride'

improvements follow suggestions at a consultation ride in 2005 and have cost oodles of cycling money in design and planning, so please let us know what you think. MEETINGS: no meeting in Aug. Next meeting on Tues 22 Sept at 8pm, Wanstead House, E11 — speaker tbc, drinks in the bar afterwards. CONTACT: Gill James, 020 8989 4898; gilljames@btinternet.com. Or Chris Elliott, 020 8989 6285; c.elliott@dsl.pipex.com

RICHMOND www.richmondlcc.co.uk

We had a poorly located stall at Twickenham Fun Day, but met Head of Transport, councillor David Trigg and had a very interesting chat. Basically he suggested that anyone who asks for cycle parking gets it. So now's your chance — send an email to the cycling officer, Robert Parsey (robert.parsey@richmond.gov. uk), requesting your bike parking. ➤ The Technical Working Group, a sub-group of the Cycling Liaison Group, finally met after much delay. We hope the next meeting will bring good news about some of the priority projects. ➤ The Cycle Ambassador Scheme has finally launched, find out more details on the cycling section of the Smarter Travel website (www. smartertravelrichmond.org). ➤Bike Week came and went, the council refused to fund any events in spite of the Smarter Travel initiative, so no BikeFest this year.

Hounslow will have its very own SkyRide on the 9 August and we'll be leading a ride over there from Richmond and Bushy Park. MEETINGS: second Mon of each month, 8pm at The Ship Inn. CONTACT: 07976 294626; info@ richmondlcc.co.uk

TOWER HAMLETS www.towerhamletswheelers.org.uk

Along with most of TfL and the majority of the country’s transport consultants, we joined what was possibly the biggest consultative ride ever — for the East London Cycle Highway (apparently no longer ‘Super’!). We fed back a number of reservations about what seems to be proposed. ➤ Highlights of a busy Bike Week included: the cycling day held for Cubitt Town Primary school (in conjunction with Sustrans, LBTH and Bikeworks), one of the busiest Dr Bikes we've ever done; the cyclists’ breakfast which recorded an increase of 57% in the number of cyclists using Narrow Street compared to last year; and the fifth ‘Glamour Ride’, which was the biggest and best yet — see the pictures at www.glamour-ride.org ➤ Outside Bike Week, our rides programme continues (www. wheelers.org.uk). Attendance at the monthly workshop also seems to be growing. As ever, we would welcome more volunteers to help with all these activities. MEETINGS: second Weds of each

month, from 7.30-9pm at St Margaret's Hall, 21 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green. CONTACT: 07903 018970; enquiries@towerhamletswheelers. org.uk

WALTHAM FOREST www.wfcycling.org.uk

For Bike Week we invited councillors, engineers, planners and transport officers to join us on a cycle ride around the borough to highlight good and less good facilities. This was very successful with 10 rides over the week. We also conducted a survey of cyclists at the Tour de Waltham Forest; 70 questionnaires were completed and 40% thought cycling was a fast and sensible way to get around. Full results of the survey will be published on the website. Thanks to everyone that completed the survey. ➤ We have teamed up with the E17 Art Trail to organise a cycle ride around the main venues and to promote cycling as the default way to do the route. You can also show off your creativity and make your bike a work of art. An expert panel will award a prize to the best decorated bike on the Trail ride. ➤ We will also have a stall at the Car-Free Day on 20 September. If you can help out, please contact Robert or Gerhard via the website. MEETINGS: tbc CONTACT: Robert Vaughan, 020 8520 8858; wfcycling@wfcycling. org.uk

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Community

Helping our communities LCC is a key player in encouraging and promoting the beneﬁts of cycling in difﬁcult-to-reach communities

here are some groups in London — young men, kids at school, students — who are quick to pick up the benefits of cycling. There are, however, others who don’t have opportunities to see how cycling can improve their lives. These difficult-to-reach people are often disadvantaged sections of society, though not exclusively as our Movers & Shakers programme demonstrates well.

LCC has long been involved with communities through its borough LCC groups, but over the last few years we’ve become a major player in spreading the cycling message wider. LCC works closely with TfL and the Big Lottery Fund to manage the Community Cycling Fund for London, a scheme where deserving groups receive grants of up to £5,000 from a total pot of nearly £250,000.

East Enders put on right Former addicts ﬁnd new buzz track at Hog Hill event from biking

■ PROJECT Wheels of Recovery, run by Haringey Advisory Group on Alcohol ■ TARGET GROUP Recovering drug and alcohol users ■ AWARDED £5,000 ■ FOUNDED 2008 ■ ACTIVITIES Regular meets at Hog Hill, with other local groups MOVING AND SHAKING: on the new road circuit at Hog Hill

■ PROJECT Redbridge Movers & Shakers, run by Redbridge Cycling Campaign ■ PURPOSE to encourage decision-makers such as councillors, MPs and GLA members to experience and enjoy cycling ■ AWARDED £2,720 ■ FOUNDED 2009 ■ ACTIVITIES targetting inﬂuential individuals to bring about a change in attitude and behaviour and encourage even more local people to cycle The Movers & Shakers project has been in the limelight a lot recently, ever since Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting, was chosen as the new Road Safety Minister (see page 8) — he took part in the first project by that name run by Wandsworth Cycling Campaign in 2007. In fact the scheme’s been so successful that it’s now been rolled out to Redbridge Cycling Campaign in east London. Gill James of Redbridge Cycling Campaign said: “A lot of people in this area think the bike’s

a poor man’s transport. So we recruit high-profile community players to challenge people’s perceptions and promote cycling as a healthy and fun activity.” And the Movers & Shakers certainly had fun at a special track day at Redbridge Cycle Centre in June. Over 30 guests attended — with many of them confessing they didn’t even know the facility existed beforehand. After a ride around the Hog Hill circuit, Lee Scott, MP for Ilford North, said: “We must have a national cycling strategy, with resources to put things in place like this brilliant facility. I’ll be speaking to the Secretary of State for Transport to encourage the government to take the lead on national policy.”

To some it may seem ironic — that the professional sport with the most notorious drug abuse record has become the salvation of a group of recovering addicts from North London — but on 6 June, a number of former alcoholics and substance users, support workers and wellwishers took on the challenge to ride 1000km in one day around a rainy Finsbury Park circuit. Project founder Alistair Mordey said: “We introduced cycling as a means of replacing the buzz people got from their addiction; it’s a real achievement for all of them to have even got on a bike, let alone ride this event.”

FOR INFO Contact the Community Cycling team: ■ 020 7234 9310 (option 4) ■ community@lcc.org.uk ■ www.lcc.org.uk/community

WHEELS OF RECOVERY: going strong

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Events Your bimonthly guide to the best rides and events around the capital

Hounslow leads Skyrides

IN BRIEF Days of the Raj Sign up for The National Autistic Society's Cycle India fundraiser, between 27 November and 6 December, and you'll experience 480km of colourful riding through Rajasthan, Delhi and the pink city of Jaipur. Call 08450 509 001 or email: events@nas. org.uk

Red alert

ON 9 August, Hounslow will be the first destination for the new Skyride series (based on the old Freewheels). The main Mayor of London's Skyride then follows in central London on Sunday 20 September, the day after the London stage of the Tour of Britain. This means large parts of central London will be given over to cycling for the whole weekend. Last year, Freewheel closed 10

miles of central London to motor vehicles, encouraging 50,000 people to enjoy the traffic-free streets. The event sees Olympic medallists, families and friends all riding together to celebrate cycling. LCC staff, volunteers and community groups all get in on the act too and we're looking for volunteers to help lead rides and assist with marshalling (see page 24).

The third Big Heart Bike Ride to raise funds for four heart charities heads to Egypt's Sinai Desert in November Visit the Red Sea, the pyramids of Giza and maybe climb Mount Sinai too. www.actionforcharity.co.uk

Skyride hits Hounslow

YOU'RE SPOILING US AMBASSADOR: track champ Victoria Pendleton, model Elle Macpherson and TV host Gethin Jones launch the new Skyride series

As mentioned, in addition to the major event, there'll also be a smaller version in Hounslow on Sunday 9 August. Local streets there will be closed to traffic and, like the central London Skyride, it's free to participate — so there’s no reason not to join in the fun.

Saturday 15 August ➤ River Crane Ride: 10.45am, Strawberry Hill Station, west side. Contact: Paul Luton (020 8977 4016); paul@pluton.eclipse.co.uk

Sunday 13 September ➤ Bread Pudding Challenge Ride: 10.30am, Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875); johnedunn@blueyonder.co.uk

Island paradise? Cerebral palsy charity Scope has a week-long trip to Cuba, from 18-26 November 2009, where you'll average 70km per day. Contact: 0800 0191 200, or events@scope.org.uk

LISTINGS: RIDES & EVENTS ➤ ➤ For the latest info on cycle rides and events, updated daily, visit www.lcc.org.uk/rides Saturday 1 August ➤ Newham & 2012 Ride: 10.30am, underneath the 2012 Countdown Clock outside Stratford Station. Contact: Bernard McDonnell (07947 236 965); adavil@ntlworld.com Sunday 2 August ➤ South of Guildford: 10.45am, Richmond, Little Green, by Library. Contact: Paul Luton (020 8977 4016); paul@pluton.eclipse.co.uk Tuesday 4 August ➤ Hackney Cycle Workshop: 7pm, The Kings Centre, Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road, E9 7PQ. Contact: Adam (07940 121513); hackneybikeworkshop@googlemail.com

Sunday 16 August ➤ Bread Pudding Challenge Ride: 10.30am, Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875) Sunday 16 August ➤ Herts & Beds Ride: 10.40am, West Hampstead Thameslink Station, need to catch 10.55am train to St Albans. Contact: George Coulouris (07879 887663); george@coulouris.net Tuesday 18 August ➤ Hackney Cycle Workshop: 7pm, The Kings Centre, Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road, E9 7PQ. Contact: Adam (07940 121513); hackneybikeworkshop@googlemail.com

Wednesday 12 August ➤ LCC Retention evening: see website

Saturday 22 August ➤ Newham & 2012 Ride: 10.30am, underneath the 2012 Countdown Clock outside Stratford Station. Contact: Bernard McDonnell (07947 236 965)

Wednesday 12 August ➤ Midweek Ride: 7.30pm, Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875); johnedunn@ blueyonder.co.uk

Sunday 30 August ➤ Bread Pudding Challenge Summer Special: 10.30am Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875); johnedunn@blueyonder.co.uk

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LCC will be leading at least 60 rides — twice 2008's total — from the outer boroughs to central London for the third running of this mass event and experienced riders are encouraged to register using the online form at www. goskyride.com. There will be an exclusive hospitality area with refreshments in St James’s Park for volunteers. David Love, vice chair of LCC and architect of the first Freewheel said: “This event clearly demonstrates that when the mayor makes the streets truly cycle-friendly for families, they cycle in their tens of thousands."

Tuesday 1 September ➤ Hackney Cycle Workshop: 7pm, The Kings Centre, Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road, E9 7PQ. Contact: Adam (07940 121513); hackneybikeworkshop@googlemail.com Wednesday 2 September ➤ Midweek Ride: 7.30pm, Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875); johnedunn@ blueyonder.co.uk Thursday 3 to Monday 7 September ➤ Royal British Legion Pedal to Paris Ride: 14th running of this annual charity classic. Contact: Dan Solley (0203 207 2270) or email dsolley@britishlegion. org.uk Sunday 6 September ➤ Chobham Common Ride: 10.30am, Twickenham Riverside, by Eel Pie Bridge. 35 miles, pub lunch. Contact: Paul Luton (020 8977 4016); paul@pluton.eclipse. co.uk Tuesday 8 September ➤ LCC Retention evening: see website Saturday 12 September ➤ Newham & 2012 Ride: 10.30am, underneath the 2012 Countdown Clock outside Stratford Station. Contact: Bernard McDonnell (07947 236 965); adavil@ntlworld.com

Tuesday 15 September ➤ Hackney Cycle Workshop: 7pm, The Kings Centre, Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road, E9 7PQ. Contact: Adam (07940 121513); hackneybikeworkshop@googlemail.com Weds 16 to Sunday 20 September ➤ Alzheimer's London to Paris Ride: Contact: 0870 417 0912 or go to www. alzheimers.org.uk to register Saturday 19 September ➤ Newham & 2012Ride: 10.30am, underneath the 2012 Countdown Clock outside Stratford Station. Contact: Bernard McDonnell (07947 236 965); adavil@ntlworld.com Saturday 19 September ➤ Richmond to Bushy Park Ride: 10.30am, Richmond, Little Green, by library. Contact: Paul Luton (020 8977 4016); paul@pluton.eclipse.co.uk Sunday 27 September ➤ Bread Pudding Challenge Ride: 10.30am, Kingston Market Place. Contact: John Dunn (020 7397 1875); johnedunn@blueyonder.co.uk

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Events

Dun it, got the t-shirt

SHORE THING: celebrate completing the Dynamo with a dip in the Suffolk sea

RECORD NUMBERS TOOK part in the Dunwich Dynamo night-ride from London Fields to Dunwich, Suffolk, on Saturday 4 July. Around 750 riders enjoyed a sunny evening and a clear night, before braving heavy rainstorms on the last leg towards the seaside destination, 116 miles from the capital. The event — the 17th of its kind — is organised each

year by Southwark Cyclists, with halfway refreshments provided by the London School of Cycling London Cyclist product editor Matthew Moore was one of this year's participants. He said: "The highlight for me was riding through the beautiful Suffolk villages in the early morning when there's not a car to be seen and, of course, just finishing!"

LCC Cycle Show discount THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST bike show returns to the Earls Court 1 exhibition centre on 8-11 October. And LCC has some interesting plans, including a women-focused led ride and campaigning action. There'll also be a competition to win 10 pairs of tickets, so watch out for details on the website and e-newsletter. As usual you'll be able to check out all the latest bikes and gear before they hit the high street. Plus you'll be able to order your new bike direct from the stands, get professional advice on which bike and size is best for you, then try out a demo model

on one of the various test tracks. You'll also have the chance to meet cycling celebrities and watch big-name BMX riders on the indoor street course. While Thursday is reserved as a trade day, Friday to Sunday is fully open to the public. Buy tickets in advance and you'll save a few quid. LCC members will get them at the special price of £10, which is £5.75 cheaper than buying on the door. Otherwise advanced prices range from £11.50 (adults) and £9.50 (concs) to £5.75 (children) or £32 (family of four). Book now at www.cycleshow.co.uk.

By royal appointment Why not limber up for Skyride with a late summer's outing to Windsor in aid of the British Heart Foundation on Sunday 6 September? There's a choice of a 37-miler on-road route from Richmond Green to Alexandra Gardens, or an alternative 29-miler route that's perfect for families; both follow the river, winding along leafy lanes and

through the pretty villages of the Thames Valley. At the finish there will be entertainments, food stalls, a beer tent, music and sports massage waiting for you — head for the circus big top on arrival. An entry pack costs £16 for adults or £8 for children under 15. To find out more details, go to www.bike-events.com. August-September 2009

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Workshops

Workshop courses Learn some new maintenance skills and save yourself a few bob... PRICE & TIMES

DETAILS BOROUGH

CONTACTS

COURSE

COST

WHEN / WHERE

CONTACT

BEXLEY

Roadside repair and maintenance

£35

call for dates / Sidcup Cycle Centre

020 8300 8113; info@sidcupcycles.co.uk

BROMLEY

Beginners’ classes: (1) punctures, cleaning

£20, inc free

call for dates / Hayes Old Church

020 8462 5004; roger@bigfootbikes.com

and lubrication; (2) brakes and gears;

gift worth £9

School, BR2 7BA

(3) disc brakes — bring your own bike CAMDEN

Camden Cycling Campaign & Camden

£50, 2 x sessions call for dates / Velorution

Council beginners’ courses CAMDEN

Stefano, 020 7435 0196; stefano@lamsam-casalotti.org.uk

18 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 8BD

Work on your own bike, no knowledge is

£72 (£66 for

Sat 10.30am-5pm / Bikefix, 48

Patrick Field, 020 7249 3779,

assumed

LCC members)

Lambs Conduit Street, WC1N 3LJ

www.londonschoolofcycling.co.uk

EALING

Ealing Cycling Campaign

call for details

info@ealingcycling.org.uk; www.ealingcycling.org.uk

GREENWICH

Greenwich Cyclists run courses all year on

£5 each

7.15-9pm Tues or Wed /

07771 692344; julian@jadobson.demon.co.uk;

Armada Centre, 21 McMillan Street,

www.greenwichcyclists.org.uk

(1) tyres and wheels; (2) brakes and gears. Bring your bike and any parts you want to fit HACKNEY

Hackney Cycling Campaign runs two-hour

Deptford SE8 6PW Donation

workshops; additional volunteers welcome

1st & 3rd Tues / The Kings Centre,

07940 121513; www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk;

Frampton Park Road, E9 7PQ

hackneybikeworkshop@googlemail.com

ISLINGTON

2.5-hour self-help workshop

£1 (50p conc)

7-9.30pm / Sunnyside Gardens, N19

Adrian, 07810 211902

KINGSTON

Maintenance and repairs

£26

Call for details / North Kingston

Rob, 020 8546 8865; mail@kingstoncycling.org.uk

LAMBETH

Lambeth Cyclists’ 5 x 2-hour course

£55

Call for dates / Brixton

07740 457528; janet.paske@gmail.com,

NEWHAM

Workshop for Newham cyclists

Donation

Sat 9.30am-12pm term time,

07500 900709; liz.bowgett@btopenworld.com

REDBRIDGE

Redbridge Cycling Campaign basics

£30

From 24 Sept / Call for details

SOUTHWARK

Southwark Cyclists’ 4-evening course

£48

Tues 6.30-8.30pm, On Your Bike,

07905 889005; info@southwarkcyclists.org.uk;

52-54 Tooley Street, SE1 2SZ

www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk 020 7231 6005; www.cycletraining.co.uk

Centre, Richmond Road, KT2 5PE

New City Primary School, E13 9PR 07795 981529; terence.hughes@btinternet.com; www.redbridgelcc.org.uk

SOUTHWARK

CTUK one-day courses; basic and

£60 one-day

Call for details / Unit 215, Building J,

intermediate; one-to-one or groups

£30/hr bespoke

100 Clements Road, SE16 4DG

SUTTON

Basic maintenance courses

£10 family

Call / Sutton West Centre,

020 8647 3584; cyclism@blueyonder.co.uk;

discounts

Robin Hood Lane, SM1 2SD

020 8642 3720; www.cyclismsutton.org.uk

TOWER

Tower Hamlets Wheelers hands-on classes

Donation

Last Sat 11am-3pm, Boxing Club,

07903 018970; workshop@wheelers.org.uk;

Limehouse Town Hall, E14 7HA

www.wheelers.org.uk/workshop

Maintain and assemble a bike

£3

Saturdays / Low Hall Depot,

07910 235149; christopher.rigby1@ntlworld.com

HAMLETS WALTHAM FOREST

South Access Road, E17 7A6

WANDSWORTH 4-hour one-on-one classes

£75

Call / 20 Buckhold Road, SW18 4WW 07970 615171; ben@cycleworx.co.uk

LONDON-WIDE Bicycle maintenance courses

Call for details

4th Weds of month / call

07946 261165; j.edwards530@btinternet.com

SHE SPOKE LONDON LCC’S WEBSITE FOR WOMEN CYCLISTS

WWW.LCC.ORG.UK/ADVICE

NEW MATERIAL

POSTED WEEKLY August-September 2009

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Member discounts Get a great deal at more than 120 high street and online bike shops JUST SHOW YOUR membership card at any of the bike shops on these two pages — or quote your membership number online — and you qualify for a discount of up to 15% on bikes, accessories, parts or labour. Simple scan the listings below, ordered alphabetically by borough, to find out which shops offer you the best discounts in your local area. At the end of the listings, you'll find several online retailers that also provide discounts. Otherwise visit www.lcc.org.uk/membership where you'll find a clickable map (shown right) to help you hunt down the best savings. If there are any shops in your area that don't offer a discount, email details to office@lcc.org.uk and we'll speak to them. LOCATION

CONTACT DETAILS

BIKE SHOP DISCOUNTS (%)

BOROUGH

BIKE SHOP

ADDRESS

POSTCODE

PHONE

WEBSITE (www.)

BARNET

Bike and Run Broadway Bikes Central Cycles Cyclelife Shorter Rochford Shorter Rochford The Cycle Store Cycle King Sparks Bigfoot Bikes Bromley Bike Co. Luvbikes.com Action Bikes Bikeﬁx Chamberlaines Condor Cycle Surgery Cycle Surgery Cycle Surgery Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Paul's Custom Cycles Simpson’s Cycles Bike Hut Evans Cycles Bikes Plus Cycle King Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Woolsey of Acton Top Riders Cycles UK Bike Yard East Brick Lane Bikes London Fields Cycles Two Wheels Good Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Mend-a-Bike SBR Sports Two Wheels Good Cycle King Chainlink Cycle Centre Bikewise Action Bikes Moores Cycles Wizzbike.com Bike Mech Cycle Surgery Cycle Surgery Finsbury Cycles Ltd Holloway Cycles Mosquito Bikes S&S Cycles Cotswold Outdoor

125 High Rd 250 West Hendon Broadway 64 Ballards Lane 8 Bittacey Hill 27 Barnet Rd 65-67 Woodhouse Rd 201 Woodhouse Rd 173 Hillside 5 Bank Buildings, High St 50 Hayes St 27 Widmore Rd 173 -175 Widmore Rd 23-26 Embankment Pl 48 Lambs Conduit St 75-77 Kentish Town Rd 51 Grays Inn Rd 3 Procter St 44 Chalk Farm Rd 275 West End Lane 178 High Holborn 69 Grays Inn Rd 38 Mount Pleasant 114-116 Malden Rd 3-4 Ave Maria Lane 1 Farringdon St 429 Brighton Rd 26-40 Brighton Rd 5 London Rd 548-550 Chiswick High Rd 281 Acton Lane 210 Baker St 135 Creek Road 1a Goldsmiths Row 118 Bethnal Green Rd 281 Mare St 165 Stoke Newington Ch. St 240 Watford Way 13-15 Jerdan Place 19 The Arches, 33 Munster Rd 917-919 Fulham Rd 143 Crouch Hill 451-455 Rayners Lane 140 Hornchurch Rd 61 Swakeleys Rd 176 Chiswick High Rd 3-5 St Johns Rd 113-114 High St Castle Climbing, Green Lanes 200 Pentonville Rd 70 Holloway Rd 185 Seven Sisters Road 290 Holloway Road 123 Essex Road 29 Chapel Market 23-26 Piccadilly

N2 8AG NW9 6BG N3 2BU NW7 1LB N6 2QX N12 9ET N12 9AY NW10 8LL NW10 4LT BR2 7LD BR1 1RW BR1 3AX WC2N 6NN WC1N 3LJ NW1 8NY WC1X 8PP WC1V 6DW NW1 8AJ NW6 1QS WC1V 7AA WC1X 8TP WC1X 0AP NW5 4BY EC4M 7AQ EC4 7LD CR2 6EU CR2 6AA CR0 2RE W4 5RG W4 5DH EN1 3JY SE8 3BU E2 8Qa E2 6DG E8 1PJ N16 OUL NW4 4UB SW6 1BE SW6 4ER SW6 5HU N8 9QH HA5 4ET RM11 1DP UB10 8DQ W4 1PR TW7 6NA TW8 8AT N4 2HA N1 9EN N7 8JG N4 3NS N7 6NJ N1 2SN N1 9EN W1J ODJ

020 8815 1845 020 8931 3925 020 8346 2046 020 8346 5784 01707 662 332 020 8445 9182 020 8368 3001 020 8965 5544 020 8838 5858 020 8462 5004 020 8460 4852 010 8460 0433 020 7930 2525 020 7405 1218 020 7485 4488 020 7269 6820 020 7269 7070 020 7485 1000 020 7431 4300 020 7836 5585 020 7430 1985 07960 987 887 020 7485 1706 020 7332 4160 020 7248 2349 020 8763 1988 020 8649 9002 020 8667 1423 0870 060 5489 020 89946893 020 8363 8618 020 8692 3148 07949 764 631 020 7033 9053 020 8525 0077 020 7249 2200 0870 142 0108 020 7384 5550 020 7371 5867 020 7731 5005 020 8340 4284 020 8868 6262 01708 470 007 01895 675376 020 8994 1485 020 8560 7131 020 8326 2891 07762 270 616 020 7713 1312 020 7697 2848 020 7263 0007 020 7700 6611 020 7226 8765 020 7278 1631 020 7437 7399

bikeandrun.co.uk broadwaybikes.co.uk centralcycles.co.uk cyclelife.com shorter-rochford.co.uk shorter-rochford.co.uk thecyclestore.co.uk cycleking.co.uk sparksonline.co.uk bigfootbikes.com bromleybike.com luvbikes.com actionbikes.co.uk bikefix.co.uk chamberlianecycles.co.uk condorcycles.com cyclesurgery.com cyclesurgery.com cyclesurgery.com evanscycles.com evanscycles.com paulscustomcycles.co.uk simpsoncycles.co.uk bikehut.com evanscycles.com bikeplus.co.uk cycleking.co.uk evanscycles.com evanscycles.com woolseyofacton.co.uk topriders-cycles.co.uk cyclesukgreenwich@blogspot.com bikeyardeast.com bricklanebikes.co.uk londonfieldscycles.co.uk twowheelsgood.co.uk evanscycles.com evanscycles.com mend-a-bike.co.uk sbrsports.com twowheelsgood.co.uk cycleking.co.uk actionbikes.co.uk moorescycles.co.uk wizzbike.com bikemech.co.uk cyclesurgery.com cyclesurgery.com finsburycycles.moonfruit.com mosquito-bikes.co.uk mountainbikelondon.co.uk cotswoldoutdoor.com

BRENT BROMLEY

CAMDEN

CITY CROYDON

EALING ENFIELD GREENWICH HACKNEY

HAM & FULHAM

HARINGEY HARROW HAVERING HILLINGDON HOUNSLOW

ISLINGTON

KEN & CHELSEA

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BIKES 5 10 5 10 10 10 5 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 5 10 10 10 12.5 10 10 5 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 -

ACCESS. PARTS LABOUR 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 10 5 5 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 10 10 10 10 12.5 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 5 15 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 12.5 5 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 -

10 10 10 10 10 -

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Discounts LOCATION BOROUGH

KINGSTON LAMBETH

LEWISHAM

MERTON

REDBRIDGE RICHMOND

SOUTHWARK

TOWER HAM

WALTH FOREST

WANDSWORTH

WESTMINSTER

KENT SURREY ONLINE MOBILE

BIKE SHOP

CONTACT DETAILS ADDRESS

POSTCODE

PHONE

WEBSITE (www.)

Cyclopedia Cyclesurgery Cyclopedia Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Pitﬁeld Cycles Brixton Cycles Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Herne Hill Bicycles Compton Cycles Finches The Bike Shop Action Bikes Mike’s Bikes Moose Cycles Smith Brothers Triandrun Cycle King Action Bikes Action Bikes Cowley Security Moores Cycles Moores Cycles Prologue Edwardes Evans Cycles London Recumbents On Your Bike ReCycling Robinsons Cycles Wilsons Bicycle Magic Cotswold Outdoor City CycleSurgery CycleSurgery Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Wharf Cycles Bike Shack Ditchﬁelds Heales Cycles Cycleworx Evans Cycles Evans Cycles Luciano Cycles Psubliminal Putney Cycles Siecle South Bank Cycles Stratton Cycles Action Bikes Cavendish Cycles Cycle Surgery Dial-A-Bike Evans Cycles Velorution Sidcup Cycle Centre Crayford Cycles Corridori Evans Cycles online Old Bicycle Trading Co Bikes R Us

262 Kensington High St 186 Kensington High St 256 Fulham Road 320 Vauxhall Bridge Rd 48 Richmond Rd 137 Kingston Rd 145 Stockwell Rd 77-81 The Cut 111-115 Waterloo Rd 83 Norwood Rd 23-25 Catford Hill 25-29 Perry Vale 288-290 Lee High Rd 221 The Broadway 27 Aberconway Rd 48 High St 14 Church Rd 53 Wimbledon Hill Rd 1088-1090 High Rd 437 Upper Richmond Rd 54-56 Whitton High St 146 Colne Rd 214 Kingston Rd 61 London Rd 232 Upper Richmond Rd 221-225 Camberwell Rd 6 Tooley St Rangers Yard, Dulwich Pk 52-54 Tooley St 110 Elephant Rd 172 Jamaica Rd 32 Peckham High St 4-6 Greatorex St St Clements Hse, Leyden St 12-13 Bishops Square Strype St 1 Market St 30 South Collonade 5 Cullum St 21-23 Westferry Rd 621 High Rd 792-794 High Rd 477 Hale End Rd 20-30 Buckhold Rd 167-173 Wandsworth High St 65-79 Clapham High St 97-99 Battersea Rise 17 Balham High Rd 337 Putney Bridge Rd 789 Wandsworth Rd 194 Wandsworth Rd 101 East Hill Dacre House 136 New Cavendish St 400 Oxford St 30 Strutton Ground 51-52 Rathbone Pl 18 Great Titchﬁeld St 142-146 Station Rd 3 Empire Buildings 203 Fir Tree Rd, Epsom Internet bike/parts Internet parts/servicing Mobile repair

W8 6ND W8 7RG SW10 9EL SW1V 1AA KT2 5EE KT3 3NX SW9 9TN SE1 8LL SE1 8UL SE24 9AA SE6 4NU SE23 2NE SE13 5PJ SW19 1SD SM4 5LN SW19 2BY SW19 5DL SW19 7QW RM6 4AB SW14 7PJ TW2 7LT TW2 6QS TW1 19JF TW1 3SZ SW14 8AG SE5 0HG SE1 2SY SE21 7BQ SE1 2SZ SE17 1LB SE16 4RT SE15 5BP E1 5NF E1 7LL E1 6EG E1 7LQ E1 6AA E14 5EZ EC3 7JJ E14 8JH E10 6RF E10 6AE E4 9PT SW18 4WW SW18 4JB SW4 7TG SW11 1HW SW12 9AJ SW15 2PG SW8 3JQ SW8 2JU SW18 2QB SW1H 0DJ W1W 6YD W1A 1AR SWIP 2HR W1T 1JP W1W 8BD DA15 7AB DA1 4JJ KT17 3LB n/a n/a n/a

020 7603 7626 020 7368 5188 020 7351 5776 020 7976 6298 020 8549 2559 020 8949 4632 020 7733 6055 020 7928 4785 020 7928 2208 020 8671 6900 020 8690 0141 020 8699 6768 020 8852 6680 020 8540 0313 020 8640 1088 020 8544 9166 020 8946 2270 020 8971 2065 020 8597 6834 020 8876 5566 020 8894 0174 020 8894 1212 020 8977 2925 020 8744 0175 020 8878 6266 020 7703 3676 020 7403 4610 020 8299 6636 020 7378 6669 020 7703 7001 020 7237 4679 020 7639 1338 020 7375 2993 020 7655 466 020 7392 8920 020 7375 3088 020 7426 0391 0870 164 4037 020 7283 6750 0845 806 2373 020 8539 2821 020 8527 1592 07970 615 171 020 8877 1878 020 7720 4139 020 7228 4279 020 8772 0707 020 8785 3147 020 7622 3069 020 8874 1381 020 7799 2233 020 7631 5060 020 7318 2448 0207 233 4224 020 7580 4107 020 7637 4004 020 8300 8113 01737 373 227 01293 574 900 020 8306 0060 020 8882 8288

cyclopediauk.com cyclesurgery.com cyclopediauk.com evanscycles.com evanscycles.com brightcycles.co.uk brixtoncycles.co.uk evanscycles.com evanscycles.com comptoncycles.co.uk ﬁnches-ski.com bikeshoplewisham.co.uk actionbikes.co.uk moosecycles.com triandrun.com cycleking.co.uk actionbikes.co.uk actionbikes.co.uk moorescycles.co.uk moorescycles.co.uk prologuebikes.com evanscycles.com londonrecumbents.co.uk onyourbike.com re-cycling.co.uk bicyclemagic.com cotswoldoutdoor.com cyclesurgery.com cyclesurgery.com evanscycles.com evanscycles.com evanscycles.com cycleshoplondon.com ditchﬁelds.co.uk www.healescycles.co.uk cycleworx.co.uk evanscycles.com evanscycles.com lucianocycles.co.uk psubliminal.co.uk putneycycles.com waltoncycles.co.uk actionbikes.co.uk cavendishcycles.wordpress.com cyclesurgery.com dial-a-bike.com evanscycles.com velorution.biz sidcupcycles.co.uk corridori.co.uk evancycles.com oldbiketrader.co.uk bikesruslondon.com

BIKE SHOP DISCOUNTS (%) BIKES ACCESS. PARTS LABOUR 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 5 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 10 -

5 10 5 10 10 5 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 15 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 -

10 10 10 5 10 10 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 -

10 10 10 5 10 10

Our ee-nnew Our Ou ewsle sllette slette ttter ((sen tter sent outt for sent sen fortni tni tn night ight h ly) y) heelps pss ke keep ep you you up to date da d tee w wit i h the he lat lattest esst LC LCC cam camp amp am paig aign i n and d mem em mber ber new new ws. s. B But ut if i w we doonn’tt have you your ccurr u en urr e em ent email ai aaddre ail addr dress ss, s yo you w you won’ on’ on n’t rrece ece ece c iiv ive ve it ve i . Plea eaase s upd update date atte yo y ur eema em maill add dddres ddres resss by sen ndin dingg it di it to: offi ffice ce@lc e@lc @ c.o c.oorg. c.org. rg g.uk uk The hhee ee--new n wsle slette tter m tter tte migh igh igh g t also soo be fillte ttered ed by b sp spam am m sof softwa so twa w re re. e To To pprreve e nt thi th s, s, aadd d ne newsl wsl ws s ett ettter@ et er@lcc ccc.email .em emailillmsg mssg.ne nett to ne your ccont your you onttact cts ct ts list ist too en ensur suree you rec sur su receiv eiv ivve our ouurr offi offici c al ema emailill wit em withh all all the the lla lates t st LCC tes LCC C new ws andd mem ember em ber of ber offer f s. fer s.

August-September 2009

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Interview

MINI INTERVIEW

Will Butler-Adams In 20 years Brompton has become one of the world's most iconic bike brands. Company MD Will Butler-Adams discusses the future If the bike sales stories in the papers are to be believed, you must be enjoying a storming year so far? We were unsure how this year would pan out due to the global recession, but the reality has blown away our expectations and we're flat out. It seems a lot of manufacturers and distributors have been struggling to cope with a much-increased demand — is supply a problem that you face? Demand is growing at a greater rate than we can supply, but we're growing our business at 25 percent year on year; that requires a tremendous increase in staff, training and investment. I believe if it were not for the fact that we are making our bikes in London this would have been unachievable; we're now producing 100 bikes a day. Can you give a short plotted history of the company for the uninitiated? Bickerton inspired Andrew Ritchie to carve out his own path and develop the Brompton in his living room overlooking the Brompton Oratory, hence the name. He spent 15 years banging his head against a brick wall as everyone told him it would never work. He never gave up and after prototypes, small productions runs and many setbacks he got Brompton off the ground in 1988. Lack of bike parking is continually cited as one of the biggest barriers facing London commuters and prospective commuters — what's your take on it? To get one million Londoners cycling every day by 2012, we need close to two million cycle racks — one at home and one at work (that's without one at the shop, one at the pub etc). But with 60,000 Bromptons being used in Greater London, we believe folding bikes could form part of the solution as they require no parking as such. Outside London, what cities are big players for you? Amsterdam followed by Tokyo and Berlin among others. One of the the key parts of the mayor's cycling strategy for London are the new Cycle Highways — do you think they are viable, workable? Mass cycling in cities will be affected by critical mass, this is beginning to happen. More people are cycling, resulting in more people calling for better facilities and the Cycle Highways are part of the reaction to this. It has to be a step in the right direction and I hope the first of many bold steps to make us a truly cycle-friendly capital. Should road safety be higher on the agenda? I think the dangers are coming down. More people riding on the road will result is greater awareness from drivers and, in time, greater investment in safer facilities. Isn't allowing motorbikes in bus lanes a step in the wrong direction then? I don’t have a problem with this. I prefer to see a motorbike carrying someone about town than a car, it is clearly just a 58

London Cyclist

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IN THE FOLD: Will Butler-Adams at Brompton HQ in West London

“I hope Cycle Highways prove to be the first bold step in making London a truly cycle-friendly city” stepping stone to a bicycle... If you could change one thing to improve the lives of London commuters, what would it be? Bold governance; to take the tough decisions that are required to dramatically change the transport culture within our city, away from the automobile towards the bicycle.

BROMPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

■ The 4th Brompton World Championships will be held on Sunday 4th October at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

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