London Cyclist Autumn 2017

CYCLIST Autumn 2017

Your voice for Magazine of the London Cycling Campaign a cycling city JEREMY VINE GAME-CHANGING MAPS 1930s LOST LANES BIKEPACKING vs TOURING MINI-HOLLAND RIDE PANNIERS REVIEWED

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CONTENTS

24 FEATURES Women & Cycling The challenges and push for change Interview BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine Adventure Ideas for bikepacking or light touring Campaign TfL’s game-changing new maps History Uncovering ‘lost’ 1930s cycle lanes

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FEATURES

REVIEWS

Sport 37 Where to try mountain biking Travel 42 Around the world in 180 days Route 58 Waltham Forest’s mini-Holland gems

Editor’s Choice Round-up of innovative bike bells Bikes Update on our 2017 longtermers Products Four waterproof rear panniers

OPINION & NOTICES

MEMBER OFFERS

News & new member website Ashok Sinha, LCC chief executive

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Legal advice from Osbornes Butterworth Spengler insurance

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Your voice for

a cyclingRow, city 2 Newhams London SE1 3UZ n 020 7234 9310 n lcc.org.uk EDITORIAL

Editor: John Kitchiner, londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk Design: Anita Razak Contributors: Ashok Sinha, Rob Eves, Tom Bogdanowicz, Simon Munk, Richard Evans, Carlton Reid

ADVERTISING JP Publishing jppublishing.co.uk

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Anna Vassallo, 020 3859 7100; annav@jppublishing.co.uk

Editorial, copyright & printing policy 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. n London Cyclist is printed by Wyndehams on paper made from 100% FSC sustainably-managed and carbon-balanced forest.

LOVE LONDON, GO DUTCH?

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COVER: Jools Walker PHOTO BY: Ian James

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LCC Members’ Legal Helpline

FACTFILE Start/Finish: Lee Valley VeloPark/Orford Rd Time allowed: 2 hours, including stops

PHOTOS: Paul Gasson

Terrain: mostly flat, cycle tracks and quiet streets, some busy main road crossings Getting there: by rail to Stratford (or alternative stations at Lea Bridge, Walthamstow Central, Walthamstow St James Street). Or cycle via Islington and Hackney along Quietway 2, or via River Lee/ canal towpaths from Bow or Islington.

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LEYTON BIKE HUB & RUCKHOLT ROAD [1] The Lee Valley VeloPark makes an ideal place to start a tour of Waltham Forest’s work so far. From there head up Temple Mills Lane to see an early experiment in semi-segregated measures and turn right onto Ruckholt Road. Here you can see ‘bus stop bypasses’, ‘hold the left’ traffic signals and other infrastructure designed to separate those cycling from motor vehicles.

Ride all the way to the end and brave High Road Leyton to the right to see the new two-storey secure cycle hub at Leyton tube station (with specific racks for cargo and family bikes). Next go back along Maud Road, Ruckholt Road and onto the old cycle tracks (mind the little kerb between track and pavement — the way Waltham Forest used to do things) on Orient Way heading north.

LEA BRIDGE ROAD [2] Orient Way’s old tracks take you all the way to Lea Bridge Road. To your left, and just over the brow of the railway bridge is the completed section of the new tracks on Lea Bridge Road. Ride down the half-completed tracks (at time of writing) going

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Orford Road

Blackhorse Village

west until you hit the Hackney boundary at the Princess of Wales pub, then turn east and ride the with-flow track on the north side to get the true taste of things to come. Broad 2-metre tracks with a lovely red surface and, in this section, wide pavements too.

Detour 50m left when you get back to the Orient Way junction onto Argall Way to admire the new Lea Bridge station and secure cycle parking hub. Then carry on Lea Bridge Road until Hitcham Road to see new tracks working their way east and the road being prepped for westbound tracks on the other side. Pass through old ‘modal filters’ (Hitcham, then Bridge Road, Hibbert Road, Theydon Street) to get to Markhouse Road.

Turn left along Markhouse Road to see one of the reasons Waltham Forest is winning plaudits beyond Lea Bridge Road for their main road treatments. Even where road widths are very constrained, the council is managing to make the best of a bad lot with pavements and cycle tracks.

Turn off at Markhouse Avenue, then go through an old filter into Essex Road. Pass under the rail bridge and along Salop Road, Morland Road and right on Coppermill Lane briefly — route of Quietway 2, then onto Haroldstone and Glenthorne Roads. At the end a dedicated cycle crossing leads into the new ‘Blackhorse Village’.

BLACKHORSE VILLAGE [3] This was the second major ‘villagisation’ scheme.

Using a new network of modal filters, this area has had all through motor traffic removed.

Turn left on Pretoria Avenue until the end.

Along the way you’ll see rather odd-looking modal filters built over weak rail bridges — where it was

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Leyton Bike Hub

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MAP

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impossible for the council to dig down — and outside the school, planting beds that act as “sustainable urban drainage”. At the end of Pretoria, pause to admire the new main road pedestrian/cycle crossing.

Turn back now along Pretoria and take an optional detour down Chewton Road to see the track on Blackhorse Road. These arrived just prior to mini-Holland and demonstrate the council’s level of ambition. Coming back up Chewton, go east along Northcote and then south along

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Palmerston Road, exiting the southern half of the Blackhorse Village to see the ‘air quality’ scheme and Quietway 2 link at Selborne Road.

SELBORNE ROAD [4] Arriving before mini-Holland, this air quality scheme saw bi-directional cycle tracks with a secret run along this road by the train tracks. The secret? The paving used on the tracks absorbs CO2 emissions. Ride along these tracks until Walthamstow Central. There’s a secure hub here,

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HOE STREET [5] As you cross Hoe Street, check out the ‘Copenhagen crossings’ on the side street. At the top of Milton, turn right into Aubrey, then cross Church Hill on a parallel ‘tiger’ crossing. You’re entering the original village area. From Folkestone dogleg to West Avenue to see railway bridges again used as an ideal location for a modal filter, with extra planting and public realm. Cross Orford Road briefly and cut down Grosvenor Park Road to Hoe Street. Here you can see some early mini-Holland tracks and bus stop bypasses that have arrived before the main tracks on Hoe Street to enable a crossing to a school.

Turn left onto the track, then left on Grove Road, previously one of the worst rat-runs in the area. Ride along it past newly regenerated shops to Eden Road, then work your back via Grosvenor Rise East and Wingfield Road to the end of the pedestrianised section of Orford Road.

ORFORD ROAD [6] The jewel in the crown so far, this short shopping parade sees motor vehicles (bar the odd bus) banned 10am to 10pm. The result is a radically transformed space for pedestrians and cyclists, but mainly for people sitting out and chatting at cafes and on benches. Previously this was both a rat-run and a non-stop parking zone for vans.

Sit back, have a cuppa or a pint and watch Walthamstow go by — kids play in the middle of the street, cyclists ride through, people faint at the house prices in the windows. The street that appears in every TfL presentation going and that has won awards is now also set to get a rival — in the less developed Leyton mini-Holland area (also in Waltham Forest).

Francis Road may have more chicken shops than Orford Road today, but it too is getting public realm improvements and similar timed pedestrian/cycle/bus-only camera enforcement.

Some are already calling it ‘Orford Road 2’.

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hen Mayor Boris Johnson announced that three outer London boroughs would receive approximately £30 million each in funding to radically transform their town centres into ‘mini-Hollands’ few would have suspected it would lead here.

While Kingston and Enfield move forward (the latter now very rapidly, with a very exciting network of semi-segregated bike tracks), it’s multi award-winning Waltham Forest that has made the most noise.

The original programme of using ‘modal filter cells’ to end rat-running has caused controversy and what we call ‘bikelash’. But arriving now are a network of international-quality cycle tracks — including the flagship Lea Bridge Road scheme, crossing the borough from the Hackney to Redbridge borders — plus major cycle parking hubs at key stations and much more.

You can tour the results for yourselves (and local groups can contact Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign for a tour, via wfcycling.org.uk). You’ll be following in the footsteps of officials from Japan, Germany, Bogota and beyond, as well as many London and UK councillors, officers and campaigners — because Waltham Forest is rapidly becoming a beacon of walking, cycling and Healthy Streets best practice. A true mini-Holland. n See bit.ly/WFMHmap for other route suggestions and all the current schemes in place.

as well as the UK’s busiest Brompton Hire Dock.

The tracks end here abruptly as work is ongoing, including removing the gyratory on Hoe Street and creating a crossing into the village area.

But this is where Quietway 2 is currently routed.

Double back to Palmerston Road and then cut into the second half of Blackhorse Village via Mansfield Road, Erskine, then Hatherley Road. At the top of Hatherley, dogleg across Hoe Street to Milton Road and enter the ‘Hoe/Wood Village’.

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Hoe Street

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Waltham Forest’s mini-Holland is winning awards (and causing controversy). So head over to see what all the fuss is about with Simon Munk’s route guide...

ROUTE

ROUTE

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London Cyclist is published by London Cycling Campaign n Find out more about our aims (lcc.org.uk/strategy) n To become a member (lcc.org.uk/membership) n To make a donation (lcc.org.uk/donate)

Osbornes Solicitors are the official legal partner of LCC, providing members with exclusive access to a legal helpline. If you’re involved in a collision or have a cycling-related legal issue, phone the Cycling Team at Osbornes for advice on (020) 7681 8672.

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NEWS

GUEST SPEAKER CONFIRMED FOR OCTOBER’S AGM This year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the London Cycling Campaign will take place on the evening of Thursday 19 October at the Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University (Keyworth Street, London SE1 6NG).

Following the appearance at last year’s gathering by the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross, the highlight of this year’s event will be a speech and Q&A session with the Mayor’s Walking & Cycling Commissioner, Dr Will Norman.

The AGM starts at 6pm (collection of papers and voting cards from

5.30pm) and finish at 9pm. As well as being a unique chance to reflect on LCC’s recent success and help shape our future campaigning, it will also feature the ever-popular annual Campaigner Awards and formal business such as announcing the result of this year’s election to LCC’s Board of Trustees. Please register your attendance in advance at lcc.org.uk/agm. The AGM is open to all, but only members may vote on motions and in the Board election.

This year we are going ‘online only’ for AGM information — which is why there is no printed AGM

insert in this edition of London Cyclist. The agenda, motions and election nominations will be posted at lcc.org.uk/agm from midSeptember, which is also when e-ballot forms for the Board election will be sent to members.

We have now created new, enhanced user accounts for members (see below) — which enable you to access all the fantastic benefits we have negotiated for you. To make sure you receive all AGM and election communications, please log in to your user account at https://membership.lcc.org.uk/user

and make sure your records are up to date — as well as grab some of those special offers!

Members who have not received details of their new user account and who wish to vote electronically in the Trustee Election should notify

SIGN IN FOR GREAT DEALS AT NEW LCC MEMBER WEBSITE Great news — we’re unveiling a new website so you can see all the discounts and deals available to LCC members in one place.

We’ve emailed all members with a username and temporary password to log in to the new site — if you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to log in and change your password to something more memorable. Once you’ve logged in, you can access discount codes to save online with brands like Ribble, Cycle Surgery, Howies, Proviz, Cotswold Outdoor and Snow & Rock.

And you can search for bike shops in the LCC retail network —

these are shops that offer members discounts and special rates instore.

You will need to have the new plastic version of the membership card with you.

Over the coming months we’ll also be adding a digital version of London Cyclist magazine and a series of ‘how to’ guides for members.

If for any reason you can’t find the email we sent (check your spam folder first), it might mean we don’t have a current email address for you.

In which case you’ll need to contact us using the form at https:// membership.lcc.org.uk/loginhelp.

We hope you enjoy the new site! n https://membership.lcc.org.uk

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Startling statistics on bike theft, via the latest Stolen Bike Survey

296k Total number of bike thefts reported to police forces across the UK in 2015/16

25% UK bike theft dropped by this % between 2011-2016 the Membership Team by completing the form at https:// membership.lcc.org.uk/loginhelp before 12pm on 12 October.

We look forward to seeing you in October at what promises to be a great occasion.

16.5k Number of bike thefts reported to the Met Police during 2015/16

LOOKING INSIDE THE MAYOR’S NEW TRANSPORT STRATEGY The Mayor has launched his proposed Transport Strategy.

This document isn’t revised every Mayoralty — but this one represents a major shift away from private car use and towards active travel modes. LCC is still formulating a response, taking on board your views via the thread here: https://www.cyclescape.org/ threads/3269 The Mayor’s introduction says: “London must become a city where walking, cycling and green public transport become the most appealing and practical choices for many more journeys.”

The big pledges include: n The proportion of journeys done by car, private hire or taxi to halve from 36 to 20 percent by 2041, cutting 3 million car

journeys, while adding five million more journeys overall. n “The next generation of road user charging systems” to be considered — likely smart congestion charging based on time of day, emissions, location etc. n No deaths and serious injuries from collisions by 2041, with buses causing zero fatalities ten years earlier. n Zero emissions from buses by 2037; the entire transport network by 2050. n 70 percent of Londoners living within 400m of a “safe, high-quality” cycle route by 2041 (see feature on page 24).

Missing however, are any interim targets before 2041 — these are vital, as Khan will (presumably) be long gone then.

NEWS

NUMBER CRUNCH

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Innovative bike bells NELLO BELL palomarweb.com This most revolutionary design is not actually a bell at all. Battery operated, it has a choice of three rings, ranging from classic ‘ting’ to retro car horn. Attached via a silicon strip and magnet, the ball can be taken off at your destination preventing a theft risk (it only works when attached to the bike). Best suited to quieter rides as the ring can be lost in the city hubbub (even at its stated 90dB limit). Available in six colours. £18.

SPURCYCLE BELL spurcycle.com Hailing from the US, the Spurcycle is as much a work of art as a bike bell. The most traditional of the bells here, its USP is the quality of the ring and its artisanal good looks. An incredibly clear and long-lasting ring sounds more like a Tibetan prayer bowl than something you’d find on a bike. One for the connoisseur — and with a price tag to match. In steel or black finish (with two fixing straps to suit different bars). £49.99.

KNOG OI silverfish.co.uk Again not really a ‘bell’, the Oi does at least work in a similar manner. Replacing the trad bell with a metal bar, the Oi has a slimline profile which makes it especially suitable on cluttered handlebars. It has a nice clear ring, without seeming aggressive, and is stylish enough to suit vintage frames or city hack bikes. Available in three metallic finishes, the Oi comes in two sizes to fit 22.2mm and 23.8-31.8mm bars. £15.99.

TIMBER MTB BELL cyclorise.com Looking exactly like a mini cowbell, the Timber has a simple on/off lever that operates the internal clapper — down for on, up for off, or in between for a more muted sound. Choose between bolt-on mount or rubber strap; it fits all bar diameters from 22mm up to oversized 35mm standards.

Though it can work on the road, it’s best off-road where the bumpier a trail the more it rings. £24.99.

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CAMPAIGN

How can we get more women into cycling?

Fran Graham speaks to six women about the challenges and the push for change...

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have been cycling in London for about seven years and I cycle for many of the same reasons that many others do: it’s healthy, cheaper, quicker and way more fun than the tube at rush hour. In the last seven years I’ve seen the number of people riding alongside me increasing.

I still get a kick out of sitting at the lights, surrounded by loads of others going about their daily lives by bike. I especially like spotting fellow female cyclists.

There have been more and more of us women on bikes in recent years, and I love it. However, we are still the odd ones out on the city’s streets.

Cycling trips have boomed in London — according to TfL stats, there are now more than 670,000 trips a day, an increase of over 130% since 2000.

But the number of men cycling is growing faster than the number of women.

Overall, women are around half as likely as men to have cycled in the past month. But nowhere is gender equal; broken down borough by borough, there are some clear leaders and laggers. Enfield brings up the rear with women 29% as likely as men to have cycled in the past month (although that might all change as the mini-Holland settles in). Barking and Hillingdon join them at the bottom, with 33% and 35%.

Hammersmith is top, but still only at 70%, with Kingston and Richmond on 69% and 68%.

If you compare that with the cycling nirvana that is the Netherlands, where over half of all

cycling trips are made by women, then you know that London is dragging its feet when it comes to enabling more of us to dust off our bikes.

Safety issues A large part of this comes down to feeling safe on the roads. The majority of people prefer cycling when they are separated from traffic in high quality segregated cycle lanes, or on roads that are quieter, where the traffic moves slowly. This is especially true for women thinking about cycling.

It’s why women are often referred to as the ‘indicator species’ of a safe cycling environment — if you have a gender balance on bikes (or more women than men cycling), it’s a sign that the area has great cycling infrastructure.

LCC lobbies so hard for good quality cycling infrastructure for just this reason. It’s not just about the people who already get about by bike; it’s about creating space in London that everyone who wants to cycle feels happy doing so. Cycle Superhighways, Quietways, the existing mini-Hollands and upcoming Liveable Neighbourhoods all have a part to play in this.

We have to make sure that when we build cycling infrastructure, it works for everyone. That means segregated cycle lanes must be wide enough to accommodate all types of bikes that make trickier trips simpler; adapted bikes, cargo bikes, bikes with tag-along trailers all make carrying home the shopping or taking the kids to school much simpler. Making these everyday trips

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CAMPAIGN

RUTH-ANNA MACQUEEN The first thing people say when I tell them we have three young children and no car is usually: “How do you do it?” I work as an obstetrician and gynaecologist and my husband is a teacher; our children are 6 years, 4 years, and 7 months’ old. But here’s the thing — cycling is honestly the only way we can manage two parents with busy jobs, and getting three children to school and nursery on time.

Not only is it perfectly possible to manage in London without a car, in many dense urban areas it’s much easier and quicker to do day-to-day journeys by bike. The perceived difficulty often comes when you add in children, but luckily there are plenty of options available nowadays to suit all budgets, ages and family sizes. From the common rear-mounted bike seats to trailers, front seats, tag-alongs, various parent-child bike coupling mechanisms, family tandems, and the most expensive, but arguably easiest option of a cargobike (both ‘boxbike’ and ‘longtail’ designs are now widely available in the UK).

I am passionate about opening people’s eyes to the possibilities of family cycling as a solution to so many of the problems we have both individually and on a societal level.

Locally, I’ve teamed up with Carry Me Bikes to run a Family Cycling Project, funded by Cycling Grants London. We are loaning out free family cycling equipment to families, organising social group rides for families and ‘tots and cargobikes’ sessions with qualified cycling instructors for parents wanting to start cycling with their children.

Concern about sharing road space with motor vehicles is the biggest concern of many parents I speak to, especially as children grow and start cycling independently. While this can be mitigated to an extent by using parks, off-road cycle routes and quieter roads where possible, it remains a significant barrier, which is why I’m also an active member of my local LCC group, campaigning for safe space for cycling on main roads too.

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CAMPAIGN easier, especially the ones included in care-giving tasks (because the bulk of care-giving does still fall to women in this country) helps boost the number of women choosing bikes for their journeys.

Route choices Additionally, planners need to listen to concerns about routes. Not only do they need to go where people want to go, like shops and schools, but there could be concerns about routes through parks, quiet streets and estates, particularly after dark. My commute takes me through a lovely park, meaning I can avoid traffic entirely. However, once the sun sets, that unlit park doesn’t feel quite like the haven it is during the day, and I end up cycling home on a busy, aggressive stretch of road I can normally skip. There hasn’t been much research on this, but anecdotally it’s an issue that needs a lot more consideration.

We also need to tackle behaviours that discourage women from cycling. The Near Miss Project — a piece of research by LCC Trustee Rachel Aldred — found that women experience twice as many ‘close passes’ as men. Having a motorist speed by, way too close for comfort, is incredibly off-putting, sometimes to the extent that people stop cycling.

It is why it’s so encouraging to see police forces beginning to take it so seriously. West Midlands launched their Close Pass Initative last year, where a plain clothes officer cycles along the road, and if a motorist passes too close, they are pulled over by colleagues further down the road and given a warning. It was highly praised by cyclists across the country, and since then many other police forces have been lining up to roll it out on their roads, including here in London.

NICOLA HILL

CAROLINE PIDGEON (CHAIR OF THE LONDON ASSEMBLY TRANSPORT COMMITTEE) The number of trips made by bike every day in London has increased by around 160,000 since 2007, but overall mode share is still only about 2%. Why is this figure not rising?

And why are men far more likely to cycle than women in London? 18% of men are regular cyclists, compared to 9% of women.

Cyclists are omnipresent on London roads but I really would like to see more women using their bikes to get around our city. For some, it is that perception of safety which affects whether they decide to take up cycling — which is why investment in safe routes is vital — both quieter routes and segregated Cycle Superhighways.

When it comes to mode shift, the potential for safe cycling routes in outer London in particular is huge. If we could encourage many more people to make local trips by cycle, rather than car, the impact on health, air quality and wellbeing would be enormous.

And if you want to try cycling — without splashing out lots of money — there is the

bike hire scheme in parts of London, though interestingly, only a quarter of the scheme’s members are women.

I have no doubt that over time we will see more Londoners and in particular more women across the capital using bikes. In the meantime, the London Assembly Transport Committee will continue to push in every way we can, for a friendlier cycling environment that works for everyone. and pink accents and there you go, a ‘ladies’ bike).

It’s easier than ever to find the perfect bike, and if you’re not into the full Lycra look, you don’t have to look hard for stylish panniers, waterproofs, even reflective knitwear.

Bike shops have joined in on the self-reflection, and realised that sometimes it can be quite intimidating walking into a workshop. Wandering

The Bike Project was set up in March 2013 to provide a solution to the lack of mobility faced by asylum seekers and refugees living in London.

Put simply, when you’re receiving just £36.95 per week asylum support and a bus pass costs £21.20, you have little left to live on — so a bicycle can be a vital lifeline. More than 27,000 bikes are abandoned in London each year and over the past four years The Bike Project has collected, fixed up and donated over 2,700 of them.

Early on the majority of our beneficiaries were male and through speaking to women, we learned that many did not feel confident in their ability to ride the bikes that we offer. Women also tell us that they come from societies where women are not encouraged to cycle, or where doing so can be dangerous for them. So learning to cycle through our Women’s Project is more than a practical

necessity, it’s also a strong stance against deeply ingrained beliefs and cultural taboos.

Sarah, who is now our Lead Cycle Instructor, came along as she wanted to get trained up to be able to teach other women to cycle, most for the very first time, in a female-only space.

Through participating in our lessons, women gain independence, get fit, save money and learn practical skills, which helps to improve physical and emotional wellbeing while getting to know their new city and each other in a fun, safe and welcoming environment. n The Bike Project runs two training sessions per week (Mondays in Croydon, Wednesdays in Wapping). Contact info@thebikeproject.co.uk to refer a woman for lessons or if you are a female NSI-qualified instructor and would like to teach.

PHOTOS: John Russell, TBP

Gearing up The range and quality of bike gear on the shelves is better than ever before. Biking brands have recognised that the growing numbers of women cycling presents a huge market for them and are stepping up to the plate. They’ve come a long way from the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach (y’know, make it smaller and stick some flowers

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CAMPAIGN into a very male environment, worried you’re going to get sneered at for not knowing how to fix a puncture, can be so off-putting that sometimes the puncture doesn’t get fixed. The bike returns to the spiders in the shed, and its owner to the tube.

A non-judgmental atmosphere can go a long way, and shops are picking up on this fast.

And it’s not just about making the shops less scary places to pop into, they are working to provide safe spaces for everyone who wants to learn how to maintain their bike — Women and Gender Variant workshops are popping up in a number of places.

Representation across the board It’s also incredibly important to see women getting involved in everything to do with cycling. There are a number of powerful women in City Hall now, advocating for the cycling community, from Caroline Pidgeon and Caroline Russell on the London Assembly Transport Committee to Val Shawcross as Deputy Mayor for Transport.

Professional women’s cycling is becoming more visible too, with women like Laura Trott and Dame Sarah Storey leading the medal tables at last year’s Olympics and Paralympics, and events such as the Women’s Tour, RideLondon

JOOLS WALKER

and Tour de Yorkshire putting women’s races on our screens (read more by Lucy Garner on page 14). Many tracks are trying to encourage more female racing, with Herne Hill Velodrome and Lee Valley VeloPark both running women-only training sessions.

Greater inclusiveness And it’s not just about gender — all underrepresented groups need to be visible in cycling.

Wheels for Wellbeing campaigns for inclusive cycling, supporting, enabling and campaigning for disabled cyclists. They’ve recently challenged councils and TfL to use more diverse images in their cycle and transport strategies.

If you’ve not heard of her already, look up Ayesha McGowan. She’s on a mission to become the first female African-American professional road cyclist, and flying the banner that representation matters the whole way.

What’s LCC doing?

Alongside our infrastructure campaigning and road danger reduction work, LCC is running projects to reach out to under-represented groups in cycling. Our Urban Cycle Loan scheme is running in five boroughs. People can borrow a

bike, lock, helmet and hi-vis vest for a month for £10, and are given the opportunity to take up free cycle training at the beginning of the month. If they like the bike at the end of the loan, they can buy it at a discounted price. While not specifically targeted at women, we are finding that the majority of people taking advantage of the scheme are female, and they are highly likely to keep riding once the month is up.

We’re also proud to have some incredible women as part of our family, such as our 2016 Campaigner of the Year Clare Rogers, coordinator

PHOTO: Ian James

I recently spoke at the Women and Cycling Conference in Bradford. When large ‘conferences’ like this happen, two of the big topics often discussed are gender inequality in cycling and building (or improving) high(er) quality infrastructure when it comes to encouraging more women to ride. Don’t get me wrong, of course these are important topics that should always be covered (still, we work towards the day when working towards solving these are a thing of the past), but in among this, we need to talk more about the topics that intersect these — such as the lack of representation and diversity within the cycling industry. Just as in everyday life, not all women are the same.

The conference theme was to ‘inspire more women to cycle more often, to more places’ — and one of my strongest beliefs in how to do this is to share the stories of women and groups that are never ‘normally’ represented in mainstream cycling. Everyday women are extraordinary women, and the importance of celebrating this and seeing someone ‘just like you’ can be the key to getting more young girls and women on a bike. I’ve learned in my seven years of being back on the saddle the power of seeing someone you can identify with, and totally believe this is something that should never be underestimated.

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CAMPAIGN of Enfield Cycling Campaign. She has tirelessly built support for the Enfield mini-Holland scheme, which has faced considerable ‘bikelash’, by engaging with the wider community in an intelligent and positive way, even organising a builders’ breakfast for the workers constructing the cycle tracks on the A105. And she’s often seen practising what she advocates on the school run with her kids on her tandem.

We also have a Women & Cycling working group that is actively looking at how we improve the gender balance on the roads and within LCC. We recognise that having women role models at all levels of leadership — from ride leader to Board member — is critically important if we want to improve participation by women. The group will be making detailed recommendations before the next AGM on how to improve this, so if you have any suggestions you think could help, please email them to the Chair of the group, Terry Patterson (terry@lcc.org.uk).

LCC will keep campaigning to create the environment on our roads that welcomes everyone who wants to cycle. We’ll keep listening to women (and BME, older, disabled people, and other under-represented groups) and amplify their voices. We’ll keep championing the amazing work that is happening around London, the projects, schemes and events that showcase and support women who want to cycle. And I’ll keep cheering any time I see a fellow female cyclist on a bike at the lights.

AMY FOSTER

I talk to lots of families who tell me that the roads around their schools are not safe enough for their children, and that they don’t see the pavements outside their schools as safe. Considering that the biggest killer of children aged 10-18 in the UK is road traffic incidents, parental fears around road safety are not unfounded.

If it isn’t safe for children to get to school independently, parents’ lives end up revolving

around school pick-up and drop-off times, adding to stress levels in already busy lives.

Schools need to do all they can to work with their communities to make their local areas safer for cycling. I work supporting schools in Southwark; we have a fantastic school travel team, a supportive LCC borough group and a council that is looking to develop its cycling infrastructure. As chair of the Safe Routes forum we are pushing for new zebra crossings and a lower speed limit that will make big differences for the families in our network.

We also look to replicate great work happening elsewhere in London, such as ‘Healthy School Streets’ where the road outside the school gate is closed during the school run, encouraging families to choose to walk, cycle or scoot to school, reducing road danger for the kids and cutting air pollution from idling cars at the school gates.

We are more fortunate than many schools in London. We have a fantastic traffic-free cycling route passing within a few metres of our school, which many of our families use. However, it is terrifying that a ‘healthy’ school run remains a matter of luck and we must do all we can to work together to ensure safe, connected cycle routes exist across the capital. n Amy is a Southwark Healthy Schools Champion and chair of the Dulwich and Herne Hill Safe Routes to School forum.

LUCY GARNER (WIGGLE HIGH5 PROFESSIONAL RACER) You live in the Netherlands, what do you think of riding around London?

It’s certainly extremely busy, but you can see that there is obviously progress. There are substantial bike lanes now, which I’ve only briefly sampled — I didn’t expect them to be that big and wide, that’s a major improvement.

years and it’s progressed so much in that time.

I’m in a really fortunate place to be a professional female cyclist now — and like a lot of the women in the peloton, we’re not having to work alongside cycling commitments. That’s important, because it raises the whole level of cycling, and women’s professional sport generally, as we can just concentrate on our cycling.

How can we encourage more women to get into sport cycling?

I started cycling because it was such a social sport, there are so many clubs and group rides you don’t have to go out on your own. I have so many more friends now! A lot of people think of cycling as being just for men, but there’s loads of bikes and kits which look great for women, and they’re attractive, interesting designs too.

Why do you think women are underrepresented in professional cycling?

Several reasons. But I’ve been cycling for over 10

n Wiggle.com are sponsors of the Wiggle High5 professional cycling team which competes on the Women’s Tour and other professional races.

PHOTO: wiggle

Do you think having events like the Women’s Tour in London will inspire more women to cycle?

Yes, I think it definitely helps having women’s races, just to show the general public what women’s cycling is about and how we race. We put on really aggressive racing, and having the Women’s Tour come to London on the last day is really important and shows how much it’s growing and how much bigger it’s becoming.

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INTERVIEW

JEREMY VINE

The BBC broadcaster and election-time host extraordinaire is never short of cycling-related anecdotes and advice as Rob Eves finds out...

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INTERVIEW

When, where and why did you first start cycling?

I was five or six. No helmet and using stabilisers. Very much the same as now.

How many bikes do you own? And how do you choose a bike, what are your key criteria?

I want a bike that no one steals. So my choice of bike is the least glamorous. The first time I took delivery of a Giant, I bought some gold paint and sprayed the frame which made it appear rusted. I gather there is actually a company in London which will bash your new bike with a hammer to make it look unattractive. Sign me up.

How have you seen London change in the time you’ve been cycling here?

The infrastructure has got better and the drivers have got worse.

What do you love most and hate most about cycling in our magnificent city?

What I love is that if, like me, you’ve spent more than half your life travelling underground on the tube or locked in a sweaty car, starting to cycle is like starting to fly.

The thing I hate more than anything else is close passes. I know drivers do it deliberately to intimidate cyclists and I find it infuriating because they don’t have to — they know that and I know that, but they do it because they want to reclaim the road space.

Other than presenting the London Cycling Awards, what’s been your cycling high point?

I am a commuting cyclist so I wish I could say it was cycling to the top of Kilimanjaro or similar, but Hyde Park will have to do. That park on a winter morning when it’s clear, crisp, fresh, even a little bit foggy and nobody is around. Beautiful.

You’re fast becoming London’s go-to cycling celebrity — are you happy to play the role of cyclist in the media debate?

I am very wary of that and here’s why — as soon as you say you cycle you divide a room. Some people become completely hysterical about it. I realise that even the statement “I love cycling in London” seems to be an ideological one.

It troubles me because my job is

traffic lights, if the lane it is in is too narrow the driver invariably puts his left wheels in the cycle lane on the left. For a global city like London, the standard of bus driving is sometimes shocking.

You famously wear a helmet camera — when and why did you start wearing one?

I started using them because a lovely fellow who listens to my show sent me one. Then someone else sent

queue for the lights which let you cross Park Lane into Grosvenor Square. He hopped up on the pavement but misjudged the moment he dropped back into the road because a young woman in front suddenly braked for the red light. The guy went head over heels (thankfully unhurt).

Although it was totally his fault, he began blaming the poor woman who had stopped for the light.

Suddenly everyone was shouting.

But the funniest thing was that by

The thing I hate more than anything is close passes.

I know drivers do it deliberately to intimidate cyclists and I find it infuriating because they don’t have to. to commentate rather than participate, and I can’t believe how the very mention of a two-wheeled motorless transporter can start a fight in an empty room. So I try as much as possible to stay out of arguments, but it’s not easy.

Jeremy Clarkson says he doesn’t want you to be run over, he just wants you to calm down. Do you need to calm down? Do cyclists in general or other road users need to calm down?

I’m afraid I can’t be calm when I find it very difficult to cycle safely with my 13-year-old from Chiswick to central London on a weekend, because residents in Kensington and Chelsea don’t like blue paint.

[The council has opposed Cycle Superhighways in the borough].

We’ll be campaigning to encourage drivers to give cyclists a wide berth when overtaking soon — do you think drivers should ‘stay wider of the rider’?

Yes, and I think you should start by focussing on bus driving. A bus cannot give a cyclist sufficient clearance and stay in a bus lane — yet many refuse to move out properly. When a bus pulls up at

another. I ended up with one on my handlebars and one on my seatpost facing backwards. All cyclists should wear cameras.

The Met Police are now really keen to get evidence. I can’t praise the police in London enough. Their new online reporting procedure allows you to upload footage and details of an incident within five minutes, and they do act.

When you were the victim of a road rage incident, how important do you think the helmet cam footage was in securing the driver’s conviction?

It was central. And because there were two cameras her lawyer could not argue that the footage was manipulated.

Would our city be better or worse if all road users filmed their journeys?

Probably worse. I’d rather it was just me!

What’s the funniest/best/most shocking thing you’ve inadvertently filmed while cycling?

Last week a guy was coming out of Hyde Park on a Santander bike and wanted to be at the front of the

sheer chance they were all French.

A minute later we all cycled off and I just thought, another day in paradise...

What’s your favourite bit of cycle safety gear?

An AirZound Horn. OMG. Is there anything else you’d like to say to London Cyclist readers?

Can we all try to persuade our friends to cycle by not constantly telling them how dangerous it is? We are near an amazing moment, where London becomes a cycling city. But too many smart people won’t accept the perceived risk.

WHAT I LEARNT “What my listeners say and why we should take notice” — Jeremy’s new book is out now. £18.99 (hardback) or £9.99 (eBook), pb by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

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ADVENTURE

TO PACK OR NOT TO PACK

PHOTOS: JK

London Cyclist heads out onto the Downs for a bikepacking trip with friends — ­ and suggests a few options for going lightweight on your next adventure

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ADVENTURE

Y

ou’ve probably heard the term, maybe even seen some of the kit, but what exactly is ‘bikepacking’? And how — if at all — does it differ from touring?

Or is it just ‘the next big thing’ dreamt up by marketing teams intent on pushing a new product line?

Truth is it’s not the easiest concept to define.

Even among committed ’packers there’s no firm agreement on what it means, though the same elements seem to crop up in most conversations on the subject. After bike choice (usually the starting point for discussion), the next things you hear are ‘adventure’ and ‘camping’. So at its most basic level it’s really the two-wheeled equivalent of backpacking.

But couldn’t that also apply to cycle-touring?

Well, yes. Until you factor in the next part of the equation — bikepacking often (not always) implies an element of off-roading. Whether it’s on converted railway tracks, long-distance trails or simply exploring the countryside’s network of bridleways and byways, for many it’s more closely aligned with mountain biking and cyclocross. Again the lines are blurred, however.

Roadies have also seen the potential of losing the panniers and, inspired by long-distance racers, many now appreciate they can go faster, further, longer if they shed some weight.

A demonstrative and clearly passionate young man even took us aside at last year’s Bike Show to explain that “if it involves panniers, it’s not bikepacking”. We pointed out that there’s several ultra-light, streamlined titanium racks and rack-top bags that surely fit the bill, but he was having none of it. He’ll almost certainly be having kittens then if he’s seen Trek’s recentlyunveiled 1120 with its proprietary, integrated front and rear racks — one of many dedicated bikepacking bikes to appear on the radar this year alone.

Light is right Meanwhile long-time Audax riders are quietly chuckling to themselves, scratching their heads and asking what all the fuss is about. Oversized saddlebags, multiple waterbottles, taping spares into every nook and cranny, is hardly a novelty to those who’ve been banging out 200-mile overnight rides to the coast and back since steel was the only flavour of frame material available.

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BIKEPACKING SET-UPS: TAKE ONE

So can we just agree that bikepacking as an activity can’t really be considered ‘new’? Rather it’s borrowed from a handful of cycling disciplines, and taken tech ideas from the climbing, kayaking and ski-touring fraternities, to further develop a branch of the sport and inspire more people into the great outdoors. What is new are the dozens of great complementary ranges of superlight bags now available, they’ve certainly caught the imagination — an ideal supplement to the rapidly growing all-road/gravel/adventure bike market.

The big questions then are how do you pack and what should you carry? It depends entirely on the type of trip you’ve got planned, the destination and, to some extent, how minimalist you’re prepared to go. Seasonality has a bearing too. The kit we carry for summer overnighters is often less than half of what we need for multi-day tours or winter bothying. The panels here and overleaf explain some of the basic set-ups we prefer, but let’s see what we can glean from the pros first.

his full RTW kit list on this video (http://tiny.cc/ joshibbett). Here’s a few of the key pointers on what goes where: BAR-BAG — the big bulky stuff. Sleeping bag, bivvy bag, inflatable sleeping mat, silk sleeping bag liner, down gilet, travel towel, spare clothing.

FRAMEBAG — 2-person tent, ipod, toilet roll.

SADDLEPACK — mostly clothing. Waterproof jacket, spare jerseys, shorts, bibs, trousers, socks, gloves, Buff, t-shirts etc, plus main cooking pot.

TOP-TUBE BAG/POUCHES — stove, flint, water filter, repair kits, multi-tool, a few medical supplies.

Pouches usually hold snacks, suncream, toiletries.

PHOTO: Mason Cycles

Packing it in Since winning the 2015 Transcontinental Race Josh Ibbett has become something of an ultra-distance cycling celebrity. And this May, after two years working at Hunt Bike Wheels, Josh set off on a 12-month round-the-world bikepacking trip. He knows a thing or two about what to carry and what to leave at home — for example the all-in weight of his kit for last year’s cross-Europe epic was 12.5kg (27.6lb). Of course that’s Josh’s racing set-up, but you can check out

TOP: when it’s still light at 8pm, you can enjoy the views as you settle in for a night under the stars.

BELOW: Josh Ibbett shows off a typical race set-up — note the large framebag which holds most of his kit.

Cycle instructor Katy’s been grabbing some muddy miles on our Sonder Frontier test bike (see page 55). Designed for bikepacking and touring it can carry every type of bag imaginable, whether strapped to the frame or attached to panniers. For a simple overnighter at one of our favourite spots on the Downs — and having checked the weather forecast (and knowing it was going to be warm if overcast) — here’s how her kit was divided up: n SADDLEPACK — the biggest, most bulky items went in here. One spare inner tube right at the bottom, then two-season sleeping bag, bivvy bag and inflatable sleeping mat. n FRAMEBAG — for once not bursting at the seams! Second spare inner tube, mini-pump, multi-tool, repair kit, battery charger pack and cable, suncream, lightweight waterproof jacket, gloves. n TOP-TUBE BAG —the essentials.

Phone, compact camera, snacks. n RUCKSACK — rather than bar-bag and bottles I carried a 20-litre rucksack, inside which was a three-litre hydration bladder of water, down jacket and fleece, stove, cooking pots, mugs, Thermos of tea and food. And my one luxury — a hipflask. Old waterbottles and ziplock bags are a good way to transport foodstuffs too; less prone to spillage or leaks and a handy back-up on super warm rides (though I use bottlecages on the bike when I know I’m going to be carrying more than 3-litres of water). On shorter rides where I’m sharing more kit with a friend, I’d just about manage without the rucksack.

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ADVENTURE ABOVE: packed properly your camping gear won’t stop you enjoying those fun off-road trails.

RIGHT: what goes where, from front to rear — one rider’s minimalist kit for an 8-day trip in the States.

OTHER — spare inner tubes, pump, bottles either mounted or taped to frame.

Clearly this is just an abbreviated list rather than an item-by-item guide and you should weigh up (pun intended) and experiment with everything you need for your own trips.

Once thing not mentioned is food. For shorter trips we’ve found it’s often easiest to take some pre-prepared or dehydrated food to heat up, but on longer trips you don’t really carry food, you pick up what you need en route.

Josh says: “You should loosely research what you can get in each country. France, for example, can be a nightmare; although they have bakeries, they’re never open when you need them and things just aren’t open at all on Sundays.”

Horses for courses Emily Chappell, 2016 Transcontinental Race winner (see London Cyclist, Autumn 2016) echoes the need to match gear to the specific ride. She

told us: “For the Alaskan winter I carried over 50kg of kit (including two massive sleeping bags, three stoves and a shovel), and as many bags as I could fit on the bike. But for races I’ll have the bare minimum — just a toothbrush, a multi-tool, a lightweight sleeping bag and a phone charger.

I’ve found I really enjoy the simplicity of not having much stuff.”

Emily’s must-have bikepacking accessory is an easily-accessible food pouch. “It makes such a difference,” she says. “Being able to access all my food and drink while riding means I can keep going for much longer between stops.”

Our top tip is to wrap some gaffer tape around

your pump and always carry a selection of zip-ties — they’ve been lifesavers on rips, tears, broken straps and other emergencies on more occasions than we care to remember.

Cycling is never short of fashion or fad, but bikepacking is a welcome addition that looks set to endure. Let’s face it, not long ago we were using dustbin bags to protect our camping gear, lashing it onto handlebars with bungee cords and old toe straps, while also rolling foam sleeping mats around our top-tubes. The latest kit is simpler, lighter, more practical and much less faffy — call it what you like, just get out and have an adventure.

Now did you hear about this ‘dogpacking’ lark...

BIKEPACKING SET-UPS: TAKE TWO Also joining us on the Downs was bike mechanic Ace aboard his Calibre Dark Peak — a drop-barred adventure bike from retailer GoOutdoors. The Dark Peak is built around an aluminium frame, with carbon-bladed fork, disc brakes and clearance for 40mm tyres. Plus it has plenty of mounting options for racks, mudguards and bottles. Here’s how his kit is divided up for regular overnighters: n BAR-BAG — I’m not a fan of bivvy bags and generally prefer tents, but knowing the location I opted for my hammock. It’s rolled up with my lightweight sleeping bag and all the

webbing straps/cords I need to hang securely. n FRAMEBAG — assorted bike spares, inner tube, multi-tool, repair kit, gloves and phone. n RACK-TOP PACK — rather than a seatpack I’ve gone for a light rack and rack-top bag.

Loads of room for my spare clothing, stove, pans, mug, cutlery and food. It’s also got these handy zip-away pockets (like mini panniers) — I often carry food in them to a camp spot, then they can be folded away when all the grub’s gone. n HYDRATION PACK (not pictured) — I carried water in a small 5-litre pack for this trip, but can fit three bottles on the bike if needed.

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CAMPAIGN

One map to rule them all TfL’s new maps could change the way we campaign for cycling infrastructure. Simon Munk scrutinises the ‘Strategic Cycling Analysis’

T

he Strategic Cycling Analysis is a collection of new data maps from TfL. Released at the tail-end of June, with relatively little fanfare from TfL and the Walking & Cycling Commissioner, these maps could represent a complete game-changer for those campaigning for more and better cycling infrastructure in London.

The maps combine a series of datasets to predict where the highest potential for future growth in cycling (and walking) in London could occur. This means the conversation now

shifts significantly for borough groups and boroughs. Boroughs who’ve lagged on providing for cycling, or providing quality, can no longer hide behind excuses that ‘no-one’ cycles on their turf. The maps show where they stand to gain the most cyclists if they build high-quality routes and treatments.

Seeing into the future The Strategic Cycling Analysis starts with a map showing all current and planned (until 2022) TfL cycling infrastructure in London — Cycle Superhighways and Quietways. On top of this is

layered ‘Cynemon’, TfL’s Cycle Network Model for London — that uses census data, Santander Cycle Hire data, surveys, and TfL cycle counts — to work out current routes, but also potential growth of future routes.

TfL has worked out where potential future demand is based on its London Travel Demand Survey data — the modelling here takes trips done currently by ‘mechanised modes’ and spots which ones could be easily cycled. These trips are predominantly short, averaging 3.15km, and there are around 8 million done a day. One third of these trips start or finish on main roads.

On top of all the data already swirling around in the model, TfL then threw in areas planned for growth in residential housing or employment and areas where Londoners have a higher propensity to cycle, or begin cycling. And slightly different criteria were applied to ensure outer London

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CAMPAIGN

EXISTING AND PLANNED CYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE WITH CURRENT AND POTENTIAL CYCLE DEMAND

AREA-WIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND CONNECTIONS

wasn’t strongly disadvantaged. Combining the current and planned network with a map of potentially high-flow ‘corridors’ let TfL spot the gaps in the network.

MAPS: TfL PHOTO: Balint Hamvas

More data, more problems The resulting map is of straight line corridors between points that forms the basis of a real network in London. But the analysis didn’t finish there. On top of identifying an entire network of potentially high-flow corridors across London, the analysis also adds on top several other layers.

Additional layers include: n Areas with high potential for walking as well as cycling and, separately, areas that combine growth, highest cycle demand and permeability — these, it wouldn’t be a huge guess to make, signpost where each borough’s ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ is likely to be sited, if TfL gets its way.

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CAMPAIGN

LEFT AND BELOW: the new TfL datasets show where the most cyclists can be gained — but it will be for boroughs to decide whether routes are planned via quieter backstreets or along busier roads.

n High collision spots, so new cycling schemes can also be used to reduce collisions and improve road safety. n High bus frequencies to see where cycling and bus lanes may end up competing for space. n High demand or potential demand for cycling at transport hubs. n Identification of areas with low access to public transport, but where good cycling facilities would improve that access.

Top 25 trumps All of this data builds to a crescendo with the last map in the Strategic Cycling Analysis. This shows the 25 corridors with the highest potential cycle flows, that don’t currently exist yet. We understand TfL engineers are already assessing the feasibility of all 25, and working with boroughs to see where these corridors are best served, or most achievable, by side-street Quietways or main road tracks.

Notably, the 25 routes are still primarily radial — commuters heading into central London. And there are very visibly several boroughs that are not even close to getting a route through — particularly in the south-east of London.

That said, looking beyond the 25, if you combine them, with the high and medium potential corridors, and the current planned network of routes, what you see is the beginning of a true cycling network in London.

The use of data also means TfL can and should be far more prescriptive about funding, and LCC borough groups can and should have a far simpler, clearer campaigning route for infrastructure.

Borough groups just need to say to their officers and councillors: “What are you proposing to do about that corridor?” or “We think your proposals won’t fulfil the potential identified on that corridor, but they can be improved by doing X, Y and Z.” n http://content.tfl.gov.uk/strategic-cycling-analysis.pdf

TOP 25 POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

GAPS IN THE DATA All models contain shortcuts, assumptions and caveats. Here are the important ones we’ve spotted so far: n Perhaps most worryingly, the current system assumes that if a high potential flow is near a current or planned route, the potential is fulfilled by that route. Of course, that means CS7 or CS1 are assumed to be working at full capacity, rather than remaining a barrier to further potential cycling. n The network is also specifically based on ‘corridors’ joining key points with straight lines. It will be for TfL and the boroughs to determine how to fulfil the potential each line represents — this could be a Cycle Superhighway, or a nearby Quietway. Of course, it’s likely many boroughs will put forward claims that they will fulfil cycling potential, but won’t do anything of the sort. n The Cynemon strategic model is based on commuting flows — so in predicting flows from this, it misses the kind of journeys that don’t happen much in London currently, like kids riding to school with their parents, for instance. This will, long-term, have to be rectified, with a finer-grain model of streets and a broader range of cycling journeys captured. n The entire system cannot predict flows on routes that don’t currently exist — for instance, new river crossings.

PHOTO: BC

n The system isn’t multi-modal. It can’t understand people who ride to the station, get on a train and then ride at the other end. These account for 1.2 million more cycleable journeys a day, according to TfL.

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HISTORY

BRITAIN’S

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HISTORY

Author Carlton Reid made an amazing discovery while researching a new book — London was building quality cycle tracks way back in the 1930s

I

You may have cycled on some of 3them recently, without knowing they dated from the 1930s. The greatest number of these bike lanes were placed on the new-build radial roads leading out of London and constructed apace in the 1930s.

They were built to a regulation width of 9ft on both sides of the road and delineated with kerbs.

Some of these period paths have since been swallowed by today’s Cycle Superhighways: parts of CS3, for instance, are far older than they look.

Hidden in plain sight A few of these cycleways are wholly or partially buried. Others are hidden in plain sight, not listed by officialdom as cycleways. Many are treated as private roads for motorists, used as linear car parks when, in fact, they were originally meant as dedicated routes for people on bikes.

One of the reasons these tracks were commandeered by motorists was lack of use by cyclists. Despite the provision of Dutch-style cycleways in the 1930s, cycling in the UK would soon go into decline, with a precipitous drop from 25% of daily journeys being cycled in 1949 to the more familiar 2% we’re now used to.

To aid cycling’s steady rise back to being a

PHOTOS: Carlton Reid

n September 2012 the Google Street View car was driven slowly along a road in Twickenham.

It had to reverse when the driver found three wooden bollards blocking its way. The road was not a road at all, it was a cycleway. A cycleway built in — wait for it — 1937.

Originally surfaced with red concrete, the track has faded to light pink, but the granite kerbs are still in place and, fooling the Street View navigation algorithms, it looks like a narrow road instead of the normal kind of ‘crap cycle lane’ we are so unhappily used to in the UK. The wide, protected cycleway beside the four-lane Chertsey Road is no freak. It’s one of more than 90 similar ones I uncovered while researching the 1930s chapter for Bike Boom, my cycle-activism history book. Between 1934 and 1940, Britain’s Ministry of Transport would only give fat grants to road-building schemes if they included wide, protected cycle paths on each side of the road. The MoT was aided in its cyclefriendliness by plans and guidance supplied by the Rijkwaterstaat, the ministry’s Dutch equivalent.

Five hundred miles of such cycleways were planned; I’ve discovered that more than 300 miles of them were built.

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HISTORY

CASE STUDY: CHERTSEY ROAD

LEFT: back in the early 90s rigid steel bikes with narrow Down on the Chertsey in these tyres, flat bars andA316 canti brakes wereRoad the norm; Hounslow, a 15-minute ride from days you’ll see everything fromcycle drop-barred cyclocross where now live, of what bikes to XCI racers andthere’s even thethe oddrump downhill rig. was alongtime three-quarter-mile section(and of road ABOVE: Beastway organiser former LCC with 1930s-era cycle tracks sides. chair) John Mullineaux briefs riderson atboth the start line.

The tracks that remain are still marked as such, but they’re nevertheless ‘lost’ in terms of their role in a coherent cycling network.

The western section of the link is now just a shared path. Yet there’s definitely scope for improving the quality of the western section (where walking volumes will always be very low); scope for improving the crossing facilities at the A312 and east-end junctions; and, crucially, scope for creating really decent cycle paths on the A316 further east, connecting with other sections of track on the way in to London.

There may never be much demand for cycling all the way from here into the centre of the capital, but there could, without excessive effort or expense, be a high-quality cycling link along the A316 between Feltham and Twickenham, and then on to Richmond, Chiswick, and finally on to the busy Hammersmith area.

Improving what was built in the 1930s to form a high-quality cycle route linking important suburbs around two miles apart, and tying in with the local cycle network either side? It’s not at all beyond the bounds of possibility. John Dales

majority form of transport it would be useful to resurrect the long-forgotten 1930s cycleways, and this is what I have been doing, in partnership with London-based urban planner John Dales, CEO of Urban Movement, a transport consultancy.

When I first told John of my discoveries he immediately saw the potential of these neglected bike lanes. They are highly relevant today because some of the space for cycling that many planners and politicians say isn’t there is there, he remarked.

We felt that at least some of these routes could be brought back to life. In order to get the word out, and raise some initial research funds, we created a Kickstarter campaign. Back in May, ‘Let’s rescue Britain’s forgotten 1930s protected cycleways’ eventually raised £24,970 from 982 backers. (£24,970 sounds a lot but when you consider that remodelling one simple junction can sometimes cost £1m or more it’s just a drop in the ocean.)

I’ve now started in-depth research into these historical routes, and John will use this research to inform his recommendations on which old tracks would be the easiest and quickest to improve and mesh into today’s networks. With

TOP: look carefully at this 1950s Ordnance Survey map of Twickenham and you’ll spot the two-way cycle tracks.

ABOVE LEFT: St Helier cycle tracks in Morden.

ABOVE RIGHT: John Dales, CEO of Urban Movement.

the (hoped for) success of these pilot projects we will then be better able to gain the institutional funding that will be required for improving the other period cycleways.

Pre-dating ‘Go Dutch’ Naturally, we’d like some help from Transport for London and we’re especially keen to attract interest from today’s Department for Transport.

Helpfully, the DfT now has quite the heartwarming backstory: 78 years before LCC started its Love London, Do Dutch campaign, the Ministry of Transport was actually doing it. And doing it surprisingly well, and at a national level, and it has to be said, in opposition to the cycling organisations of the day, who were bitterly opposed to cycleways (which were known as ‘cycle tracks’ at the time). Despite opposition from

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HISTORY ABOVE: old Ordnance Survey map of Southend Arterial Road overlaid on current Google Maps.

ABOVE: wide verges hide paths next to A1114 in Essex.

RIGHT: Lostock Road, Manchester in 1936.

FAR RIGHT: Building cycle tracks in the 1930s.

the likes of the Cyclists’ Touring Club, the Ministry of Transport pushed ahead with its ambitious cycleway programme. It was the war against Hitler that stopped the programme from expanding.

Some of the cycleways built between 1934 and 1940 were longer than today’s Cycle Superhighways. For instance, postwar Ordnance Survey maps show that the 22-mile Southend Arterial Road from Gallows Corner in Romford to Southend once had cycleways along its full length, and these linked to others in the area.

Old archives and new tech I originally found these disused routes by digging — not in the ground, but in dusty archives, including poring over Ministry of Transport minutes held in the National Archives in Kew. And

once I found a period source telling me a cycleway scheme once existed I used the spin-off from an American military mapping project to take a look at the location.

Google Street View is an off-shoot from Google Earth, the descendant of EarthViewer, a CIA-funded project that was used by the US military in war zones from the late 1990s onwards. Google acquired EarthViewer in 2004 and rebranded it as Google Earth in 2005.

Archaeologists often use Google Earth — and other open-access satellite-imagery services — to find hidden hillforts and even buried treasure, but this is the first time the satellite and street-level imagery had been used to discover 1930s-era cycleways.

Because our project married history with modern technology it was picked up by the mainstream media too — we gained some diverse coverage, from American urban planning websites through to You and Yours on BBC Radio 4. A news story on the BBC news website even trended for a day, generating even more coverage worldwide.

Pleasingly, this coverage led to more potential

1930s cycleway locations being sent to us, and more importantly it also opened doors with the powers-that-be.

That Britain once had a putative network of Dutch-style cycleways is now better known. We could and should use these period cycleways to help improve today’s provision for cyclists.

BIKE BOOM Carlton Reid’s new book Bike Boom is published by Island Press and available from Amazon, £22.99 (paperback) or £21 (Kindle edition). Bike Boom tells the stories of the major battles over bikes in Europe and the United States from the 1930s through the 1970s; heroes fighting for safe places for bikes, up against the Goliath of mass motorisation. “A beautifully fluid account,” says Chris Boardman.

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CAMPAIGN

LORRY SAFETY PROJECT The LCC team looks at the latest developments in safer lorry design and driver training

L

orries pose the most serious danger to cyclists and pedestrians on London’s roads. LCC’s Lorry Safety Project aims to reduce that road danger by promoting driver training, safer vehicle designs, increased adoption of operator standards and better information on lorries for people who cycle in London. We have secured support for messaging cycle users from Dennis-Eagle, a leading manufacturer of heavy goods vehicles with good direct vision.

industry is the poor direct vision from vehicles with high cabs — all new HGVs must now have six mirrors to enable the driver to see into the blindspots created by having a very high driving position. However, it takes drivers six seconds to check all mirrors, during which time a collision could occur. Refuse vehicles first introduced the concept of a low-entry cab with wide direct vision — and these are the type of vehicle which TfL has identified as meriting 5 stars (the highest grade) in its newly established ‘Direct Vision Standard’.

Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to ban zero-rated vehicles from London as of 2020 and extend that to vehicles rated below three stars from 2024. The refuse industry switched to what are effectively 5-star vehicles over the past ten years and similar designs are now available for other sectors. LCC wants 5 stars to become the London norm.

Safer vehicle designs A key safety challenge cited by the construction

Rider information The Exchanging Places programme puts

Lorry Safety Project website As part of the project we are creating website pages that provide a range of information for riders, drivers and vehicle operators including links to key videos. Go to lcc.org.uk/lorrysafety.

DENNIS-EAGLE URBAN SAFETY VEHICLES Dennis-Eagle pioneered the low-entry, high ‘direct vision’ refuse vehicle: the Elite.

Several thousand Elites are in regular use in the UK. The company’s new Urban Safety Vehicles extend that technology to the construction sector with an 8-wheel, 4-axle tipper and an HGV with refrigeration unit.

The latter is also innovative in using the Mobileye collision-avoidance system.

PHOTO: Dennis-Eagle

Driver training TfL reports that more than 25,000 London-based drivers have now completed the Safer Urban Driving (SUD) module which includes half-a-day on a bicycle. The on-bike training shows drivers exactly what a rider experiences in urban traffic and explains a rider’s strategy. For example, instructors explain that cyclists riding ‘centre lane’ past parked cars are reducing the chance of a collision with an opening door which could throw them into the path of an HGV. LCC is lobbying for SUD to become an obligatory part of every HGV driver’s professional training.

Making every borough a CLOCS champion First there was the FORS (Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme) safety standard for all HGVs and then came the industry-led CLOCS (Construction Logistics and Community Safety) standard aimed at the construction sector. As described in the spring issue of London Cyclist, CLOCS membership ensures developers and their contractors minimise work-related road risk to pedestrians and cyclists.

LCC wants all boroughs (not just Camden and City of London) to sign up to CLOCS to make all sites in London adopt safer standards. We will be writing to local authorities and encouraging members to support CLOCS in their borough.

pedestrians and cyclists into a high-cab lorry to show them the blindspots in the vehicle, especially those in front of and on the left frontside of the vehicle (where many cyclist collisions occur). If you haven’t tried Exchanging Places we encourage you to do so.

Lorry Safety Project information cards (which will be widely distributed) provide an illustrated explanation of the danger zones around a lorry and also highlight the counter-intuitive lorry movement: when a large lorry turns left, it first moves to the right and in some cases it will occupy the outer lane at a junction. That creation of space on the inside can mislead a cyclist to assume the vehicle is going straight or turning right and lead them into a danger zone.

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SPORT

WHERE TO TRY

MOUNTAIN

PHOTOS: Balint Hamvas, John Kitchiner

BIKING If you know where to go, there are places even inside the M25 to try out mtb’ing as Simon Munk discovers

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SPORT

L

et’s get the obvious issue out of the way immediately: you are correct, there are no mountains in London.

Inside the M25 it’s frankly hard to find something that would qualify as a proper hill. Yet while some folks may scoff at the very idea of Southerners actually going ‘mountain biking’, truth is they’d be missing out.

One of the early names for the sport — ‘all terrain biking’ (a tag that never stuck back in the 1980s when the sport was in its infancy) — is perhaps a more apposite tag for the type of off-roading enjoyed by many of us in the South-East. With its mix of forestry centres, rolling downland, MoD land and medley of both man-made and natural trails, there’s no shortage of challenging, if not ‘technical’, mountain biking to be had in and around the capital.

It’s never going to compete with the topographical interest thrown up in the Peak District, Lakes or South Wales, but it compensates for that with the sheer number and variety of riding spots at every compass point from Trafalgar Square. And the post-ride facilities are hard to match anywhere!

So if you fancy trying some mtb fun near to London, whether you’re a complete novice or weekend warrior, here’s a guide to our favourite spots. The other bonus? You can ride them all year round...

Inside the M25

EPPING FOREST This forest is nearly entirely within the M25, so easily accessible by train, tube or bike. Once there, pretty much the whole forest is free to roam. As well as broad gravelled bridleways there’s a dense network of singletrack through the trees. Just mind you don’t stray onto the Iron Age hillforts or out-of-bounds nature habitats (they’re clearly signed). Even with those few restrictions, and even though it’s criss-crossed by roads, the forest is huge and it’s easy to get lost in, even for folks who’ve been riding there for decades.

Bike hire is available from Go Further Cycling in Chingford, and several local clubs organise regular rides. There are also pubs, tea huts and cafes dotted around. Despite the highest peak in the forest being under 100m, there’s a real mix of tracks, including some ‘technical’ runs. Use Strava or hook up with a local group to more easily find the good stuff.

Be warned though — London clay means you need winter tyres, waterproof clobber and a sense of humour for the frequent muddy falls if you want to ride from about November to March.

OLYMPIC PARK Tucked away behind the award-winning Olympic Velodrome at Lee Valley VeloPark, there’s easy-graded blue, red and black trails ­— plus skill sessions and hire bikes can be booked at the front desk. If you have your own bike it’s a ‘pay to ride’ set-up (£5 weekends, £4 weekdays). The trails are short and sweet, and drain better in winter than other mtb venues. Expect bermed corners and humps to swoop over on the blue trails (ideal for kids and learners), step-downs and rock gardens on the red trail, while the black sections throw in steeper, trickier obstacles. There’s also loads of cafes, playgrounds and other attractions nearby so you can enjoy a full day out. n visitleevalley.org.uk

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GETTING STARTED: MOUNTAIN BIKING Mountain biking (or mtb’ing) is a very different way of riding a bike from road racing, commuting or just pootling about. And it requires different kit and skills:

REDBRIDGE CYCLING CENTRE East London seems more blessed than elsewhere in Greater London for mountain biking — and this short mountain bike trail and ‘pump track’ section, better known as Hog Hill, is currently home to a London mountain biking institution, the Beastway Mtb series. These Wednesday night summer races used to take place at the Eastway circuit (where the Olympic Park now stands) before finding its current home after London 2012. Hire bikes are available at the centre all week, and coaching/ group training can be booked. Hainault Forest next door is also worth a quick ride too. n redbridgecyclingcentre.co.uk

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n KIT — always wear a helmet, the chance of clipping your noggin is much higher off-road.

Consider knee and elbow pads if you need a little extra confidence. A hydration pack is also useful; as well as carrying tool/spares, water is carried in a plastic reservoir rather than in bottles attached to your frame, meaning the bike remains more manoeuvrable (bottles can also fly off). n SKILLS — much more important than bike or kit choice are skills. The best way to get started is with proper coaching (check British Cycling’s website for nearest sessions). There’s really no substitute for getting out and practising though, whether it’s challenging yourself to tackle different obstacles from easy gravel tracks and little tree roots, to rolling off large kerbs and learning to ‘bunny hop’. Here’s five simple pointers that are key to mtb skill development and second-nature to many cyclists already: 1) Look ahead ­— focus on the trail ahead, not your front wheel. Stare too fixedly at one obstacle and you’re bound to end up hitting it.

2) Stay loose — a relaxed rider is a more in control, less fatigued rider. Tense up and you’ll tire quicker as well as lose control.

3) Don’t panic — even a little root/log can seem intimidating to start with, so start on small obstacles and work your way up. There’s no problem with walking around an obstacle either, we all do it.

4) Learn to love mud — it’s inevitable on off-road rides in the UK. Go prepared and embrace it!

5) Pace yourself — riding mixed terrain and conditions is more tiring than regular road riding so don’t overdo it too early. n FALLS — you will fall off at some point. It’s part of the learning curve. Don’t let it put you off, just get back in the saddle and give it another go.

PHOTOS: Andy Waterman, Richmond Park

RICHMOND PARK While hundreds of roadies pound the park’s blacktop every weekend, respite can be found just inside the boundary walls in the shape of the 12km Tamsin Trail. It’s a hardpacked, manmade loop with no real ‘obstacles’, so suitable for families and novices alike. Accessible from all the park gates, it makes a great addition to a ride along the nearby Thames Path. n richmondparklondon.co.uk

n BIKE – you don’t need to start on a high-end full suspension bike, you don’t even need front suspension. A rigid bike with grippy, high volume tyres is more than enough for a taster session.

Luckily most trail centres hire bikes cheaply by the day or half-day. Look for disc brakes for grip in dry/wet/mixed conditions and a wide-range cassette for climbing steep hills.

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SPORT

Just outside the M25

HADLEIGH PARK A very short train hop takes you to the home of the London 2012 mountain bike events. Open 8am to 5pm daily, you can follow the pro course with its rocky hazards, or opt for easier green, blue or red circuits. There’s also a 1.3km all-ability trail for those with physical disabilities. Skills area, bike hire, shop and great cafe all on-site. n hadleigh-park.co.uk

CHILTERNS These big hills stretch in a ring to the north and west of London and include some classic cross-country (XC) riding, as well as plenty of good pubs with grub. On the north-west edge, there’s the purpose-built Aston Hill bike park for downhill jumps and drops (it does have an XC circuit too), while the rest of the Chilterns are ideal for big all-day classic off-road outings. More about miles than tight technical action. n astonhillbikepark.co.uk

BEDGEBURY FOREST One of several dozen excellent Forestry Commission trail centres around the UK, Bedgebury has 13km of red singletrack trail in the High Weald, Kent, plus easier beginner loops. Bike hire and skills coaching, Go Ape and a café too. n forestry.gov.uk/bedgebury

SWINLEY FOREST Bike hire, café, Go Ape aerial adventures, playground and skills training are all available at Swinley. The blue trail offers 10km of undulating berms and swooping descents, tough enough to offer a challenge for beginners. Midway round you get the option to join the red trail, adding another 13km which includes an optional short black run. Here the action includes wonderful swoopy, jumpy lines as well as tight, twisty wodden sections. n swinleybikehub.com

WOBURN/ASPLEY WOODS You need to buy a permit (available online) to ride at Aspley Woods, where you’ll find circular trails from 5km to 11km long, or simply mix and match dozens of shorter sections. The Longslade red-graded loop is well worth trying.

Overall there’s a good combination of easier cross-country riding and more challenging downhills. Few facilities though.

For extended days, combine with a visit to Rushmere Country Park (near Leighton Buzzard), where there’s family cycle trails, a sculpture trail, and even a heronry. n woburnbiketrails.co.uk

PHOTOS: WhyteBikes, mbr, southeastbike, reservoirchicks

NORTH DOWNS The jewel in the crown of London mtb’ing, the North Downs and Surrey Hills are legendary for steep ups and downs, and both loads of trails and riders. Peaslake and the hills around it are where it’s at — Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill form a close group of serious trails. Only Summer Lightning on Leith is signposted, the rest are semi-official; Strava is a good way to spot where trails are, or follow someone who knows where they’re going. Be warned though, some trails are very difficult, so it’s worth controlling your speed on your first run, rather than trying to keep up with the locals. Several nearby bike shops offer cycle hire and skills sessions.

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TRAVEL PHOTOS: Richard Evans

Around the world in 180 days

Former Merton LCC group co-ordinator Richard Evans has penned a book about his 2014 round-the-world adventure.

We pick up the story somewhere in Western Russia…

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TRAVEL FRIDAY 18 APRIL I was up and away by 6.30am — another cold start and the road surface much worse than the previous day. Sore Achilles tendons had been bugging me for a week now, since Germany, and the headwind had strengthened. Traffic had thickened in both directions and international juggernauts were passing far too close for comfort.

The verges were littered with shrines to the roadkill on this battlefield of a highway.

Then came the first serious canine attack: a hefty mongrel managed to sink its teeth into my left pannier and almost dragged the bike down and me with it, but somehow we kept steady and I drew the dog stick, waving it about and shouting like a lunatic. I think that did the trick and luckily I didn't need to inflict a direct hit.

The road rolled on over long climbs and descents, there was less wifi available at the café stops, and more dreadful overtaking and canine incidents followed. At one point I was fending off juggernauts to the left of me, dogs to the right, there I was stuck in the middle with the potholes, to paraphrase the famous Stealers Wheel song.

Today was the first properly hard day of the trip and by 9pm I’d had enough. Arriving shattered in the town of Orel — 360km south-southwest of Moscow — I decided I’d earned myself a night in a hotel. I came up trumps with the first place I tried.

The proprietor and his wife helped me upstairs with my bike and bags to the room, and a short while later brought up a huge dinner tray of various grilled meats, chips, soup, bread and beer — I must have looked too whacked even to make it back down to the dining room, or perhaps they were fearful I’d scare off the other guests. Deep sleep followed soon after.

TUESDAY 22 APRIL In Borisoglebst I pulled up outside a hotel because I rather fancied a night out of the cold, and went up the steps towards the main entrance. The door was blocked by workmen painting and decorating the lobby, so following their gesticulations I went round to the back entrance, where I left the bike and was finally directed down a corridor towards the lobby. I picked my way between assorted tools and across dustsheets to the front desk, which was staffed by a formidable-looking woman who demanded my passport.

She scrutinised it page by page for a good long while, then mumbled something and passed it to a colleague. She also examined it and then disappeared into a back office and took photocopies before striding back out and handing it back to the first lady who was evidently in charge of this situation. She barked some questions at me, which of course I had no

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TRAVEL

TOP: a fantastic welcome from the cyclists of Kursk.

ABOVE: bloody camels, pay no road tax…

RIGHT: later in the trip on the Eyre Highway in South Australia (note mandatory helmet usage).

hope of comprehending. By this time a few other people were waiting to check in and one stepped forward to interpret for me.

Apparently my papers were not in order, he explained — there was a date error on my Belarus entry card, which I had assumed, when it was given to me back on 13 April, was just for Belarus. So I had entered my expected exit date as 18 April, allowing ample time to get across 600km of Belarus. Now I gleaned from formidable hotel woman, via the interpreter, that this card was for my passage across the entire Russian federation — Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, some 5,000km — and should therefore have been valid right through to 20 May, like my Kazakh visa.

Once again I was facing visa trouble, but not this time in the comfort of my home with alternative route possibilities to be explored at the click of a mouse. Now I was in the middle of Russia and facing a hostile hotelier. It was an anxious moment as she deliberated, having gathered the facts. Was she going to call the police? Perhaps I’d get free accommodation in a Gulag.

Eventually after much tongue clicking, further mutterings with colleagues and extended exchanges with other guests in the queue, who appeared by this stage to be quite enjoying the spectacle, I was handed my passport and a room key, and led up to a room

on the first floor… which was already occupied.

Despite the paucity of my Russian vocabulary, I managed to convey an air of surprise to the porter, who explained that the hotel was fully booked so guests were expected to share rooms with complete strangers. I was lost for words and not for the first time regretted that I’d not stayed outside and found a nice bus shelter. My room-mate was a seemingly polite and kind young man who did not seem at all perturbed or surprised at the situation, and tried to make me feel welcome, offering some biscuits.

I was still reeling with the shock of these unexpected circumstances when a maid appeared at the door and said that another room had now become available. I began collecting up my bags and toothbrush, but the maid made it clear that it would be the other guest moving out, not me. Happy to comply, he spent five minutes vacating the room while I sat openmouthed and speechless, thinking that I had perhaps landed a walk-on part in the Russian version of Fawlty Towers.

Without further ado I showered, shaved, washed some kit, and went downstairs for dinner — quite a good dinner as it turned out, but rather spoilt by pop music blasted out at disco volume into the almost empty dining room. Appeals to turn it down were met with blank stares (and no doubt deaf ears). Then the wifi stopped working.

I finally hit the sack at midnight. To my great surprise, the bed did not collapse.

THURSDAY 24 APRIL Today was planned to be easy. I’d booked a 'warm showers' host (warmshowers.org) in Engels just 120km down the road, a short half-day ride so I could arrive in good time and shape to engage in the polite conversation a host might reasonably expect — and with a bit of luck get some dinner too. But that plan was scuppered by the weather, which had turned from clement to vile overnight.

I woke at 5am to a freezing strong north wind and horizontal icy rain, pretty much the most hateful conditions imaginable for cycling. The road surface was equally appalling — all in all a horrible way to start the day. Some Russians had told me their roads are the worst in the world and I was beginning to believe it — this was even worse than Putney Bridge for goodness sake.

It took 90 minutes battling across a lunar-like landscape against lashing sleet to ride 18km to a basic service station where I shivered so much I could barely drink my coffee. A café on the other side of the road was not yet open. I couldn’t face going any further without a good hot meal inside me, so I waited.

Shortly after 8am the café opened and I got a decent breakfast of eggs, bread and more coffee.

Conditions were still horrid after I’d polished off

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TRAVEL

ABOVE: sharing the road with Kazakhstan's cowboys.

TOP RIGHT: crossing one of several huge deserts.

CENTRE: sheltering from the sun in a concrete tunnel.

FAR RIGHT: cheery Kazakh road maintenance crew.

FROM A TO Z: TRIP STATISTICS n 22,554km pedalled n 4 continents traversed n 18 countries visited n 1,320 hours ridden at an average speed of 17.3 km/h n4 ,310 hours, including stops n 116,269m climbed (13 x Mount Everest) n 6,000,000 pedal revolutions n 1,000,000 calories consumed n6 8 nights in the bivvy bag n 59 hotel/motel nights n1 8 nights with family n 17 warmshowers.org hosts n 11 nights with friends n 3 nights in sheds n 2 nights on ferries n 0 days ill n 650,000 more road deaths globally during the period of the trip

the plate so I ordered the same again. I think I might have stayed all day consuming eggs, bread and coffee if the rain hadn’t stopped, but happily after the second plateful conditions were drier if not balmy.

The fierce, gusty, cold north wind continued to blow all day, a crosswind producing highly challenging conditions for cycling and literally blowing me off the road several times. There was also violent buffeting by trucks to deal with. Each time one passed, the wind was momentarily cut and I would wobble towards the truck, because I had been banked over that way against the wind.

Just as I was correcting the wobble, the truck would be gone and the full force of the gale would slam into me again, blowing me the other way into the verge. Progress was down to 11.5km/h and utterly exhausting. Occasional relief was provided by avenues of trees which moderated the wind, but I was reduced to walking on the more exposed treeless stretches. The road surface looked as if it had been cluster-bombed and I was wearing pretty much every shred and layer of clothing I possessed, hooded up and looking like a polar explorer. Frankly, I rather felt like that too, as if I was at some wild frontier of civilisation, certainly compared with civilisation as I knew it.

I finally arrived in the city of Saratov, then crossed a long bridge over the River Volga into Engels at around 6pm — it had taken me 13 hours to ride less than 120km. My warmshowers host, Maxim, met me by the bridge and led me the final 10km to his house on the edge of town, a great,

sprawling, comfortable family home. I was given a warm family welcome from his sister, father and grandmother, who had produced a rather excellent chicken stew.

Beers were cracked open and suddenly everything was perfect, almost overwhelmingly so. My contrasting fortunes in such a short space of time once again reduced me to a delicate emotional state. All day I’d battled hostile elements, then the warmshowers magic happened and I was cosseted in the bosom of a friendly group sipping beer and exchanging tales about the joys of cycle travel — surreal and very moving. Warmshowers is truly the most amazing international community of hospitable people who like riding their bikes.

SATURDAY 26 APRIL Into Kazakhstan. I rode 40km from the border through a bleak treeless landscape to the first village, Taskala. Wild horses roamed, night was falling and it was cold, barely above freezing.

Under the clear starry sky it was only going to get colder, so I really didn’t fancy camping out, but the nearest hotel was over 80km away in Uralsk, and as far as I knew there was no accommodation for travellers in this tiny border village.

I approached the first people I saw, the money changers in their portacabin, to ask if there was a hotel in the village. As I had expected the answer was no, but would I care to join them in their warm cabin, share their dinner, and sleep on the floor in the corner? I could have kissed them both; the legendary Kazakh hospitality I’d read about

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TRAVEL RIGHT: setting off at dawn from a night stop in a Russian bus shelter.

BELOW: beside the Fraser River in the Cascade Mountains, western Canada CENTRE: curious Kazakh kids wanted signed Laid Back business cards!

FAR RIGHT: the 100km Kazakh breakfast — broth, dumplings, mutton, bread, onions and coffee.

was kicking in early! I spent an enjoyable evening with Marat and Marat, who generously shared the hearty meat stew and bread which their wives had prepared for them. We swapped tales about our families and home lives as best we could via Google Translate. They were fascinated by my blog and tweets – despite their remote location they were fully hooked up onto the internet.

Once again I hit the sack with my head reeling; every day was bringing new and unpredictable adventures. What would the following days bring?

I was rather hoping that things might settle down into some kind of steady routine, but as I drifted into sleep here at the western edge of the eighth largest country on earth, a country comprised mostly of desert, I somehow doubted it.

THURSDAY 1 MAY By 4.30pm I’d covered the 100km to Qandyaghash, where I stopped in the only café for soup and a delicious beef stew. Other customers bought me drinks and the café ladies sent me on my way with a parting gift of cakes. The road was smooth for another easy 40km at good speed, then suddenly the surface disappeared and I was reduced to 10km/h on a stony track for the next 13km. I stopped to don my night gear at dusk — a few more layers and some hi-vis — and a van pulled up beside me. Three men emerged and surrounded me, taking an intense interest in the bike and firing

fast questions which I didn’t understand. I showed them the magic letter, which they read slowly while I anxiously pondered their intentions. After all, it was almost dark, there was no one else about, and I was in the middle of the desert. After what seemed an age they offered me water and cakes and asked if I needed a lift anywhere. Phew!

I accepted the sustenance and declined the lift as graciously as possible and they drove off, leaving me to potter on a little further before chucking in the towel at 10pm because the road was too bad to ride safely in the dark. I retired some 20m from the road to make camp in the lee of a small dune under a star-studded sky in total silence, a sublime moment.

SATURDAY 3 MAY Wild horses and camels were by now my more frequent companions of the road than cars and lorries, and an occasional train passed in the distance on a line which the map showed to be going to Shalqar and then on to Aralsk. A few kilometres further on the railway converged towards and then crossed the road at a manned level crossing. I stopped for a few minutes to greet the operator, Numba, who welcomed me into his hut and shared a pot of tea with me.

Mid-morning I arrived at a river where a few crumbling pillars testified to the previous existence of a bridge. Vehicle tracks were visible in

the dirt down to the water’s edge, indicating that drivers simply forded across, but I hadn’t seen a vehicle for hours, so waiting to hitch a lift across seemed a tad over-optimistic.

The prospect of fording with my bike wasn’t appealing either; the riverbed was stony and I couldn’t be sure of its depth. Safest I thought would be to go for a trial paddle empty-handed in my bike sandals to the other side, pick out the best route, then come back first for the bags, then the bike. It turned out to be fairly shallow and not too fast-flowing. So that’s how it was done, in three stages, and another half-hour lost.

BUY THE BOOK Laid Back Around the World in 180 Days is available for £6.95 via Amazon. All proceeds go to RoadPeace, the National Charity for Road Crash Victims, campaigning for improved investigations, effective inquests, appropriate prosecution and sentencing, fair compensation, rights for victims, safer streets, reducing road danger, and tackling bad driving.

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BIKES

LONGTERM

TEST BIKES

U

lc

Autumn update on our rolling test fleet

ROAD/ADVENTURE SPECIALIZED Diverge Expert

PHOTOS: JK, Simon Russell

As predicted in the last edition, after a dry spring when the stock tyres more than held their own on a variety of terrain, our mixed summer’s given us the chance to swap rubbers — not only to better cope with changeable conditions, but also as we’ve been mixing in a few off-road bikepacking trips.

Initially we ran Spesh’s own tubeless-ready Tracers, before switching to Schwalbe’s X-Ones — both come in 33c width but the latter’s marginally taller knobbles have had the edge in the gloopiest outings we faced in late July.

Going tubeless has allowed us to play with lower pressures without fear of pinch flats, a real bonus on wet days. It’s also been useful to see how pressures need to be tweaked when saddlepack, framebag and bar bag are added.

‘Jetwash and go’ has been our mantra with a pleasingly

maintenance-free run so far. In fact only once have we cursed the original spec, though that was on a truly nasty ascent when we wished for an even lower bailout gear than the 11-32t cassette offered. Some kind of downtube ‘guard’ might be useful too, if only to calm our fears when stones ping up and make that unnerving rock-on-carbon noise.

We’ve now blagged a spin on a 2018 Roubaix with Future Shock suspension, a design shared with the top few 2018 Diverges too.

With 20mm of travel it’s really impressive, soaking up chatter on rough tracks brilliantly. So does that mean our Diverge is over the hill? Definitely not, as we’ve found out it was already ahead of the curve and as ‘future-proofed’ (in tech terms) as you can get these days. There’s plenty of adventure left in this one yet... JK

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KID’S BIKE ISLABIKE Beinn 24

Assessing kids’ bikes is never straight-forward, especially when the feedback you’d like to back up your own impressions is less than forthcoming. Not that young testers don’t know what they like (they always know that), it’s just that their explanations often don’t, let’s just say, go far enough.

So during an end-of-term bike-washing session, when our 8-year-old said, “have you noticed how I don’t get any punctures like on my last bike?”, I took it as a chance to probe her for a few more nuggets. After all she’d ridden the Islabike daily for the previous few months and comparing it to her old hand-me-down seemed like a solid starting point. How did it feel compared to her old bike?

“It’s much, much faster.” Does it feel comfier? “The saddle’s better.” Is it easier to ride? “Yes.” Do you miss the rack on your old bike? “No.” Is there anything that you’d like to add? “Maybe a few more stickers.” And that was about it. Pretty positive I’d say and no complaints as such.

Perhaps the only thing we’ve noticed — and it’s not unique to this bike — is when the saddle’s at bsite Via the we witter quite low and you add a rear light to the upper dT an k .u rg o lcc. seatpost its beam is obscured by the rear wheel. g lin yc @london_c We ride all through the winter so we’ll be seeking a solution asap (are there lights that mount to saddle rails?). Emma

BIKE UPDATES

SCHWALBE’S CONTROL TYRES As not all tyres are equal — and tyres are such a critical factor in how a bike rides and feels — we use different rubbers supplied by leading manufacturer Schwalbe to act as ‘control tyres’ in our testing. On city bikes and hybrids we’ve been using Durano DDs or Marathons, on the cyclocross/adventure bikes we’ve run X-Ones and G-Ones, while on the mtbs we’ve been swapping between Nobby Nics and Magic Marys.

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BIKES

ROAD/ADVENTURE MARIN Four Corners Three months into the test and while I’ve yet to explore the ‘four corners’ as it were, after a full season’s use I’ve been able to pinpoint the things I really like and the things I’d prefer to change.

First off all the 40c-wide Schwalbe Silento tyres warrant special mention — while not the lightest, they’re seemingly bombproof and don’t mind swapping from tarmac to broken tracks. The extra comfort even on the commute has been a real plus, even though it’s a bit slower.

On longer rides — generally along NCN-type routes, so a mixture of towpath, gravel, hardpack and tarmac — the Marin’s been great fun too. On a riverside ride from Dartford it coped admirably with the non-paved sections around the Darent.

And on NCN4 cycling west out of town, negotiating a root-rutted towpath without feeling seasick was a revelation! The lower gears are a huge help on climbs and the highest gears provide plenty of speed on descents.

I’ve resisted adding a rack and mudguards so far, enjoying the streamlined feel, but with a few overnighters planned this autumn these will be going on shortly. I’m also considering a set of bartop brake levers — I’ve missed them and like the multiple positions they offer. Matthew

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BIKES

ROAD/SPORTIVE CINELLI Superstar Commuting and weekend café runs are one thing, but I already knew that the Superstar really comes into its own when the road points upwards. So since the last edition it’s been my constant companion for RideLondon training and longer distance trips. Sadly, a break to the Pyrenees (where a series of Tour climbs had been planned) was derailed by a nightmare baggage mix-up when I was only reunited with the bike at the airport on my way home!

Having previously swapped stem and bar, on one run down to Brighton I tweaked the saddle position and angle which definitely feels more comfy for 5hr-plus outings — but that’s genuinely all I’ve had to do except ride.

That’s pretty rare in my experience. But nearly 8 months in now, after near daily usage, the bike’s in need of a tune-up. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the continued efficiency and feel of the Potenza groupset, considering how little attention I’ve paid it. As my other bikes are Shimano-based I’m lacking all the necessary tools, but a visit to my local shop will have it set up perfectly for winter riding.

Continued thumbs up to the 28mm tyres too, I’m a total convert to the added width. Dan

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REVIEWS

SONDER FRONTIER Could Alpkit’s latest addition be your perfect adventure bike?

I

t’s hard to believe that Sonder has only been around for about 18 months — yet in that time has already carved out a niche with eight new models, all with ‘adventure’ firmly rooted in their DNA. The Frontier, built around a burly aluminium mountain bike chassis, comes either fully rigid (as tested here) or with a 100mm suspension fork, and with a choice of 29in or 650b+ wheels. We opted for the fatter latter.

These days the idea of a fully rigid mtb might seem anachronistic — in reality, however, it’s just a much more rugged version of the drop-barred cyclocross/gravel/ all-road bikes heralded across the industry, albeit with riser bar, short stem and lovely trail-infused geometry. But it’s those 650b+ wheels that will likely catch the eye first.

‘Plus’-size wheels and tyres fall between ‘regular’ mtb and fatbike territory, with tyres generally starting at about 2.8in width and seated on wider

rims. The theory is that the bigger contact patch creates more grip and the extra volume offers more comfort. And on loops in Bedgebury Forest and overnight bikepacking trips on the Downs we found both to be true. With no suspension fork up front the WTB Rangers really do offer a level of cushioning you can’t get with any 700c set-up. But on wet, slippery trails it was the traction that had us smiling most; able to run lower pressures kept up straight-lining while friends were slithering around. When you can hit square-edged bumps, like hardened rutts or deep potholes, and not wince then you know you’re onto a good thing.

Loaded up with seatpack, framebags and bar-bag we’d figured that the Frontier would lose some of its playfulness but thankfully it didn’t. We pack pretty light (and still use a backpack too) and only needed to add a couple of psi front and rear to compensate for the bivvy gear and supplies.

Bar-bags in particular can be a cable-routing faff (and distraction) but once stabilised it didn’t disrupt the handling.

The frame is littered with bosses for racks, waterbottles and mudguards, so you can mix and match how you want to carry stuff, though we prefer to keep the bike as nimble as possible.

The unfussiness of the single chainring and wide-range cassette suits the Frontier well and you won’t be short of gears even on the long haul. Likewise, the SRAM brakes provide more than enough power for fully-laden touring.

We really like that the Frontier has these two sides to its personality: pared back as a trail centre cruiser, or dressed to the nines as a sprightly packhorse.

It’s a hell of a lot of fun that’s for sure. And if you don’t like the house builds, you can even buy frame and fork for £299 and put together your own custom off-roader. Or if you’re new to bikepacking or fat tyres generally and want to dip your toe in the water, you can now test ride one (cheaply) for an entire weekend. JK

alpkit.com Frame: 6061 aluminium Groupset: SRAM NX1 Price: £879

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REVIEWS: Rob Eves, Ashok Sinha All bags tested using Tubus racks.

ALPKIT Toliari 20 £35 (each)

ALTURA Sonic 40 £99.99 (pair)

alpkit.com

zyrofisher.co.uk

Capacity: 20-litres (each) Weight: 800g (each) Other options: 5-litre or 12-litre, plus ‘clipless’ versions

Capacity: 40-litres (pair) Weight: 2060g (pair) Other options: from 15-litres (single) to 56-litres (pairs)

Alpkit says its Toliari 20s are designed for racks with 10mm tubing and it worked perfectly with our Tubus Logo. Mounting hooks slide along a rail into your optimum position; there’s about 40mm of range with each hook which is plenty. The hooks clip onto the rack, though there’s no ‘locking’ system — not an issue for city commuting but on rougher terrain it’s worth checking the clips fit your chosen rack well. Alpkit does supply a bungee to clip to the lower rack for added stability, but we found this too short to be useful and didn’t use it.

At 20-litres the Toliari’s in the same bracket as the Altura and Ortlieb products tested here, though Alpkit’s are longer and slimmer, meaning they stick out less and sit slightly closer to the ground. One bag easily swallowed our work gear (laptop, waterproofs, jumper, tools, tube), but you need to think about packing more as the streamlined design limits rummaging room. The rolltop closure is quick and simple, the welded seams have helped keep our kit bone dry, plus there’s tabs aplenty for LEDs or other equipment. RE

The Sonic 40s set out to do one job above all else: keep your kit dry. And subjected to several summer soakings we found that they did that job very well indeed.

No pockets means fewer seams and less chance of water ingress, and the waterproof fabric has even proven tough enough for hard off-road abuse.

The rolltop closure clips neatly to each side of the bag, but left open we had room to transport cricket bats and tennis rackets for a day out in the park.

We found the Klickfix system effective in stopping the bag from popping off the rack when hitting potholes; the hooks can be positioned to suit your rack and a large red button releases the bag. There’s a bottom rail with a horizontal clip to hold the bag to the lower part of a rack too. The carrying handle was slightly narrow for our hands, but there’s attachment points for a shoulder strap. Good reflective detailing on all sides and LED loops. There’s four colour options and 15-litre/25-litre singles also available. AS

ORTLIEB Back-Roller Classic £110 (pair)

CARRADICE Super C £120 (pair)

ortlieb.com

carradice.co.uk

Capacity: 40-litres (pair) Weight: 1900g (pair) Other options: 30 designs, from 12-litres to 42-litres

Capacity: 54-litres (pair) Weight: 2236g (pair) Other options: 15 designs, from from 15-litres to 58-litres

If any brand’s synonymous with panniers it’s Ortlieb — and the Back-Roller is as close as you’ll come to a benchmark product. To get the best from them you need to take a bit of time to set them up properly. Firstly, the top mounting hooks are adjustable; they slide along the rail and click into the ideal position for your rack. You get different plugs for use with thinnertubed racks, while a lower hook is adjustable by hand, sliding along a lower rail and rotating through 360 degrees. A clever mounting system means the top hooks open when you lift the carrying handle — and close, locking to the rack, when you release it. The rolltop closure is a hassle-free affair and one bag held our daily commuting gear, lunch and bike spares comfortably.

The internal sleeve held our 13in laptop and the inner mesh stasher is ideal for tubes and mini-pump. The coated fabric and welded seams make extreme waterproofing perhaps the main selling point for these bags though — the way they stave off torrential downpours is stunning. Five colour choices. RE

Carradice has been making bags since 1932 and the Super Cs offer that traditional look and feel. Made from cotton duck, a type of waterproofed, heavy duty canvas that means they should last a lifetime if cared for properly.

The huge capacity means it’s possible for us to squeeze our two-man tent, poles, pegs and sleeping bag into one bag alone. External pockets are great for holding a waterproof or snack, but it means the left and right bags aren’t interchangeable. The main compartment closes via drawstring and clipped, foldover lid. The mounting system is very solid too, rattle-free and adjustable for different racks. Once the hooks are screwed into your chosen position, bag mounting/removal is quick and easy; the lower clip can be positioned through 360 degrees and tightened in place with a hex key. For longer trips we paired with Super C front panniers — equally as handsome and dependable. RE

REVIEWS

REAR PANNIERS

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ROUTE

LOVE LONDON, GO DUTCH? Waltham Forest’s mini-Holland is winning awards (and causing controversy). So head over to see what all the fuss is about with Simon Munk’s route guide...

W

hen Mayor Boris Johnson announced that three outer London boroughs would receive approximately £30 million each in funding to radically transform their town centres into ‘mini-Hollands’ few would have suspected it would lead here.

While Kingston and Enfield move forward (the latter now very rapidly, with a very exciting network of semi-segregated bike tracks), it’s multi award-winning Waltham Forest that has made the most noise.

The original programme of using ‘modal filter cells’ to end rat-running has caused controversy and what we call ‘bikelash’. But arriving now are a network of international-quality cycle tracks — including the flagship Lea Bridge Road scheme, crossing the borough from the Hackney to Redbridge borders — plus major cycle parking hubs at key stations and much more.

You can tour the results for yourselves (and local groups can contact Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign for a tour, via wfcycling.org.uk). You’ll be following in the footsteps of officials from Japan, Germany, Bogota and beyond, as well as many London and UK councillors, officers and campaigners — because Waltham Forest is rapidly becoming a beacon of walking, cycling and Healthy Streets best practice. A true mini-Holland. n See bit.ly/WFMHmap for other route suggestions and all the current schemes in place.

FACTFILE Start/Finish: Lee Valley VeloPark/Orford Rd Time allowed: 2 hours, including stops

PHOTOS: Paul Gasson

Terrain: mostly flat, cycle tracks and quiet streets, some busy main road crossings

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LEYTON BIKE HUB & RUCKHOLT ROAD [1] The Lee Valley VeloPark makes an ideal place to start a tour of Waltham Forest’s work so far. From there head up Temple Mills Lane to see an early experiment in semi-segregated measures and turn right onto Ruckholt Road. Here you can see ‘bus stop bypasses’, ‘hold the left’ traffic signals and other infrastructure designed to separate those cycling from motor vehicles.

Ride all the way to the end and brave High Road Leyton to the right to see the new two-storey secure cycle hub at Leyton tube station (with specific racks for cargo and family bikes). Next go back along Maud Road, Ruckholt Road and onto the old cycle tracks (mind the little kerb between track and pavement — the way Waltham Forest used to do things) on Orient Way heading north.

LEA BRIDGE ROAD [2] Orient Way’s old tracks take you all the way to Lea Bridge Road. To your left, and just over the brow of the railway bridge is the completed section of the new tracks on Lea Bridge Road. Ride down the half-completed tracks (at time of writing) going

2

west until you hit the Hackney boundary at the Princess of Wales pub, then turn east and ride the with-flow track on the north side to get the true taste of things to come. Broad 2-metre tracks with a lovely red surface and, in this section, wide pavements too.

Detour 50m left when you get back to the Orient Way junction onto Argall Way to admire the new Lea Bridge station and secure cycle parking hub. Then carry on Lea Bridge Road until Hitcham Road to see new tracks working their way east and the road being prepped for westbound tracks on the other side. Pass through old ‘modal filters’ (Hitcham, then Bridge Road, Hibbert Road, Theydon Street) to get to Markhouse Road.

Turn left along Markhouse Road to see one of the reasons Waltham Forest is winning plaudits beyond Lea Bridge Road for their main road treatments. Even where road widths are very constrained, the council is managing to make the best of a bad lot with pavements and cycle tracks.

Turn off at Markhouse Avenue, then go through an old filter into Essex Road. Pass under the rail bridge and along Salop Road, Morland Road and right on Coppermill Lane briefly — route of Quietway 2, then onto Haroldstone and Glenthorne Roads. At the end a dedicated cycle crossing leads into the new ‘Blackhorse Village’.

BLACKHORSE VILLAGE [3] This was the second major ‘villagisation’ scheme.

Using a new network of modal filters, this area has had all through motor traffic removed.

Turn left on Pretoria Avenue until the end.

Along the way you’ll see rather odd-looking modal filters built over weak rail bridges — where it was

3

Getting there: by rail to Stratford (or alternative stations at Lea Bridge, Walthamstow Central, Walthamstow St James Street). Or cycle via Islington and Hackney along Quietway 2, or via River Lee/ canal towpaths from Bow or Islington.

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Hoe Street

4

Selborne Road

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3

Orford Road

Blackhorse Village

2

Lea Bridge Road

1

Leyton Bike Hub

FREE

MAP

/maps/ bikely.com althambike-path/w llando h iin -m forest list london-cyc

4

Palmerston Road, exiting the southern half of the Blackhorse Village to see the ‘air quality’ scheme and Quietway 2 link at Selborne Road.

SELBORNE ROAD [4] Arriving before mini-Holland, this air quality scheme saw bi-directional cycle tracks with a secret run along this road by the train tracks. The secret? The paving used on the tracks absorbs CO2 emissions. Ride along these tracks until Walthamstow Central. There’s a secure hub here,

5

HOE STREET [5] As you cross Hoe Street, check out the ‘Copenhagen crossings’ on the side street. At the top of Milton, turn right into Aubrey, then cross Church Hill on a parallel ‘tiger’ crossing. You’re entering the original village area. From Folkestone dogleg to West Avenue to see railway bridges again used as an ideal location for a modal filter, with extra planting and public realm. Cross Orford Road briefly and cut down Grosvenor Park Road to Hoe Street. Here you can see some early mini-Holland tracks and bus stop bypasses that have arrived before the main tracks on Hoe Street to enable a crossing to a school.

Turn left onto the track, then left on Grove Road, previously one of the worst rat-runs in the area. Ride along it past newly regenerated shops to Eden Road, then work your back via Grosvenor Rise East and Wingfield Road to the end of the pedestrianised section of Orford Road.

ORFORD ROAD [6] The jewel in the crown so far, this short shopping parade sees motor vehicles (bar the odd bus) banned 10am to 10pm. The result is a radically transformed space for pedestrians and cyclists, but mainly for people sitting out and chatting at cafes and on benches. Previously this was both a rat-run and a non-stop parking zone for vans.

Sit back, have a cuppa or a pint and watch Walthamstow go by — kids play in the middle of the street, cyclists ride through, people faint at the house prices in the windows. The street that appears in every TfL presentation going and that has won awards is now also set to get a rival — in the less developed Leyton mini-Holland area (also in Waltham Forest).

Francis Road may have more chicken shops than Orford Road today, but it too is getting public realm improvements and similar timed pedestrian/cycle/bus-only camera enforcement.

Some are already calling it ‘Orford Road 2’.

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©Crown copyright 2017 Ordnance Survey. Media 036/17

impossible for the council to dig down — and outside the school, planting beds that act as “sustainable urban drainage”. At the end of Pretoria, pause to admire the new main road pedestrian/cycle crossing.

Turn back now along Pretoria and take an optional detour down Chewton Road to see the track on Blackhorse Road. These arrived just prior to mini-Holland and demonstrate the council’s level of ambition. Coming back up Chewton, go east along Northcote and then south along

START

ROUTE

as well as the UK’s busiest Brompton Hire Dock.

The tracks end here abruptly as work is ongoing, including removing the gyratory on Hoe Street and creating a crossing into the village area.

But this is where Quietway 2 is currently routed.

Double back to Palmerston Road and then cut into the second half of Blackhorse Village via Mansfield Road, Erskine, then Hatherley Road. At the top of Hatherley, dogleg across Hoe Street to Milton Road and enter the ‘Hoe/Wood Village’.

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OPINION

ASHOK SINHA With the Mayor’s priorities shifting, we must ensure cycling doesn’t fall off the political agenda says LCC’s chief executive

H

aving previously asked readers of London Cyclist to stay patient as the Mayor gets his reforms, strategies and new programmes underway, I can now state that it’s officially time to be worried. It may not be time for panic stations but, deep into the Mayor’s first term of office, it is definitely time to sound the alarm.

First the positives: the Mayor is pushing through a new regulatory regime to take the most dangerous lorries off London’s streets and the new Liveable Neighbourhoods programme is now live. So the ball is rolling on two of the three promises the Mayor made to LCC in the run up to his election.

But what of the third, a promise to triple the mileage of protected space for cycling on London’s roads? Worryingly, no convincing routemap has yet been produced by TfL to achieve this, and if work doesn’t get underway soon then we are in danger of seeing no more high quality protected cycle tracks and routes achieved under the four years of this mayoralty than during the last two years of Boris’s tenure.

Quality streets Scale aside, there’s also cause for consternation regarding quality. The new Nine Elms development, which the previous Mayor promised would offer conditions for cycling that were better than Amsterdam, typifies the problem: while not quite a throwback to the

gimcrack blue paint era, the plans fall far short of the safety levels offered by the East-West and North-South Cycle Superhighways. The suspicion is rising that (despite elements of some good stuff also coming through) TfL is now less willing than before to deprioritise motor traffic, leading to cycling safety being compromised.

We are in an even more complex situation than when we successfully ran our Love London, Go Dutch campaign: then we presented a clear choice between blue paint and Dutch-style street design, and because of our success almost everyone now agrees that protection for cycling must be comparable to that found in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Advocating for a higher pace or better quality of delivery is a subtler business; plus case-by-case skirmishes over poor quality of road and town centre developments create huge demands on the resources of a charity like LCC. There’s a political dimension to this too. Cycling was Boris’s signature policy area, but Sadiq has a broader agenda. When Sadiq was chosen as

The suspicion is now rising that TfL is less willing to deprioritise motor traffic

Labour candidate for Mayor he made clear his top priority by calling the mayoral election a “referendum on London’s housing crisis” (undeniably a critical issue) and has since built on this via his creditworthy City for All Londoners and “good growth” aspirations.

Regarding transport the Mayor’s new strategy, while setting impressive goals for reducing car dependence, leads on leveraging government support for big ticket infrastructure items like Crossrail 2.

And the Deputy Mayor for Transport Val Shawcross has a taken on the job of greening, rationalising and increasing the bus service as well as chairing the new Thames and London Waterways Forum. All of this may be entirely sensible but it does mean that cycling matters appear less likely to cross the current Mayor’s desk than his predecessor’s.

Great expectations That in turn now means there is an intense spotlight on the Walking & Cycling Commissioner Will Norman on whom there is a burden of great expectation. But even that has its complications: Mr Norman’s predecessor Andrew Gilligan reported solely and directly to the Mayor, whereas Mr Norman splits his time between TfL and City Hall and is indeed listed on the TfL website as being a Chief Officer and part of the organisation’s management team. I believe he can do it, but he has his work cut out to challenge TfL and hold it to account.

None of these individual features of the new political landscape is inherently problematic; the new mayoral priorities are understandable and the institutional architecture for delivering safer, more inviting conditions for walking and cycling may be perfectly sound. But it does mean that LCC faces an urgent challenge to win the quality and run-rate of measures necessary for the Mayor’s laudable aim of making London a “byword for cycling” to be achieved. The job of going Dutch remains only half done, and half-measures aren’t good enough to complete the job.

We must now give voice to our concerns as effectively as we can to keep the Mayor on track.

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