London Cyclist Winter 2024

RIDE INTO WINTER

SHARE THE JOY FUNDING BOLD IDEAS FOR THE MAYOR

DR MAARTJE VAN PUTTEN INTERVIEW

SAFER LORRIES SUCCESSES

URBAN HILL CLIMB REPORT

GUIDE TO NEW BIKE LIGHTS

News | Features | London | Travel | Ride Guide

Photo: Tom Bogdanowicz

One cargobike, two kids and a beer barrel: family fun and games at the 2024 Urban Hill Climb (report, p45)

FEATURES

16 Bold Ideas For The Mayor

The first in a four-part series looking at key goals for cycling in London

22 Interview

We talk to Dr Maartje Van Putten about founding a Dutch safe cycling movement

28 Share The Joy

Meet the groups who’ve been awarded new funding to get more people on bikes

36 Safer Lorries

Thanks to LCC campaigning, London’s lorries now lead the world on safety

44 Urban Hill Climb

With more categories than ever, a few of the racers tell us why they love the event

REGULARS

08 News

Updates on dangerous junctions, Brent’s deal on dockless e-bikes, and LCC trustees

11 Columns

Our guest writers discuss road danger reduction, inclusivity and Parisian change

66 Iconic Bikes

The bike that inspired a whole new era for youth cycles: the Raleigh Grifter

RIDE GUIDE

51 Ride

Join us on a scenic loop of quiet country lanes from historic Lingfield in Surrey

54 Bike Lights

Find out what’s new in the world of illumination with our annual round-up

58 Bike Reviews

The LC experts ride and rate two very different bikes from Tern and Surly

EDITORIAL

Renewed focus on wider access

Photo: ORTLIEB

Location: South England

LONDON CYCLIST

Unit 206, The Record Hall, 16-16A Baldwin’s Gardens, London EC1N 7RJ n 020 7234 9310 n lcc.org.uk

EDITORIAL

WHILE IT’S easy to look at the re-emergence of a committed climate denier across the pond with a heightened level of despair, the fact is there’s nothing we as Brits can do about it. So instead we should focus on things at home and celebrate the successes we’re having locally on active travel, air quality, and generally making our cities more healthy and liveable.

ILondon has changed a great deal over the last decade, and it’s not just been the usual churn and reinvention typical of a heavyweight metropolis — the streetscape has been evolving in new ways. The growth in cycling and rise in micromobility options have helped reshape the way people move around the city. Dozens of major cycleways now exist, alongside quietways, ‘filtered’ streets and thousands of secure bike storage solutions. All positive stuff. But the transport (or recreation) mode readers of this magazine enjoy still isn’t a realistic choice for many, particularly in outer boroughs. And it’s with this in mind that LCC has pulled together four ‘big ideas’ which we want the mayor to prioritise before the end of his term in office. We look at the first of these on page 16.

We also need to salute the hard, often unsung, work of those who’ve unstintingly campaigned for safer lorries to be compulsory on our roads and for a reduction in road danger. This is lifesaving action that’s finally getting the credit it deserves (see page 36).

Happy cycling and see you in 2025!

John Kitchiner Editor

LCC MEMBERS’ LEGAL HELPLINE

Osbornes Law is 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.

Editor: John Kitchiner (london.cyclist@lcc.org.uk)

Design: Anita Razak

Contributors: Simon Munk, Melanie Etherton, Sam Stepehnson, Tom Bogdanowicz, Tom Fyans, Carlton Reid, Ross Hamilton, Maisie Phillips

ADVERTISING

Allie Gill (allie.gill@lcc.org.uk)

SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER: @london_cycling

FACEBOOK: @LondonCyclingCampaign

INSTAGRAM: @london_cycling_campaign

Editorial, copyright, membership

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. All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the editor. Editorial content is independent of advertising. All LCC membership offers and discounts are presented entirely at the discretion of the provider.

London Cyclist is published by LCC.

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LACK OF PROGRESS ON DANGEROUS JUNCTIONS

With only Holborn’s junctions seeing upgrades in the last 12 months, we call on TfL and boroughs to act urgently

ONE YEAR on and there’s been little progress on most dangerous junctions in the capital. LCC’s updated interactive map, using the latest 2023 Stats19 collision data, clearly illustrates this inaction on junctions right across the city.

Of the top ten most dangerous junctions for cycling highlighted last year, only the two at Holborn have seen improvements — for which Camden Council deserves praise. While the cluster of junctions along Cycle Superhighway 7 on Upper Tooting Road tops the list for a second year in a row. Wandsworth Council has taken no action to address the danger here, while TfL has only tinkered, mostly with parking bays. Additionally, there has been no action on other junctions LCC has campaigned around, including at Wood Lane and the Shoreditch triangle — second on our list this year — that have both seen fatalities in recent years. The mapping tool analyses the past five years

of collision data, ‘clustering’ nearby collisions to junction systems, and ranks them based on their danger, for both people walking and cycling. There has been a slight change to the weighting of fatal, serious and slight injuries on the tool, updating the algorithm to give less prominence to fatalities. As fatal collisions are rare, the changes highlight junctions that have a pattern of collisions.

As with last year, the tool allows you to filter junctions by borough and focus on either cycling or pedestrian collisions. Brixton Road at Coldharbour Lane in Lambeth tops the list of most dangerous pedestrian junctions; it has a history of serious and slight collisions, and a pedestrian was killed here in 2023.

We call on TfL and the boroughs to act now and prioritise making junctions across London safer, in the same way that Holborn has been redesigned. You can view our updated map at lcc.org.uk/junctions

MONTH in NUMBERS

22%

Average miles cycled in the UK in 2023 was this much higher compared to 2002. (DfT, Aug 2024)

3.6bn

Total cycle miles travelled in 2023; down 7% on 2022, but similar to pre-Covid figures in 2019.

AGM WELCOMES TWO NEW TRUSTEES AND ONE MOTION

LCC’S AGM on 20 November introduced two new trustees to the board: Natalie Lindsay, who runs the Wandsworth Bridge Residents’ Association, and Suzanne King, who is a designer for Sustrans. This year’s election was uncontested, awaiting confirmation at time of writing.

Alex Raha, coordinator of Lewisham Cyclists, proposed the only motion, calling on the mayor and TfL to solve siloed working inside TfL: “to find common ground and ways to unlock more rapid changes… boost both public transport use and cycling… TfL Buses and bus companies should not spend their time fighting against active travel, but rather find ways to work with and alongside active travel modes.” The motion was supported by trustees and staff (but yet to be put to the AGM at time of writing).

n lcc.org.uk/agm

LCC AWARDS RECOGNISE GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNING

After a 2023 hiatus, the LCC Awards returned to recognise the brilliant people who dedicate their time to making cycling better, safer and more accessible to Londoners across the capital. A big congratulations to the 2024 winners and nominees:

n Hands of Friendship Award — Arnold Ridout, Newham Cyclists.

n Outside the Box/Above the Noise Award — Francesca Savage, Harith Canna & Zak, Haringey Cycling Campaign and Wandsworth Cycling Campaign.

n Winning Hearts & Minds Award — Redbridge Cycling Campaign.

n Green Shoots Award — Get Sutton Cycling.

n Joyful Cycling Award — Laura Shelton, Haringey Cycling Campaign.

n Excellent Events Award — Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark Cyclists.

n Campaigner of the Year — Suzanne Buckingham, Kingston Cycling Campaign.

n Active & Inclusive Travel Award — Waltham Forest Council.

n Active Travel Community Initiative Award — Peddle My Wheels.

n Active Travel Hero Award — Save Our Safer Streets.

BRENT AGREES DOCKLESS DEAL WITH LIME

DOCKLESS E-BIKE hire operator

Lime has agreed a new deal with Brent Council. The news came after the council had threatened to remove Lime’s bikes from its streets, with potentially significant implications for other London boroughs.

The council had given Lime until November to make changes to its service that council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt claimed was causing “havoc”. Lime and Brent’s deal includes: temporarily reducing Lime bikes in the borough from 750 to 500; delivering 200 dockless parking bays by July 2025 (though this puts the ball in Brent’s court now to find the right places); Lime moving badly-parked bikes when emailed within two hours; applying ‘slow zone’ speed controls in busy areas such as Wembley; and fines for poor parking to go to a council zero emissions grant scheme.

Councillors from other boroughs are on social media speculating about similar deals for their areas.

n brentcyclists.org.uk

Life-saving action

With the shocking news of recent cyclist fatalities, Tom Fyans explains why LCC’s ongoing work is critical

NEWS FROM Paris on 17 October that Paul Varry, a 27-year-old campaigner with cycling organisation Paris en Selle, died after being run over by a car driver in a cycle lane has shaken us all. Following an altercation, the driver allegedly deliberately drove over Paul, killing him on the spot and he’s now been charged with murder by the authorities. Shockingly, the driver’s adolescent daughter was in the car at the time. This was particularly poignant for us as the LCC study tour to Paris in May was warmly welcomed by Paris en Selle, including Paul.

Following this awful incident, more than 20,000 people took part in over 300 rallies all across France on Saturday 19 October to show their solidarity and respect. Paris campaigners subsequently met local politicians to discuss the increasing violence shown by drivers towards people on bikes and to work out how to make this unnecessary death a turning point in ending motorised violence. Our condolences are with the family and friends of Paul Varry.

The Paris tragedy came just two days after the news of a cycling fatality on our own streets, when a man in his 60s died following a collision with a lorry driver in Brixton. As always, our thoughts are

with his friends and family, and as I paid my respects at the scene the following day, it was heartbreaking to witness the sense of loss within the local community. But it also galvanised me to redouble our efforts at LCC to work harder and faster to eliminate all fatal collisions from London’s roads.

At the forefront of this work will be pushing authorities across London to do more to improve lorry safety. This work is particularly vital given half of all cycling fatalities, and 20% of pedestrian road fatalities, in London involve a lorry, despite them only representing 4% of vehicle mileage in the capital.

Campaigning saves lives

So it feels very timely and poignant that on 28 October, after years of campaigning by LCC and its members and supporters, new lifesaving measures to improve lorry drivers’ visibility and awareness of cyclists and pedestrians were introduced by TfL. From this point, lorries in London are set to become

“It galvanised me to redouble our efforts to eliminate all fatal collisions on our roads”

Tom

Fyans

Chief Executive of the London Cycling Campaign

safer, with fewer blindspots and more technology to help drivers avoid collisions due to an upgrade to the existing direct vision standards system. This is an historic step and now needs to be matched by greater leadership from London boroughs on lorry safety (see page 36).

It feels like the saying ‘it’s always darkest before the dawn’ has never felt more relevant. I’ve campaigned on many different issues over the years and in my experience it’s often when things feel at their worst that the potential for real change comes into view. Hope and reason for optimism comes in many forms. In a hugely significant moment at the recent Hackney walking and cycling conference, Will Norman, London’s cycling and walking commissioner, thanked cycling campaigners including many LCC activists in the audience, for the life-saving work they do, day in, day out. He said: “Let us now acknowledge that there are people walking around London today, who would not otherwise be doing so if it wasn’t for the work of many of you in this room.”

So while we pay our respects to fellow cyclists we have lost, let’s also recommit to our campaigning efforts to ensure everyone who takes the simple, positive and life-affirming decision to cycle, makes it home to their loved ones.

Gaining ground

Reducing road danger is a long, hard battle we have to win, says Sara Dowling, but progress is finally tangible

IBECAME A TRUSTEE at LCC

a year ago because I wanted to help make cycling in London safer and more enjoyable for everyone. I’d first become aware of its work when I joined as a member in the early 1990s, and then more recently through my role at RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, where the two organisations supported each other on some joint campaigns.

During my 16 years at RoadPeace I was sadly reminded daily of the impact of a system that tolerates road danger and doesn’t protect vulnerable users. Shockingly, across the UK five people are still killed in crashes every day — a figure that has remained unchanged in more than a decade — with many many more suffering life-changing injury. Those of us working in this area saw this unacceptable stagnation and lack of progress inextricably linked to a lack of leadership and intervention from the then government, who had no road safety strategy or strategic framework in place, or targets to reduce road death and injury. In no other walk of life would such risk and harm be tolerated.

London, thankfully, has not followed this trend, due to clear intention setting and evidencebased work that looked carefully

at who and what causes road harm and then sought to put strategies in place to deal with this. LCC and the wider cycling community campaigns also played a key and vital role.

The two best examples of this are work to tackle lorry danger (see page 36) and reducing speeding. London now has a road danger reduction strategy and a commitment to ‘vision zero’ road deaths and injuries by 2040.

Setting the standards

Actions follow intention. Take the work to reduce lorry danger. LCC has long lobbied TfL to do more to tackle danger posed by HGVs. This resulted in several evidencebased measures, such as blindspot elimination and the establishment of CLOCS, and more recently the direct vision standards that keeps the most dangerous lorries out of London. And this has directly led to a reduction in the number of cyclists killed by lorries in the city. And while there is clearly still

“Shockingly, across the UK five people are still killed in crashes every day”

Sara Dowling is an LCC trustee and Deputy CEO of charity RoadPeace

work to be done, it demonstrates the effectiveness of implementing evidence-based interventions alongside political will.

Every single road death is a failure of the system to prevent it, and this is why campaigning for more and safer cycling infrastructure is a key part of the work that LCC does.

But as work continues on that front, let’s not forget the important reality that cycling is really good for you, for people generally and, of course, the planet. It’s great for physical and mental health, and a climate-friendly and economicallyaccessible way to get around, leaving more road space for those who need to make journeys by motor transport. And it’s fun! Which is why I’ve absolutely loved our recent campaigning that focusses on the joy of cycling, including a commitment to break down the barriers so that everyone who wants to cycle can experience the freedom that it brings.

London is becoming a cycling city, but we’re not quite there yet. We’re slowly gaining ground with every new LTN, quietway, and protected cycle lane, and LCC as an organisation is determined to continue its leading role in this transformation. I’m delighted to play a small part in this as a trustee.

It’s

As

been some ride...

she steps down as chair of LCC’s board of trustees, Eilidh Murray reflects on successful recent initiatives

I’M NOT sure where time goes, but by the time this edition of London Cyclist is published, I will have been chair of LCC’s board of trustees for three years. In addition to regular ‘chair’ duties, I’ve also helped to recruit and support our new CEO, and hopefully stayed aware of what is happening in the wider political scene, particularly during local and national elections which have come thick and fast. It’s been a fascinating learning curve.

But, being true to my ‘manifesto’ when I was re-elected a trustee in 2022, I wanted to concentrate on developing the LCC Women’s Network, a personal focus for years. And I feel that following the launch of our report in January 2024 on ‘What stops women from cycling in London’, developing our three asks of the mayor and our campaigning to highlight what needs to be done, we’re finally getting somewhere. We must work to provide more inclusive cycling for women and other underrepresented groups in London. Our current cycling infrastructure needs to be improved in inner and especially outer London — and by that I don’t mean painted lanes on roads. Who has ever felt safe cycling inside a faded painted strip beside an articulated lorry?

We need to stop the incessant harassment and gendered abuse of women trying to ride bikes in London too. Plus we need joinedup local cycle networks to enable women to cycle safely with their children to school, to the shops, the library, the GP surgery. Cycling in Paris and Holland has made me realise just how far we still need to go to make cycling the natural, sustainable choice for people.

Change is coming

The vast majority of bike rides I do invariably feature close passes, unnecessary revving of engines close behind me, and sometimes shouts — not of encouragement, but of anger from drivers who believe roads are exclusively theirs. A super photo on social media over the summer showed a young woman on her bike, with the words ‘You own a car, you don’t own the road’ written on her bare back. Bang on, I thought!

Following July’s general election, there appeared to be some synergy

“We must work to provide more inclusive cycling for women and other groups”

Eilidh Murray is chair of LCC’s board of trustees and a member of Cycle Islington

between the GLA and the new cabinet, and several speeches regarding active travel have been encouraging. We need to capitalise on this and hope it results in action.

So although I’m supposed to be ‘retired’, I’ve actually been busier than ever. The difference is that I’m busy with things I’ve chosen. Being an LCC trustee, the coordinator of the Women’s Network, the coordinator of my local LCC group in Islington, and a ride leader for JoyRiders doesn’t leave much time for the typical sort of activities retired persons might spend their days on. Having co-organised a cycling study tour to Paris in May, we now have plans for a trip to Ghent and Bruges in 2025. And I’m sorely tempted to try my first ever Dunwich Dynamo.

Luckily the LCC board has several suitable candidates to take on the role of chair when I step down — this will be voted on at the first board meeting following the AGM in November. Whoever takes over, I give them my full support and wish them every success in supporting the LCC team as it continues to play its role in persuading our politicians to realise London’s potential to be an inclusive cycling city.

So while it’s ‘bye’ from me as chair of the board, it’s not yet bye from me as an LCC trustee.

Long-term vision

With Paris introducing a large traffic-free zone, like our LTNs, Carlton Reid explains why mayors must be braver

IF YOU’VE BEEN to Paris recently (or read the summer edition of London

Cyclist), you’ll have seen the great strides the city has been making in removing car parking places, improving pedestrian infrastructure, and adding cycleways. Now, against stiff opposition, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has introduced a ZTL, or limited traffic zone, covering 5.5 square kilometres right in the centre.

Similar to some LTNs over here, motor vehicle access to this ZTL will be authorised only for emergency vehicles, buses, taxis, people with reduced mobility, and motorists living or working in the zone. Confusingly, there’s also authorisation for so-called ‘destination traffic’, including those motorists in the area for a specific reason, such as a medical appointment, shopping, or even a cinema visit. That covers a lot of sins so it’ll be interesting to see how this latter measure operates in practice.

There are many existing ZTLs across Europe, but — unlike the Parisian one — they are mostly quite small. I walked through one recently and it was glorious to experience the quiet and the safety of an area fully permeable to residents in their cars, but where motorists did not dominate. I was

in Trento, Italy, for the Vision Dolomite climate conference where I chaired a mobility session. Afterwards, I got to talk to one of the conference’s expert speakers, Martin Powell.

Powell is the group sustainability director at AXA, but you may remember him as the deputy mayor for the environment in London under Boris Johnson. Now living and working in Paris, Powell has also been a special advisor to the C40 cities group chaired by the billionaire former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.

Much to learn

As a Paris resident — and the editor of the 2022 academic book The Climate City — Powell is well placed to talk about Hidalgo’s ZTL and how it will improve the city’s air, as well as reduce chronic congestion.

“I think [Hidalgo] is wonderful,” Powell said. “I think what she’s done for Paris is potentially saving a world city.” Indeed, he added, “cities like New York and London

“Good ideas are hard to kill... successive mayors tend to keep things that work”

Carlton Reid is a book author and leading transport journalist

could learn much from it... Anne Hidalgo sees a long-term vision for a superb Paris.” But, cautioned Powell, “she is currently very unpopular.”

However, he stressed, “ten years from now, people will recognise what she did was wonderful.” And he doesn’t think her successor will reverse her policies. “Good ideas are hard to kill... successive mayors [in world cities] tend to keep things that work.”

London is a case in point, he believes. “There was no rejection of key policies from Ken [Livingstone] to Boris [Johnson]. I’m good friends with Shirley Rodriguez, who’s recently left the mayor’s office in London [she was deputy mayor for the environment from 2016 to 2024], and she didn’t experience Sadiq Khan unravelling a lot of what Johnson did.”

As always, political will is key. “Once you push through something that might be unpopular with some, in the end, people accept, okay, it’s here to stay, and you move on. But it takes courage to stick with unpopular decisions.”

For Powell, London works as a major city because it has so many transport options. “A functioning world city gives you all the choices that you want. The challenge is to make [that transport] as sustainable as possible.”

SADIQ’S LAST HURRAH?

LCC is working on a major campaign for Spring 2025 in order to get Mayor Sadiq Khan to think big and be bold. Simon Munk lays out the first of four big ideas we think he needs to consider

SO IT’S AN historic third term for a London mayor — unheard of in modern times — and, if some pundits are to be believed, likely to be his last (although Khan’s certainly not ruling out more). And it’s the term that takes him right up to his ‘net zero’ target date of 2030. In other words, unless something decidedly strange happens, the mayor needs to spend the next three-and-a bit years delivering on his promises like crazy and sealing his ‘legacy’ for London.

Chances are that legacy won’t be

the ULEZ — after all, Boris Johnson put that in train before Khan came to power and it is a bit too, well, invisible, intangible sadly for most people to see far cleaner air as a lasting positive for London.

Nor will it be the recently announced pedestrianisation of Oxford Street alone. The plan there so far appears to be largely as originally envisaged seven years ago — not nearly bold enough itself and far from free of complex remaining questions around buses, cycling and the risk of displaced traffic. Khan may have got a halfdecent ‘big announcement’ out

of it, but unless he gets a move on work might not have even started by the end of this term (although watch this space for more on the West End soon).

In July, just after the mayoral and general elections, with a Labour government and London mayor aligned, we convened a ‘brains trust’ roundtable at LCC to ask the very question: what big things should the mayor do for active travel, transport decarbonisation and to leave a bold and lasting legacy on London? We came up with lots of ideas and have since distilled them down to just four.

Four ideas that are individually and collectively achievable (including financially), politically aligned with Khan’s outlook, and that could dramatically alter the way London moves. Indeed, all four will likely be necessary in one form or another if the mayor is to really deliver on his promises.

He has, after all, made some big commitments: a net zero London by 2030, including a modelled 27% cut in road kilometres driven by then, as well as intensive electrification of motor vehicles if he sticks to his ‘preferred’ pathway for decarbonising; a ‘vision zero’

end to serious and fatal road collisions by 2041, with bus-related collisions ending in 2030, and a mode shift target of reaching 80% of all journeys in London done by sustainable and active modes by 2041 (that means roughly halving the proportion of private motor traffic, including taxis, by then).

Big targets, that he’s way off course on, call for big ideas.

Over the next four issues of London Cyclist we’ll reveal the four big ideas we think Khan must embrace if he’s to transform London. And the stages needed to get there.

The first big idea? Fix outer London. No small task, then!

Family-first town centres

TfL’s own Cycling Action Plan and adjoining modelling and analysis says it clearly already: the next major leap in London’s cycling to a mass mode of transport isn’t just about loads more men in Lycra riding into central London for work. Enabling women, kids, families, locals to reach their town centres, shops, schools and transport hubs without reaching for the car keys is the big push needed next.

So to unleash the potential of cycling not only do we need outer London onboard — yes, we’re looking at you Havering, Hillingdon, Harrow — but in doing more in outer London, we unlock the diversity and inclusive potential of cycling. Of course, currently, most of outer London is where the least cycling and the most car use happens.

TfL’s analysis of ‘cycling potential’ (ie the journeys TfL shows could be cycled but aren’t currently) reveals that while a majority of motor vehicle journeys in London done today could be cycled relatively easily instead, the most thwarted potential is in outer London — and not for longer distance journeys, but short ones. These tie very closely into family journeys — women are far more likely than men to, for instance, do journeys accompanying children (the ‘school run’ accounts for a fifth of all London peak hours traffic). or do the family shopping. Yes, it’s 2024 and those still hold true.

The Dutch, once more an inspiration for how to do cycling and urban transport planning well, see more journeys cycled by women than men. Here, women do a third as many. The Dutch plan to deliver active travel to the distances where mode share naturally reduces: a 2km ring for walking around town centres, and a 6km ring for cycling.

In outer London, your nearest town centre is far less than 6km from you no matter where you are. So let’s build outer London town centres that families living nearby can access without the car. That means cycle routes and quiet

neighbourhoods ringing the town centre, so that parents and children can reach schools, commuters can ride to the nearest tube, overground or bus station, and people can shop or go out to eat, or to the gym — again, all without most needing a motor vehicle.

15-minute neighbourhoods?

Of course, this Dutch ‘15-minute neighbourhood’ approach has already been applied in at least one, arguably more, outer London town centres. If you’ve not been out for a visit yet to the fabled land of Walthamstow then that’s where we’re talking about.

Waltham Forest council was one of three London boroughs that won ‘mini-Holland’ funding in 2014, alongside Enfield and Kingston upon Thames. Each borough won about £30 million for a major town redevelopment; each took a very different approach to how they spent the cash.

It’s probably enough here to say that while each programme has merits (and negatives), one programme went on to win

international climate and active travel awards and has since been toured by hundreds of visiting dignitaries from as far afield as Japan and Bogota, and including previous government ministers (we’ve extended an invite to current ones, Louise Haigh and Simon Lightwood too).

When Khan came to power, he also committed to an ongoing rollout of schemes similar to the mini-Hollands — called ‘Liveable Neighbourhoods’. However these schemes were far smaller, less ambitious and nearly all stalled before Covid hit. It may be harsh, but it would likely be fair to say that between multiple rounds of funding, the only really big success was in Waltham Forest. So what makes their schemes so different and what does that mean for the mayor’s next steps?

Learn the lessons

We think for Khan to really radically transform outer London town centres just as Waltham Forest has done — and increasingly it’s not just central Walthamstow experiencing this, but Leyton and

Leytonstone in parallel — he needs to learn three lessons from the previous programmes:

1. REAL COMMITMENT

TfL cycleways currently need to hit a minimum quality bar to be signed off. But the weak efforts of many outer London boroughs already hit that low bar — even when we’re talking about shared space with pedestrians, schemes that give up at junctions, or that direct people cycling via busy ratruns. If the mayor wants to really get people cycling in outer London they need a higher quality bar — to match Waltham Forest’s level.

That in turn likely means setting a bar for across-the-board political engagement and support from stakeholders before councils get a chance at funding. Too often schemes in the past have been weakened to homeopathic levels because the moment the funding arrived, everyone starts infighting — and it turns out local businesses, opposition politicians, sitting MPs etc who might have said they want more walking and cycling and a town centre spruce-up in theory, don’t want it in practice.

That high quality bar means the mayor may not be able to entice every outer London borough to bid for funding next year, but as a result it also probably means the few that go first should get sizeable funding amounts each. Liveable Neighbourhoods topped out at £10million each, and that would likely be a bare minimum required to achieve bold and coherent changes across a town centre.

2. PUT FAMILIES FIRST

One way to get more people supporting the schemes, but also

one way to make schemes more coherent and successful is to ensure they’re designed for families and, to some extent, by families.

Co-design workshops with kids and families have been used in some parts of London already to circumvent the usual cries of ‘no-one cycles here’, and designing for kids and parents to be independently mobile and active will not only dampen some opposition but force a further quality bar on councils. When officers design for a 12-year-old to be able to cycle to school on their own, or an 8-year-old safely with their parent, you’ve got a town centre that looks radically

different, as Walthamstow does.

3. COHERENCE

Sadiq must push coherence as a core aspect of such a programme. Particularly in outer London, too many times walking and cycling routes just fail at key points; you can’t get from your home to school, shops or the tube because even if there is a route, it gives up suddenly at a junction or near the end point.

Waltham Forest has delivered not just cycle tracks in a network on most main roads (and is busy filling in the gaps now), but also Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) for most of the neighbourhoods surrounding central Walthamstow and its market and station. It’s

Photo: Lee Bolton

not perfectly coherent now, and certainly wasn’t within the first few years of the funding arriving — but it was coherent enough to start to work and be seen to.

After the mini-Holland funding finished, Waltham Forest, having gained political leadership through the process that sets the bar on coherence and bravery, has gone on to not only fill gaps but expand the schemes outwards and add on more: secure cycle parking hubs and residential hangars, cargobike loans and deliveries, School Streets and crossings, the list is extensive.

The act of delivering schemes and changing the area meant the council learned how to go further and improve. But starting with a tight ring of cycle tracks and LTNs around the town centre meant straight away loads of people could, and did, cycle to Walthamstow market to shop, to the tube stations to commute, and to schools.

Not just one Walthamstow?

If you go for a ride round the area, you can see the results (local

volunteers sometimes do tours and LCC does the occasional group ride for politicians). Within minutes you’re nigh on guaranteed to see busy pavements, bustling shops and cafes, kids in box bikes and on front or back seats (or both), people ambling in the middle of the road in an LTN, cargobike delivery riders, folks cycling in everyday clothes, and teens on bikes with no parents around.

Happily, there are other boroughs showing Waltham Forest isn’t a lone success with this approach — signs other town centres in outer London will follow suit even without Khan’s support (although, Sadiq if you’re reading, the funding would put rocket boosters on these!). Newham is cracking on with a series of schemes linked to Stratford and the Olympic Park successfully. And Hounslow is busy using Cycleway 9 and a mix of LTNs to link town centres heading towards Heathrow in a chain. While Enfield is now moving forward its long-delayed Enfield Town scheme too.

It’s also worth pointing out

that, in theory, the mini-Holland programme has now also gone national — it was promoted and underway under the last government, so lessons learned in London are being applied elsewhere, but not here yet.

Make London family-friendly

A series of outer London town centres which put children’s independence and family life before being stuck in congestion and pollution; that leave London fitter for future generations and cuts climate emissions; that finally and decisively break the impasse with car-dominated suburban residents and politicians by showing them a compelling vision of a different London — this is what the city needs. Mr Mayor, what are you waiting for?

Making London truly familyfriendly, even at the outer edges, would be a legacy worth leaving. But it’s also one the mayor and all boroughs will need to embrace fast if climate and road danger promises were ever more than just words.

Photo: Tjeerd van Lotringen

DR MAARTJE VAN PUTTEN

We look to the Netherlands as the cycling model, but how did it start?

The first leader of Dutch safe cycling movement Stop de Kindermoord — Stop the Child Murder — tells Melanie Etherton her story

The Netherlands has more than 35,000km of dedicated cycle infrastructure, a default urban speed limit of 18mph, and nearubiquitous low-traffic neighbourhoods. In Amsterdam 36% of all journeys are made by bike; for comparison, in London it’s 4.5%, and in the UK as a whole it’s just 2%. But it wasn’t always this way...

How did the Dutch cycling movement start?

It was 1971 and I was 20, still a student with my first child — not planned but very much wanted — when a six-yearold girl called Simone Langenhoff was killed by a driver as she cycled to school. Her father, Vic, was a journalist on a daily paper and he published the headline ‘STOP DE KINDERMOORD’ (which translates as ‘Stop the Child Murder’) over the front page. The whole of the page.

I was living in Amsterdam and I didn’t know the man, but I called him and said we should do something, and asked if he needed help. And more people called, so we formed a group.

How did you find allies?

The first six months, I asked parents from my little boy’s kindergarten. Officials from the council with young children joined us too — they knew how to get the information out of the town hall. Doctors, engineers, city planners, other bicycle associations. We worked

with a lot of groups that had the same spirit. I could never have done it on my own.

Why were you the leader?

I am able to convince people and wake people up; it was not a left-wing or a right-wing issue. I didn’t give up and I never took a ‘no’ for a ‘no’. And I had time. I was young and the others had jobs. It grew and I was busy almost daily with Stop de Kindermoord for nearly ten years.

How did you grow the movement?

Stop de Kindermoord was a shock for the nation. Radio programmes picked it up, other papers, television. Remember, we are Dutch: we sometimes joke we are born with a bike. We got so much public support.

We started by applying to be a charity with funds raised by children through selling stamps. It’s a common thing in the Netherlands, with the money reserved for activities focused on children. We wanted 50,000 guilders (approximately £20,000) for making brochures and they said if we wanted 50,000 guilders we should ask for 100,000. So we did. And we got 100,000. That was our first lesson.

How did you campaign to begin with?

We were very informal. We rented the ground floor of an old dairy shop. It was big enough to have our administration: two desks and a big table for us to meet and talk. And we could pay the rent. From that office we created all kinds of actions.

We started campaigning in school areas all over the country. We sent leaflets to schools about safety measures in their area — and schools were calling us.

We blocked roads. We had one day a year where the street was taken back from cars. Our key issue was that the street was our common territory, but it had been totally taken over by car traffic.

Tell us about some of your actions...

One Saturday morning we went to the Prime Minister’s house with a bike tour from the centre of Amsterdam, and the equivalent of Radio One riding and live broadcasting with us. More and more people heard it and joined in, and we arrived all together in front of his house. He gave the children cookies and we had a conversation. There was no violence in our actions. People accepted it in those days, because Vic’s Stop de Kindermoord message was so clear.

Another time 50 of us decided to make a Sunday cycle tour through a car-only tunnel in the north of Amsterdam, with all our children. In those days Sundays were car-free days because there were high oil prices and a fuel shortage, but it was a bit irresponsible because there were still drivers using the tunnel: doctors, ambulances, key workers, etc.

At the other side of the tunnel, of course, were the police. They gave lemonade to the children, the adults got coffee, and they gave us a reprimand and said it was dangerous. And they were right, of course. But we had made our point. Nothing went wrong, and we got a lot of attention. Finally now, 50 years later, there is going to be a huge bridge over that river, just for bicycles.

Do you think women and children make better campaigners?

It’s a good question. I’m a sociologist and, yes, it might have played a role, because we show the vulnerability of young families. Remember, I see the vulnerability of young fathers with their kids too. Whenever I was being interviewed, the reporters always wanted me with my little boy on my knees, or on the back of my bike. But we did it without strategic intention. The prominence of women and children came purely from our anger.

How did it end?

We did not have resistance from our own

communities, but from the automobile industry. We were not satisfied with the ministry for traffic safety, Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN). They were insisting the only way to improve safety was to focus on behaviour. Giving little children training and helmets and yellow coats so they are visible, and teaching them how to look left-right-left before they can cross a road. They wanted young children and their parents to take responsibility for the mistakes we make with this whole system of car dominance. It’s crazy.

Shortly after I stepped down as chairperson in 1980, the transport minister — a woman from my own party, unfortunately — insisted that because Stop de Kindermoord was now partly funded by grants from VVN, we should merge with the ministry. And that was it: end of story. We had lost our independence. I still think it was a big mistake.

What does the Dutch cycling campaign look like now?

Finally now, 50 years later, there is going to be a huge bridge over that river, just for bicycles

Only recently, a group of professors at Amsterdam University have adopted the name again, with the same arguments — Stop the Child Murder. Because it’s not solved yet. In those days the Netherlands had 3,000 children killed cycling each year. Today it’s down in the hundreds. But that’s still more than one child killed cycling every day. When a plane crashes, the whole nation is in panic, but these deaths happen every day and nobody pays attention. It’s unbelievable that we as Dutch accept this. So we did a lot, but we’re not there yet. Progress is never fast enough.

What are you campaigning on today?

Since a few months ago, the Netherlands cut the default speed limit for all urban areas. Almost the whole of Amsterdam is now 18mph.

In the areas where it started as a test, it was funny — people put their tables on the street and started having dinner with their neighbours. Kids were mixing. People said they did not believe this would happen in our lifetime.

Change is tough but it needs doing. And people start to see the good part of it. And that needs time. And, yes, you need behaviour change, but the number one thing is infrastructure. If you make the infrastructure in such a way that people can drive at 120mph instead of 30mph, you can focus on behaviour all you like but it won’t help much.

And, of course, there’s always taxi drivers…

Is campaigning harder today?

Today I see activists who are picked up by the police when they block a road

Bikes now dominate Amsterdam’s streets: after decades of committed activism

because they ask for the Paris Agreement on climate change to be taken seriously. Today the power of the car industry is so huge. In the 70s it was easier. Because we were also peaceful. We never broke things, we blocked roads by holding hands as groups of mothers, and through that we got a lot of attention to put our issue on the table.

How does car dominance affect society?

In the past, kids had circles growing around them. First with mama when you are two years old, then babysitter, then crèche, then the neighbourhood kids, and the circles become bigger and bigger. Cars have taken away the social life of humankind, everywhere in the world.

Maybe in a remote village kids can still play together, but not in London. Not even in Amsterdam. Children communicate with kids on the other side of the world online, but they don’t know their neighbours. That’s what we have created, together. We as humankind sometimes do a lot wrong in that creation of the world around us.

By the time you make time to think about it, to properly think it over — what the hell are we doing with the structure of our surroundings? It’s crazy we’ve done that to where we live. Most people still think it’s the normal. But is it? Is it normal?

Photo:

Bloodua/Bigstock

We need a new struggle now, to get the issue back. If that consciousness comes to people, I have hope. This is a very principled discussion about giving the outside space back to everybody in the city, to meet each other, talk to each other — the social life of humankind.

How do you look back?

Today I’m a 73-year-old grandmother. Since I left Stop de Kindermoord in 1980 I’ve been a Dutch MEP, I’ve got a PhD in accountability mechanisms for international organisations, I’ve set up the World Bank’s first accountability inspection panel.

My commitment is always to what socalled development can do to people in areas where authorities come with their machines and create. It can be a dam in the river for the World Bank, it can be a road through a neighbourhood.

Relaxing and reflecting: Maartje is still engaged with various campaigns

But in the process people are lost. It’s a human rights issue, it’s an environmental issue, it’s a line through my entire career. I never lost my commitment.

Why campaign?

It makes you happy. If you work on it, and you see neighbourhoods change, it’s fantastic. It gives you an enormous energy and you learn a lot. For me it was the basis for my whole career.

What do you think is your legacy?

Don’t make me a saint. I never did it on my own. It’s fun to do with a lot of people. It’s a creative life. I was young. I had time. I would not have missed it for the world.

We need a new struggle now, to get the issue back. If that consciousness comes to people, I have hope

Finally, define Dutch cycling...

Dutch cycling is a natural way of easy transport. It’s fun and healthy. It’s part of your life. Everybody has shoes; if you have no shoes, you really are in trouble. If you have no bike… but everybody has a bike!

n With thanks to the Lab of Thought (thelabofthought.co)

Photo: Martin Hogeboom

SHARING THE JOY

Sam Stephenson meets five groups to learn how a new grant is benefitting their operations

THIS SUMMER, LCC and Lime, with support from Loud Mobility, launched the £100,000 Share the Joy fund. The aim was simple: to reward those projects in the capital that work to encourage more people to cycle and help get new ones off the ground.

The grant seeks to cover core running costs, alongside expenses and the purchasing of additional equipment or space. Grants are being awarded to groups which demonstrate potential in one of three categories:

n Health and wellbeing — for organisations or cycling projects that improve physical and mental wellbeing or tackle health inequalities.

n Accessibility and inclusion — for organisations or projects providing support to groups underrepresented in cycling in London.

n Skills and connectivity — for organisations or projects that help people develop skills and access employment opportunities, as well as provide free or discounted access to active travel to enable connectivity.

In total nine grants were issued during the first window of funding, and the second round closed as this magazine went to press. Three further rounds of funding are also coming before the end of 2025.

APPLY FOR FUNDING TODAY

If you run a project that supports more Londoners starting to cycle, apply for a Share The Joy grant today. It’s quick and easy to apply and there are three rounds of funding available in 2025.

n lcc.org.uk/sharethejoy

C86ERZ

Name: Verral Paul-Wallcot, founder Borough: London wide

How did C86erz first come about?

We started as a bike group to help people with social anxiety during the Covid-19 lockdowns. However, on those rides we saw just how many people were homeless in London. So I decided that, using the group of about 30 that we had, we could use our bikes to deliver essential items to the homeless, because even though some shops were open — those selling essential goods — in the eyes of someone sleeping on the street, they weren’t. That’s where we came in.

What was your reaction to finding out about the funding?

It was a beautiful moment. My operation is very different to a lot of other ones out there. For example, C86erz also prints its own apparel to sell to raise funds. I’d also never gone into this looking for any kind of recognition, so when I found out we were part of that first wave of funding, it was a special moment.

What was the funding spent on?

One of the biggest problems C86erz faced was storage. I’ve been reliant on the goodwill of a lot of people, such as family members and my old school, when it comes to finding places to keep the goods.

Now thanks to this shed we’ve been able to build, everything is kept in one place: clothes, perishable and non-perishable goods, hygiene items and just anything else we’re able to distribute. And the best thing is that this shed will last up to 40 years.

Just what kind of impact has the funding had?

Before the funding, so much stuff was being kept in my front room, so work life and personal life were all mixed together, which meant that there was no separation between the two.

Practically, without this storage there wouldn’t have been anywhere to store the bikes, so again this one influx of funding has solved so many problems. The fact that Lime, Loud Mobility and LCC have come together in this way to help groups like mine is just brilliant.

UPCYCLE

Name: Phil Dobson, founder Borough: Lambeth

How did upCYCLE first come about?

We started back in June 2020, in response to both the Black Lives Matter movement and the Covid pandemic, where the virus had a disproportionate impact on minority groups.

The plan was to get 50 bikes and donate them to young people from under-represented backgrounds, which we did, alongside getting some extra funding to put towards tools so I could start fixing bikes. Since then we’ve just grown and grown, and now work with young people in Lambeth by giving them the practical skills to fix their bike.

What was your reaction to finding out about the funding?

I was delighted. I’m a really big fan of LCC, and I remember one of the first things I did when I was starting upCYCLE was to go to a Wandsworth Cycling Campaign ride, which was great as the Black Cyclists Network also came down and helped with marshalling the event. It was just great seeing everyone riding together.

What was the funding spent on?

Over the summer we ran a lot of bike repair workshops and two-hour cycling lessons for kids, with other organisations as part of their own summer projects. For these, the funding went directly towards paying the wages of the people running the sessions.

The funding also went towards new helmets. Every bike we give away, we give away with a helmet, so paying for them, plus lights and locks was helpful.

And the impact of the funding?

Being able to deliver those workshops to children was invaluable, not only to get them engaged in cycling, but also just to get them away from their phones and broaden their horizons.

I’d really recommend applying for a grant, not just for the money, but the connections you make are invaluable.

WOMEN OF COLOUR CYCLING COLLECTIVE

Name: Bianca Fernandez, trustee and former chair Borough: London wide

How did the Women of Colour Cycling Collective first come about?

In October 2018, after seeing a lack of women of colour at Ride London, Jenni Gwiazdowski (director of London Bike Kitchen), and Jools Walker decided it was time to form some sort of group.

Since then it’s grown and grown, and following the Black Lives Matter movement our group felt that we could do (and be) more than just be a casual social space. And so, in November 2020, we became a registered charity.

What was your reaction to finding out about the funding?

As a fully volunteer-led community, we were delighted to receive the positive

news of being directly awarded funding. Community organisations such as ours are often limited by resources while delivering key support to shared goals with larger organisations. This funding not only helped us with efforts to further support the WCCC community, but also shows leadership in the need for greater collaboration across organisations working for aligned impact.

Talk to us about what the funding was spent on?

Following the exciting Share the Joy festival, our trustees came together and voted on key activities to utilise the funding for our members.

First, supporting WCCC members to participate in the annual Women’s 100 event held by Rapha (which we were delighted to promote on BBC Radio London).

Next, we are engaging our members with a new series of fireside talks and will soon be offering funded maintenance sessions to our members to support their confidence and skills.

Just what kind of impact has the funding had?

The funding arrived at the start of Black History Month, which this year focussed on reclaiming narratives. So we hope to use the funding to carry forward the message of the joyful participation and contributions our community members make to the cycling world.

With that in mind, we hope more organisations working towards greater inclusion and empowerment of historically underserved communities benefit from the impact of the fund and encourage all to apply to this upcoming round.

WESTMINSTER WHEELS

Name: Barnaby Stutter, programme manager Borough: Westminster

How did the project first come about?

We started at the height of the Covid lockdown, in response to the lack of affordable bikes for key workers and high youth unemployment in the borough. Some four years on, the programme has distilled the original aims and we now provide bikes at low cost to residents and donate free ones to those on low incomes. We’ve provided jobs and training to over 50 previously long-term unemployed people. Plus we offer bike servicing in an area unserved by bike shops, servicing circa 2,500 bikes per year.

What was your reaction to finding out about the funding?

For us it was just pure joy. It is a difficult funding climate for most charitable and non-profit organisations, and we are no exception. Every little (or larger) bit of funding helps in attaining our key goals.

What was the funding spent on?

It enabled us to monitor the progression of our alumni in their new cycle industry jobs and offer consistent training to new participants. It also gave us the opportunity to evaluate and tweak our programme with data from previous cohorts.

As someone intrinsically involved in the cycle sector for over 30 years, it makes me happy to continue to make a difference by encouraging new and younger generations in the industry.

Just what kind of impact has the funding had?

It had a massive impact on what we’ve been able to do. So for anyone thinking of applying, I say go for it. The process is straightforward, and with success comes both tangible benefits (namely vital funding) and the less tangible (support and wider recognition and promotion of the services offered, to individuals and the wider community).

THE BIKE PROJECT

Name: Kerry Russell, head of fundraising and marketing Borough: London wide

How did The Bike Project first come about?

The Bike Project began in founder Jem Stein’s garden shed, after he struck up a friendship with Adam, a Darfuri refugee who fled his home of western Sudan. One of the big challenges Adam faced, alongside the trauma he’d been through, was getting around, having been housed on the outskirts of the city and struggling to access support. Jem’s solution? Getting him a bike.

Now 10 years later, The Bike Project has blossomed into two workshops in the capital and Birmingham, a shop in Camberwell, 27 staff members and hundreds of volunteers.

What was your reaction to finding out about the funding?

It was a wonderful surprise! We’re used to applying to trusts for funds and spending time explaining our work and why it deserves funding. This was a totally different experience as we were selected on the merit of our activity which felt great to be recognised.

Talk to us about what the funding was spent on?

We have used the money to fund more of our bike donations to refugees. We currently are struggling to keep up with demand — our self-referral form often closes within minutes of opening due to the number of people applying. In addition, we are experiencing increased costs of upcycling bikes. The money has allowed us to continue to reach

about 30 adults and children a week in London with the gift of a bike.

Just what kind of impact has the funding had?

Most people seeking asylum in the UK are not allowed to work and instead receive an allowance of less than £50 per week to live on. So a donated bike can be truly transformative — it provides a free, sustainable mode of transport, and can enable a sense of connection, independence and joy. It is especially hard for charities right now with increased demand for our services and a cost-of-living crisis that makes it far harder to fundraise. New funds like this are rare and equally the lack of red tape and simple approach makes it very accessible for even tiny charities.

Photo: CIME Lab

TIME FOR TOURING

With the popularity of cycle touring on the rise, here’s a quick look at kit and trips to try

CYCLE TOURING offers a unique way to explore the world, combining the joy of cycling with the freedom to travel independently. Whether planning a long weekend trip or an extended break, reliable gear is essential to ensure a smooth and enjoyable ride.

ORTLIEB — the experts in the world of waterproof outdoor equipment — is trusted by cyclists across the globe for its high-quality, durable bags. Here’s three recommended ORTLIEB products perfect for multi-day tours and adventures. n ortlieb.com

ORTLIEB BACK-ROLLER PLUS PANNIERS

This durable rear pannier is made from abrasion-resistant Cordura fabric and offers a 23-litre capacity, which is ample space for clothing, camping gear, and other essentials. Fully waterproof, including the external pocket, it is ideal for all weather conditions. The QuickLock2.1 system allows for easy attachment and removal from your rack, ensuring security and convenience during your trip.

ORTLIEB ULTIMATE HANDLEBAR BAG

Available as a 5-litre or 6-litre bar bag, the Ultimate is designed to keep your valuables and frequently-used items within easy reach. The magnetic closure allows quick access, while the transparent pocket on top is perfect for using maps or smartphones for navigation. The stable, sturdy construction neatly marries practicality and protection.

ORTLIEB SPORT-ROLLER PLUS

Designed for front rack placement (but also suitable for the rear), the Sport-Roller Plus panniers are made from tough, lightweight Cordura. With a 14.5-litre capacity per pannier, they’re ideal for carrying any extras you need without overloading the rear. Fully waterproof, they also use the QuickLock2.1 system for safe, secure mounting, while touring on paved roads and rough trails.

TOP THREE TOURS RATED BY S-CAPE’S TEAM OF EXPERTS

18-DAY CAMINO DEL NORTE, NORTHERN SPAIN

A journey firmly rooted in history that allows you to learn more about the region as you ride through medieval towns, rural hamlets and some vibrant cities, always heading towards Santiago. The varying and verdant landscapes from the coast to the interior, with spectacular beaches around the corner — along with the incredible local cuisine — make this journey truly special. Plus there’s an option of splitting the adventure in two. Buen Camino!

7-DAY ALGARVE AND ALENTEJO TOUR, SOUTHERN PORTUGAL

Cycle off-road following the itinerary of the Rota Vicentina along flowered fields, beautiful cliffs and wild beaches, from village to village. Enjoy the local food and wine along the way before reaching the south-westernmost point of continental Europe. It’s a great destination to enjoy the mild temperatures of spring and autumn.

GREAT GLEN WAY, SCOTLAND

Explore Scotland’s finest coast to coast route on a stunning five-day tour that takes you from Fort William to Inverness, along singletrack trails and lochside paths. Pass beneath the hulking mass of Ben Nevis and via interesting towns, and see the remains of forts and castles. You can also add an extra day and take a boat trip to ‘seal island’ to see grey seals. The perfect pick for nature lovers.

n s-capetravel.eu

Unforgettable self-guided holidays since 2002 n Expertly planned routes n Hand-picked accommodation n Bike rental n Hassle-free baggage transfers n 24/7 support

LONDON’S LORRIES ARE SAFER THANKS TO YOU!

After another notable milestone in LCC's safer lorries campaign, Tom Bogdanowicz assesses what's next for the capital

CAMPAIGNING PAYS off: as of 28 October 2024 lorries in London must meet a new, more stringent, safety standard or their operators face fines of up to £550. No other global city has yet mandated a similar safety standard.

LCC began to lobby strongly for safer lorries when casualty data showed that half of cycling fatalities and 20% of pedestrian road fatalities in London involved a lorry, despite such larger vehicles only representing 4% of vehicle mileage in the city. In many cases drivers could not see cyclists on the road beside their lorry.

The three-star Direct Vision Standard (DVS) — which determines how effectively lorry cab design reduces drivers’ blindspots — applies to all 12-tonne, or larger, heavy goods vehicles in the capital. And it is backed by evidence showing that reducing blindspots in lorries by applying the earlier one-star DVS standard cut the number of fatal collisions involving poor vision from vehicles by 75%.

The DVS is an outcome of consistent campaigning by you, the members of LCC, who signed petition after petition, and put safer lorries on the agenda of first

Mayor Boris Johnson and then Mayor Sadiq Khan. It was notable that at the launch of three-star DVS, TfL specifically thanked LCC for its work on lorry danger.

In 2016 our campaigning won a commitment from Khan to get the most dangerous lorries off the road. He said “I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads.” The DVS standard is the result of this commitment.

It is worth reminding ourselves that LCC action helped establish the two other world-leading lorry safety standards — the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme(FORS) for all HGVs, and the Construction Logistics and Community Safety Scheme (CLOCS) for construction sites — which are also progressing thanks to the diligence LCC supporters and their campaigning. A big thanks to you all.

A long-standing struggle

Initially we successfully campaigned for six, not just the basic four, safety mirrors on all

lorries to enable lorry drivers to better see pedestrians in front of their vehicles, and cyclists to the left of the cab — the two most common causes of HGV collisions with vulnerable road users.

Thousands signed our petition for additional safety mirrors in 2007, leading to a meeting with then transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick in 2008, whom we also informed of the benefits of lorries with good direct vison (not via mirrors), like those used at airports and for refuse collection. Six mirrors on all lorries in London are now mandatory.

From the outset LCC was able to draw on the expert knowledge of Charlie Lloyd (pictured below),

In the driving seat: Mayor Sadiq Khan checks out a modern direct vision lorry, seeing first hand how much more visible cyclists now are to the driver.

volunteer, board member, staffer and a former long distance lorry driver. He not only used his insight to lobby for LCC, but helped mock-up what a safer construction lorry with good vision could look like. We also benefitted from the diplomatic skills of LCC volunteer Alastair Hanton OBE who chaired the multi-organisational Action on Lorry Danger group.

Driver training

Following a spate of cyclist fatalities in 2010 we ran a campaign to train lorry drivers in understanding cyclist movements on the road by putting them on bikes themselves. Ten thousand of you signed a petition to get drivers to follow the pioneering Lambeth training scheme for its HGV drivers, initiated by LCC member, and Lambeth officer, Richard Ambler.

The Lambeth programme was formalised by TfL and Cycle Training UK in a training module called Safer Urban Driving (SUD) which was added to the (national) choice of professional training courses every lorry driver must complete (CPC training). The module is now a required element of FORS silver-grade membership (see below) and, according to FORS, more than 130,000 lorry drivers have now completed the training — a significant proportion of HGV drivers entering London.

LCC is asking ministers to make SUD a required module for lorry drivers not an optional one.

PHOTO: TfL

Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS)

FORS was the first formal step to address the road danger posed by HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians that LCC had highlighted repeatedly. TfL created the voluntary scheme in 2008 for industry to “to improve road safety and help reduce the wider environmental and traffic impacts of freight and fleet operations”, notably by fitting six mirrors and other safety equipment to its vehicles.

Accredited companies had to “demonstrate a commitment to managing road risk, reducing environmental impact and improving operational efficiency”. The scheme offered, and still offers, three grades: bronze, silver and gold. Both silver and gold require all the company’s drivers to complete the SUD module within a year of being employed.

By 2015 some 2,400 firms had signed up to FORS and the scheme went national. Today FORS say that more than 4,500 UK firms

are on its register. The attraction of membership is that, like any industry standard, an operator’s FORS grading gives clients the confidence that they are more likely to be working with a trusted firm. Meeting the standard also means that the firm is less likely to incur the costs and driver trauma of collision involvement.

LCC’s campaigning target is that all London boroughs are not only FORS and CLOCS (see below) members, but also include the two key standards as a requirement when procuring services or accepting planning applications as TfL and several boroughs already do. We have charted the progress of councils on the colour-coded map (see 'Charting Progress' panel).

Construction Logistics & Community Safety Scheme (CLOCS)

Another tragic series of collisions in 2011 prompted more LCC demonstrations, including at King’s Cross and Bow roundabout

CHARTING PROGRESS

A key target for LCC is to make sure the three key safety standards (FORS, CLOCS and DVS) are implemented right across London. Three-star DVS is now mandatory across the capital. TfL also mandates FORS and CLOCS membership for firms working on all its contracts and projects, as do some boroughs. But other boroughs still lag behind.

LCC investigated, by Freedom of Information requests, FORS and CLOCS data and borough information, exactly what measures each borough has in place to ensure its own lorry fleet, and the vehicles and construction sites of firms working in each borough, match up to the FORS and CLOCS standard.

Councils are scored on CLOCS, FORS and procurement and planning terms, from zero to ten and the colouring reflects scores from green (good) to red (poor). We found that City of London, Camden, Croydon, Haringey, Hounslow and Tower Hamlets scored well; most other boroughs only had partial measures to reduce lorry danger, while Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Enfield, Lewisham and Sutton appeared to have none. For full details on the map, go to tinyurl.com/LCClorries

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

If you live in a borough that is in the red or yellow category, you can ask your councillor why the borough can’t include both FORS and CLOCS in its procurement and planning requirements. It's not a big cost and it can reduce road danger for all residents.

PHOTOS: Ben Broomfield, Tom Bogdanowicz, Dennis Eagle

With or without view:

Our illustration clearly shows the difference between a zero-star rated lorry (red) with insuffucient and dangerous driver view, and a modern lorry with increased direct vision (blue). The blue lorry has a larger, lower windscreen to see better in front, plus glazed doors for a better view of cyclists and pedestrians on the nearside.

leading to TfL commissioning an independent report into HGV danger in 2013 called the Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety Report

Following publication of the report, the construction industry and TfL collaborated to create the innovative CLOCS standard for construction sites that addressed work-related danger outside the site. Off-site construction traffic was involved in more fatal casualties than caused by on-site incidents.

Leading firms signed up to measures such as marshals outside construction sites, designated route plans for accessing sites (to minimise danger), and a requirement that contractors are signed up to FORS grade silver (which includes driver training).

CLOCS signatories now include seven London boroughs, and more than 300 contractors and fleet operators who, as CLOCS members, are committed to reducing work-related road risk (WRRR). Yet more boroughs require CLOCS membership through their planning requirements, but we need all of them to do so.

Direct Vision Standard (DVS)

The new three-star standard is a major upgrade on London’s one-

star DVS which was introduced in 2021. That standard, launched on 1 March 2021, required all operators of large freight and construction vehicles to achieve either a one-star rating on the DVS, or fit additional sensors, cameras and measures to increase vision around the cab and/or safety around the vehicle.

The new update to the threestar grading means that operators must now either operate threestar, or above, lorries or upgrade the camera technology and other fittings on lorries below the threestar rating to what is called the Progressive Safe System (PSS). As illustrated in the diagrams (see right), the new kit makes a big improvement to the driver’s vision via camera.

Europe and beyond

Thanks to the efforts of Mayors Johnson and Khan, LCC and others (including university experts), the principle of improved direct vision was written into the European Union’s regulations for vehicle manufacture.

The new UNECE (the regulatory body) Rule 167 means that, as of 2026, new lorry models built in

Europe will have to meet a DVS standard and, as of 2029, all new lorries will have to comply (a potential loophole has be closed with a further deadline of 2036).

These standards don’t quite match London’s three-star DVS, but they have already encouraged manufacturers like Volvo, Scania and Mercedes to produce threestar lorries in several categories.

THREE-STAR SAFETY FEATURES:

This illustration shows the value of eliminating the blindspot with camera monitoring systems (CMS) required under three-star DVS regulations. By installing a CMS system, based on appropriate specifications, cyclists and pedestrians will be visible by the driver.

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Baselayers

Baselayers are your first line of defence against cold weather. They reduce heat loss by up to 45%, keeping you warm and dry. Moisture-wicking and quick-drying, they fit snugly under a jersey or midlayer as part of a layering system. The flatlock stitching ensures all-day comfort, even on long rides.

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Winter Tights

Thermal tights are perfect for chilly commutes and weekend adventures alike, providing warmth and temperature regulation. Made from heavyweight fleece, they feature windstopper fabric at the knees for added protection. Reflective tape on the outer legs enhances visibility, making them a safe, high-performance option for cyclists braving London’s winter mornings.

Winter Jersey

A winter jersey offers excellent temperature control, helping to regulate body heat in cold conditions. Made from fleece, with just the right stretch, they’re perfect for wearing over a baselayer. With multiple pockets at the rear, plus a silicone gripper at the hem, they’re built for both comfort and practicality.

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They came. They saw. They LOVED IT. (just).

The 2024 Urban Hill Climb was another spectacular success and we were there to greet a few of the happy finishers...

ANOTHER URBAN

Hill Climb has come and gone, and with it another crop of brave riders has taken on and bested the beast that is Swain’s Lane.

This year saw 400 of London’s finest pedalling everything from ultralight road bikes to folders, cargobikes, and some even carrying a couple of kids or beer barrels. And with the conditions perfect for hillclimbing, impressive times were set across the board, no doubt helped by the sea of supporters and their cowbells.

However, such is the nature of Swain’s Lane and its average incline of 8%, maxing out at 20% over 900m of tarmac that, for obvious reasons, many who take it on finish up in various states of exhaustion.

With that in mind, we did our best footy pitchside imitation, shoving a microphone into the faces of tired riders who’d left it all out on the course, just to get their immediate thoughts post-race. And while we chose those who gave us the funniest, most sarcastic soundbites, everyone we spoke to also said they wanted to do it again! So see you all in 2025...

“Oh my god, it’s so hard on one of them [folding bike]” — Chris Morgan

“It’s a great event. This is the first time I’ve done it in 10 years, and there’s a very good reason for that” — David Rose

“My legs are just absolutely horrendous right now” — Ellen Rham

“No words. Just no words” — Emilia Olsen

“It was just as horrific as I thought it was going to be!” —

“Overall, I’d say a brutal but fun experience” — Holden Wright

Brian Cobbold

10 YEARS’ SUPPORT FOR LCC MEMBERS

OSBORNES LAW — which is celebrating a decade as LCC’s legal partner in 2024 — recently settled a claim for an LCC member who was injured after a van collided with him on a roundabout in London.

The cyclist was already on the roundabout when the van driver ran into his right-hand side, throwing him to the ground and causing injury. This included serious fractures to hip and wrist, both requiring surgery to fix fractures with metal plates.

Andrew Middlehurst, a specialist cycling claims lawyer at Osbornes Law was instructed and he quickly achieved an admission of liability from the driver’s insurers. They also agreed to fund private rehabilitation and treatment for the cyclist.

Following the recommendation of an orthopaedic consultant, Osbornes also secured funding from the insurers for a surgical procedure to remove the metal

The cycling team at Osbornes Law explains why proper advice is vital in collision claims

plate from the cyclist’s hip, which initially led to improvement.

But a further medical report by a specialist surgeon identified a major complication and recommended a hip replacement. Funding was again obtained from the driver’s insurers to pay for a robotic-assisted total hip replacement.

The insurers then made an offer of settlement, so Osbornes instructed a barrister and gave comprehensive advice to the cyclist on the potential value of their claim based on the limited evidence available. A settlement of over £70,000 was reached, securing a financial award for the pain, suffering, financial losses incurred, and the potential costs of any future private medical treatment.

Middlehurst commented:

“I’m pleased to have secured a substantial settlement for our client, who suffered serious injuries due to a van driver’s negligence. This case underscores the importance of holding drivers accountable and ensuring that injured cyclists receive the necessary treatment and compensation to fully recover.

In this case the medical report we obtained highlighted that the only way to return our client to a quality of life he enjoyed before the collision was a total hip replacement.”

Ride Guide

“Osbornes Law took on my case after I was hit by van on my cycle to work. I learnt about them as a member of the London Cycling Campaign. I would recommend Osbornes Law to anyone who is unsure how to proceed following a traumatic cycling accident.”

Felicia D

& RIDERS RUNNERS

Guidebook writer and LCC member Ross Hamilton leads the way on a quiet countryside tour of lesser-known Surrey sights

THE HISTORIC VILLAGE of Lingfield is most famous for its racecourse, which was opened in 1890 by the then Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII. He gave permission for the Prince of Wales’ feathers to be used as part of the course logo which it still uses to this day. And this ride starts and finishes at Lingfield railway station.

The description goes clockwise, but it can be ridden in either direction, and takes in a series of country roads, including sections of the Yew Tree Way and Surrey Cycleway. Located near the borders of Kent, East and West Sussex, the route is relatively flat, but does have some inclines. Just be careful not to organise your visit on a day when the horse racing is on as the roads get busy.

The ride is taken from Ross Hamilton's Cycling in Surrey: 21 Hand Picked Rides — see page 54 for special reader offer.

RUNNERS & RIDERS

FACTFILE

DISTANCE: 22km (13.5 miles)

ASCENT: 180m (590ft)

TERRAIN: all on road

SUITABLE FOR: all bikes. Most of the ride is quiet roads. NEAREST STATIONS: Lingfield and Dormans stations.

DOWNLOAD FREE MAP

We have partnered with mapping specialist Komoot to bring you free downloadable route maps. Simply scan the QR code here to access the relevant page on your smartphone or tablet.

Ride Guide

S/F: LINGFIELD STATION

Lingfield station is served by Southern Rail (one train per hour off peak) and Thameslink (peak hours only).

1 ST GEORGE’S CHURCH

This beautiful building is home to a yew tree that is at least 1,500 years old. The interior of the tree has been hollowed out and a door installed. If you're fortunate enough to arrive when the church is open, look for a wall painting behind the altar; if the light is right, the sunshine reflects off the golden stars to quite stunning effect. It is believed that the font here could be older than the church itself and might be from the Saxon era, but this has been hard to prove.

RUNNERS & RIDERS

4 HAXTED WATERMILL

A grade II working mill from the 14th to the mid-20th century, it once housed a museum, bar and brasserie. Though, at the time of writing, it now looks to be a private residence.

5 DORMANS VILLAGE

temporary repose of miscreants".

Behind this is Gunpit Pond. Created when material was dug up to help with road construction, it's a nice spot to sit and watch the ducks. Lingfield Nature Reserve has a wide range of environments including meadows, wetlands and a butterfly garden.

From the church, you need to cycle back the way you came for a short distance to rejoin the route.

2 THE ROYAL OAK

If you have time (or have planned a lunch), this is well worth a stop, if only for the view from the back garden.

3 GREAT EARLS WOOD & STAFFHURST WOOD

Both sites are managed by the Woodland Trust and are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest through having documented continuous woodland cover for more than one thousand years. This woodland — also a local nature reserve — is known for its carpet of bluebells in the springtime and is home to six rare species of moth, including the leadcoloured drab.

It is worth visiting the memorial garden of St John the Evangelist church for the spectacular view looking towards Lingfield. The village store is a very old building (established 1865), so watch your head if you enter (or don't take your cycle helmet off just in case). It is a useful stop for supplies or just somewhere to sit outside of relaxing on their bench. They will also charge your phone for you.

The Royal Oak pub opposite served a nice pint when we stopped in — and, no, not all the pubs in this area are called the Royal Oak.

The biggest highlight is Lingfield Old Town. The first building you see on entering is Pollard House, another Grade I-listed building, which dates to the 15th century and was once a butcher’s shop. Check out the display on the wall opposite Pollard House for more information on what the rest of the buildings once were.

6 DORMANS STATION

A lovely building dating back to 1884. The station does not have a car park, so the side of the road is used instead. This narrows the road, so do watch out for traffic coming the other way.

7 LINGFIELD VILLAGE

It is worth parking your bike up and taking the time to wander around the village before you leave. There is The Cage, a Grade I-listed building that was used as "a lock-up for the

From here, make your way to the end of the street and the Church of St Peter & St Paul. This is the third Grade I-listed building in Lingfield, with some of the stonework in the lower sections of the west wall dating to the Saxon era. There is much to see here, but of note are two tombs inside the church. The first, directly in front of the altar, is the last resting place of Sir Reginald de Cobham (1382-1446) and his second wife. The second, to the left of this, is the tomb of an earlier Sir Reginald de Cobham (1295-1361). This Cobham fought at the Battle of Crecy and was made a Knight of the Garter by Edward III.

READER OFFER

LCC members can get 25% off the retail price when ordering a Cycling in Surrey print book or ebook. Just use the code CYCLE25 at bradtguides.com.

RUNNERS & RIDERS

NEW CYCLE LIGHTS

Whether it’s a powerful front/rear pair, helmet light or dynamo, making sure you can see the road ahead and be seen yourself is key to safer cycling

ALONGSIDE A strong lock, a decent set of lights is the only ‘must have’ that every city cyclist should own. And modern lighting tech is so impressive now that multiple modes for day or night riding are the norm across all brands. So here’s our guide to nine of the latest lights for cyclists of every type and budget.

#1 SP DYNAMO HUB

Winter commuting becomes a lot less of a faff with an SP Dynamo hub: you’ll never forget your headlight, or need to charge it again! Various models to suit different wheel axles and brake types. Available from IBDs, or as complete wheels from halowheels.com. SP also offers an LED headlamp for use with any of its dynamo hubs. n ison-distribution.com; from £100.

#2 OXFORD ULTRATORCH

CUBE-X LED SET

A compact chip-on-board (COB) design makes the Cube-X front and rear lights small yet mighty, saving space on cluttered handlebars. A tool-free rubberised strap allows quick mounting to bars and seatposts, and with 140 LEDs and USB charging its tiny size does not compromise on output. n oxfordproducts.com; £27.99.

#3 MOON RIGEL MAX & HELIX LITE SET

This power couple offers 1500 lumens up front and 100 at the rear for assured visibility and safety on every ride. With multiple modes, water resistance, long battery life, and advanced features like motion sensing and intelligent brightness, it’s a perfect pair for commuting and weekend adventures. n extrauk.co.uk; £99.99.

#4 CATEYE AMPP 400S

The new AMPP400S offers a balance of safety and convenience with its 400-lumen ‘OptiCube’ lens and five light modes. This versatile light can be adjusted to fit any bike with its ratchet bracket, and the double-click to high function allows for quick adjustments to changing ride conditions. n cateyecycling.co.uk; £34.99.

#5 EXPOSURE LINK PLUS MK4

A 400-lumen front and 50-lumen rear combination helmet light, which can be run as either front, rear, or both at any one time. The Link Plus sits high above the traffic, with 360-degree visibility and the power to be seen more than a kilometre away. Ideal for urban riding, day or night. n exposurelights.com; £100.

#6 SEEME PRO 360 SET

This game-changing lightset provides true 360-degree visibility, high lumens (1500 front/450 rear/160 side-bars) LED lights for clear vision and visibility, plus inbuilt HD cameras front and rear. Static and flashing modes offer night

and day visibility, with USB charging and quick-release mounts. n seeme-cycle.com; £247.

#7 SIGMA BUSTER 1600 & RL 150 SET

The new Buster is a five-mode, 1600-lumen front light, with USB charging and tool-free mounting. Encasing two high-quality LEDs and in combination with an innovative double lens, it produces a uniform light pattern that shines over 200m. The 150-lumen rear light can be seen an impressive 2km away, across a 280-degree angle, with a brake light function too. n oxfordproducts.com/sigma; £134.99.

#8 KNOG BLINDER PACK

Blinder lights are Knog’s most popular and individual bike lights ever, adding serious personality to your ride. The Blinder twinpack offers a punchy 200 lumens up front and 100 at the rear, and there’s a choice of square or cross ‘matrix’ patterns. Both lights are brilliant for attracting attention on the road or trail in all light conditions. n freewheel.co.uk; £74.99.

#9 ZEFAL SUPERVISION

F200 & R150 SET

This versatile set combines a 200-lumen front light with a 150-lumen rear. Water resistant, quick to mount, and with up to a 16hr battery life, they have been designed specifically for cyclists looking for maximum visibility in the city or when out touring. n chickencyclekit.co.uk; £79.99.

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NEW E-BIKES HOT TECH

WE WERE very early fans of Tern’s clever but pricey GSD model, pointing out the car-replacing potential of such ‘longtail’ e-cargobikes — basically robust urban cycles with beefy frames and smaller (20in), stronger wheels to achieve regular bike length and substantial load-carrying ability, including up to two children (or a second adult) depending on weight and set-up. The Quick Haul Long, like its stablemate, can take a passenger (up to 90kg) on the back — which easily covers two young kids — but it slashes the price by an impressive £2k. It is clearly Tern’s answer to the growing number of competitors in the longtail market who have undercut the GSD.

Reassuringly, Tern sticks to a tried and tested power-assist combination on the Quick Haul Long — an integral 85Nm Bosch Cargo Line motor with a matching 400Wh battery (and charger). The Shimano drivetrain and brakes of the GSD are swapped for cheaper but equally-effective units from Tektro. Throughout our test everything worked reliably and predictably, including up our favourite super-steep slopes (both off and on-road) in north London. There’s a choice of eco, tour, sport and turbo modes. While eco was like a ‘workout’ option and useful when running low on battery juice, tour setting became our usual default on the flat, with sport and turbo only

called into action on inclines. Needless to say, the higher settings used noticeably more battery power. With only one rider we averaged about 17km per indicator bar on the display (out of five) on tour mode, and 11km per bar on sport. In theory that gives a range of 55-85km on a full charge if you’re savvy with setting selection. Charging was quick, about an hour per bar, and the charger switched off automatically when the battery was full.

Our test bike came with the so-called ‘captain’s seat’ and a front carrier, but you can also fit individual child seats or a plain bench, and use capacious panniers instead of the front rack. While the seat was given the thumbs up for comfort, getting it

in and out of hallways is tricker than the bench-style alternative. The seat and rack also add weight to the basic 27kg, which makes little difference to riding performance but is harder to lug up steps. Like all Tern longtails the bike stores vertically on little knobs, a real bonus in tight spaces.

Other key differences to the GSD, aside from reduced weight and a cheaper drivetrain, include no folding

FACTFILE

n Step-over frame suits all riders from 155-185cm (5ft to 6ft2in).

n Integral lights that switch on with power activation.

n Rack and mudguards included.

n Stores in vertical position.

handlebar, no suspension and no fittings for a second battery. What is included is an integral wheel lock, with a key that also locks the battery (good anti-theft thinking), and a kickstand that is very stable (but can catch on taller steps). Also worth noting, the QR codes on Tern cycles and motors make it potentially less attractive to thieves as any service would likely highlight a stolen bike.

VERDICT

+ Tern quality at a lower price. + ‘Lower’ spec doesn’t compromise the performance. + It’s a true passenger carrier and the ultimate in cargo versatility.

RIDDEN & RATED TOP TECH

We find out if there’s still a place for steel when aluminium and carbon dominate the bike world

AT A TIME when the majority of the cycle trade is rarely talking about anything except electric bikes, it’s reassuring to know that there’s still brands out there bucking the trend and doing their own thing. Surly is resolutely one of that minority, sticking to what it’s always done best: making quality steel-framed rides, with an eye for neat details.

That doesn’t mean that Surly’s range is old fashioned, or persists with defunct standards; the brand uses modern geometry across the relevant categories and mixes up-to-date components with all the features you actually need. And although the Bridge Club sits in its ‘touring’ line-up, we’d probably

more accurately define it as a commuter/bikepacking/touring all-rounder — it’s as durable as any daily driver, comfy over the long haul and allows you to pack big when needed. Incidentally Surly’s Preamble model is almost identical

to our test machine, but comes with 700c wheels if you lean more to the road. However, for riders like us who like to hit the towpaths, duck across heathland and parks at every opportunity, and tackle easy trails all on the same trip, the Bridge Club handles the lot, with ease.

Our most frequent loop kicks off with a spin round Clapham Common’s shared paths, before taking in Wandsworth Common, the Tamsin Trail in Richmond Park and a return by the river. And for multi-surface outings like this, the Bridge Club is hard to beat. The double-butted chromoly frame and fork absorb small bumps and the constant rippling of gravel tracks nicely, and the 2.4in WTB

tyres work a treat, adding comfort, assurance and extra grip, especially as terrain turns wetter and muddier.

We like the cheeky chainstay decal stating ‘fatties fit fine’, which hints at the fact you could use even wider tyres (up to 26in x 3in) if you

wanted, but we feel the 27.5in ones supplied offer the best of all worlds.

A single 32-teeth chainring is paired with a wide-range 11-50t cassette, more than adequate low gearing for anywhere in southern England, while we’ve found the Tektro disc brakes to be reliable and (from experience) easy to service. We got on well with the WTB saddle too as it’s a similar shape to our own favourites, but we we’re less enamoured with the deeplyswept handlebars — we’d likely swap to a low-rise bar if we owned the bike, but again that’s a personal preference. It’s not a glittery spec by any means, but when you don’t have any issues that’s fine by us. There’s also multiple mounts for

panniers and bags (look at those fork legs!), and full mudguards, and we’re hoping to deploy the former on King Alfred’s Way before the bike goes back. To be considering the Bridge Club for such an epic is testament to how highly we rate it.

FACTFILE

n Five sizes available, from XS to XL (XS only by special order).

n Clearance for 700c x 47mm tyres, as well as those mentioned.

n Room for three bottles, plus bags.

VERDICT

+ Steel still has a unique ride feel. + Great for ‘dirty’ commutes, roughstuffing and bikepacking.

WINTER WARMERS

Get a few key pieces of winter kit right and there’s really no reason why you can’t be cycling all through the colder, wetter seasons every year...

#1 SEALSKINZ ANMER WATERPROOF GLOVE

We’ve sworn by the brand’s waterproof socks for 20+ years, so we’re pleased that its new gloves retain the same formula: a thin hydrophilic membrane sandwiched between a merino wool inner and nylon/elastane outer. Not only do they keep your mitts 100% dry, but windproofing (crucial for cyclists) is spot on and they’re super cosy to wear. Tacky silicone grippers are non-slip on handlebars and allow touchscreen use in the harshest conditions. Thumbs up! n £45; sizes S-XL; sealskinz.com

#2 MADISON DTE 3-LAYER WATERPROOF BIBS

Another development of a longtime favourite, these waterproof bibs take Madison’s excellent DTE trousers and add even more weather-beating protection around the torso. Don’t mistake these for some ski-style salopettes though, these bibs aren’t bulky or cumbersome, instead they fit like a pair of alpine climbing pants, with a fairly slim cut leg tailored to allow unrestricted movement in the riding position. We love how they feel on and the high-rise back ensures your lumbar region is always covered. They’re not designed as ‘overtrousers’ and we found they worked best over standard cycling shorts or tights. There’s reflective details, chest and hip pockets, and a deep side zip that makes getting them on and off easy. Also three leg lengths mean you should find a perfect fit. n £199; sizes S-XXL; madison.cc

#3 ALTURA WMN RIDGE TIER WATERPROOF JACKET

From the off we were impressed — you get six true sizes to choose from! The cut is tailored, but we found there was plenty of room for a baselayer and thin fleece underneath. The fabric’s really soft to touch and not rustly like many waterproof materials, and there’s plenty of ‘give’ too. It’s been such a wet autumn that we’ve worn the Ridge daily and never once felt damp, and there’s no hint of condensation inside as breathability’s so good (we haven’t had to use the pit zips). And the hood is one of the best we’ve ever found, it sits over a helmet without feeling restrictive. n £175; sizes 8-18; altura.co.uk

#4 REGATTA KIZMITT OVERHEAD FLEECE

Knowing what to wear under your waterproof jacket can be tricky as jumpers made from cotton or wool aren’t breathable and can leave you feeling sweaty. Having experimented with various layers from cycling and outdoor brands, we found this bargain top made from recycled polyester. It’s warm and pretty basic, but what attracted us was the mini cowl-like collar that you can snug down into, so there’s no need for an extra scarf/Buff. n £12.49; sizes XS-XL; decathlon.co.uk

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Essential Benefits:

•

•

• Quarterly London Cyclist Magazine

• Member Discounts

• Welcome Gift (worth £50): Choose from ABUS lock, CatEye lights, Lezyne pump

Bonus Gifts (while stocks last)

• Personalised Christmas card

• FREE book: “Potholes and Pavements” by Laura Laker (£16.99 RRP)

• £4.99 for 10 cards + envelopes

• Original cycling-inspired artwork

• Premium eco-friendly card stock

LCC’s

1976-1983

Raleigh Grifter

Like nothing that had come before it, John Kitchiner looks back at a short-lived mean machine that shook up the youth market forever

EVERYONE REMEMBERS their first kiss, don’t they?

In the same way that most of us can recall the first band we saw live, the first album we spent our pocket money on, our first holiday without parents. But what about bikes? Which, if any, warrant equally fond recollection?

In an unscientific straw poll of cycling friends, many pointed immediately to the bike they rode to school or throughout their university years. Others highlighted the one on which they did their first big tour, their first sportive, or their first proper mountain biking. A neighbour even mentioned the tandem that she and her partner fell in love over at a garage sale. For yours truly — someone who’s been lucky enough to own, test and review several hundred different bikes down the years, and someone with a fairly extensive list of favourites — it might come as a surprise to learn that the object of such special affection is in fact a battered and chipped old blue Raleigh Grifter.

Sure, there were shared hand-me-downs with stabilisers beforehand, but when this weird, mini frankenbike landed in an east London garden in the late 70s it was a mind-blowing

moment. Fat, knobbly tyres, high-rise handlebars, three-speed Sturmey Archer hub gears with a funky twist-grip shifter, massive plastic mudguards, and a frame that resembled an upside-down Chopper — what the hell was this thing? The mixed BMX and mtb genes might be obvious to a modern viewer, but both those bike styles were years away from invention when the Grifter was born; this was as radical as a hoverboard was to Marty McFly’s classmates.

The Mk1 emerged in spring 1976 in metallic blue or candy apple red, before the Mk2 added seven more colourways and spec options in 1978. Sadly production ended five years later when BMX became a global phenomenon and Britain’s biggest bike builder turned its attention to the brilliant Burner as the big seller in its youth range.

Like the Chopper, the Grifter wasn’t without its own ‘unique’ ride traits. While it didn’t baulk at jumps and stunts, the gears slipped with unerring frequency, resulting in skinned shins or forehead bruises — the designers clearly knew what was coming when they fitted thick foam pads to the bars! But, hey, what other bike has inspired two subsequent genres?

Illustration : David Sparshott