Cycling UK Forum

Went out for a ride yesterday thinking it would be nice to take advantage of traffic free roads....however, it was eerily quiet and there were a few groups of dubious looking characters about. I'm used to riding alone, in fairly remote areas as well as in towns at night etc, and have only rarely fel...

I've had an empty bottle confiscated. Was clean and dry etc. It was in hold luggage but in a rucsac so it went to a separate large luggage thing where they x rayed it on the spot and removed the fuel bottle. In a suitcase it would most likely have been fine - have flown several times with gas cannis...

Make sure the train manager knows you have a bike and where you are getting off. Often the train manager never comes through as they check tickets before you get on at the two stations I normally get on at. Even if you do tell them, they tend to forget. I used to do it on a weekly basis and I used ...

I think the OV fietsen only come in adult sizes, but a ten year old is probably big enough to ride one with the saddle down - you see loads of dutch children riding round on adult sized bikes I only hired a bike in Holland once and it was very cheap and easy - booked in advance though. Hire bikes te...

I disagree with whoever above said that taking a train on Virgin is fine once you've booked the ticket. I find the staff rude, obstructive, disrespectful, and have many times found that despite booking a reservation, no-one is available to unlock the special door either getting on or getting off. Th...

He he sorry didn't mean to put you off! If you are a sociable type you would probably love it! It was our first longish tour and one of us (not me!) had brought some very old wheels and tyres which got shredded and broken on the belgian cobbles. Once in the Netherlands we found it very difficult to ...

We did a 10 day tour last year and used them. You are supposed to give at least 24 hours notice so you have to contact them the day before at least. Not all have email addresses either. The hosts are usually quite old (mainly retired or getting towards it) and not all of them speak that much English...

I agree that jaywalking laws are a Bad Idea The point about the multiple crossings is not just that you can cross the road easier but that the behaviour of drivers is changed, they need to be much more observant and careful, rather than assuming the road belongs to them, and priority in urban areas ...

One of the great things a green party councillor did in my area was to change the pedestrian crossing light so that the car light goes red virtually instantly when the button is pressed. At first it caused some drivers to almost do an emergency stop! When I first got the flier throught he door I tho...

Ok thanks for the replies (especially Valbrona :D ). I will give a statement and see what happens. The police have given it a crime number "as an incident causing harassment, alarm or distress contrary to section 4A of the Public order Act". They are going to look at local CCTV The bus com...

After a few unpleasant incidents I am thinking it's time to get a camera so that next time someone knocks me off/cuts me up/shouts abuse I can prove it to the Police. I was loathe to do this because I would rather presume people are not going to attack me but I am starting to get to the end of my te...

Just feeling the need to rant a bit! Was in a road rage incident 3 days ago where a white van driver cut me up and then proceeded to chase me down the road threatening me and swearing in the most foul language imaginable. Must be somebody with anger issues as I had done nothing whatsoever than could...

The cement mixer didn't necessarily overtake the cyclist. It could be that the cyclist went up the inside whilst the mixer was stopped or moving slowly..as it probably would be if only learning...And there was an instructor present too. Why do people persist in riding up the inside of large vehicles?

Heard on Smooth radio last night several adverts presumably aimed at cyclists. They were played repeatedly between the other ads - very short clips, with no indication of what organisation was funding them. The first: (Spoken in a very strident tone) 'Cyclists - give yourself a chance - wear a helme...

On a point of economics, can anyone explain how the GDP/car thing works? Using cars and paying for petrol/repairs etc is just one way of spending money that people already have. If they didn't drive a car they would presumably spend it on something else (eg. a bigger house/better food/more bikes.......