Search found 14 matches

by TallestTim
8 Sep 2021, 1:02pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Southern East Hampshire - Walking Cycling Plans Released for Comment!
Replies: 12
Views: 1570

Southern East Hampshire - Walking Cycling Plans Released for Comment!

Afternoon all!

On Monday 6th September , Hampshire County Council released 5 Local Cycling and Walking Plans for the following Boroughs:
Fareham Borough (https://farehamlcwip.commonplace.is/)
Gosport Borough (https://gosportlcwip.commonplace.is/)
Havant Borough (https://havantlcwip.commonplace.is/)
Eastleigh Borough (https://eastleighlcwip.commonplace.is/)
Southern Test Valley Borough (Romsey, Chilworth, North Baddesley) (https://southerntestvalleylcwip.commonplace.is/)

Each document is BIG (typically 160 pages) , so there is a lot of work - we're only just digesting them ourselves.

We want to raise awareness of these as much as possible, and while we're currently digesting them ourselves, we want to get as many voices heard as possible from the local areas, remembering that these are set for "transport" routes, not leisure/sport.

Please can you share these as wide as possible?

PS, if anyone has any experience in assisting in general members of the public reviewing these things, any pointers would be really appreciated!


The local groups I'm aware off would love your involvement:

Havant Borough:
Walk Ride Waterlooville (www.WalkRideWaterlooville.org.uk),
Cycle Havant,
Cycle Hayling (www.cyclehayling.org.uk)
Portsmouth CTC (www.portsmouthctc.org.uk)

Fareham - TBD
(May include Fareham Wheelers.)

Gosport -
Cycle Gosport
Clairion Cycle Club

Eastliegh -
TBD

Southern Test Valley -
TBD

If there isn't a group covering your area, and you'd like to join up with other local campaigners, please let comment below, or DM me and i'll see what I can do - For example i know a number of people within Fareham and Eastliegh, although there is not a formal campaigning group there.

Deadline is the 31st of October.

Ta!

Tim,

Acting Chair, Walk Ride Waterlooville.
by TallestTim
25 May 2021, 1:30pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.
Replies: 61
Views: 8036

Re: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

xerxes wrote: 19 May 2021, 8:56pm
TallestTim wrote: 17 May 2021, 9:10pm
The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents,
Two on one ride? - are you sure your tolerance threshold is not too low? The best way to raise it is to keep cycling.
I know you mean well, but if i can stick my elbow out and it touch the side of the vehicle with it as the driver passes at 40mph on a blustery day, it's not my tolerance that's the problem. And that's before you take the wing mirror into account. ..
xerxes wrote: 19 May 2021, 8:56pm
Are you 'taking the lane' rather than hugging the edge of the road? The latter is far more likely to encourage dangerous overtaking by motorists.
Yes, which is why I'm often screamed at for "riding in the centre of the road" (obviously meaning lane) followed up with "you're not a car", and assaulted for it.
:roll:
by TallestTim
17 May 2021, 9:10pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.
Replies: 61
Views: 8036

Re: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

Quick update.

Thanks for all the supportive words & posts, it's appreciated.

The last ride I did i had a Pass Pixi fitted (a speed camera type sign indicating dashcam on board) and even then had 2 pretty terrifying incidents, one a Must Get in Front and Slam On The Brakes from 40mph, the other an in lane close pass at speed despite oncoming traffic.

I've now bought a reasonably cheap car, and started driving to work - and the mental relief that comes with the knowledge that "others will treat me like themselves and are unlikely to assault me" I just can't put my fingers on it.

I've fitted my mountain bike with off road tyres rather than mostly flats, borrowed a dumb trainer from a friend and bought myself an Ant+ USB stick and a trainer tyre and put that on my road bike, and am currently downloading Zwift.

I hate the fact that a part of society has forced me into this, and that I'm now adding to the local congestion and air pollution, let alone the impact of having to lay out £2k just so that I can continue to get to work with a perception of being safer - or at least not shivering in fear at the end of a ride, and can "just stroll into the office", for the moment at least, anyway.

At least when i'm driving, i know i'm not going to close pass another rider, and can hopefully lead others by example.... that's how this works, yes?
by TallestTim
17 May 2021, 8:51pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.
Replies: 61
Views: 8036

Re: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

TrevA wrote: 28 Apr 2021, 10:11pm I’ve been cycling for 47 years, I commuted to work by bike through rush hour traffic for 42 of those 47 years, I reckon I’ve done close to 200,000 miles on a bike. In that time, I’ve been knocked off my bike twice - one of those was whilst riding a time trial race on the A1, neither resulted in serious injury. I think that shows that cycling is, in my experience, a fairly safe activity.

Yes, I’ve had close passes, I’ve had very occasional argy-bargy with motorists, I’ve even been deliberately driven at once, but none of this has put me off cycling and I can’t say that I’ve ever been afraid to ride.

I do now record my rides with front and rear facing cameras, mainly because I can.
Well, i'm glad that it's never put you off.

Doesn't mean it doesn't put others off.
by TallestTim
23 Apr 2021, 3:40pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.
Replies: 61
Views: 8036

Re: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

Vorpal wrote: 23 Apr 2021, 2:51pm I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. You obviously have to do what is best for you, but some things to think about & alternative tor try...

1) advocate for better infrastructure; segregated routes, filtered traffic, and other improvements that make for better cycling environments are being implemented all over the UK. Find out who is working on it in your area (Cycling UK should have some information about their representatives). This is obviously a long term, rather than short term solution. (edit: I see you've added this :) )
2) edit: Cyclecraft, by John Franklin and published by TSO (more info than Bikeability)
3) can you work flexible hours? Or do your cycle commute at different times to avoid the worst traffic? even 10 minutes one way or the other might be enough if you are being targetted by a particular person
4) Before you give up & buy a car, hire one for a bit & see if you can cope with the driving. Personally, I go stir crazy after a couple of weeks of driving to work, and my perspective on this has changed over the years.
5) What will you do for exercise instead of cycling? Is it something you can commit the time to, in addition to driving? Or do you get enough exercise without cycling? Otherwise, the risk from illness that results from being sedentary is likely higher, and possible much higher than the risk of traffic injury.
6) can you get a lift with a colleague for a while, and limit cycling to off-road and quiet lane rides until you are ready to try your commute again?
7) Can you use public transport? Or combine cycling & public transport to leave out the worst bits of your commute?

good luck!
Thanks Vorpal, most appreciated.
1) Yes - I'm a committee member for a couple of local cycle campaign groups.
2) Got Cyclecraft, read it before I did the bikeability course, but another reminder to re-read, thank you.
3) Tried varing the time of day, +/- an hour, but it's either everyone speeding when quiet, or angry and squeezing past to get to the back of the queue ahead.
4) I know i'll be able to do the drive - i do still drive using a hire car occasionally when needing to carry "big" stuff. A long term hire isn't as expensive as I thought it would be though for 3 months, so will look into that.
5) Probably buy a smart trainer and put the bike on that, as well as walk the dog for longer, but i'm really concerned about the lack of exercise most of all by this.
6) Not really, variability of hours & CV19 making most WFH means not a viable option.
7) Nope, PT desert.

Ta
by TallestTim
23 Apr 2021, 2:26pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.
Replies: 61
Views: 8036

Deliberate Close Passing /Assault and now just too scared to ride to work.

Good Afternoon all

After a shockingly close pass of about 10 to 20 cm at 30 + mph to get to the back of the queue ahead (during which i think the driver was laughing at me, they certainly were when i asked for more space 20 seconds later as they sat in the queue), which caused me to break down afterwards, and then again 15 minutes later while reporting them for assault at the police station, on top of all the other incidents this week (and being knocked off 3 weeks ago) I've realised that riding to and from work, after doing it for 5 years is just too damn stressful and scary - it's effecting my sleep, my home life, my work. I've tried numerous different routes, numerous different times of day, but I've had incidents on all the viable routes, including over the years, numerous incidents from the same driver.

My family have asked me to stop riding as they'd rather have me home each day, rather than worrying where I am, if i'm alive, if i'm going to make it home to read the bedtime story, and while I've been battling the decision as i don't own my own car, I can't continue doing it to myself, or my family any more, so am looking to buy a car and drive; but the moment the decision was made, it felt like a massive weight was transferred from my shoulders.

The full incident is on camera, and i'm going to kick my wife out of the kitchen tonight so that she won't see the footage as I will watch it to submit writing the witness statement to the police, and it's going to eat me up inside doing so; I'll probably not sleep well tonight because of it. And yes, i have to report it, otherwise I couldn't live with myself if the driver goes on to assault others.

I'm also concerned further by the financial impact that buying and running a car will add to my stress as it wasn't something i'd planned to do at all (in fact i took this job & salary because I could sell my car and ride to work) , but i'm being forced into it by this driver's behaviour (accepting it's the tipping point of a long journey), alongside the need to find time now to drive to work (which will probably take longer most days) and then find additional time to get my exercise.... and no, Bus/PT or walking isn't an option, as it would take way too long each day - the ride is 45 minutes, Bus/Walk is 1 1/2 hours each way)

What, and how can i progress from this back to riding to work? in the last 2 years i've Bikeabilty Level 3, but I'm sure a refresher wouldn't hurt; however, i recognise the problem here isn't me, it's them....

Any help or guidance would be really, really appreciated.

(Edit - and yes, already campaigning very loudly at multiple levels for safe cycle routes)
Ta

Tim
by TallestTim
21 Oct 2020, 12:12pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Operation Close Pass
Replies: 38
Views: 2460

Re: Operation Close Pass

alanesq wrote:Just posting some more sample data in case anyone is interested:

This is captured whilst cycling along a pretty standard main road for a few hundred meters or so.
Interestingly, of the 9 vehicles which overtook me, it looks like only 4 were 1.5 meters+ from me (and this is measured from my cycle frame not my shoulder).
It seems to only have a reliable range of around 2.5m, not sure why as it is claimed to be 4.5m

You can get the actual data in text format here: https://github.com/alanesq/ESP32Cam-ran ... e-data.txt


Very neat - i've been meaning to do this for a while, and have a bunch of parts after seeing this https://www.bikebiz.com/bike-blogger-cr ... s-o-meter/ a few years ago, but failed to make the time. Might make time over winter this year...
Full write up from him is here: http://oldgreycells.blogspot.com/search ... missometer
by TallestTim
4 Jul 2019, 9:27pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Daily Mail's Misleading Headline from May "Cyclists had killed more people than motorists"
Replies: 6
Views: 3859

Daily Mail's Misleading Headline from May "Cyclists had killed more people than motorists"

Hi.

Does anyone have a hard copy, or a photo of the Daily Mail article covered here?

https://www.cyclinguk.org/news/misleadi ... -dismissed

I've formally escallated three times now in the IPSO, and been told that because my complaint is regarding the online article, they can't do anything else.

However, if i complained about the article, as printed in a UK newspaper, that's a different story....

Help would be greatly appreciated.

Ta!
by TallestTim
1 Jul 2019, 10:41pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Do you have a bike cam
Replies: 37
Views: 2155

Re: Do you have a bike cam

Cunobelin wrote:
landsurfer wrote:Schumacher Syndrome ... helmet mounted Go Pro driven into brain on impact ...?

Cameras do not stop any accident ... they just allow the pictures of you and your family being wiped out by the drunken HGV driver from Bulgaria to be posted on You tube ......... :roll:



Cameras do stop accidents!

I can think of a dozen overtakes and left hooks where the driver has seen the camera and reconsidered

Also a large number of Police Forces now act on camera footage

I have had a number of drivers formally cautioned by Police, and a couple dismissed by employers, in fact after a couple of complaints in Portsmouth, I was treated with an awful lot more caution by many of the Taxi drivers... again positive benefits


We need to talk.. I 100% agree that cameras do stop incidents, but i've not have much luck with Hampshire Police following up my complaints, and currently have a complaint in with a large havant based company.
by TallestTim
24 May 2019, 2:13pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Portsmouth launches near miss reporting web page
Replies: 2
Views: 1654

Re: Portsmouth launches near miss reporting web page

thirdcrank wrote:It will be interesting to see what use the highway authority makes of information like this. It doesn't sound as though it's going to be used to lobby for better enforcement. Decent cycling provision or farcilities? There's the rub.

Perhaps one for local riders to monitor, assuming it's a long-term project, rather than a seven day wonder.


Don't worry, we're monitoring it. Here's an example of the output a year on...

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime ... -1-8826468

with the formal report to the council here:
https://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/ieD ... spx?Id=780
by TallestTim
3 Dec 2018, 12:30pm
Forum: Cycling UK Topics and Discussions
Topic: Halfords Cycling UK Discount
Replies: 51
Views: 29447

Re: Does anyone know ..Halfords October 10% Discounf voucher code ?

sisavedbygrace wrote:
gaz wrote:
sisavedbygrace wrote:At the risk of sounding stupid, ...

You don't. At the time of javatime's last post on this thread he was also unable to view the code. I do not know if he has subsequently resolved the problem.

If you are logged on to the Cycling UK website (not the Cycling UK forum), have cleared your browser cache or tried a different browser and problems persist I can only suggest contacting National Office.


Managed to sort it by emailing cycling uk for some reason it didn't recognise me as a member, its been sorted now and I got my 10% discount :) thanks


I'm still having this issue across two different browsers , and have emailed the webmaster about it, so it's still a problem for some :(
by TallestTim
26 Nov 2018, 5:59pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Retro but Effective Cargo Bike Lights
Replies: 1
Views: 412

Retro but Effective Cargo Bike Lights

Hi.

I've just bought a trike based bakfiets (Johnny Loco Cargo Cruiser) but of the lights that came with the bike, only the rear works - the others are corroded through due to water ingress, so I'm looking for replacements.

Unfortunately Johnny Loco don't sell their light kit anymore ( and I wouldn't really want to spend the money they are asking for on them), so am looking for 2 new retro style lights, preferably not AA powered, but from a remote Battery Box, enabling the same switch to turn on/change brightness/turn off on both lights simultaneously.

I've been digging around for a while, but can't find anything that looks like this - I thought they might exist for e-cargo bikes, but can't find what I'm looking for, (currently blaming my lack of Google-Fu).

Does anyone have recommendations for such a light setup, or a link to someone who's made up such a pack?

(I'll throw some "modern" Halfords 200 lumens lights on for the moment, but it's just not dutch enough for me in the long term)

Thanks in advance!
by TallestTim
25 Nov 2018, 10:10pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Hampshire Based Cyclist? Want Segregated Cycle Tracks?
Replies: 14
Views: 2693

Re: Hampshire Based Cyclist? Want Segregated Cycle Tracks?

Sorry, thanks everyone for picking up on this.

I got distracted by a few other things and only managed to submit my own response on the 22nd....!
by TallestTim
3 Nov 2018, 10:21pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Hampshire Based Cyclist? Want Segregated Cycle Tracks?
Replies: 14
Views: 2693

Hampshire Based Cyclist? Want Segregated Cycle Tracks?

HI All.

Hampshire County Council are developing their Vision for 2050, which includes a section on Mobility ,which requires input by the 23rd of November

From discussions with a few councillors, all the responses they have received to date are about electric and driverless cars, and not a lot else; we need to get the voices of people who want to cycle ( and walk) into the vision.

So, if you live in Hampshire, and want a dutch style network of cycling infrastructure - not the absolute hodgepodge of useless shared paths that we currently have, then please can you fill in the survey below, should take no more than 10 minutes to put together a basic call for such a network..
https://www.hants.gov.uk/news/june05hants2050

On a related note, on the 29th of October, a few of us from around the County gave some Deputations at the Hampshire County Council Select Committee on Economy, Transport and Environment, which is captured in video form below:

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/c9C1BnAnIYY
Part 2 - https://youtu.be/KFDPiSqE8MM
Part 3 - https://youtu.be/4qHRxSkzp2w
Part 4 - https://youtu.be/NxF3iKWaY0c
Part 5 - https://youtu.be/AEO8ZZ60Ti0

The proposal to break out into a Working Party, or Workshop, is an interesting one; i don't know what this might achieve in the political scheme of things, but the feedback we received after the meeting was generally positive, with a number of Councillors stating that they cycle a lot, some for transport, some for leisure, and want to do so more with their family...

Thanks in advance.

Tim
Cycle Waterlooville.