Cycling UK Forum

I have some serviceable bib shorts and tops that I have not worn for a couple of years now. Rather than bin them, I would like to send them to somewhere / someone where they are needed. Any suggestions?

Cycling through Potters Bar on my folder on the way to meet a friend for a single pint and a chat, I was cut up at a junction by a middle aged woman in a battered ancient people carrier. A male of a similar age was in the passenger seat. When challenged as to why I had been cut up so badly (me going straight ahead, the people carrier on my right indicating left to go left), I was met with 'I bet you never get sh*gg*d with legs like those!'.

I was stunned! By the lack of inventiveness and by the total lack of appreciation of what years of cycling has done to my legs! Luckily, my wife disagrees!

Just to say thanks for the advice! It is appreciated. I am not sure what I will do at the moment, but I now have a far clearer picture.
Thanks!

I will be riding from London to Paris for the charity Rethinking Mental Illness in mid June. I am not a regular multi day rider, but have done a couple of three and one five day ride in the past. On those occasions I used a backpack, but found it very sweaty and uncomfortable sometimes.

As a result I am considering a Carradice saddlebag (Pendle) and a QR bracket and want to get these onto my bike asap so that I can get used to any handling differences / get the bag positioned correctly. All good so far!

I have three queries:-
1) I am required to have rear and front reflectors fitted to the bike. The rear ones normally go on the seatpost, which will now be used for the saddlebag. How do I get round this
2) On a similar note I also use two seatpost mounted rear lights which have seen extensive use whilst training in the recent murky weather! These are an Exposure Flash and a Cateye (forget which one). Again how do I set up suitable rear lights vs a saddlebag
3) Is the Pendle too big for my needs? I expect to be carrying a waterproof, suntan cream , 2 inner tubes, 2 tyre boots, puncture repair kit, a lock, small wallet, small camera, mobile phone, wipes, hi viz vest, energy bars, spare drink powder (= 2 x pre bags of drink powder), small first aid kit, spare brake pads and a fleece. Should I go for a smaller saddlebag?
The bike? A Specialized Tricross. The ride is organized with support vehicles and luggage transport between overnight stops.
Views please!

Two interesting observations that I think sum up some of the latter comments on this subject:-

1) An expensive car is a sign of great expenditure, not great wealth!
2) Its true, money talks, but never forget that wealth whispers!

So this is more to do with expensive cars and the people who drive them, than anything else!

Well, yes an organization needs to buy into it. I was thinking that was CTC and was using self reported data by cyclists involved in these incidents (hence the reference to the self reporting schemes). CTC would then engage with ACPO , Home Office and/or the press. The point is its our data, gathered by us - like the British Crime Survey gathers data on the experience of crime, this would report our experience of the criminal justice system. Lets call it the Crime Against Cyclists Survey!

With regard to the CPS, they decide on what charge to bring and when an individual can be charged. They are now closely integrated with the police. The CPS may be a source of the diversity in the treatment or crimes against cyclists. At the moment, we have drivers charged on the basis on helmet footage in some areas whilst in others cyclists are told its not admissable as evidence. This is part of the variation in police/CPS behaviour this data is intended to address.

With regard to French law it works on a different principle. My understanding is that individual rights are proscribed by the state - everything else is forbidden (hence I was threatened with arrest by the beach patrol when I went for a swim on a beach when it was a bit rough). In the UK the situation is the opposite. Everything is permitted, unless it is forbidden by law. This description is a coarse approximation. Hence French law proscribes the distance a car has to leave between a cyclist and themselves. Also, the burden of proof is reversed. In France the driver has to prove it wasn't his fault in the event of an accident. In the UK we have to prove fault. We don't. Not sure how this supports the idea of this data, but there you go.

Like all data gathering exercises they are partial and incomplete, but nevertheless can be used to draw some insights into patterns of behaviour. I have not used SMIDSY, but I would have thought it possible to log which police area the incident occurred in, was it reported, what action was taken and the specific details of any preliminary arrest (i.e. careless driving), any charges brought to court and the result of any court case. Looking across many of the different fora that cyclists use, much of this data appears. It is not however systematically gathered. In some organizations and professions there exist anonymous reporting mechanisms that are used to spot dangerous incidents before they become systematic. The RAF has one for pilots, and the SCOSS (Standing Committee on Structural Safety) has one for structural engineers. The systematic gathering of anonymized data of the type illustrated above would be a powerful means of reducing variations in police and as suggested by a previous commentator on this subject, CPS practice.

The value comes not from the data per se, but rather from different patterns between forces, CPS etc.. What are the relative proportions of cycling related incidents reported and prosecuted between say Police Force 1 and Police Force 2? Given the increasing number of cyclists on the road, the sheer amount of riding that CTC members do surely a set of data could be put together that would make for some terrific headlines and a great conversation with a body like ACPO.

Much of the argument on this suggestion to date suggests the reverse of the old 'drug problem' argument. We didn't have a drug problem until we started measuring it. We have the reverse. We know we have a major problem - the regular killing and maiming of cyclists on the road. The deaths are known and measured. The rest of the data is not captured. Some parts of the police and the CPS seem to treat cycling incidents as unimportant or less important than other vehicular incidents. This needs to stop. Now.

We could go further. CTC could even present an annual prize to the police force with the greatest proportion of cycling incidents prosecuted cf reported each year! We need to encourage the behaviour we want and not just rant and rave!

Having read through many posts on this forum (and others), it is quite clear that there is a considerable variation in practice and attitude towards cyclists who have been attacked, run over, injured or even killed between different police forces (and even different police stations in the same force). Whilst Scottish Law is admittedly different, I think it is reasonable that the all too common incidents should be treated in the same way across the UK.
Is it not time that CTC started to gather data on this and start to address these issues with those police forces whose practice lags behind the 'best in class'?
SMIDSY would be a good place to start..

Been out and about at commuting time getting some riding done in and around South Hertfordshire. Twice now I have been overtaken by what are obviously cycling commuters. In each case I have been left with a blinding vision of extremely well defined calf muscles as they came screaming past me uphill when I'm doing 15 miles an hour
Impressive fitness!

However, their roadcraft was terrible! I studiously stay in the secondary riding position - I have no wish to join the local roadkill.

Each commuter squeezed past me with the tips of their MTB handlebars just missing my drop bars by an inch or two, no verbal warning to say 'coming past!' (which I always do so as not to scare the whatsits out of the overtaken cyclist), no 'hi there!' either and worst of all they have then vigorously cut across my path to cycle right up to the kerb! It seems roadcraft and good manners have been left behind... or are they trying to set a new PB for a journey home?

Maybe its something about commuting..car or bike, there are always a few nutters!

I have just discovered that last year I snapped one of the silicone slings that hold my Fibre Flare light to the outside rear stay.
I can't seem to find a replacement. Any ideas? Or am I not looking in the right place

I have been using Prolink for a few years now and have been impressed with it. It does slowly pick up dirt, but I suspect if you clean and re-lube every week (depending on how often you ride and weather conditions) it will keep the chain running very smoothly. Yes, I'm not the greatest cleaner and maintainer of bikes!

I buy big bottles (32 fl.oz) and apply it using a chain cleaner - tip it in, set up chain cleaner, crank the cranks a few times, take the cleaner off and then wipe the chain down. I think this makes good use of the lube's cleaning properties (just done one of the kids bikes after a summer of neglect - chain now shiny and clean!) , I never have to degrease the chain (thus removing protection) and it re-applies lube at the same time. I then tip the used lube into a jar, let the grit settle out and re-use the clean lube next time. Sorted!

In my very limited experience police responses are variable (putting it mildly). One winters morning a few years ago I overtook a group of four joggers on a narrow road. They were nicely position in 2x2 formation in the middle of the road. I overtook them to their right, calling a warning as I did so. Oh dear! Three went to the left and one went right, straight into me. Head over heels, head bang on road (thank God for my helmet). The three joggers then verbally turned on me. I noted their colleague was still lying in the road with a bleeding head. I dialled for an ambulance, gave her my jacket to keep her warm whilst being, well, harrassed. We exchanged details, as per car based practice. The ambulance took her off to hospital saying to me 'just as well you had a helmet on!'. Being dazed I walked the mile home with my bike. A friend of mine later that day suggested I report this to the police. So being the good citizen I am I rang the non-emergency number and was told they needed me to come in to give a statement. Ok. The next day I turn up to give a statement, only to be told 'the control room idiots got it wrong, we are not interested, go away'. So I did.
So I was somewhat annoyed when at 8pm that very evening a PC turned up at home to investigate the incident! Why hadn't I reported it? What was I hiding? Didn't I know she was quite badly injured? (Why, yes I did, I'm the one who called the ambulance!). I got so cross I nearly got arrested! In the end I said unless there was anything the PC wanted they should leave. Which she did. And never came back. I think this was just a piece of intimidatory behaviour on the part of the police. I really don't trust them anymore.