Cycling UK Forum

Some nice photos there @PH. Thanks for sharing.

I can confirm that there are some good reports of the solution posted by @Marc. In 2016 at a velomobile seminar in Dornbirn Austria this system was described. Both the Austrian and Swiss riders were pleading with the Dutch and German manufacturers to have a better brake cooling method. Several users reported mechanical failures (broken spokes etc) when traversing the alps without using any cooling system. Probably the most worrying one being the drop in braking performance when the drums are red hot.

The water squirting method was not reported to reduce braking performance. Probably most of the water is instantly converted to steam with the surplus dribbling out and taking any crud with it. Many trike wheels are cambered which will assist the outflow.

@peetee asked when I sat in the cab of a lorry. This was about two years ago and was at a cycle charity event at Silverstone. A few lorries had been brought there by a lorry accident reduction organisation. They were trying to educate cyclists that lorries have blind spots where cyclists can just not be seen. To prove the point they had cardboard cut outs of cyclists and pedestrians in front and to the sides of the truck. When in the cab of the lorry these could not be seen. So I had to very much agree with these lorry drivers that they have blinds spots. This web site shows the issue:

https://wrightstart.co.uk/driving-safet ... lind-spots

By *full* segregation I meant including junctions. A bit like the Netherlands, and some, which also has space problems because of overcrowding.

Stevenage was also a good effort.

When I sat in the cab of a lorry it was not possible to see a cycle or motorbike directly in front of the cab or low down on each side. It is also not possible to see directly behind the truck. Let us say that 60% of the road is not visible.

If car drivers were unable to see 60% of the road e.g. due to a sight defect then they would be instantly banned from driving.

IMHO the cab height should be made the same as a car. This would improve vision to the front and to the sides. Another advantage would be that lorry drivers would be less likely to tailgate on motorways and dual carriageways. Lorry drivers on busy roads are a significant cause of accidents because of tailgating and constantly switching lanes (e.g. the A14 and M11). So low cab height would also reduce accidents on these busy roads.

Alternatively we should have full segregation of pedestrians and cyclists from motor vehicles and I believe the is the best way to go.

MPs are really struggling to work out why more people do not cycle or walk. So they have launched a consultation:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/comm ... nch-17-19/

Replies by 10-Oct-18

If we are going to get vindictive about things (and I believe this proposal is a purely vindictive law given the low death rate) then why not:

Death by dangerous Planning:
This would be where a planner wilfully refuses to make changes after warnings given over a dangerous junction/road/path/state of repair. This could even be made an aggravated offence in the case of vulnerable road users.

Accident responsibility shifted onto employers (as it is in Belgium):
Most UK employers care not a jot if employees have a dangerous journey into work. In Belgium the employers insurance is responsible in the case of accidents when travelling to work. Since employers (and schools) are responsible for the rush hour why are they not made responsible for accidents?

Dangerous walking:
A pedestrian looking at a mobile phone who steps out into the road without looking is clearly responsible - or do females get some kind of exemption from this on the basis of their gender?

Andy Wilkinson did LEJOG in 41 hours (4 mins and 22 secs) in a faired Speedy tricycle (Windcheetah). I do not know if he was supported on his trip. This is an amazing time.

We had the same done on the A10 just south of Cranebridge. It was a slight variant to the normal tar and then loose chipseal which they just leave to bed in. After a few days they sprayed a kind of resin formulation on top. I would say the surface now is quite good. How long the layers will stay in place before they start peeling off is unknown.

That the current government will do nothing to actually implement the 'electric dream' itself is explicitly stated in the recent DfTs 'Road to Zero'. This document is rammed full of nasty implied threats of future enforcement actions. Here is the current favourite which will be used to inflict chargepoints everywhere:

"We want chargepoints to be easy to locate and access for all users. Existing legislation
means that the provision of chargepoints is covered by the Equality Act 2010. This
includes a reasonable adjustments duty that applies to, amongst others, a person or
organisation providing services, goods or facilities to the public".

Dft Road to Zero (aka WeAreUnhinged)

+1 to the OP

I am looking forward to listening to the legal gymnastics about why the Equalities Act does not apply to cyclists (or eCyclists) but does apply to electric Chelsea Tractor drivers.

@MikeF +1

My only beef with MacKay is that he does not show how good a best practice HPV Cycle is. At the recent Human Power WC2018 the leader in a Peregrine Birk produced this performance:

Power 156W (av)
Vel 56.18 km/h (av)
Time: 3h

That makes 277 Wh per 100km

This is much better than the figure of 1kWh per 100km he quotes for the bicycle on page 119 or 2.4 kWh per 100km on page 258. The HPV has a better figure because of aerodynamics. This would also have shown up in the figures for the EcoCar on page 119 except MacKay probably includes the conversion performance of a petrol engine in the EcoCar whereas he assumes the engine in a human cyclist is 100% efficient. Assuming a human cyclist is 100% efficient as MacKay appears to do is probably reasonable given that humans must have exercise (or they end up like Brits). So a human engine can be considered to come for free.

IMHO we have to hammer home to these dinosaurs who run our country that point to point journey times on continuous direct and segregated cycle lanes is much shorter than all other forms of transport (train, car, bus) for 72% of all journeys.

Two very nice videos from WC2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oCkaXxdp9M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgiLLmovFcE

I agree with their leader. The conservatives are truly the nasty party.

(A non voter for over 25 years and proud of it).

Here are the results of the 1st rider in each event:

Sprint Mattias Konig 46.9mph
1 lap TT Daniel Fenn 38.5mph
1 hour criterium Charles Henry 38.6mph
15 min criterium Charles Henry 36.2mph
3 hour endurance Charles Henry 34.94mph

There were about 108 racers from all over Europe. The weather was hot hot hot and so was the atmosphere. What a smashing weekend. Photos are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/recumbents/

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmjzwekh

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZvpQqrzcnoqVmp2r6

The Laidback Bike Report will likely have some coverage from the weekend so that should be worth watching.

Cottington Lakes Fisheries which is right next door to Betteshanger has camping.
Postcode: CT14 0AR
Phone: 01304 380691