Cycling UK Forum

Commuting/ utility rides - I'll go the shortest route just about.
Out for a ride - I'll find the longest way that's most pleasurable.

As well as providing somewhere to put your bike, good visible cycle parking helps encourage reticent cyclists to cycle more. If someone who is thinking about going down to the shops knows that there is cycle parking there because they've seen it, they know where it is, they understand it etc then they are more likely to cycle. Anything that removes an excuse not to cycle and to get in the car instead has to be positive.

I like the ideas. 'Pants Parking' maybe. Getting a national thing going would be great. At the recent campaign conference in Warrington they were giving away free Danish cycle parking guides, which has lots of interesting stuff in it, and I think you can still get them through the CycleNation website.

As you say, getting the supermarkets on board would be a good national win but should be just a first step. Having a standard that they can follow set by a reputable body and certified compliance sounds good.

The next step may be to harder but there is an oportunity at the moment that should get the support of local authorities via there Local Area Agreements. Many councils will have included National Indicator 175, 'Access to services and facilities by public transport, walking and cycling', in their LAAs. Including a plan to increase/ improve cycle parking at key local services such as surgeries and clinics, post offices, council offices, leisure centres, local shops etc should be a component of this and having a standard to follow, or some basic guidelines even, would make things easier - LAAs like boxes to tick and target to meet! 'No. of key local services fulfilling CTC Cycle Parking Standard Level X' would sit very nicely in their reports.

A very nice frame fit pump - only thing was it didn't fit my frame and I was off on tour the day after receiving it so never got round to sendng it back and I had to make do with a little plastic mini pump (that, to be honest, was a great buy 'cos it was cheap, light, small and got up to pressure - what more do you really want! Does saving 30 seconds of pumping really make that much difference?)

Well, I didn't used to!

On mylast tour I spent between 5 and 8 hours in the saddle each day. I usually get going early and have a longer stop at lunch along with stops along the way if anything grabs my attention. I try to aim to be somewhere worth stopping for at lunch (or a pub) but sometimes it's just a nice sit down at the side of (a more scenic bit of) the road with lunch cooked on my camping stove. Over-all I think 8 hours was just a bit too much because it was almost too late to pitch camp - but it was the end of September, I had done 113 miles and I wanted to be in Keswick to get up to Castlerigg early and had been delayed the previous day. I'm now going to aim for around 60 - 70 miles a day (5-6hrs) from now on and stop more often too.

Using my compression stuff sack I have no problem fitting the bag in my Carradice panniers. It fits snug at the bottom, lying on it's side. I've tried putting a fleece and some socks under it in the spaces that should be caused by it being a cylinder, but it made so little difference that I didn't bother again.

It's probably worth looking at proper sport glasses or cycle specific ones. These tend to have a place were a prescription lens fits behind the interchangable front lens, which can be clear, shaded or yellow (for better contrast on darker rides). Theyu tend to be a bit pricey but probably worth it. I'm intending to get some as soon as I work out which and have a bit of spare cash. At present I'm using really old specs that have a bit that curls round the back of your ears and is sort of springy so it keeps them tight on your face. I find these great for DIY too as they don't fall off whenever your looking down and about to hit a nail with a big hammer!

ColinandAlly wrote:I haven't noted down the details yet but there is going to be a radio series about cycling on the BBC World Service starting 16th January. As soon as I get the fulll details I'll let you know. Unless anyone else can enlighten us....

I believe the series is called Bicycle Diaries and will look at everyday cyclists from around the world - sounds interesting. It should apear on iplayer.

Greybeard wrote: it's packed away now so I can't lay my hands on it.

Just a quick point - storing sleeping bags packed away in their stuff sack is not recomended as it compacts the filling and makes it less insulative. Only use the stuff sack for travelling - this goes for thermarests too.

Always use a liner so you don't need to wash the bag - only the liner.

When buying my bag (nothing special, Vango Ultralight 900, but good enough, smallish and light) I went round the shops with my pannier to check how well it would fit, the space it left etc. as this is probably hte most impotant bit. Most bags these days are going to keep you pretty warm unless your going more extreme.

However last night I removed my cassette and the special tool, off course, needed a spanner!

I can't remember the last time a spanner was any use for my bikes either - it's all hex keys and special tools!

The DfT are consulting on some small changes to bells and reflectors on bicycles. Anyone intereted can get more info and consultation stuff here:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/ope ... lbicycles/

Mick F wrote:I used to keep a written account of where and when.
Then I bought a cycle computer, and recorded my mileages and averages etc in a diary.
Then I bought a laptop, and started a spreadsheet.
Then I bought a Garmin 305, and now the associated computer programs record EVERYTHING!

But can it differentiate between different bikes? I mainly keep track of the mileage on my 5 main bikes for maintenance/ reliability reasons. By using a spreadsheet and saying which bike the info is from it automatically adds up all the data for each bike through the year. I kind of like this as it shows me how much faster my summer road bike is to my winter one.

Forgot to mention earlier that my Eddington No. for 2008 was 31. (see http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18612 ) and I aim to get that over 40 for 2009.

Bucking the trend, I managed more miles this year than ever before - partly 'cos last years' New Years Resolution was to complete a 100mile ride for each month of BST. Also I've, at last, recovered from a bad back. So I'm really pleased with my 2008 mileage:
Commuting/utillity: 1854.38 (+ some other stuff on other bikes)
Trainning/pleaseure/touring etc.: 2784.93miles over 182hr 46min 15.24mph ave.
Total=4639.31+

I'm now intending to do even more this year! (I wish I had more than a mile and a half commute)