Cycling UK Forum

millimole

Sustrans route 6 between Leicester and Northampton uses the route of the Great Central Railway on the southern outskirts of Leicester, then there is a splendid 22 mile length between Market Harborough and the northern edge of Northampton (branded as The Brampton Valley Way) with two sets of tunnels, and runs alongside a short section of heritage standard gauge line.
A few years ago when I started using the Brampton Valley Way the hard packed surface was excellent, but several winters and no (apparent) maintenance are taking their toll. The Leicester section has had a resurface within the city boundaries, paid for, I'm told, through health funding.

millimole

It's all very well getting these people out on their bikes, because they have functioning bikes.
What about the untapped number of bikes left to die in sheds because of a simple repair left undone.
To get these bikes on the road it might have been better using the money to support members (sorry, supporters) to link with the owners and to do simple, safe repairs to get these bikes back on the roads.

millimole

I've been wondering if the currently fashionable 650B wheel / tyre combination would be a suitable replacement for my 26x1 1/4" wheels on my 1946 machine - I'm not sure how much the brake calipers would need to be dropped, and if there is sufficient 'play' available on my GB calipers.
There is a good choice of rims and tyres.
Worth further thought, or not - any thoughts?

millimole

Sorry Tony, there are different ways of going about redundancy within the legal framework which don't alienate either party. In this case it appears that CJ offered to consider taking early retirement (correct me if I'm wrong) - this implies to me that management were intent on removing the post of technical advisor, because as you say, following a redundancy it cannot be re-filled. This stinks.

millimole

I read that list rather negatively.
I see it as about getting lots of people on bikes (yes, a very good thing) but there seems to be very little about supporting those already on bikes, and those of us who don't - for whatever reason - ride with a local group.
It can be argued that the campaigning is about supporting the-already-cycling, but it seems timid, almost as if the organisation doesn't want to rock too many boats.
CTC seems much more about getting new bums on saddles these days, I'm afraid that is something that BC (with its Sky Rides, and Breeze network) seem to do so much better.
What about the rest of us?

millimole

JohnW wrote:...
A National Cyclecampaigning Organisation to which CTC et al is affiliated may have something to commend it, but there is a problem in that, having become a charity, all hell can break loose if that organisation tells the truth, and tells the government that they're not wonderful and marvellous, that their splather and rhetoric are meaningless if not supported by effective woks and policies, and the government takes offence. Our status, and by association our very existence, can be cleaned from the slate at a whim.............and then CTC loose all their assets.
......

I suspect that this situation that John describes will come to a head when (if) there is a review or re-write of the Highway Code.
When the Code was last reviewed CTC were the at the forefront of getting some of the worst excesses of the drafts either removed or diluted.
I can't somehow see the charity doing this (a) because they are taking the governments shilling and (b) they won't have the expertise to be able to mount this type of campaign.

millimole

patpalloon wrote:Does anyone know if you can get shoe covers for road bike shoes? I don't mean the rubbery waterproof ones for wearing on the bike. What I am after is something I can wear on the sole of my shoes with a recess for the cleat - so I can walk around normally off the bike. I have Shimano SPD shoes. If not I'm sure I can fashion something out of a pair of flip flops

When I started my new job last year it seemed quite a walk from the bike store to the office, and I did go looking for what you are after something that I could 'clip into' and give me a 'normal sole' to my shoe. I couldn't find anything, despite it seeming to be a fairly obvious thing to make. What I ended up with - courtesy of my son who had bought a size too small - was a pair of MTB shoes which have the cleat recessed beneath the tread of the sole.
The ones I've got are from Decathlon, but it seems that this is a fairly common design for MTB shoes and boots.
(And it turned out that there is a short cut to the office, so it was all in vain anyway. Apart from the fact that the Decathlon shoes have been toasty warm all winter and very cumfy!)

millimole

I'd agree that *in general* most healthcare practitioners are very poor when it comes to cycling related complaints - particularly when you you consider how long cycling has been around!
I suffered from dreadful knee related problems and my GP advised me to take up swimming instead! Advice from a CTC leaflet eventually allowed me to make a self diagnosis and successfully self-treat with excersise.

(In relation to the point about private health care - this only allows you to make a greater choice of those you deal with, if you don't have the knowledge or the contacts to allow you to make a well informed choice, you will be stuck (usually) with exactly the same people you would have dealt with paid for by your taxes. Paying for cr*p advice generally feels more satisfying that getting the same for free; it must be better if you paid for it!!)

millimole

Thanks to Santa I now have the Axa Defender RL ring locks on both my 'good' bikes. They are great for locking the bike up outside a cafe, and a plug-in-chain adds an extra layer of security when needed. AFAIR this lock has got a 'Silver Sold Secure' (or whatever it's called) rating - but I still wouldn't use one on its own, or without the plug-in chain.
(Having said that, I generally use two locks anyway)
The Defenders are not light, flimsy locks, but would easily protect the bike from casual theft - but along with most types of lock are no defence against the determined thief. There *are* light, flimsy Frame / Ring locks available, but not easily found in the UK - street markets on the mainland are a good source if you really want cheap and cheerful, Belgium, Holland, and Northern France mainly in my experience.
I've got a few frame / ring locks in my 'spares' box now, and I've never yet found one that wouldn't fit any of my various bike (hint - ditch the supplied fittings, and use cable zip ties!).

millimole

I used to say that I had never found *any* cycling specific gloves to be suitable for winter cycling - however, that was before I discovered my pair of Specialized Lobster Claw gloves - and when these wear out I will certainly try to find another pair of 'lobster claw' gloves with a leather-like palm. However this style is only good for very cold weather, so for 'average cold' commuting, I still assert that a pair of Thinsulate gloves from TK-Max / Tesco / wherever are better than any overpriced cycling specific gloves you will find.

millimole

CREPELLO wrote:I've never been impressed by the concept of the windproof jacket, especially in this country, we can never be certain when it's going to rain. It becomes surplus to requirement if you buy a really good breathable waterproof jacket. That doubles up as a windproof top and waterproof fabric always breaths better when it's not raining, so a good one should be good for any inclement weather, not just rain.

We are all made different - what works for me is an 'old skool' jacket with a wind-proof front, and a lightweight back. My favorite is a style that Tudor Sports no longer make - nylon front, and a Roubaix type back, I've got an Altura that's similar but no where near as comfy. I prefer to slip on a water-proof lightweight jacket over this if it starts chucking it down - in light rain I don't bother. It rains less than we think in this country - we worry more about it than I experience it!

As I say we are all different, what works for you, may not work for me.

millimole

If you are in a car your journey is very important, and you shouldn't be delayed by people who cannot afford cars.

millimole

Tandemist wrote:Er, not sure I like the anti-student vibes from millimole, especially as an ex-University of Leicester student myself !
My experience as a cycling student in Leicester in the early 1980's was very good. I lived in the Stoneygate & Knighton areas which were full of students.
I joined the Univeristy Cycling Club but that was only for racing and after attending a local hill climb with them I figured maybe they were too fast for me so joined the CTC City Section at the time, who had a well deserved reputation for hard riding .
It was a great crowd, and I made some great friends there and had some wonderful hostelling holidays with them too, and my happiest memories of Leicester were from riding with them. Alan, Tony, Alan, Vic, Rowley, Nick, and others whose names I've forgotten were great, and as for Sue, Wow !
- There were a lot of characters in the group, of which I expect I was one too !
I joined Spokes, the Leicester cycling campaign group, and I think they did assist in the Great Central Way development, but it sounds from one of the above listings that they don't exist anymore
I did have a bicycle stolen from a poorly sited bicycle rack near Lee Circle in the centre of Leicester - but I had only used a flimsy chain and locked it up under the watching eye of an idling youth who was sat on the steps of the footbridge above - presumably he was the one who stole it after I dissappeared to Sainsbury's to fill my panniers - but it could have been somebody else.
Leicester is a busy city with some great cycling residents and I can recommend it - though I believe the local CTC groups have changed a bit and I get the impression the people I knew who are still involved have moved to groups more similar to the "Loiterers" section of old !
The Bike Park is a commercial enterprise supported by the council, in their basement, and was run by Websters when I last went there I think.
An excellent idea & pity Birmingham doesn't have a similar facility.
Bradgate park and Kirby Muxloe Castle were pleasant local places to ride to from Leicester as well.

Sorry - I didn't mean to be 'anti-student' - it's more anti-university if anything - the students are generally fine, it's the the uni authorities who don't seem to promote cycling as far as I can see (I have worked on the same site as the Medical School for a vast number of years, and both my wife and I are ex-DeMont).

Leicester Spokes is now purely a social rides group, and do not currently get involved in campaigning. They do have a website somewhere.

The thefts of cycles from Leicester Royal Infirmary and DeMontfort University are definitely seasonal. Both sites are very close to one another.

The Bike Park is only loosely supported by the City Council, Websters lost the contract, and I'm not sure who run it now. It's certainly a model that should have been copied by other cities. There is also a secure bike park run by the Highcross Shopping Centre within their huge car park - never used it myself, and never heard any accounts of it.

There are indeed some cracking rides out from the city - up through Charnwood Forest via Bradgate Park, or over the hills to the east of the city, or my favourite (as I live near Kirby Muxloe Castle - which English Heritage only open according to their own odd timetable now) is out to North-west Leicestershire and the Bosworth battlefield areas.

millimole

andrew_s wrote:the new version of the Smart superflash (Lunar R1, 1 watt) is not only twice as bright as the old one, it's got a group riding mode - 2 x ordinary LEDs, on non-flash.

I bought one of these at the Cycle Promotions one day sale in Leicester (at a marked down, but not especially cheap price). The 'group riding pulse' mode is certainly a very interesting take on flashing. There's also a weird random flash-pulse-constant-strobe mode that is presumably designed to confuse anyone upto a mile behind you - probably too confusing to use in real life, but very bling!

millimole

For something so deeply unfashionable, this does seem to crop up on here quite a bit!

Cycling UK Forum

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Re: Railway cycle routes

Re: Getting 100,000 people back on their bikes.

Re: Tyres 32x597

Re: No more CTC technical officer NO HOAX

Re: What has the CTC ever done for us?

Re: No more CTC technical officer ??HOAX??

Re: shoe covers

Re: knee problem

Re: Nurses Lock?

Re: gloves

Re: whether I have been reccomended appropriate winter clothing

Re: ...why there is a delay at pedestrian/cycle crossings?

Re: Better for bikes? Norwich or Leicester?

Re: Bright rear lights

Re: Cycle capes