16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

De Sisti
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16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by De Sisti »

Here's an uplifting article about a youngster intending to cycle over 500 miles to COP26.

https://httpspeoplepeddlepower.wordpres ... apRjR1d4OY
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Tinnishill
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by Tinnishill »

Have read the linked website. Some questions. What is the COVID risk assessment for this group activity ? ( Check the Scot Gov website for the current law). Do they already have Glaswegean accomodation fixed up ? How are they getting home again ? Or will they become permenant residents ?
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Paradiddle
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by Paradiddle »

Great initiative and piece of activism. I do want to find out more about the cargo bikes support team, how that logistic works and how much CO2 emission e-bikes create.

The downside is that the journey may also highlight the inconveniences of cycling long distances. Although imagine having dedicated cycleways between cities across the UK. Never going to happen but one can dream :roll:
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by mattheus »

Paradiddle wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 11:49am Great initiative and piece of activism. I do want to find out more about the cargo bikes support team, how that logistic works and how much CO2 emission e-bikes create.
There was a report quotied recently on another cycling forum: a statndard (i.e. not "cargo") eBike, if charged from green electricity, has a slightly lower CO2 footprint than a regular bike. But the manufacturing hit is very large, so you have to rack up a lot of miles to get ahead!

(if you use coal-based electrons, the CO2 numbers will be awful, sadly).

I admit I was surprised by this. I wasn't surprised that all kinds of bikes are a lot less damaging than any car.
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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Paradiddle wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 11:49am The downside is that the journey may also highlight the inconveniences of cycling long distances. Although imagine having dedicated cycleways between cities across the UK. Never going to happen but one can dream :roll:
Why? Never say never! Already some cities are connected by cycleways, even in the backwards UK, such as Bristol and Bath, Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Edinburgh and Glasgow and a few cheats like London and Westminster and Newcastle and Gateshead. With not much work, Leeds and Bradford, Gateshead and Durham and Liverpool and Manchester could be connected too. Many of those are towpaths or rail trails, which I guess shows where the long-distance easier wins are.
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De Sisti
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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Tinnishill wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 11:02am Have read the linked website. Some questions. What is the COVID risk assessment for this group activity ? ( Check the Scot Gov website for the current law). Do they already have Glaswegean accomodation fixed up ? How are they getting home again ? Or will they become permenant residents ?
What a defeatist respose! :cry:
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Tinnishill
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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by De Sisti » 14 Oct 2021, 8:21am
Tinnishill wrote: ↑13 Oct 2021, 12:02pm Have read the linked website. Some questions. What is the COVID risk assessment for this group activity ? ( Check the Scot Gov website for the current law). Do they already have Glaswegean accomodation fixed up ? How are they getting home again ? Or will they become permenant residents ?
What a defeatist respose!
"Defeatist", that's a laugh. Fifty years, I have been campaigning.

I will try saying the same thing again, but slower and with more detail.

When you cross the Border heading north you will be entering a new legal jurisdiction. Have the good grace to try to find out what the law is. I was on the Border yesterday, where the door of the first baker's shop that cyclists stop at on one route carries a big sign reading "You are in Scotland, wear a mask!" The workers in that shop are frightened, they have seen three recent Covid deaths in their village.

The accommodation crisis in Glasgow is real. Student tenants are being decanted to allow for short term Cop26 profiteering by their landlords. A Government minister made an appeal two days ago for volunteers to take in travelers; regardless of Covid risk. There is a growing fear among the local population that we are going to have an international super-spreader event followed by a two month lockdown. Anyone who does not already have accommodation organised is going to have trouble. It is irresponsible to lead uninformed people into that situation.

As for the carbon credentials of those who seek personal publicity by walking/cycling/hopping/dancing/pogo-sticking from Leafy-middle-class-England-land to Glasgow for their late Autumn holiday, I have now read an awful lot of blogs and press releases claiming the moral high ground for their journey north of The Wall, but none that I have seen describe their plan for the return leg. A self flagellating outward leg with a motorised trip back is an invite for observers to point and laugh.

We have had this shindig imposed on us by the English government. Try having a thought for the concerns of your hosts. You will be welcomed, but give people some space.
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Paradiddle
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by Paradiddle »

mattheus wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 1:07pm There was a report quotied recently on another cycling forum: a statndard (i.e. not "cargo") eBike, if charged from green electricity, has a slightly lower CO2 footprint than a regular bike. But the manufacturing hit is very large, so you have to rack up a lot of miles to get ahead!

(if you use coal-based electrons, the CO2 numbers will be awful, sadly).

I admit I was surprised by this. I wasn't surprised that all kinds of bikes are a lot less damaging than any car.
Yes I guessed the same with the use of green electricity. Same issue with electric cars really. They're only as green as the power source and you need to take into account the carbon footprint from the manufacturing and transport processes. GCN recently did a video exploring if you can replace cars with cargo bikes. It really depends on your situation and needs but they look very capable.

As for the support team of this trip, I wonder how they make sure the cargo bikes are charged for all legs of the trip. Maybe removable batteries that can be charged from regular outlets?
mjr wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 5:57pm Why? Never say never! Already some cities are connected by cycleways, even in the backwards UK, such as Bristol and Bath, Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Edinburgh and Glasgow and a few cheats like London and Westminster and Newcastle and Gateshead. With not much work, Leeds and Bradford, Gateshead and Durham and Liverpool and Manchester could be connected too. Many of those are towpaths or rail trails, which I guess shows where the long-distance easier wins are.
You're right. I was being overly pessimistic. I should really go and try out some of these cycleways. Seen a few videos and blogs about the Bristol and Bath one.

Although as a Londoner I'm hopeful one day we'll have dedicated cycleways between London and the commuter towns (e.g. Guildford, St. Albans), or even Cambridge and Brighton.
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by Bmblbzzz »

De Sisti wrote: 13 Oct 2021, 10:08am Here's an uplifting article about a youngster intending to cycle over 500 miles to COP26.

https://httpspeoplepeddlepower.wordpres ... apRjR1d4OY
Thanks for posting this. :D
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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She’s off and you can track her progress https://ridewithgps.com/users/4070642/live_log
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by bjlabuk »

I would question why any parents would allow a 16 year old to go to the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, by bike or by any other means. It is going to attract the usual international anarchists who will not be protesting peacefully, but will be there to cause trouble and mayhem. Look what happened at the Gleneagles G8 Summit in 2005 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-50894383.

By all means cycle 500+ miles if you want. Just go and visit Loch Lomond instead, or some other beauty spot where you are not likely to be hit by flying missiles.
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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bjlabuk wrote: 25 Oct 2021, 4:28pm I would question why any parents would allow a 16 year old to go to the COP26
I wonder if Greta Thunberg is going, and if so, are her parents accompanying her?
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

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De Sisti wrote: 25 Oct 2021, 5:33pm
bjlabuk wrote: 25 Oct 2021, 4:28pm I would question why any parents would allow a 16 year old to go to the COP26
I wonder if Greta Thunberg is going, and if so, are her parents accompanying her?
No idea and she's 18 so she can do what she likes without reference to her parents in most civilised countries.
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by Stradageek »

bjlabuk wrote: 25 Oct 2021, 4:28pm I would question why any parents would allow a 16 year old to go to the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, by bike or by any other means. It is going to attract the usual international anarchists who will not be protesting peacefully, but will be there to cause trouble and mayhem.
Tricky one this, I'm not sure 'anarchists' is the right term - dis-enfranchised, marginalised, dis-empowered, and angry individuals might be more accurate. From what I'm reading at the moment anarchists seek an end to government power structures, not wanton random destruction of anything and everything.

In addition I feel that any protests, peaceful or otherwise, are under serious threat. Protests being curtailed by 'kettling' or banned for being 'noisy' (new Criminal Justice bill) smacks of a government resorting to more and more force to counter the increasing inequalities and discontent in society arising from current and past government policies.
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Re: 16 year-old girl cycling from Newton Abbot to COP26

Post by bjlabuk »

I certainly don't want to turn a cycling forum into a political debate, but Kettling is legal and the police can lawfully impose a kettle if they believe it is necessary to prevent disorder or protect public safety. See https://netpol.org/guide-to-kettles/.
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