Elvis has left the building

From a link on quickrelease.tv.

City cycling and advocacy

I stayed overnight with my brother on Friday, and he had dug out his copy of "Richard's Cycling Book" for me to have a look at. The book was first published in 1972, and written by Richard Ballantine.

It is an easy read, and informative, but very much a book of its time, and entertaining partly for a slighlty old-fashioned style.

Today I found myself in a bookshop, and out of curiosity I bought a copy of Richard Ballantine's latest book, City Cycling.

I've only skimmed the book so far, but Mr Ballantine has clearly lost none of his enthusiasm over the last 35 years, while book production has advanced. It seems to me that he puts over some important principles in an entertaining way. However, I think he see his main audience as people who have not yet tried cycling, or at least not in the recent past. As a result he puts a lot of effort into advocating that readers take it up. The spirit is captured by the strapline: "Get fit / save time / save money / save the planet".

For this target audience he seems to cover most of the bases: how to buy a bike, security, handling skills, maintenance and repairs.

But personally I find it hard to engage with the advocacy running through City Cycling. The problem, I suspect, is that I no longer feel that I am part of the audience that he is mainly concerned with - simply because I have already taken up cycling. My priority is now to make sure that I stick at it, and keep putting in the effort.

I'm too old and decrepit to be pursuing a goal of outstanding athletic achievement, and unfortunately, faced with the choice of going for a ride, or not going, then none of these arguments that it will save time, save money and save the planet really cuts it as a good enough reason to get out of the armchair.

As my family knows well, the best way of persuading me to get the bike out of the shed and go for a ride is "you'll enjoy it"; or "it will make you feel better". When I really don't feel like going for a ride, I can still talk myself out of the chair to go in search of a bit of an adventure, to work off a bit of stress, to see if I can beat a previous performance, or just to keep my various graphs moving in the right direction.

It is for these reasons that cycling is gradually becoming part of my routine. At times like today, when I can't get out on the bike because of mechanical problems, I am finding that I miss it.

So if you are considering taking up cycling, particularly cycling in an urban context, then I suggest you take a look at Richard Ballantine's book. I hope you find that he provides useful advice, in an entertaining way. If, like me, you feel that you have progressed to the next stage, then tell me whether I am being unfair to wonder why so many advocate that we take up cycling in the first place; while fewer seem to realise that subsequently we still need to be encouraged to go for a ride?

Question on insurance

My previous questions on roundabouts and punctures generated a number of interesting responses, so here is another thing that I have been wondering about: should I be doing more about insurance?

I'm not bothered about cover for the value of the bike itself, which I know is included on our household insurance, but  I am wondering about specific public liability and recovery (or "get you home") services for the bike: neither of which I currently hold.

By way of background, I've not shopped around, but either would cost around £2 a month. I'm neither racing, nor commuting on the bike - it is almost entirely used for recreational riding. I am doing 50-60 miles a week, typically in one weekend ride of at least a couple of dozen miles, and a few shorter rides during the week. 

For the recovery service, the parameters are fairly easy to judge. I've not been stranded yet, and while I can imagine it happening, the worst case scenario is manageable.  I am the only person in the house who can drive, so I can't easily call someone out to pick me up. However, if I was in a situation where I couldn't ride home, then I would normally be able to get there in a couple of hours, using a mix of walking, and public transport. I could even call out a taxi, I suppose, at less than the annual premium for a recovery service. So it seems quite possible that I would come to call on recovery insurance, if I held it, but on balance it doesn't seem like a very sensible option. I'm better carrying the risk myself.

On the other hand, it seems highly unlikely that I would ever need to call on public liability insurance. However, accidents do happen, and the worst case scenario doesn't bear thinking about. I seem to be covered by my home contents insurance policy, which provides for personal liability up to £2million, with no real restrictions, other than damage I cause with a MOTORISED vehicle (and third party liability insurance is compulsory for the car in any case) or a boat (which I only own in my dreams). I don't see how a special policy for the bike would improve my cover.

In summary, I know I am covered for the value of the bike; on balance, recovery insurance doesn't seem good value, and I already seem to be covered for liability. Hence no action is required.

Or am I missing something? 

Bikes have feelings too

I'm not going to be doing any riding over the next few days, because I've broken the rear derailleur, and for one reason and another I cannot get it fixed until next week. I took off the rear wheel a couple of evenings ago, to check that the puncture repairs that I had done on the side of the road were looking OK. I think I must have put the wheel back on crookedly, because as soon as I pressed on the peddle there was a crack, and the rear derailleur fell off. It's all looking very sad and I feel sorry for the poor bike. I suspect I could fit a new derailleur but I'm not sure that my skills are sufficient to get all the adjustments right. So I've booked the bike into the local bike shop so she can have some professional surgery.

It was suggested to me yesterday that I've just created the perfect rationale for needing to buy a second bike.  It's an appealing thought but, so far, I'm managing to cry "get thee behind me", 

and resist temptation. Apart form anything else, it would mean having to organise extra storage, and seems a bit like adding insult to injury. See, I'm already beginning to turn the idea over in my mind.

Meanwhile blog posting must go on, even without riding. So here is the cycle map rendering of last sunday's ride (apart from the section I failed to tag, which will have to wait until next week).

I particularly like the little trees. The real woods are deciduous, not fir, but I haven't yet  figured out how to make that happen, or even whether it is an option, on the cycle map.

A fine ride with cake

Last week I looped round from Marlow to Hambleden, passing a number of signs for a cycle route at different stages. Today I retraced the outline of the same circuit, but rather than sticking to the roads I knew, I was more careful to follow the marked cycle route.

The route is well signed on the ground, but it took some finding on a map. As far as I can tell, the only place it has been published on the interweb is in a fairly obscure Buckinghamshire transport strategy document. Which is odd, because it is a fine route through lovely countryside, with a choice of good places to stop off on the way. Whoever first laid it out had a good eye for landscape, but unfortunately either they had a bit of a blind spot for hills, or a wicked sense of humour, because there are some pretty challenging climbs, including this steep farm track linking a couple of roads north of Marlow.

I traced the route on the GPS, and I've tagged it on Open Streetmap, so it will appear towards then end of this week when the cycle map is re-generated. But regular visitors to Tlatet, will, I am sure, have an urgent need for more detail.

So here we go. In outline the route climbs to the north of Marlow, as far as Frieth, then turns west, through Fingest, and south through Hambleden. In the past I've taken the road through Bovingdon Green out of Marlow, and the A4155 from Hambleden back, but this route starts out along the B482 on the way out, and on the return uses narrow lanes to climb through Rotten Row to Marlow Common, before dropping back into Marlow. It also takes a slightly different back route through Hambleden.

As far as the fauna goes, the highlights today were a small deer that crossed the road about 100 yards in front of me; and a number of large birds of prey, flying low across the road - presumably searching for small rodents in the fields.

When I reached Hambleden, at about 4pm there was a choral concert in the church, and they were serving tea and cakes in the churchyard. I joined a small group sitting outside in the sun, listening to the music through the windows. I'm not a great tea drinker, and the best I can say about the coffee was that it was warm, brown, and wet; but the selection of cakes was awesome. I finally settled for some cinammon flapjack - which was delicious - but it was a tough choice.

By the time I had made my way to Marlow and home, the whole ride turned out to be just over 30 miles (the loop itself is about 15 miles from Marlow and back).

Next time I can't rely on such a lovely afternoon, and cakes in Hambleden churchyard, but I'll be back, because this is one of the best routes that I've found at around that length. Next time I might even manage to do a bit better on the steep hills. There are plenty of good places to stop for a break; and it looks to be popular with cyclists (several passed me on the hills). So it seems odd that the route isn't named and publicised more widely.


Or perhaps I've missed something. If so, please let me know.

Roundabouts revisited again

disgruntled asked, on an earlier post, what answers the Cyclecraft book gave to the problems of negotiating multi-lane roundabouts. This is my attempt to summarise quite a rich mine of advice and suggestions. Before I start let me say that there are about four pages in the book on multi-lane roundabouts alone, and more than two hundred pages on different aspects of cycling: it is well worth studying the original source.

The first point I take from the book is that the best route for a cyclist to take round a multi-lane roundabout is much the same as a car would take: using the outer lane to turn left (we are in the UK); the centre lane to go straight ahead, and the inner lane to turn right.

The second point is that the main dangers to a rider on a multi-lane roundabout are when passing an entrance (because cars entering the roundabout may not see you); and when jockeying for position on the roundabout itself (because of the different speeds of cars and bike).

I think we had pretty much figured those out already, though I hadn't really taken on board the fact that, despite the problems of jockeying for position on the roundabout itself, you definitely do not want to be riding in the outside lane, when you pass an entrance with multiple lanes of cars joining the roundabout.

Reading on, the advice gets even more interesting.

In his book, John Franklin works through three different scenarios: for turning left, carrying straight on, and turning right. Much of the advice seems to centre on making sure that you maintain control of your lane. You do this, firstly by taking position early on approach to the roundabout: in the inner, middle, or outer lane depending on which direction you are going to head. If there are only two lanes on approach, then the best position for going ahead is the right hand (outer) edge of the left hand (inner) lane. Otherwise it is the centre of the middle lane. If turning left or right, then take up the centre position in the appropriate lane.

For me, some of this is counter-intuitive, but on reflection it makes good sense. The temptation is to make it easier for cars to pass, but in reality the best strategy is to make it clear that they shouldn't.

The same principle seems to apply to the advice on turning left: use the outer lane of the roundabout (left side), but keep well away from the kerb. The book specifies about 7 feet, or 2 metres, which sounds like almost the width of lane that a car needs - i.e. clearly enough to stop anyone passing in the same lane, and not enough for anyone to cut between you and the kerb.

For turning right, the advice is to use the outer edge of the inner lane around the roundabout: again seemingly with the intent of controlling the lane, without letting anyone overtake between you and the kerb. The book states the obvious when it says you need to signal clearly when starting to spiral out of the roundabout, but I imagine that by taking this position on the outside of the lane you are already indicating your next move to any following drivers.

Other pieces of advice include being ready to take evasive action, while not making any sudden changes of direction. Not to try and change gear while negotiating the roundabout (unless you have to drop speed suddenly), but to chose a gear beforehand that allows a relatively high speed, being ready to put on a spurt of speed if necessary.

He also describes some negotiation techniques to show drivers when you are determined to make a move (such as taking up a position on the edge of the lane you intend to enter, targeting a particular driver to make way for you, and engaging eye contact). Finally, he makes the point that on very busy roundabouts you can sometimes use other vehicles as a shield, particularly when they have made way for you to change lane.

In summary, the book doesn't pretend that this is easy, or that there is a single simple answer. I think we had already worked out that the best route for negotiating a complex roundabout on a bicycle was the same as the one that other vehicles use. At my current level of expertise, my new lessons are that I should show more clearly that I intend to maintain control of the lane, and I must resist the temptation to keep out of everyone's way by heading for the kerb. I could also do with practising techniques for negotiating with drivers for access to a lane, and in handling complex manouvres at speed. I don't really get how to use other vehicles as a shield, but I will leave this for another day.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has been joining in, particularly "disgruntled" who prompted me to try and set this down without losing any of John Franklin's clarity. I hope it makes some kind of sense.

Some timely advice

Yesterday on the way into town, I fumbled a junction, and forced someone in a yellow Renault to take avoiding action. On my way home, a bus driver failed to see me, or misjudged the distance, and pulled  out directly in front.

Neither event was particularly dramatic or dangerous, just the typical kind of mishap on the roads, that must happen millions of times a day. But I was annoyed at both: cross with myself for the first, and with the bus driver for the second.

So it's good timing for this quote from John Franklin's Cyclecraft, which I came across later in the day:

"If you have been aggravated by the actions of another road user, look for the earliest opportunity to have a good interaction with someone else, such as ceding way to a pedestrian or thanking a driver who had been helpful to you."

That strikes me as very sound advice, and a much more appropriate response than seeking some kind of revenge. I would like to think that the driver of the yellow Renault paid for my mistake with a small act of kindness,  and although it's a bit late now, I will look for some opportunity to do the same on behalf of the bus driver.