My bike’s rear tyre was geting badly worn, and I have been meaning to replace it, but life seemed to be getting in the way all the time. In the famous words of John Lennon, Life is what happens while we’re busy making other plans. Today I finally got round to buying a replacement tyre, … Read more
In January 2010, Paul Chambers tweeted a message he would live to regret. Snow had closed the Robin Hood airport, and he needed to fly to Ireland. In frustration, he tweeted “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky … Read more
Together with two of my kids, I attended a Critical Mass ride in Plymouth today, and I must admit it was a bit of an eye-opener. No, not the ride itself, but rather what happens (cycling-related) in Plymouth. Recently-ish a new cycling forum was established in Plymouth. According to the minutes of their first meeting, … Read more
Following my usual route to work this morning, I cycled up Tothill road. I saw another cyclist up ahead and tried to catch up.Fortune smiled on me as the other cyclist was slightly delayed by the traffic lights at the intersection where Tothill road becomes Greenbank road. As I got close I realised it was … Read more
In Plymouth, we have some cycling infrastructure that, although not brilliant and certainly not up to Dutch standards, still remains actually quite good. An example would be Billacombe road, heading out of the city. Have a look at the following pic: Billacombe road used to be two lanes in each direction, but was reduced to … Read more
For those of you not fortunate enough to live in a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the coast and Dartmoor, with NCN route 27 passing less than half a mile from your front door, the Walkham is a river that gave it’s name to the village of Walkhampton. Apart from that bit of otherwise … Read more
I cycled to work yesterday morning, and as ever I felt I was far safer and better off than had I been driving. Overnight Plymouth had a lot of snow, but towards 05h00 we also had some drizzle, turning all the snow to slush and ice. For some obscure reason Plymouth City Council apparently did … Read more
Having just completed a rather hopeful & optimistic post, my home town of Plymouth still has a LONG way to go: This picture is of what the planners/road safety implementers have gone and done on Charles Cross roundabout. As the next pic (of the same spot) shows, there is a bus lane, which of course … Read more
During these freezing cold winter days, a breath of fresh air has started to blow. A breath of fresh air that holds the potential of bringing something remarkable to the UK. We have suffered for so long at the hands of the government, the DfT, and even organisations who are supposed to be on our … Read more
Commuting to work this morning, I cycled my usual route, which took me up Tothill road and Greenbank road. It was on Greenbank rd that I saw him – a little bit ahead, joining the road from a little side street that doesn’t really go anywhere.He was on a slicked-up fully rigid mountain bike, while … Read more
Drake’s Trail is part of NCN 27, and the Devon Coast-To-Coast trail, and links Yelverton with Tavistock. Overall it is a gorgeous cycle path, even though much of the surface isn’t tarred, and it forms a natural extension to the Plym Valley cycle path that links Plymouth with Yelverton. As such, it means there is an … Read more
I’ve read all sorts of opinions about cycling ranging from “Cyclists are vehicles and we should cycle on the road as equals” to “No – we should have separate infrastructure!” and almost everything in between. I’ll start by admitting that I don’t have the answers to solving this dilemma, but I’ve stumbled across a few … Read more
I was a teenager in the 80’s. Aside from producing REALLY cool music and REALLY naff hairstyles, the 80’s also invented the Yuppie, and the world has never been the same since! One phrase probably describes the 80’s better than any other: Greed is good. And therein lies the problem – all of a sudden … Read more
I obtained a set of panniers from Lidl some time ago, and I’ve been using it virtually daily. Commuting to work means I carry a change of clothes, my lunch, bike lock, battery for my bike’s headlight, toolkit and whatever else I may need, all in the panniers. The panniers are made by Crivit, and … Read more