I tend not to read the Daily Mail as it tends to may my blood boil with the one way hatred toward cyclist. I don’t know if this one made it to print or is only online. But this article, Cycling through grey days on a family holiday to Cornwall, is a rather nice little story about a family’s holiday where they use bicycle as a part of it.

And no where it it does it say the usual thing about cycle as the Daily Mail normally put to print.

Just did a quick search on their website and there are more cycling related stories and none seems to be normal drivel, I think we are turning them :)

LINK : Cycling through grey days on a family holiday to Cornwall by the Daily Mail

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The Lo Fidelity Bicycle Club have written a rather fun blog but still serious post about the highway code for cyclist.

69 You MUST obey all traffic signs and traffic light signals. That means NOT breaking red lights. The wearing of a replica professional team kit does NOT make you immune from all traffic laws. You know you are doing wrong because of the self-righteous yet furtive look you always have when you’re doing it. FAILURE to comply means ALL OTHER ROAD USERS INCLUDING LAW ABIDING CYCLISTS and SOME OTHER PEOPLE I’VE JUST THOUGHT OF have the right to abuse you. [Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD reg 10(1)

72 On the left. When approaching a junction on the left, vehicles will turn in front of you, out of or into the side road. Just before you turn, check for undertaking cyclists or motorcyclists. Do not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left despite the fact they just overtook you at speed.

73 Pay particular attention to long vehicles which need a lot of room to manoeuvre at corners. Be aware that drivers may not see you. They may have to move over to the right before turning left. Wait until they have completed the manoeuvre because the rear wheels come very close to the kerb while turning. Do not be tempted to ride in the space between them and the kerb. In fact, if you see a lorry indicating or making a turn just STOP for goodness sake. The World is a brighter place with you still in it.

74 On the right. If you are turning right, check the traffic to ensure it is safe, then signal and move to the centre of the road. Allow for BMW drivers that will still overtake you even in the middle of your manoeuvre. Wait until there is a safe gap in the oncoming traffic and give a final look before completing the turn. It may be safer to wait on the left until there is a safe gap or to dismount and push your cycle across the road. No-one is going to stop as motorists are always in a terrible hurry for some reason.

Do click here to read the rest of this post over on Lo Fidelity Bicycle club, it is rather amusing but ever so correct.

LINK : Direct.gov.uk – Highwaycode – Cyclists

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Anywho, there I was cycling in front of my partner who is 2-3 metres behind me. We are coming to a hill where there is parked cars on the left hand side. We both started too pull out away from the door zone after we have checked that it is clear to do so. A black sedan was behind us and as we cleared of the brow of the hill and we all can see clearly down the road, the black sedan overtook us with plenty of space.

Behind my partner there is now a 4×4 driven by a lady, how do you know that I hear you ask, well I look back regularly :) I had even spotted it when I saw the black sedan. If the driver of said 4×4 had bothered to look a little bit further than the bonnet of the vehicle she is in, she would have seen …

- That the black sedan, had come to a halt at a T-junction and is getting ready to turn right into the side road.
- That the reason for it to coming to a halt is that a grey sedan is coming out of the side road and that the black sedan is waiting so that there is room for it to continue into the side road.
- That the grey sedan is turning left up the hill where we all are coming down from.

In that situation I would have hoped that she would stayed behind as there is clearly no room to overtake and that there is no benefit to do such manoeuvre. But I was wrong …

She then overtook my partner with plenty of space on the other side of the road. But as she was overtaking me she then figured out that there was no room for said manoeuvre. The silver sedan had to hold back as the 4×4 was in the wrong lane, she the driver of the 4×4 stared to pull into the left. Have a wild guess who would have been to her left at that point ?

Me, and I would have been pushed of my bicycle if I haven’t I had foreseen all this. So as she was over taking me, I hit the brakes to give her room to do her numpty manoeuvre. I said out loud “who is the numpty now” which she heard. She then pulled over to her left and stopped. We passed her again while she was trying to say something.

She then overtook us again and pulled up next to me while she was on the wrong side of the road and said “I did nothing wrong there” and continued to pull further into the left into my space as there was on coming traffic. To which I said you are doing it again …

Sorry me duck, you are still a SillyDriver.

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In two week’s time Zak (my 8 year old) and I are planning a 4 day unsupported charity bike ride from our house to his Granny’s house to raise some money for DebRA, a charity that supports people with EB. Epidermolysis Bullosa is a genetic condition where the skin breaks at the slightest touch, causing painful, open blisters and wounds. Younger sufferers are often referred to as “Butterfly Children” because of this fragility. One of the Zak’s schoolmates, Gabriel Duran-Escamez, suffered from this incredibly painful and debilitating condition.

Very sadly, Gabriel died just before the Easter holidays, aged only 8. He was an amazing kid, who had a really profound impact on the whole school. And he was a good friend. Zak would like to raise some money for the charity that supported his friend. So we’ve set up a page on JustGiving and would really appreciate it if you could take a look, and consider making a donation on this site.

I know he will be supported by the best cake maker in the business so therefore I do not have any worries that he wouldn’t make it.

Go Zak !

EDIT : And they are in the news, York Press – Eight year old boy to cycle to Barrow in Furness in aid of DebRA charity.

LINK : Expotitions by BoyCycle – A boy, a bike, a blog

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The Cycle Show once again sets the scene for all cycling fans across the UK. Enjoy a fabulous day out and see the very best 2011 bikes, clothing & accessory brands before they hit the high street.

This is also your opportunity to get on bikes and test them on our four tracks. Treat yourself with some retail therapy in the Cycle Store. We have doubled its size to hold even more clothing, helmets, shoes, lights and more for the coming season.

LINK : http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/

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Taking the cyclist away from the roads ain’t the way to go. A bicycle is a vehicle and if you are riding one you are a road user. Just as much as a person inside a motorised vehicle aka a car.

It would be easier and more cost effective if you build a proper road layout which is usable for all road users.

So training for all road users is the way not splitting them up.

Though don’t get me wrong, it there was one here in London I would give it a go as it does look fun in a theme park kinda way.

LINK : shweeb.com

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This film is Copenhagen seen through North American eyes, as they say it took a long time in CPH to get there but they did. And we (yes even London) can do it but we do not have 30-40 years to get to the same place that CPH are at right now. As the people in the films say we can do it and they are from America ( sorry just a little joke) we here in London can do it too. We just need to educate road users would that be the fella on a BSO or racer or that massive 4×4 and then the rest will come.

While Streetfilms was in Copenhagen for the Velo-City 2010 conference, of course we wanted to showcase its biking greatness. But we were also looking to take a different perspective then all the myriad other videos out there. Since there were an abundance of advocates, planners, and city transportation officials attending from the U.S. and Canada, we thought it’d be awesome to get their reactions to the city’s built environment and compare to bicycling conditions in their own cities.

Wonderful film isn’t it ? So lets us get out there on our bicycles and make this happen, it can only become a win win for us all.

EDIT : Was just shown this this tourist information film (TravelTalks) from 1937, nothing much have changed since eh :)

LINK : Velo-City 2010
LINK : Cycling in Copenhagen – through North American eyes

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I enjoyed doing it at my grandparents since granddad always kept the lawn mower sharp and well oiled and my grandmother would always “pay” me well in cake and food :)

Where else where I really had to work hard, to earn my keep, and push erm struggle the mower around the lawn as they were never well kept.

Yes it is showing my age since it was back when motor lawn mowers was unheard off.

Though I wonder if this contraption would helped with the struggle at least it would have made more fun.

LINK : lawn mower tricycle doesn’t makes lawn mowing any more fun
LINK : bike lawn mower hybrids make lawn upkeep more fun

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1/ They do invite you as a cyclist to move into the door zone. Please don’t as when you do so you invite other road users to over take you. Not a safe or comfortable place to be, squeezed in between a parked car on your left, which door could fly open at any time, with another speeding past you on your right in a narrow space.

Taking the right position on the road as a cyclist it will take you right over these things, which I know is quite annoying and it will ruin a good ride. But the discomfort from doing so is nothing to the discomfort of being doored.

2/ And then there is the name of these thing – Sleeping police men. I mean who in their right mind would go out unto a road and sleep? Dear officer of the law you will not have a great night sleep out there and you will soon cease to be a sleeping police man you will be a …. police man.

So can we go back to call them speed humps.

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Register your interest for FREE guided cycle rides on 14th July today.

Your marshals will greet you at 7.30 and give you a basic bike check before setting off at 7.45. (As Kingston is a little further from central London please meet at 07.15 to leave at 07.30). The Rides are a great way to build up confidence and discover new routes to get to work. Spread the word and get your friends and colleagues to join in.

To participate, please register your interest by sending an email with your name(s) and start point to smartertravel@tfl.gov.uk. You will receive a confirmation email on Monday 12th July.

LINK : http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/15598.aspx

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