Passing laws about passing bikes

Cycling in France I again noticed the prevalence of signs urging motorists to pass cyclists with at least 1.5 metres and almost without exception they did (the exception was a Belgian driver on an Alpe d'Huez hairpin!).
Now I am back to my familiar commute and nothing has changed.

Hounslow yesterday evening

A couple of weeks ago we had Nova Scotian friends staying with us.  Naturally I asked them about the new law in Nova Scotia requiring (as of 1st June) that motorists leave at least one metre when passing a cyclist.  Both our visitors are drivers but neither had heard of the new law.  One was also a cyclist but it did not mean much to him as he rides on the pavement, reasoning that the roads are not safe for cyclists.  I rather suspect that if such a law were passed here it would be neither observed nor enforced; it will be interesting to see what, if any, real difference it makes to Nova Scotian cyclists.

I have some expereince of cycling in Nova Scotia.  Not only am I required to wear a helmet but by law
"No person shall ride a bicycle on a highway except as near as practicable to the extreme right of the main travelled portion of the highway and no person shall ride a bicycle abreast of or generally parallel to another bicycle in motion on the highway except for the purpose of passing any such other bicycle."  That is a tough one for anybody who has undertaken any cycle training here and must be even tougher for those on club runs.  My strategy was to hold a secondary position about a metre from the edge as that is as near as practicable for me.  In fairness they do have much wider roads than us  and do not design in width restrictions as a means of traffic calming, so a bicycle and a car side by side in the same lane is not quite the adrenalin rush that it is here.

Having a lot of laws is not necessarily a solution.  What we really need is more consistent and determined enforcement of the laws we have against dangerous driving and driving without due care and attention or due consideration to other road users.  A close pass depends somewhat upon the speed and size of the vehicle concerned.  It is more easily recognised than defined and is self-evidently driving without due consideration.  Will the bus driver (see picture) be prosecuted for driving without due consideration?  Not a chance.  Would additional laws make a difference?  Same answer.

La Marmotte and Grimpee de l'Alpe

I pitched up last weekend along with 4 teammates to enjoy La Marmotte, the famous Alpine Cyclosportive that takes in four mountain climbs (Glandon, Telegraphe, Galibier and Alpe d'Huez).  I had never riden in the Alps and this ride seemed more worth the trip than the Alpine Etape which takes in Galibier and Alpe d'Huez (I plan on doing the St Fleur/Issoire one instead now we have a choice!)
The day we arrived (Thursday) I clumsely put the rear derailleur on crooked when rebuilding my bike (rather easily done especially wiht a multitool with too short an allen key).  Do learn from my mistake and exercise extreme care to screw your rear derailleur on straight.  When I got to a slope (never far away in Alpe d'Huez) and selected the largest sprocket, my rear mech flew into my rear wheel causing a mangled wreckage of derailleur, chain and wheel spokes.  Fortunately there was time on Friday for a jouney down the mountain to Bourg d'Oisans to find a new rear hanger and derailleur and then to the amazingly helpful Mavic van in Alpe d'Huez who replaced three spokes, trued the wheel and then fit a new chain all for the price of the chain only.
With all this kerfuffle I only had time for a short ride on Friday evening when I checked the bike out by taking a scenic route to Reculas

The next day it was time for The Marmotte, a little over 100 miles and around 5,000 metres of climbing - my hardest day on the bike since I did the Gran Fondo Sportful two years ago.  I was very unsure of my staying power, which has not been tested a lot recently, and also my standard chainring (39/53 for the technically minded) was a definite departure from my triple (30/42/53) which I have used on all previous mountain adventures, though I did take the precaution of a 29 rear sprocket..  I set off at a steady pace nailing my heartrate at 130 bpm and not worrying about the time.  The strategy worked as, apart from some annoying right foot pain, I had a fairly comfortable ride.  Also I need not have worried about the gearing; all 4 passes averaged under 10% and did not exceed around 14% at any one point so the gearing was fine; although I would on occasion have rather spun a lower gear than grind on. Lots of British riders there, including familiar faces from London Dynamo and Kingston Wheelers and I was even recognised half way up the Galibier as 'the cycling lawyer'.

Snow on the Galibier.  Photo from http://www.photobreton.com/

My certificate shows my times (minus the neutralised descent off the Glandon - an attempt to reduce accidents).  The "Brevet d'Or" cannot be right and conflicts with the "Brevet d'Argent" on the certificate handed to me at the finish.  I would never expect to get a Gold on a route that includes mountain descents as I lack the nerve to hurtle off a mountain at 50 mph.

Fancy a race?

The following day I went back to Bourg for the Grimpee.  This is described in many places as time trial up Alpe d'Huez but it is not.  Thankfully it is a mass start roadrace up Alpe d'Huez which is much more fun.  Full race speed with a multi vehicle escort from the roundabout to the foot of the slope then inevitably the bunch split into a thousand pieces as we hit the slope.  People turned out on a Sunday morning to cheer us on and this time the certificate I got at the finsih was a 'Brevert d'Or' with my time of 1h:04.  I may just have to return and do a sub-hour.

The Grimpee de l'Alpe, the morning after the day before.

Photo from http://www.photobreton.com/

LVRC Road Race Chamionship 2011

On 26th June I had the privilege of being one of the 45 riders lining up on the start line of the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists Road Race Championships in Oxfordshire.  This was a superbly organised (by Reading CC) race and divided into 5 year age ranges so, a first for me, I was racing with people a maximum of 4 years youger than I am; a far cry from the British Cycling Road Races where I am, rather hopelessly, competing against many people less than half my age. 
My hope had been to hang on to the bunch for the duration of the race.  The first lap was sedate enough and I even got lulled into a sense of security.  The circuit contained a steep descent from Stoke Row with a sharp bend at the bottom.  Although it was a hot summer's day the descent was wooded and the road still wet.  I find it hard to hold my nerve when descending (it is probably not helped by being a personal injury lawyer who has had clients whose bicycles have fallen apart underneath them at inopportune moments).  My Garmin shows that 37.3 mph was the maximum I mnaged on that descent when the bunch was probably going 45mph.  I had therefore to play catch up on the immediately following climb.  I managed this twice but the second lap was fast (apparently the fastest of the day) and though I held on it was at a price and I just slipped off the back during a long upward drag on the approach to Nettlebed on lap 3.
I always try to finish a race I have started and before long I was doing a two-up with Paul Burgoine, whom I have known a few years now, and who has also blogged about this race.  Initially he was more tired than I was and even suggested I left him (no way - it is no fun doing a road race on your own off the back), then as the remaining laps rolled by I tired and he recovered and then easily dropped me on the last downhill.
We succeeded in our objective in not getting lapped by the field but did not make it onto the list of finishers.
Better reports of the racing can be found elsewhere. 
I would encourage anyone over 40 to join the LVRC.  It seems to me that as we get to our middle years the need to remain active becomes more important than ever and you can have a good day out even if, like me (at least on my current form and weight), you are pretty hopeless.
It requires a lot of man (and woman) power to put on a road race; there are a lot of volunteers to be very grateful to in our sport.  Also it was very decent of the ambulance to stick behind Paul and me, sheltering us from the traffic until the last lap meant that it really ought to be on hand for the sprint.

AAAAAAAAAARGH!

The Freight Transport Association has issued a new guide called the FTA Cycling Code.  It is a useful idea to produce something like this to attempt to reduce the tragic and unnecessary loss of life and injury that occurs when lorries come into contact with bicycles.  The advice for cyclists is readily available elsewhere and the section is most useful for pointing out to lorry drivers that cyclists are advised that:

"Your road position should not be less than one metre from the kerb and should be further out if it is not safe for a vehicle to pass. If someone does pass you inconsiderately then you have more room to get out of harm’s way. Keeping away from the gutter will enable drivers to see you and also help you miss the drain covers and debris on the side of the road too"

My experience indicates that some of the advice to lorry drivers is badly needed.  I hate to quibble but I believe the following section should urge 1.5 metres:

"3 ‘Give a metre’ or hold back until there’s room
Many roads have too little space for cyclists and hgvs at the same time. If an hgv cannot give a cyclist at least a metre’s clearance then they should hold back. Drivers should bear in mind that cyclists are trained not to ride too close to the kerb. The Highway Code advises that you should give at least as much room as when overtaking a car."

Drivers reading this who do not have experience of cycling are likely to feel that a metre is fine and ignore the 'at least' bit.  My view, and it is one adopted in much of Europe, is that 1.5 metres is better practice and is definitely required if the lorry is overtaking the cyclist at speed.  Furthermore if a metre is just fine then that cyclist who is travelling 1 metre out from the kerb is 'an obstruction' and 'should keep in to let me pass' as has been yelled to me too often.

The reason for the title of this post is that the above picture is reproduced on the guide without any obvious indication of irony or that it is illustrating a problem.  Both the driver and the cyclist are ignoring the advice in this guide and the people who have selected the photograph do not appear to have noticed.  I am sometimes close to despair.

..and here is one that happened to me yesterday

Helmet Camera secures a conviction

Michael Stewart at Court yesterday.  Picture from Manchester Evening News

Michael Stewart was convicted and sentenced yesterday at Manchester Magistrates' Court of driving without due care and attention and for common assault.  He had pleaded guilty to both offences.  He was acquitted of the charge of dangerous driving.  After driving close to a cyclist, Neil Chatterjee, Stewart got out of his BMW car and grabbed Mr Chatterjee by the throat.  The Magistrate accepted as beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Chatterjee's account of the assault was correct and that Mr Stewart's (that he had only grabbed his clothing) was false.

Sentencing Stewart, the Court described the attack as reprehensible, serious and road rage.  The Manchester Evening News reports that Stewart was ordered to pay a £200 fine and £200 court costs. His licence was endorsed with five penalty points.  He was also given a six-week community order with a four-week evening curfew.

Stewart admitted the assault and there is no report of any previous convictions.   Accordingly had these events occurred in the Thames Valley Police area he would have been given a caution as a matter of course.  Fortunately the Manchester Police and CPS are made of sterner stuff and deserve full credit for bringing this before a Court.  Equally it is incredibly rare for a prosecution to arise from passing close to a cyclist without actually knocking him off.  Police forces everywhere will hopefully note this result.  The Manchester CPS were not afraid of erring on the side of the victim; the fact that Stewert was acquitted of dangerous driving does not mean that the decision to puruse the charge was incorrect.

"Use the cycle path!" (here we go again)

.

The driver of this silver car LC10PYB has a number of excuses for nearly killing me.  He responded to the policeman who wrote to him that I was presenting an unneccesary hazard by not using the shared use cycle path alongside this road.  He was affronted that my presence caused him to have to move further into the offside lane (did he??) than was usually required to pass a bicycle.  He was not apparently to blame at all, as I should not have been there.  He reinforced these points by asserting that his passenger agreed with him.  According to the policeman, who forwarded these comments to me, he is not alone amongst the drivers whose carelessness I have reported in expressing those sentiments.  This is a motorist's mindset that ought, as I have explained in earlier posts, to have been dispelled finally by the quashing of the conviction of Daniel Cadden.

I have tried segregated cycling infrastructure.  I tried it again this week on my way back from a race at Hillingdon when I was willing to spin out at slow speed, but I just cannot see it as a sensible way of travelling a moderate to long distance in a reasonable time.

There is a shocking irony here; that motorists many of whom are highly antagonistic to any attempts to get them to slow down in built up areas or even in some cases hostile to attempts to enforce existing speed limits(and thereby unquestionably to save lives), consider it perfectly reasonable to expect cyclists to sacrifice speed and convenience just to get out of their way or (so some like the driver of LC10PYB imply) it is perfectly alright to endanger our lives by passing by at 50mph with a couple of feet to spare.

Wessex 100 Cyclosportive. Somerset and Dorset Sunday 29th May 2011

On the late May bank holiday weekend, Pendragon Sports organises a 3 day cyclosportive event running a loop out and back in different directions each day from Somerton.  As I blogged last year I am full of admiration for those who do three days.  I cheat and do only the second day which heads south to the Dorset coast and back.
There was a stiff north westerly wind which blew us down to the coast but then slowed progress on the return leg.  Following the start, a fairly large group formed and this started to split on the steady climb out of Sherborne.  I put in the effort to cross the opening gap and stick with the front group.  This was probably a mistake as I ended up putting far too much effort in too early.  I knew that the climb out of Cerne Abbas would be a point at which I could well get dropped so I passed straight through the first feed (which at 30 miles was too soon for my needs anyway) and tackled the hill at my own pace.  The group passed me as I neared the top.  I had thought I might hang on until the hill at the coast on the Lulworth army firing range but I actually got dropped a little earlier than that on the more modest climb out of West Lulworth.
After getting to the firing range on my own, I enjoyed taking the bigger hill with the views of tanks and their targets, Poole Harbour and finally open sea.  At the top I took a quick break and another rider caught up so we two-upped to the spectacular ruins of Corfe Castle.  Here we were caught by the next group who provided well needed shelter as we turned into the wind to head towards Wareham and the first feed where we stopped for 6 minutes enjoying sandwiches, pasties, pork pies and sweets (certainly the best food I have encountered on a cyclosportive).  This group was well organised doing one mile turns at the front in rotation.  We were now 66 miles in and as I led out of the feed I  indicated I would not be able to do a mile - so we settled on one minute turns, which worked well for the next 15 miles or so to Milton Abbas.
We took the long relentless drag from there up to Bulbarrow Hill at a sensible pace altogether though I was by now definitely flagging.  At around 90 miles there was another feed.  All bar me stopped, I wanted to press on gently.  This I did and when the group came by me I did not have the energy to latch on.  I spent the last 29 miles of this 119 mile ride on my own, towards the end the next group came by me but by this stage I could only watch them flash by and limp to the finish.
Two years ago, on this event, I got a Gold, last year a Silver and this year a Bronze.  These results mean little and do appear to be subject to significant vagaries and some subtle differences in route and less subtle differences in weather from year to year.
'Officially' the route was 117 miles and my time 6 hours 32 minutes
Stats from my Garmin were 119 miles in 6:24 with an average speed of 18.5 mph.  Apparently I hit 43 mph somewhere.
A great ride, I will certainly be back though I suspect I will be sticking to one day; the following morning a repeat challenge did not seem an appealing prospect and not only because of the rain.  Those that do the three days are hardy indeed.

Sir Alan Beith's Private Member's Bill

Yesterday afternoon Sir Alan Beith spoke in support of his private member's Bill which would "require the Secretary of State to make provision requiring the fitting of equipment to heavy goods vehicles to eliminate driver blind spots; to make other provisions relating to the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and other road users; and for connected purposes".  The Bill passed its first reading.  This development, like similar proposals that achieved widespread support in the European Parliament and are now before the Commission, result directly from the hard work of the family of Eilidh Cairns.
I have said plenty on these pages already about the hazards presented to cyclists by lorries.  Let us hope that the old acceptance that lorries can be permitted onto our crowded streets with 'blind spots' will soon be a thing of the past.  I see that the Bill is also supported by Dr Julian Huppert, whose good sense I have already noted.

I am relieved to see sense being talked in Parliament after the disproportionate reaction to the unfortunate, but extremely rare, death of a pedestrian after being run down by a cyclist which led to Andrea Leadsom's private member's Bill earlier this year.

I have also seen this week on The One Show, James Cracknell calling for legislation mandating cycle helmets.  Mr Cracknell is plainly a nice guy who cycles but he is in league with the definitely non-cycling Angie Lee (who chooses to lecture children on the hazards of cycling without a helmet rather than on the dangers of diabetes and heart disease).  Despite the failure of his helmet to save him from a very serious brain injury, James Cracknell genuinely believes that he would be worse off without the helmet.  He goes so far as to condemn non helmeted cyclists for not thinking of their relatives.  What I cannot understand is where were the thoughts for Mr Cracknell's relatives on the part of the lorry driver who apparently slammed his wing mirror into the back of James's head at 70 mph?  I would be interested in a follow up story that indicates whether this driver is now languishing in a prison cell or still driving a truck.  I cannot understand why some are more focussed upon the dubious benefits of a helmet rather than on ensuring that these lorry/cyclist collisions do not happen.  I applaud Sir Alan for grasping the right end of the stick.

Rights to privacy - am I invading them?

We have been hearing a lot in the press lately about the tension between the individual's right to privacy, enshrined in article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the right to freedom of expression (article 10).  One vehicle driver (pictured) has got somewhat agitated about it on my youtube channel.

The most important human right of all is the right to life (article 2), not just my own (though naturally I attach great importance to it) but the right to life of all who venture onto the roads, as we are exhorted to do by government, and as directly benefits society as a whole including motorists.  Unhappily some of those cyclists will be killed and disproportionately they will be killled by those operating larger vehicles.  So if you do not wish to be filmed operating the controls of your mp3 player whilst behind the wheel of a large van do not pass me like this:

or (to take some other very recent examples) this

this

or, this

Almost every day I report a vehicle to the police or an employer to draw to their attention a driver's apparent total ignorance of:

Whether effective action ever results I do not know.  'Easykleen' have declined to tell me the results of any internal disciplinary process there may have been on the grounds of the driver's confidentiality.  Prosecutions in the absence of actually knocking a cyclist off are unheard of.
Statistically we face greater dangers at junctions.  However as cyclists we have no real control, other than through assertive positioning which is at best only a partial answer, over the vehicles which pass us too closely.  I am sure this behaviour drives many would be cyclists from the roads.
So do I have any qualms about 'invading your privacy' when you choose to drive inconsiderately around a cyclist on a public road?  No, I do not.

Fred Whitton Challenge Sunday 8th May 2011

I started this blog two years ago with the FWC 2009 with no inkling that events would turn me into what the media types that contact me call 'a cycling campaigner' and this a correspondingly campaigning site.  It is refreshing to get several hundred miles away from the stressed out competition between roadusers in the London commuter belt, to an event where everybody is at least aiming to enjoy a long ride in idyllic lakeland countryside.

My club had a team of 6 (down from 7 due to a nasty crash in the Masters' Race at Hillingdon a few days before).  We had come ready for the hills but possibly not the weather.  There was steady rain in the morning but by the time I started at 8am it looked as though there may be some respite from the worst of it.  However I got the torrential downpour of hail with high wind as I was tackling the first really steep climb at Honister.  The wind was still howling and the rain lashing down as I tackled the first really steep descent off the same hill when I found to my alarm that my newly fitted Bonti tyres, while virtually puncture proof, were not well suited to these conditions.  The rider behind thought I was gone and it is true I more skied than cycled down much of this slope.

I left my two clubmates I was with to recover at the Buttermere feed; they would both have come in with much better times than I, had not both their chains broken; another indication of the taxing conditions of the day.  I cautiously picked my way around the hills losing control on several more occasions before the rain dried up in the early afternoon and the roads started to dry, thankfully before I reached the monsters of Hardknott and Wrynose passes.

Time did not really matter after all this but I came in at seconds over 8 hours, establishing a trend of a slower time for each of the past three years.

An equipment review for these harsh conditions: 
 - The Ribble winter bike was perhaps a little heavier than ideal for all these climbs but I really had no option as I have moved my triple chainset from my carbon (so as not to look quite so daft racing).  I had taken the trouble to remove the mudguards but it may have been better to leave them on.  Ideally I would have a light bike with a triple or compact chainset.
-  A chain tool.  I always carry a multitool that contains one.  I did not need it but two of my clubmates could have done with one!
-  Tyres.  Go for something grippy.  I nearly came a cropper as a consequence of my unwise tyre choice.
-  Good raingear.  Fortunately my club rainjacket is excellent and proved worth its (insubstantial) weight in gold.

Will I be back?  I am always doubtful soon after completing it but a clubmate and I have already made our hotel booking for 2012, and of course we do need to secure ourselves those sought after entries.

All credit again to the organisers.  They do a fantastic job even in challenging conditions.

Lomas Court Date

Scott Lomas has been summonsed to attend a Magistrates' Court on 25th May to answer a charge that he used threatening abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on 04th November 2010

Claim for damages against Timothy Denman

I have today sent a pre-action letter to Timothy Denman of Charvil claiming damages for the assault in Twyford on 12th December last year.  I have given him 28 days to respond before I sue.

Cycling Infrastructure

Here is an interesting arrangement that I discovered cycling down the A30 in Hampshire between Camberley and Basingstoke.  This piece of road used to be an important trunk road.  I can just remember being driven up and down it to and from Dorset as a young child.  However since the M3 was constructed running parallel and only a mile or so to the south then, like a lot of old trunk roads, it lost its importance along with most of its traffic.
What a great opportunity to use some of this space for long distance cycle routes.  You could easily use one carriageway for bicycles and one for motor vehicles; alternatively one lane in each direction could be a high quality wide cycle lane.
However cyclists were obviously the last thing on the mind of the Highway Engineer who designed this.  I was cycling down here with a lorry behind.  I had no wish to hold him up but the 'blanking off' of one lane with projecting keep left traffic islands meant there was no way he could get by.  To give the driver his due he was not a road rage moron and he waited patiently until the end of the previously dual section before he could get by.
This scene to me just typifies want of thought and wasted opportunity.  Useful cycling infrastructure could be set up here and on roads like it at minimal cost.  It is not that we do not have the space for infrastructure; we do not have the will.
Further up the A30 east of Staines, money has been wasted painting a cycle lane onto the pavement with give way markings at every junction and crossing point.  Nobody will use it and motorists will wonder why not.
You can glimpse some of this exciting new infrastructure (and maybe some of the reasons I will not be making use of it) on the left in this footage.

Hounslow 'Roadrage' Incident 04.11.10. Driver to be summonsed.

I have learnt today that a man is to be summonsed for an offence contrary to section 5 of the Public Order Act arising out of the incident recorded on my helmet camera near Hounslow last 4th November.
I have removed references to this incident from this site and from youtube pending his trial.

Hounslow Roadrage Helmet Camera Incident Update

The ping-pong continues with the ball being batted many times between the CPS and the police with each in turn knocking the ball out of play then, following a complaint from me, batting it back.  The lastest is that a senior metropolitan police officer has now reversed the decision taken earlier that no prosecution should take place and has instead referred it back to the CPS to decide.  It is now for the CPS to consider whether the account given by my protagonist is remotely credible in the light of the video evidence.
A decision one way or the other will have to be made before 4th May, the six month anniversary of the incident.

Greater Manchester Helmet Camera Incident

Michael Stewart, aged 47, of Daven Road, Congleton, has been charged with common assault and dangerous driving.  He is due to appear at Manchester City Magistrates' Court on 14 April 2011. (More here though the link to the press release does not currently work for me).

Out-of-Court Disposals

I have received from my own MP a copy of a letter from Crispin Blunt MP, an Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice.  Mr Blunt explains that he is the Minister responsible for policy on 'Out-of-Court Disposals' which includes simple cautions.  Mr Blunt is anxious to point out that the Home Office Guidance 016/2008 does not stipulate cautions in any particular case, rather the use of cautions is 'an operational decision to be taken by the police'.
Judging by rather better action taken by Greater Manchester Police recently, Mr Blunt may be right that the Home Office Guidance did not quite force the Thames Valley Police to issue a simple caution, in the way they have contended, to the man who pushed me from my bike last December.
Mr Blunt goes on to say that although the Government is satisfied that the circular does not stipulate the use of cautions in any particular case, the Government is considering its approach to out-of -court disposals such as simple cautions as part of a full assessment of sentencing policy.  A Ministry of Justice consultation has been taking place (it closed on 4th March, Mr Blunt's letter is dated 9th March).  There is a section on
'A simpler framework for out-of-court disposals' which appears to me to be proposing a greater discretion to police.  Had I been in time to respond, I would have urged that there should be a strong presumption against the use of a caution in crimes of violence against vulnerable road users.
On a more positive note, I have received the name and address of my assailant from Thames Valley Police and will probbaly take the trouble to sue him.  If he is not to be hauled before a criminal court, I can at least haul him before a civil one.  I appreciate that the recovery of damages may be an uncertain and uphill struggle but I would like him to face some consequences for his actions.

Manchester Road Rage Incident

Two Manchester journalists who specialise in news  'inside the M60' have reported that, following the publicity given to the helmet-camera footage,  "A 47-year-old man was arrested on Saturday, 12 March 2011, on suspicion of assault and dangerous driving and remains in custody for questioning."

I will say nothing more now about the incident itself, but it does look as though the police in the North West compare (or contrast) very favourably with the police forces in the South East of the country.

Omega Circuits Mountbatten

I headed down, with a teammate to Portsmouth for this 3rd cat race. My first time here, and first time with any kind of banking. Odd to just fly into a corner and let gravity take you around.  There was a quite promising early break of 4 but that got reeled in, then a solo break got nowhere, then another break of around 5 went.  As soon as they came back the pace slowed and I went for my jaunt off the front. I thought maybe it was cunning to go up the bank and slingshot down again; this apparently caused merriment in the bunch and delayed the organisation of a chase until I had been out there for a few laps.  Then it was altogether for the last several laps and the bunch sprint with me on my teammate's wheel at the rear.
22.74 miles in 53:39. Average 25.4mph max 31mph
Saw ex-teammate Harry down there in the Elites' race and left him in a 3 man break which had a comfortable half lap over the field.  He always makes it look so easy.

Road Rage

Intrigued by the post I referred to a few days back by 'Innocent and proved so by the police', I have been chasing Hounslow Police for information.  An officer finally got back to me yesterday and I can reveal the following:

A male was arrested on Friday 25th February on suspicion of offences arising out of an incident involving a car and me near Hounslow on 4th November.  (That's the one described here).  Interviewed under caution the suspect explained that he had been provoked by being called a 'wanker' and was released without charge.  The police have decided that no further action will be taken.

The police wanted me to know that the suspect would pursue his counter-allegations against me 'if need be'.

I have, however, contacted the CPS who I hope will be reviewing the police decision.

Meanwhile the police in Manchester are looking for a man who assaulted a cyclist in that City on 26th January.  The following appears from the cyclist's helmet camera.

Surrey League Road Race Dunsfold Sunday 6th March 2011

My first road race  (by which I mean a mass start race on the Highway) for the current season.  A well organised Surrey League event sponsored by Kingston Wheelers, who supplied, with the NEG, excellent traffic marshalling (and cakes back at HQ!).  A definite chill in the air as we 3rd cats gathered outside the Alford Crossways Village Hall for the start of the neutralised section down to the start proper.  The pace during the neutralised bit was quite enough to get me warmed up and after a few miles we stopped just south of Dunsfold for a few minutes before the race got going.  Soon there was a right into Chiddingford Road and we were onto the 6 mile circuit we would follow 8 times around.  Chiddingford Road had a moderate hill, on some laps this was taken at a moderate pace but sometimes there were attacks here which left me hanging off the back gasping and willing myself not to be dropped irremedially.  Then the road curved round left through a wooded section where the potholes began and we undulated more up than down to the T junction taking us back up towards Dunsfold, after which the road surface improved and we enjoyed a sweeping descent before turning left to face that hill again.
It was a race of breaks and attacks from the first lap to the last with the pace going up as they fought to get away and again as gaps were closed.
I hung on in there and finished (up another hill that had me completely spent) at the back of the main bunch which by the time we finished was around 40 strong from the 80 who started.  I enjoyed the race and was pleased with that result (last year I did around half a dozen road races and did not manage to remain with the bunch until the end in any of them).

52.25 miles in 02h13m22s for an average speed of 23.5 mph.  Max 37.5 mph.

Traffic was generally not a problem with oncoming vehicles in the main having the good sense to stop or at least slow and move over.  There was only one vehicle that careered on at unmodified speed inches from the centre line.  Why the police anywhere should think that every road race requires a road closure (as apparently some police forces do believe) puzzles me, certainly when the race is as well escorted and marshalled as this one was.  All that is required is for traffic to stop or slow for the few seconds that it takes for the race to pass.  It will undoubtedly be helpful if marshals and motorcycle escorts are given an express power to direct traffic in dealing with the very few individual road users who seem to have a problem with cyclists racing on the road.

Threat to kill and other updates

Still nothing of any substance from the police or CPS over the threat to kill me.  However somebody posting under the name 'innocent and proven so by police' is almost certainly the motorist involved and he has posted his account of the incident here.  Road CC have kindly added my unedited footage to the page so we can all enjoy a 'spot the difference' competition between his account and my video.  Whether it is true that the police have interviewed him and declared him innocent I have yet to discover, but I have contacted the police for an update.

Meanwhile I have heard back from my MP who has agreed to raise my concerns about the over-use of police cautions with the Home Secretary.  I am hoping for a more substantive reply in due course.

Legal Update - Spring 2011

First, it's cycle helmets again.  Last week His Honour Judge Wilcox sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court delivered his Judgment in Phethean-Hubble v Coles.  On 28th November 2005, Tobias Phethean-Hubble, then aged 16, suffered severe brain injuries when he was cycling and came into collision with a Rover motor car driven by the then 17 year old Sam Coles.
Tobias's cycling was not above criticism; immediately prior to the collision he was cycling at 8pm unlit along the pavement and moved onto the carriageway of the road into the path of the Rover.  The street was, however, well lit and Sam had no difficulty seeing Tobias.  The failure to carry lights at night therefore only affected the outcome to the extent that it may explain why Tobias had been riding on the pavement, where the Judge observed that 'strictly' he should not have been.
The area was subject to a 30 mph speed limit.  At trial there was an issue over speed with Sam accepting a speed slightly in excess of the speed limit and those representing Tobias alleging a rather greater speed.  In the event the Judge found that the speed was 35 mph and found Sam to be liable for Tobais's injuries because of his excessive speed.
The Judgment is promising in that it accepts the dangers of speeding and emphasises the vulnerability of the cyclist.  There was a finding that a reasonable motorist ought to have anticipated that the cyclist riding on the pavement would move into the road and a prudent motorist should have been prepared for such an eventuality and driven accordingly.
Driving 'accordingly' essentially meant moderating his speed.  At 35mph there was no chance of avoiding the collision, he should not merely have been driving within the speed limit but should have slowed to 3-4 mph or so below the limit.  At that speed there was a greater likelihood that the cyclist would have become aware of the approaching car in time, and the motorist would have had longer to react so as to avoid the collision, or at least cause less serious injury.  Emphasis was placed on the significant difference between the two road users.  One a cyclist with little protection, the other a motorist in a stable enclosed vehicle that has fatal potential.
The Judge also found fault on the part of the cyclist in riding onto the road creating the emergency.  He found this was an equal cause of the accident but given Tobias's age he considered a reduction of one third for contributory negligence was just and equitable.
There was in addition criticism of Tobias for not wearing his cycle helmet.  The Judge accepeted as his starting point the words of Griffith Williams J in Smith v Finch who had likened fault on the part of a cyclist not wearing a helmet to fault on the part of a motorist for not wearing a seat-belt.  On the face of it this is another blow for those who wish helmet wearing to be a matter of personal choice rather than external prescription.  However the authority of the decision on this point is weakened by the fact that the contrary High Court authority A v Shorrock was not cited to the Judge and, rather extraordinarily, it appears that it was not even argued on Tobias's behalf that he was not at fault in leaving his helmet at home.  As it was, the Judge made passing reference to risk compensation and to the fact that helmets may sometimes make injuries worse; suggesting a distinct possibiltiy that he may not have followed Smith v Finch had the matter been argued out.
As always (at least thus far) in cases of severe impacts, the finding was then made that the wearing of a helmet would not have made a significant difference to the extent of Tobias's injuries.

Comment.  Although Claimant cyclists can usually be fairly confident that a Defendant motorist will be unable to establish that a helmet would have made any difference, this is not a good reason to permit assertions that a bare-headed cyclist is at fault to go uncontested.  It is inimicable to the interests of cyclists generally to allow a series of cases to build up on a premise that not wearing a helmet equates to fault.  I hope that this is the last time that such an assertion will be allowed to go unchallenged.
Aside from the helmet issue though there is much in the Judgment about the standard of care owed to cyclists by motorists and about the dangers of even 'moderate' speeding to merit a cheer.  I believe it to be a useful antidote to the mantra that I hear often (even sometimes from cyclists) that cyclists are just as much to blame, just as responsible etc.  As I have made clear before, I personally reject this artificial 'evenhandedness' which is blind to the degree of potential to do harm to others.

[UPDATE:  The Defendant's appeal against this Judgment was heard yesterday (28.11.11) and Judgment is awaited.  The Defendant did not appeal the finding that a cycle helmet would have made no difference but there may well be some observations form the Court of Appeal on the degree of contributory negligence].

Death on the roads is sadly continuing at much the same rate this year, notably the 18 year old potential Olympian, Lewis Balyckyi, was run down by a Transit van and killed whilst out training in Lancashire in January. 

In the criminal courts, the motorist responsible for the death of Cath Ward of Solihull CC was sentenced last December to a community order and disqualified from driving for one year.  Cath had been competing in a 10 mile time trial last summer in good weather conditions on the A46 dual carriageway when she was hit from behind by a car driven by Arron Cook.  Prosecutors decided to charge Cook with causing death by careless driving rather than by dangerous driving.  (It is possible this case differs significantly from that of Major Gareth Rhys-Evans, see my legal review a year ago, but I do not see it as obvious from any of the reports).  The result of this charging decision was that the Magistrates were empowered to, and rather unusually did, deal with the sentence themselves rather than referring to a higher Court.  I continue to wish for greater consistency in charging and sentencing decisions in cases that involve killing, harming or endangering vulnerable road users.

Update on assault and threat to kill

I had not expected all this to drag on for months.  However whether it takes months or years, once I have got the bit between my teeth I am not swift to let go.  Unfortunately this determination is sometimes required to get effective action taken by those whose job it is to serve the public.

The BMW assailant

First, the case of the BMW driver who assaulted me and a colleague on 12th December (more here).  I have received, and accepted, profuse apologies from Thames Valley Police delivered in person by a senior officer visiting my home.  (Interestingly the Inspector concerned suggested I might consider using a helmet camera!).  The apology is for deciding on a police caution without first seeking my views or awaiting details of my injuries.  This admitted failing has been dealt with by providing managerial  advice to the civilian officer who handled the case and the custody sergeant who approved the caution.  I only wish that half the effort into investigating and pursuing police staff who have made a mistake, went into the investigation and pursuit of the assailant.  It is of course only right that complaints against the police are taken seriously, but I am left with an uncomfortable feeling that the police involved have come off worse than the man who actually attacked me.

This feeling is reinforced by the fact that, rightly, I was given the identity of the police officers involved as soon as I asked; whereas the identity of my assailant has just this moment, many weeks after my request, been revealed to me.

When the apology was given the senior police officer insisted that Home Office Guidance required the police to issue a caution rather than to charge the offender.  I have to say we disagreed about whether the offence was to be regarded as plain assault or as assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and further disagreed as to whether aggravating (unprovoked attack or vulnerable victim) or mitigating (heat of the moment) features were present.  Nonetheless it is clear that the police genuinely believe themselves to be required to deal with an assault of this type by a caution.  That being so, it is necessary to move on to criticise the content of the Home Office Guidance.

I previously wrote to the Home Secretary about this guidance.  At first my letter was forwarded to the Ministry of Justice but I wrote again asking that it be placed before the Home Secretary.  This was not done, instead I got a letter from a Home Office official misconstruing my point as being about police operational matters.

I have therefore now taken this up with my own MP as follows:

"Dear Mr Afriyie,


Police Cautions for Violent Assaults

I am very concerned about the guidance that has been given to Police Forces by the Home Office (Home Office Circular 30/2005 addressed to Chief Constables and copied to Crown Prosecutors) under the previous Government.
I have been assured by Thames Valley police that the ‘Gravity Factors Matrix’ contained within this guidance required them to deal with an offender who assaulted me on the street last December, causing me actual bodily harm and potentially risking far more serious injury, with a caution. As it happens, I was riding my bicycle (an activity that I know both you and the current Government encourage) when this occurred and was therefore particularly vulnerable to this kind of violent assault.
I will say no more about the particular circumstances of that offence as I am not raising with you the police action taken in accordance with Home Office Guidance but with the Guidance itself. This guidance needs to be reviewed.
Parliament lays down laws for the protection of society and as a citizen I consider it my right to expect the protection of the law. I question whether it can really be acceptable that the police are required by Home Office Guidance (apparently agreed with senior police officers and the CPS but by nobody democratically accountable) not to charge the perpetrator of a violent offence and bring him before the Courts.
I have tried to raise this directly with your colleague, Mrs Theresa May, (in whose constituency the assault coincidently occurred) but received only a dismissive response from a Home Office Official misinterpreting my letter as a complaint about operational police matters.
I would be most grateful if you could raise this policy issue on my behalf with Mrs May.

Yours sincerely,
Martin Porter"

The threat to kill

Second, the incident on 4th November (more here).  I got excited in December when told that the investigation into this was to be reopened and self-imposed a news blackout.  Two months on the police resubmitted the evidence to the CPS but (still) without taking any steps to identify the driver from his registration number.  The CPS asked the police to undertake some minimal investigation (i.e who was the driver at the time?).   The last I heard from the police was that they were 'in the process of tracking down the previous owner of the vehicle'.

I am not prepared to hold silence indefinitely and have now reopened the video clips for viewing on youtube (here, and here) and a short extract was shown on prime time television last Thursday, along with my statements of (what should be) obvious fault on the part of some motorists and my optimistic hope that video evidence could corroborate a cyclist's account of poor motoring.  Some people maintain that cyclists with cameras are 'looking for trouble' but I do not see how this can possibly be said about any of the cyclists whose film appeared on 'The One Show'.

Most of what I said hit the cutting room floor and I suspect this item was considerably shortened because between the time of filming and broadcast BBC Breakfast ran a similar item.  It is, I feel, a pity that what was left was the journalistic hyperbole of a 'war between cyclists and motorists'.  It was left to the guest, Griff Rhys Jones, to make the rather obvious point that what is needed is peace on the roads.  He is not the first to think of that; Roadpeace have been urging it for decades.  The peace, though, needs to be not merely wished but also enforced.

Imperial Winter Series Race 11: Saturday 5th February

A mild 12ºC but with a very strong and blustery southwest wind which meant that I was bound to struggle.  My new Ribble winter training bike was introduced to racing today.  I would like to think that I had learned something from the last time I was out in the strong wind.  Possibly I did do a bit better for a while, keeping to the middle of the pack and avoiding the hazard area.  However, there were some strong riders making a sustained effort to break away and the pace was relentlessly high while that was going on.  After 20 minutes I was left hoping that the split would happen as I was on my limit and drifting to the back   Once at the back at around 30 minutes in, I was holding the penultimate wheel straight into the wind but the inevitable gap opened up and we were sunk.  We were by no means the first to be dropped and I believe that, frustratingly, the group of three got clear off the front just after I came off the back.  With a bit of help from other dropped riders and from the 4^th cat race, I avoided being lapped until one to go.

For me it was 24.7 miles in 1hr 04m 50s.  An average speed of 22.9 and a max of 29.3 mph.

I am away next week so this was my last Winter Series race for this year.  It has, as always, been huge fun and provides some intense riding in the off season which I am just not motivated to find on the road or on a turbo.  A huge thank you to the Collins family and Imperial Racing for promoting the series.

Cycling Infrastructure Again

Responding to Dr Julian Huppert MP, the Minister of State for Transport Theresa Villiers stated in Parliament that, "Manual for Streets 2" was recently published after a lot of input from different stakeholders. My understanding is that those documents are heavily used by local authorities in their work on our roads and streets. The uptake of those documents is more extensive than my hon. Friend has been led to believe."

The trouble is that Dr Huppert is right and Ms Villiers is wrong; most cycling infrastructure in this country is useless or worse.  The manual for streets does not descend to detail on the design requirements for cycling infrastructure but this is to be found in the sister document, Cycle Infrastructure Design

Take this example, on my commute home from work

The A315 west of Hounslow on my way home.

The lane on the left is perhaps 0.5metres wide

The Department for Transport's own design criteria provide that:

"7.4 Cycle lane widths

7.4.1 A cycle lane offers cyclists some separation from motor traffic. Under the National Cycle Training Standards, cyclists are trained to ride in a safe position in the carriageway which is usually at least 1 metre from the kerb edge to avoid gulley grates and debris, and to ensure that they are within the sightlines of drivers waiting at side roads.
7.4.2 Cycle lanes should be 2 metres wide on busy roads, or where traffic is travelling in excess of 40 mph. A minimum width of 1.5 metres may be generally acceptable on roads with a 30 mph limit. For cycle feeder lanes to advanced stop line arrangements, a minimum width of 1.2m may be acceptable. Cycle lanes less than 1.2 metres wide cannot easily accommodate tricycles or childcarrying cycle trailers wholly within the lane.
7.4.3 Cyclists can overtake each other within a 2metre wide lane and easily remain within it when looking back to check for traffic, or when avoiding kerbside drainage grates, etc. Drivers do not always realise that cyclists need to move away from the kerb to avoid surface hazards and may expect cyclists to stay in lane regardless of its width. A narrow cycle lane may therefore give motorists (misplaced) confidence to provide less clearance while overtaking than they would in the absence of a cycle lane."

That last part is too true


What should cyclists do faced with this hopeless provision?  Ideally, we should ignore the lane and ride as though it was not there, but that runs a greater than usual risk of attracting aggression from uncomprehending motorists.  I tend to follow John Franklin's suggestion of straddling the line.  This is hardly ideal and Government complacancy about the design of our streets clearly needs to be dispelled.  It would be much safer if the cycle lane were just removed.

Imperial Winter Series Race 10; Saturday 29th January

Photo courtesy of LondonCycleSport

A distinctly cool 2ºC with a fresh northerly wind to add a wind-chill that left my hands numb until the race had been on long enough to get the circulation going. A few spirited attacks off the front but (as far as I could see) again nothing stuck. We passed the 4th cats twice, once whilst they were racing and again as they were warming down and not yet cleared the circuit. Every time the pace picked up to haul someone in I found my self at (but thankfully never off) the back. The sprint straight into the wind was interrupted by a sortie onto the grass on the right so I just kept left to roll in at the back of the bunch.

24.9m in 1h:01m:20s. Average speed 24.4mph. Top speed 32.9 mph.

Photo courtesy of Lucy Collin

CTC Cycle Magazine Article Clarification and Update

There are, I fear, inaccuracies in the latest CTC magazine 'Road Safety Watch' about my experiences in two quite separate incidents.

1.  On 4th November 2010, I was threatened by a motorist.  I had helmet cam footage and took it to the police.  Initially the Police and CPS decided to take no action.  I complained, did get a response, and an investigation is now taking place.  I had a letter from a Senior Crown Prosecutor yesterday telling me that the police had been asked to make further enquiries.  I do not know, but I interpret this as suggesting that the police have still not interviewed the suspect.  I await further developments.

2.  On 12th December 2010, a motorist jumped out of his car and assaulted me and a club-mate.  I did not have my camera but there was overwhelming evidence including that of an independant witness.  The motorist was traced by the police, interviewed, accepted his guilt and was given a police caution.  I queried the decision to caution the offender with the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police.  I received an e mail yesterday apologising for delay and saying that this would be investigated by an Inspector.  I have asked Thames Valley Police for the name and address of my assailant but have been told that this request will not be considered until I put it into a letter.

I have separately written to the Home Secretary but have still not received any substantive response.  I will now have to take this up with my own MP.

Some views from our parliamentarians

I see that the MP for Cambridge, Dr Julian Huppert, secured the adjornment debate last Friday.  His speech is reported in Hansard and he took the opportunity to raise cycling with the Minister of State for Transport.  I do recommend reading his speech.  It is stunningly good and he manages to raise in a few minutes some of the issues I have been raising in this blog.  He deals with the merits of cycling, the importance of bikeability cycle training, the enforcement of cycle lanes, the poor quality of most 'shared use' cycling facilites built in defiance of the DfT's own hierachy of provision, the excessive advocacy of cycle helmets.  I particularly like this in relation to motorists who harm cyclists,
 "We must encourage the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to be more ambitious in the choice of charges and the decision to prosecute, so that judges and juries can decide whether an excuse is good enough.  Driving with a reckless disregard for the safety of fellow road users should be treated very seriously."
Mr Huppert goes on to deal with cycle parking, showers/lockers at workplaces, integration with public transport and then raises the subject, close to my heart, of cycle racing on the Highway.

Mr Huppert is a Liberal Democrat, the sooner he is given a job at the Department for Transport the better.

Disappointingly, at least one motoring organisation, apparently intent on seeing the sharing of roadspace as a battleground rather than a matter for cooperation, has taken exception to Mr Huppert's words.  This is not a party political blog, nonetheless it is rare to find a parliamentarian of any political party talking so much unadulterated sense and Mr Huppert gets my full support.

The response from the Minister of State, Theresa Villiers, was less impressive though she did point out that "Cycling can also help us to address the obesity problems that cost the NHS and wider society around £20 billion annually".  She did not disagree with Mr Huppert's comments about reducing the stigma attached to cycling by lowering the apparent dangers.  She should really have a quiet word with her colleague in government, Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who attended a conference last week on 'Urban Planning and Liveable Cities.'

Asked a sensible question by Mark Ames of ibikelondon Mr Pickles gave a very silly response (transcript here).  He did not seem too intent upon reducing the stigma some associate with cycling by refering to pedalling in rubber knickers up and down the place to go to work.  I agree cycling need not be long or arduous and does not of itself require special clothing (and I include a helmet in that).  Everyday cycling in ordinary clothes is much to be encouraged.  However if you are going to go far or fast (and looking at Mr Pickles he may not need to be going too far or fast to sweat profusely into his cotton Y-fronts) you will soon learn that lycra (so far as I am aware a synthesised product containing no rubber) is vastly more practicable than cotton or wool.  I cannot imagine that anybody save Mr Pickles would dream of trying to cycle dressed in rubber.

As for his comment that even he might venture out eventually if we make it just a little bit safer; there is no kind way to say this Mr Pickles, but Ms Villiers's response applies to you.  You are endangering your health far more by not cycling than you ever would by 'venturing out'.

If only we had a few more who did not just talk the talk but ventured out properly as Dr Huppert does, we really might start to make progress.

 So, two parliamentarians, guess which one 'ventures out' on a bicycle.

Imperial Winter Series Race 9: Saturday 22nd January

Quite a large field of at least 40 riders turned out for today’s 3rd cat race. At the sign in Lucy kindly promised me no wind, which turned out to be a half kept promise. The wind was merely strong, rather than last week’s gale, and came from the North so forming a headwind up the finishing straight. A seasonal 6ºC. Perhaps because of the better conditions, and perhaps partly also because I took the precaution of taking the train to work yesterday, I had a much better race. There were some spirited attacks including a solo attempt in the last two laps. I often get this wrong but I do not think anyone stayed away. We must have been doing a reasonable pace as we lapped the 4th cat race twice today, not something that’s happened on the races I have done in this series so far. Came in within the bunch.  No crashes.
26.65 miles in 1:06:09. Average speed 24.17 mph. Max 32.3 mph
As I was leaving my fellow cycling blogger Skippy found me and we had a quick chat, curtailed by the fact I had to get home to walk the dog before dark. He is clearly doing good work finding sponsorship for paralympic athletes.  It was a pleasure to meet him in the flesh. He had struggled to find the circuit so it may be worth pointing to directions here (with added bonus of a rear shot of one of my clubmates!). Hillingdon is a good place to start racing especially if you first get yourself there for some Thursday evening Prime Coaching sessions in the summer months to get used to bunch riding at speed and the layout of the circuit.

Transport Policy again

The Department for Transport has just laid before Parliament a report entitled Creating Growth, Cutting Carbon; Making Sustainable Local Transport Happen.  It includes the following information:

"According to the Retail Price Index, the cost of buying a car fell by 29% in cash terms between 1999 and 2009, while general RPI inflation over the same period was 29%. However, the cost of car maintenance, petrol and oil, and tax and insurance all increased markedly faster than general inflation. The "combined" cost of motoring (covering purchase price and running costs) fell by 11% relevant to the general rate of inflation. Over the same period rail fares rose by 43% and bus and coach fares rose by 58% "

Meanwhile the Automobile Association, reported inevitably in the Daily Mail, are complaining again about petrol prices:

'Sooner or later, politicians will have to face reality - more and more drivers cannot afford these prices. They are pushing up inflation and taking money from other consumer spending.'

The inexorable rise in the number and mileage of motor vehicles, with the inevitable associated congestion and pollution, is surely related to the fall in the costs of motoring both in real terms and more particularly in comparison to public transport.  The costs continue to fail to cover the 'externalities'.

This, from a briefing note prepared by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, continues to hold true:

"Why, in theory, should a government be concerned to change consumer behaviour through the use of fuel duty? The argument is that the costs of motoring exceed the private costs faced by an individual motorist. There are environmental costs, noise costs, road-damage costs and congestion costs which people may not factor into their decision about whether and how much to drive. This means that the costs to society of motoring exceed the costs to the individual, which will lead to a level of motoring that is both inefficiently high and inefficiently cheap from a social perspective. The duty is therefore a way of forcing the private motorist to take account of these social costs."

I am assuming the list of external costs does not include death, personal injuries and medical costs on the (slightly dubious) assumption that these externalities are covered by motor insurance.  Certainly I would add additional external costs relating to obesity and lack of fitness due to no longer moving ourselves around in the manner we evolved (or were designed if you prefer) to accomplish without the assistance of fossil fuels.

I do not claim to know the price of fuel at which these externalities are properly taken into account but I am very sure the level must exceed that at which at least some AA members have to think about whether they should be saving money by using public transport, car sharing or even a bicycle.  I see no evidence that our society is moving away from motorised transport as being overwhelmingly the default option for moving ourselves around.

I see a test of government mettle looming.

Postscript:  for a more in depth analysis of fuel costs try the Road Danger Reduction Forum who recommend an increase in petrol duty

One thing you learn very rapidly as a cyclist is the dramatic effect of air resistance which is proportional to the square of air speed.  One way to save petrol is therefore to drive at a slower speed.  There are even better reasons to do this, of course, and I have now set myself a voluntary limit of 20 mph in built up areas.  I find this has virtually no effect on the time it takes me to drive anywhere but it certainly does attract aggression from a few other motorists.

Why you? Must be you?

A question posed by a corpulent self-styled motoring journalist who has been doing the rounds recently on BBC Radio and television.  Producers use him because he is 'controversial' and loathes cyclists.  We were invited guests on BBC Radio Wales together with Roy Spilsbury, a local CTC representative who politely and effectively neutralised the motoring journalist's bile.

Imperial Winter Series Race 8 - Saturday 15th January

Photo Courtesy LondonCycleSport

Unseasonably mild at 12.5°C but with a very strong blustery south-westerly wind which caught me out early in the race.  I was on a wheel round a bend turning into the wind but a gap opened ahead and I just could not get by.  I and a few others were dropped, though I did struggle on to finish last.   So no meaningful stats or report from me this week.  Lessons must be learnt from such failures.

Sentencing

Motorist with clean(ish) record throws cyclist into road in front of an oncoming car risking life and limb, accepts responsibility.  Police caution.

Non-motorist with clean record throws fire-extinguisher off high building risking life and limb, accepts responsibility.  2 years 8 months in prison

I fully understand the need to make examples and to make others think twice.  Perhaps a little rebalancing of the criminal justice system to deter danger from motorists, though?  I would settle for taking just one year off the student protester and giving it to the motorist who attacked me.

Postscript 14th January: My unease over the balance of our criminal justice system is not ameliorated by reading today that two protestors who tried unsuccessfully to talk their way into the staff entrance of Buckingham Palace armed with political banners were yesterday remanded in custody for a week.

Heated Debate

Our print and broadcast media love a heated debate.  Following the publication of Paul Bignell's articeHeat and timing for them is everything, naturally enough since they wish to attract readers, viewers and listeners.  I was delighted that Paul Bignell of The Independent on Sunday finally got his editor to accept for publication his article but I am a little disappointed it had to take the death of a high profile sportsman, Gary Mason, before the timing was thought to be right.

Paul and I met some while ago after he had seen my article Cycling against the Car Culture which I had hawked unsuccessfully around the broadsheets.  Perhaps I ought to make it clear that I know nothing, as yet, of the circumstances of the tragic death of Mr Mason and my disquiet at the workings of the Criminal Justice System relate to the cases covered in my article and some more recent cases covered in these pages.  Followers of this blog will also know that I have acknowleged some rays of hope  (for instance following the tragic deaths of Major Gareth Rhys Evans and of Mrs Catriona Patel.)  What I believe is still required is the consistent adoption of best practice across the country's police forces, prosecutors and judges.

Following Paul's article I was contacted by BBC Radio 5 live who wished to arrange a debate over cycling and wanted someone to put up against a 'motoring journalist' one Adam Rayner.  They were looking for somebody controversial

Imperial Winter Series Race 7 - Saturday 8th January

Not a good week for me mechanically with two punctures travelling to work on Wednesday and the folding pedal falling off my Brompton on Thursday (brilliant design but just not robust enough when grinding up a hill), so I suppose it should have been no surprise that I punctured on my one warm up lap before today's race.  So, as Doug sent us off, my bike was upside down in the mud while I swapped a replacement back wheel borrowed from a kind soul.   I first assumed he was there for the next race but maybe he was a spectator.  Anyway this was not his spare wheel, you should understand, it was the wheel taken off his bike so I really do owe him one.  The circuit has spares but all Shimano equipped.
So I spent my first half lap sprinting to get up to the group which had fortunately this week gone off at a moderate pace.  I raced 'blind' as my Garmin was in my back pocket being protected from the mud.  (Yes, I know, mechanically skilled people do not turn their bikes upside down but I find it reduces the chance of fluffing a rear wheel change and I was in a hurry).
The borrowed wheel served me very well, for a while I thought it was squeaking loudly but I eventually figured out that was number 50 who seemed to be in my vicinity for much of the race.  There was a stiff West wind which served to thwart the attempts of the few who tried to get away.  [Edit: no it didn't, there was a succesful break and clearly I did not know what was going on!].  I thought there might be a risk of a split with the crosswind so tried to stay near the front.  Getting right to the front, though, was a definite mistake as it was hard to drop back without the entire pack coming by on the leeward side.
We eventually passed the 4ths reasonably cleanly though there was one rider who just could not resist latching onto our race.
It had been drizzling as I arrived at the circuit, but for the last 20 minutes of our race we were treated to glorious winter sunshine.  This appeared to relax everybody and the pace slowed right down.  The field was at least twice as large as it has been in recent weeks so as the race slowed and bunched it was hard to get by.
With 5 laps to go everybody decided simultaneoulsy it was time to move up the field so the pace distinctly quickened.  On the back straight of the final lap quite a few of us lost contact with the bunch.  With that number jostling in a sprint, there is always the risk of mishap; a few riders went off into the grass and one unfortunate rider fell heavily on the finishing straight.
26 miles in 01:05:40.  Average 24.3 mph.

While I was racing, a journalist was trying to contact me.  It sadly seems to require a high profile death before the editors of national newspapers are interest in cyclists' safety.  Keep an eye out for an article by Paul Bignell in tomorrow's Independant.

Imperial Winter Series Saturday 1st January 2011

This ought to have been the fifth in the series but due to the freezing weather has been only the second that has been run. Temperature 8°C with a light wind and persistent drizzle which combined with the mud on the circuit (cyclocross?) to leave riders and their bikes smeared brown from top to tyre.

I arrived in time to watch my two teammates in the 4th cat race start before readying myself for my race which started one hour later and was run simultaneously with the women’s race.

Not surprisingly, given that this was New Year’s Day, numbers were subdued and I guess there were about 20 on the start line. Perhaps we had all overindulged and undertrained over the Christmas period (I know I had) as, for the most part, a fairly sedate pace was set. We set off fast, hitting 30 mph on the second lap, and initially passed the ladies. However we then eased considerably getting in the way of the women, particularly one very strong rider who was on a solo break and travelling at a steady pace, passing us when we relaxed and being passed when we put in the occasional effort.

My aim again was to finish, and when the pace slowed again at 5 laps to go I thought, with nothing to lose, I might as well pull off the front and see what happened. Nothing did, and I was duly returned exhausted to the bunch and hung on in there to come in at the back of the bunch.

25.5 miles in 1h07m at an average of 22.8 mph.