Spotted in today’s Metro, an ad with the tag line: “Don’t chance it during the games. Plan your journey now”. What to make of it – the public transport will be a minefield? You’ll need to get up early and plan an alternative route in your boxers? I’m curious to see how the city will cope with the Olympics….
Listening to a colleague talk about this year’s London to Brighton bike ride, I remembered my own experience doing the ride a year ago, and how I used a GPS device (my Android phone) to detail my ride’s progress.
I used Google My Tracks to log my position and speed, and Google Earth to take the resulting GPS trace and visualise it on a map – in three dimensions. I was impressed by the results that could be achieved by using a relatively inexpensive bit of kit, and how easy it was to save my ride as a GPX/KML file, that I could use in other applications. And although the result doesn’t do Ditchling Beacon justice, it was still fun watch my struggle up the hill being played back.
I’m interested in what others use to record their trips. Are there any cheaper options than a £100 Android phone plus free software for the PC/Mac?
Ok, so that’s probably quite a bold title. I couldn’t think of another word that sums up my thoughts adequately.
This evening I cycled down to the local supermarket and had some guy in a car hooting me from behind, presumably because I was brazen enough to cycle a couple of feet away from the queue of parked cars, thus impeding his progress to the red lights just ahead. He certainly wasn’t keen to apologise, even after overtaking me at close range, again desperate to get to the reds. While he broke no laws, his attitude was symptomatic of an anti-cycling bias that is present in the system.
So I thought I’d have a look back at the points where I’ve needed the system to act in my favour, since I started cycling regularly in London.
June 2011
A van overtook me, then turned left across my path. I hit the side, and went flying, rolled for a bit, then came to a halt. Driver videoed after the event confessing that he had seen me but thought I was turning left, apologising profusely. I reported the incident to Holborn Police Station, which took an hour in total once I’d queued then completed the 20 page form.Driver did not report incident himself.
Police verdict: no further action would be taken, mainly due to lack of a witness (if this happens to you, please do take the time to find a witness and get their contact details!)
February 2012
Taxi tries to overtake me at pinchpoint where road narrows for zebra crossing, with obvious consequences. Taxi buckles back wheel then tries to drive over my foot. Bystander notes plate and taxi number, which turn out to be not matched on police computers. CCTV not available, despite being almost right next to a tube station near the busy Roundhouse music venue. Police cannot obtain footage from the council of the leadup to the event to further identify the driver.
Police verdict: “there is insufficient evidence [to proceed]… it has been decided to take no further action in respect of this matter”
March 2012
Taxi driver starts verbal tirade after I rapped the side of his cab when he started to drift into my lane. He got out of the cab and threatened me physically, with some choice phrases such as “if there weren’t … a thousand witnesses, I would knock your jaw out right now” (or words to that effect) and 10+ uses each of the c***, f***, and f****** words. All captured on video, with the driver’s face, registration plate, and taxi number. Met Police sit on it for a month before deciding that it belongs in the City police’s jurisdiction. City police interview the driver, who of course is hugely apologetic, and states that he was concerned for his fare, and concerned for me, which made him angry.
Police verdict: Pending. Can you guess what might happen next? I suspect the letter may contain the words “no further action”.
Update, 17th June 2012: a couple of weeks ago the City Police gave the taxi driver for the March 2012 case a caution for public disorder. While I think that the punishment should maybe more severe (if I had been the offender, I would consider myself very lucky), I guess there is a point where the cost of further action outweighs the benefit to society. I was however intrigued to learn that during the process of bringing the driver in for interview, a licensing irregularity was uncovered. The outcome of this second investigation will have no impact on my case, but it is slightly reassuring to know that there was some side-benefit in reporting this incident.
As much as I’m impressed by the success of Addison Lee, I have to say I am not so impressed by its boss’s view on cycling, as expressed in its “Add Lib” quarterly publication, and echo the thoughts expressed on the road.cc website (here).
This morning I spent rather unsatisfactory ride in the back of a mini-cab en route to a Christening, where the driver had no idea where he was going, was wholly reliant on the sat nav, dropped us off in the wrong place, and then “marked up” the fare as if he deserved a tip. But essentially, my observations of mini-cab drivers – and that includes those with “Addison Lee” on the back – is not indicative of having to “undergo extensive training“. Quite the opposite in fact.
Disappointingly, the Daily Mail’s feature on the topic (here) seems to have provoked the desired response, with any comments that are anti-cycling marked up, and those which try to defend cyclists/cycling market down.
Regardless, I went on a bike ride to the city today to have a look at the remainder of the marathon. My camera caught a few interesting driving behaviours, including the old “overtake and cut up”, the “60 mph in a 30 zone”, and the “let’s accelerate through red”. Check it out… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOSKnmZoWI
undergo extensive training
I took my commuting bike into a certain high street bike shop near work yesterday to have a particularly irritating and recurrent squeak looked at. This was to follow up on the bike’s six week check-up (where I asked them to look into the source of the squeak) and a subsequent inspection (where I asked them to do the same). When I picked up the bike at 5pm I asked whether they had got to the bottom of it, the helpful assistant said “yes”. When asked how, he explained how they had looked into and “fixed” a completely different (and non irritating) squeak, by adjusting the disc brakes. I then said that this was not the problem I had asked to be investigated, and which point the helpful assistant looked crestfallen. Just the most recent in series of disappointing encounters.
This chain is essentially the Currys of the bike world. Good range – it’s alright. Can they offer you basic advice – yep. Are they too bothered about addressing your requirements? Not really. Are the shop staff incentivised to upsell you expensive parts and even more expensive servicing options? Highly likely. Do I feel somehow tainted each time I make a transaction with the chain? Strangely, yes.
On the other end of the size spectrum, a few months ago I visited a local small bike shop in NW3 hidden under a railway arch. A warning signal should’ve been that they advertise themselves as being specialists in converting “fixies”. I asked for a quote for a small amount of work on the bike and was given a price north of £100, with customer service that could hardly have been more condescending.
Is there such a thing as a bike shop that combines good service and reasonable prices? I’ve yet to find it.
A couple of days ago a voting form dropped through the letterbox encouraging me to vote in the London Mayoral Election. That got me thinking about how I should vote? I must admit that I have not paid much attention to each candidate’s manifesto, but my thoughts on the matter are fairly simple. The main area of policy setting that the mayor has power over that affects me is on cycling.
Boris is a man who as far as I am aware cycles to work more often than not. I’ve spotted him on a bike on numerous occasions, and saw him getting his bike serviced personally in a bike shop near work. And while there is almost certainly more he could have done in his time in office to advance cycling awareness and infrastructure, he at least is a man who – when he speaks about cycling – is not doing so from a hypothetical perspective.
Now onto Ken. I spotted this in the news recently. Who else could make a class issue out of the use of Boris bikes? I wonder if he objects to their use by affluent tourists in Hyde Park.
There’s still plenty of time though for the candidates to develop their thinking on cycling – campaigns like Londoners on Bikes can only be a good thing.
I’ve seen a few surveys online designed to poll cyclists on who they thought were the most aggressive or dangerous drivers on the road, but often the results differ from my own experience. Maybe it’s down to the route I do – straight through the city of London, the time, or my riding style. Or perhaps my appearance is particular aggravating to some. Here are my top 5 road offenders:
Good to see in the budget yesterday £15m specifically to improve safety for cyclists at some of London’s most dangerous junctions. Interested to see how this works in practice.
I took up cycling regularly just over a year ago. I’d just started a new job having gone through a period of working from home, and couldn’t face the cost and the discomfort of using London’s underground transport system. My new firm had a shiny new office, with secure underground parking, luxurious showers, and rows upon rows of lockers, just waiting to be occupied. It would’ve been rude not to. At least for one day a week.
So one day I packed my bag, jumped on the bike, and rode. I had driven the route before, so knew where to go, and followed my instincts to Canary Wharf. After 9 miles I was absolutely exhausted, and wasn’t sure that cycling into work and a productive day at work were compatible. It got easier though, and before long I was cycling to work every day. The exercise became easier and the journey became a pleasure, not just a means to get to my workplace.
It’s not as if I had never cycled before – I had. But before my bike had spent most of its time in the bike cupboard. Now, I was using it every day – and travelling what I’d previously considered to be long distances.
I even started reading blogs on cycling. What a geek!
cyclingfromscratch 