Help - middle age has hit!

At least he is not wearing sandals.

OMFG – well that’s a statement that I haven’t used before – but considering it is a young person’s term, I figure I had better use it now before it is too late, but sadly I fear it is too late. 

An old school friend – a peer – has decided to buy a Brompton! Therefore the only logical conclusion I can draw from this is that as my peer has become middle aged I therefore must be also.

So why is a Brompton a sign of middle age? Well let’s just look at the facts; it is practical, it looks dull and functional. To choose a bike for these reasons means that aesthetics have taken a back seat to practicality. Surely there is no greater sign of mid–life, than making a purchase based on these sensible reasons. For me a bike purchase has to be about gadgetry level and looks with practicality taking a back seat.

If I were being sensible I would buy a Brompton because then I could cycle and use trains when required and not be forced to travel at certain times. But then I would have to sit on a T-bar bike with small wheels that if I am honest looks like a giraffe with hamster’s balls hanging underneath it. Given the alternative of a super sexy carbon frame with fairly pointless ridges to reduce wind resistance (but the curves are sexy which is all I care about) a wardrobe stuffed with overpriced lycra based products and the computing ability to put an army on the moon used to navigate me the 55 miles to Brighton, I know what I will be wasting vast amounts of money on!

Of course, I do have to caveat the above to take into account regarding Bromptons being for the middle-aged; the occasional super fit hipster zooming along believing he is being all ironic, riding he Brompton in his skinny jeans and suitably fashionable top (what constitutes a suitably fashionable top I cannot accurately say as I am not a hipster – come to think of it, what constitutes ironic is lost on me also).

The Brompton also offers up additional problems that my post illness fitness levels, cannot cope with. I will detail this theory of mine for your benefit (and sit back and wait for the haranguing I will get from our foldable bicycle fans).  Bromptons have small wheels and owners I believe suffer from wheel size envy (think penis envy, as it is much the same). Every time they see a road bike with those big sexy wheels on them the riders feels they must at all costs overtake that bike and show that although he has small, indeed despite the fact he has small wheels, he is just as much a man, if not more, and will prove it by overtaking that big wheeled bike. This would lead to extreme levels of tiredness – such levels as my poor broken down body cannot currently cope with.

Life is simple with a Brompton, whilst I may sit there spending hours reading about various grades of carbon and how they are layered up to ensure maximum lateral stiffness, before making a frame purchase, a Brompton owner will just give an extra hard turn on that little bolt thing in the middle of the frame – problem solved, lateral stiffness is max'd up.

In a desperate attempt to put him off the idea of buying a Brompton I have suggested that using the same logic he should sell his Porsche and buy a Skoda – after all they are practical, safe, well built. Additionally they are excellent value for money (unlike a Brompton). After all if he is giving up on life as a trendy go getter by buying a Brompton, why waste money on a flash car as well? 

My final chance is in the pub tomorrow – I shall suggest to him that instead of train / Brompton that he goes for the far more healthy and sensible option of cycling the 11 miles into work all the way on a sensible road bike – this will have the benefit of also reducing his waist size as well as stopping him look like a fool / tool on a Brompton. After all I am beholden to him as his friend to stop him from becoming prematurely old and unfashionable (it is my cross to bear I know). Either that, or I can hope he has a mid-life crisis and decides to buy an overpriced bit of carbon bling for a bike - and I know just the bike for him.

Summary of Mayor's "Cycling in London Vision"

Overview - May 2013

There is no doubt that the profile of cycling, particularly in London, has increased significantly. Both positive headlines about Team GB’s cycling successes in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and negative headlines about cyclist fatalities and injuries have contributed to this. There have also been high-profile campaigns such as the London Cycling Campaign’s “Go Dutch” initiative.

In March 2013 the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) announced that TfL will invest an additional £640 million directly into cycling over the next 10 years, on top of the £273 million previously identified in TfL’s 10-year base plan. Shortly afterwards, the Mayor published “The Mayor’s Vision for Cycling in London: An Olympic Legacy for all Londoners”. This post sets out the main points in the vision document.

 

Analysis
 

The Mayor’s cycling vision document sets out his aspirations for cycling and the support required to deliver the Mayor’s aim of doubling cycling over the next 10 years – and ultimately achieving a 400 per cent increase in cycling by 2026 – based on 2001 levels – so that cycling makes up 5 per cent of the transport modal share. The Mayor continues to believe that a modal share target for cycling of 10 per cent by 2026, as recommended by the London Assembly, is not achievable. The outcomes of the vision set out in the document are:
 
• a “Tube” network for the bike – a network of direct, high-capacity, joined-up radial and orbital cycle routes, many running in parallel with key Underground, rail and bus routes
• safer streets for the bike
• more people travelling by bike
• better places for everyone.
 
The Mayor of London has published his vision for cycling in London. This post outlines the main points – the vision offers to maximise cycling and make areas better places to live.
 
The main elements outlined to deliver the outcomes of the vision include:
 
• a “Crossrail for the bike” route that will run for more than 15 miles, very substantially segregated, from the western suburbs, through the heart of London, to Canary Wharf and Barking. It will use new, segregated cycle tracks and the Mayor believes that this will be the longest cycle route of its kind in any European city
• a new central London grid of bike routes in the City and West End, using segregation, quieter streets, and two-way cycling on one-way traffic streets
• a new network of “Quietways” – direct, continuous, fully-signposted routes on peaceful side streets, running far into the suburbs, and aimed at people put off by cycling in traffic
• substantial improvements to both existing and proposed “Superhighways”, including some re-routings
• major improvements to the worst junctions, making them safer and less threatening for cyclists. Spending on the existing better junction review will be significantly increased, and it will be fundamentally recast to prioritise major improvements to the worst junctions
• work to make heavy lorries (HGVs) safer.
 
The Mayor says that he will more than double London’s cycling budget – to a total of almost £400 million over the next three years. He goes on to say that over the next 10 years cycle spending will total £913 million, more than treble previously planned levels, including around £300 million available to boroughs. This will include dramatic spending increases for outer London. However, the funding earmarked for spending beyond 2016, when the next Mayoral elections are due to take place, may be subject to amendment by subsequent administrations.
 
The Mayor also says that he is looking to the boroughs to deliver extra funding and resources in parallel. So what are the four outcomes of the vision in a bit more depth. 

A cycling “Tube” network
 
The vision is of a London cycle network that is easily understood, heavily used and appeals to all types of cyclists. It will include two types of branded route:
1. Superhighways – high-capacity routes largely on main roads for fast commuters
2. Quietways – slightly slower but direct routes on low-traffic side streets for those wanting a more relaxed journey
 
Where there is a conflict between modes, the approach will be to make a clear choice rather than an unsatisfactory compromise – routes will be segregated where possible and pavements shared by both pedestrians and cyclists will be avoided. The vision document says that to support this, the London Cycle Design Standards are being revised, although it does not say if and how stakeholders are being involved in this process. It does say that specific standards of service and maintenance for each of the new routes will be developed in discussion with the boroughs.
 
The Mayor commits to creating a central London bike grid of high-quality, high-volume cycle routes, in partnership with the central boroughs, of which the east-west “Crossrail” Superhighway will be part. With boroughs’ agreement, the Mayor wants to open up a number of central one-way streets for two-way cycling. The aim is to deliver the majority of this grid by 2016, subject to borough agreement. The vision document says that route planning has already started, so central boroughs should already have heard from TfL and be involved in discussions.
 
The vision includes better Cycle Superhighways – both delivering future Superhighways to higher standards, albeit with the somewhat unvisionary caveat of “closer to international best practice”, and substantial improvements to existing Superhighways. No specific mention is made of liaison with boroughs on the Superhighways. However, the document does say that
some parking along Superhighways may need to be removed in partnership with boroughs.
 
The vision also includes a cross-London network of Quietways on low-traffic back streets and other routes, which will have good surfacing, be clearly signed and will be particularly suited to new cyclists. The Mayor is looking to local budgets to add to TfL funding to help make the Quietways, particularly the off-road routes through parks and along waterways, safe to use at night. The aim is to open the first Quietways in 2014. As with the central London bike grid, the document highlights that the routes will be agreed with the relevant boroughs.
 
Another key element of the “Tube” network is the plan to increase cycle spending specifically dedicated to outer London from £3 million to more than £100 million, linked to TfL’s analysis that shows that more than half of the potentially cyclable trips in London are in outer London. 
 
The Mayor plans to select “willing outer London boroughs to make into “mini-Hollands”, with very high spending concentrated on these relatively small areas for the greatest possible impact”. The Mayor says that “in many ways this will be the most transformative of all our policies”. All outer London boroughs are invited to apply for this scheme. Letters inviting expressions of interest have been sent to the leaders and chief executives of each of the 20 outer London boroughs and that interested boroughs should submit outline proposals and ideas by June 2013. The successful Boroughs will be selected in autumn 2013. 


Safer streets for cyclists 

Although the vision document states that cycling in London is much safer than it was in terms of the rate of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI), 2011 casualty figures show there was an increase of 22 per cent in cycle KSI casualties compared with 2010 when there were 467 KSIs. The document cites fear of injury as the main reason more Londoners do not cycle and recognises that more needs to be done to improve the safety figures and perceptions of safety. It also notes that serious accidents and deaths involving those on bikes happen disproportionately in two ways: while cyclists travel through the busiest junctions and in contact with HGVs.
 
The document recognises that TfL’s existing better junctions review has lacked adequate resources and a focus on the worst junctions. To address this the Mayor is increasing the budget from £19 million to £100 million – with the vast majority being spent in this mayoral term – and prioritising early and major improvements with the worst junctions. TfL is also reviewing its traffic modelling systems to “take better account of cyclists”. The document states that full timetables for the junction changes will be announced as soon as possible, but makes no mention of whether and how stakeholders will be involved in the recast and enhanced better junction review.
 
The vision for HGV safety is that no lorry should be driven in London unless it is fitted with safety equipment to protect cyclists, and driven by someone fully trained in cycle awareness.

Steps to achieve this include:
 
• the Greater London Authority (GLA), TfL and Crossrail ensuring that all their vehicles and those of their subcontractors conform to the highest practical level of safety equipment and all drivers are fully trained in urban driving techniques – i.e. gold level accreditation of the Freight Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS)
• building on the experience of the Olympics identifying how to get HGVs out of traffic at the busiest times of day
• funding eight full-time Met Police officers to investigate HGV collisions with cyclists
• continuing to support boroughs through Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding to address HGV and cyclist safety issues with the caveat that “all future TfL cycling funding for boroughs will be conditional on ensuring their own fleets and contracted services adhere to best practice”, although it does not give any further details of this requirement.
 
The vision document notes that the multiple functions of the road network mean that the safety and liveability of town centres need to be considered alongside other functions including moving people and goods. However, there is no mention of the work of the Mayor’s Roads Task Force, which is currently conducting work in this area. The vision says that a caseby-case approach will be taken on the use of 20mph limits on TfL roads, but the speed limit will be reduced to 20mph at several locations on the TfL network where cycle improvements are planned.
 
Additional measures to increase safety include:
 
• expanding the number of Met Police officers, from 39 to 50, to improve enforcement against antisocial road use behaviour, including by motorists and cyclists
• funding children’s cycle training at all schools in London and more funding for adult cycle training (delivered through the boroughs), although no further details are given.
 

More people cycling and better places
 
Measures and approaches put forward in the vision document to encourage more people to cycle include:
 
• delivering 80,000 additional cycle parking spaces in residential locations, stations, workplaces and other places by 2016, including a “cycle superhub” in at least one central London mainline rail station, with storage for thousands of bikes, good security, London’s largest Cycle Hire docking station and good cycle routes radiating from the hub
• encouraging communities to design their own safe cycling routes to school by providing funding, for which schools and boroughs can bid, to pilot “Cycle to School Partnerships” to initiate such approaches
• expanding the Cycle Hire scheme, including working with boroughs who wish to pay to expand the size of docking stations
• exploring the potential of electric bikes
• encouraging cycling through the boroughs and other partners, recognising that “boroughs will play a key role in our plans by helping to develop, fund and deliver better and safer routes for cycling”.
 

Better places for everyone

The section on “Better places for everyone” is the least specific on measures and reiterates some of the specific elements previously cited in the document, but linking them to wider benefits – including better neighbourhoods, more prosperous places, better transport and a healthier city.
 
The Mayor’s vision for cycling articulates a step-change in the Mayor’s ambitions for cycling in London in a way that no other document from the Mayor has done to date. It includes a number of innovative and new policies, and new funding as well as reiterating some previously announced approaches. However, it does not give clear direction to TfL to prioritise walking and cycling as the general rule on London’s streets and, while a large slice (£400 million) of the proposed total funding is to be spent in the remainder of this Mayoral term, it appears that significantly less is planned to be spent per year for the remainder of the 10-year period that the vision document covers.

Just how long?

Please come out to play!

Pre-Christmas I was on a roll. I was really pushing the fitness levels up and the weight was coming off to a very competitive level. Then I got flu (as mentioned previously) I haven't even looked at my bike for 3 months!

Last night, with more than a little trepidation having spent so much time away from the bike, I got on the saddle with the turbo trainer. The idea was that I would spend 40 minutes peddling at a cadence of 90 with little resistance, just to get the legs used to the idea that they are part of the body of someone who owns a bike.

Well the 40 minutes was done - this morning the body and legs feel no pain but I have to admit my heart was not in it at all. I think it is the thought of all the effort I went to in getting to a fitness level that was to be the platform for greater things this year - now I have to start all over again and really the end of March is too late to make the summer into a stellar affair. Yes I can build the fitness up again but it is going to be the end of May or June before I get back to where I was in December - all in all it is very depressing.

The other problem was that the whole 40 minutes dragged by - there was no endorphins rush, just the dreadful realisation that I have to do this now or sell the bikes. I have never felt this before but I know I have to grind out the next few weeks and get back to my love of cycling and the feeling of pleasure it gave me. For me this pleasure is only really there when you at a reasonable level of fitness - then for me, a ride is more fun.

So here's to the next few weeks of grind - I only hope we get some sort of summer this year so I can have some nice weekend rides and the commute is a sunshine drenched amble rather than a cold and wet drag.

Edit (18 April 2013): Well since writing this post I GOT ANOTHER COLD! So it was not till last night that I managed to get on the bike again, I now officially give in on getting anything done this year.

What more pedals! Clipless pedals part 3 - Road Pedals

I have hesitated from posting this third post on clip-less pedals, mostly for the risk of appearing to be a total fool - or at best the most indecisive cyclist in Britain and maybe the world. 

But then it occurred to me  that if I was honest, at least it will help others by reading my ongoing narrative - and yes I do believe it is an ongoing narrative as there is yet one more type of pedals to try out.So in my previous two posts (Post1- Post2) on pedals, the story took us from the world of flat pedals to SPD's (mountain bike pedals). Not to be confused with SPD-SL's which are road pedals by Shimano.

In order to help out the confused I think a few illustrative pictures will help make the above more clear.

These are SPD pedals and cleats

SPD pedals with platform

SPD pedals with less of a platform

SPD Cleats

Now we are all on the same page as to what I am talking about, let's have a look at the pro's and con's of SPD pedals. Well they are clip-less which is an advantage in itself, but I suppose the main advantage of this clip-less system lies with the cycle shoes you can wear - basically shoes for SPD pedals have the cleat recessed within the tread of the sole - therefore they are more useful for walking about on. Now this is a major advantage if you are doing cyclocross or mountain biking where you might have to carry your bike up some mountain or muddy hill but I personally don't find myself doing these things - ever!

So fantastic you can walk around in your cycling shoes – this is the story I bought into, as a rule I was using my bike for commuting and I needed to walk to and from where the bike was parked to the office, very quickly I discovered though, I was riding my bike far more than walking to and from it.

Initially I had bought the SPD pedals in the first picture, as I reasoned that I needed a platform just in case I wanted to ride my bike with normal shoes. The truth is that those occasions were rare to none and that the platform pedals are very heavy. So in an effort to remedy this I bought a second pair of lighter SPD pedals (as per the second picture). They were 60% the weight of the first pedals and they were still easy enough to do short distances on (on the rare occasions when I needed to) in normal shoes. So lesson number one – don’t get hung up on needing a platform, really think about how often you are going to cycle around in normal shoes and realise that even a minimal platform will be fine for the few occasional miles in normal shoes.

About a year ago I built a new go faster (read penile replacement) full carbon road bike LINK. As this was an out an out road bike – I reasoned that it really wasn’t the done thing to have SPD pedals on it (despite my purchase of a lighter set of SPD pedals). I faced the reality that it was time to go for road pedals and shoes. The reasons were primarily vanity in making sure my road bike fitted in with convention but also on a more pragmatic side – I could get far lighter pedals and also I was not that happy with my SPD shoes. I was getting foot ache often in my right foot, basically I think my shoes were too narrow for my slightly wide foot. As I was going to need to buy new shoes, now seemed as good as time as any to make the switch – besides I reasoned that I could keep my old pedals on my commuter bike along with my uncomfortable shoes.

But what pedals to go for? For me there were three main types to consider. SPD-SL (Shimano pedals), LOOK pedals, or Time pedals. 

In the end I went for the Look pedals. All three pedal types use different cleats but they all fit into the same road shoes. To be honest there are going to be as many different views as to what are the best pedals – I just went with the LOOK ones. I liked their lightness and I liked the variable float cleats you could buy. Each brand has various pedals at different price ranges – just go with what you prefer.

In order to illustrate the difference – here are some more helpful images:

Look Keo Max2 Pedals

Look cleats

To go with my new pedals I needed new shoes – I went for these rather natty shoes “Sidi Genius 5 Pro/Fit Road”. So here comes the revelation! These shoes are just way more comfortable than SPD’s (I realise that this is somewhat personal). 

Sidi are a very well-known and trusted brand, but more than this, road shoes are designed for being comfortable on the bike not for walking in, they are also generally lighter. Additionally road cleats have a bigger platform and you just get a better spread of weight on your foot, now all this may not be that noticeable on a short ride - but start going over 50 miles and you are really going to feel the difference. Most notably, after riding on the new LOOK pedals for a month or so I switched back to my old shoe / cleat combination and I found the exit / entry to be much more grabby – the Look cleats are just that more smooth to get in and out of as well as being more comfortable and lighter. Such is the improvement that I went out and bought a second pair of LOOK pedals and have put them on my commuter bike, all the previous SPD pedals have been sold on eBay but sadly the SPD shoes sit there languishing at the bottom of my wardrobe.

So where do we go from here? Well I do have one issue with the Look pedal / cleat combination and that is I can only get one sided pedals. You will have noticed that all my SPD pedals were dual sided, really this shouldn’t be a problem, but I am probably more poorly co-ordinated than most when it comes to pedals. I often have the situation of spinning around the pedals trying to get them the right way up, not a major problem on the weekend but on the commute with regular stopping and starting at the myriad of traffic lights and it becomes a bit of a burden, so I am considering – wait for it – Speedplay pedals!

Really I can’t justify the cost of Speedplay right now (they are the most expensive option) when in general I am really happy with the LOOK pedals – but I know all too well, that I will find a way to justify the change at some point.

Speedplay Pedal

Speedplay Cleats

Edit - Just a quick warning about the LOOK cleats – they are about as durable as warm margarine – be prepared to go through a couple of sets a year – I wear out the left cleat at twice the speed of the right as generally when I stop at traffic lights I put my left foot down, it is not a major thing as you can buy a new set for £12 but do not expect them to last like the metal SPD cleats.

Sick, Sick and Tired and Sick

Pointless post time! I really think the only reason for writing it is so I can at least pretend I am doing something bike related.

I have flu (real flu not man flu) and it just wont clear up fully - a week off work and then last week was very stop start with me going into work but really struggling to complete anything and then collapsing in bed as soon as I got home - often not waking until the next morning - or worse yet, waking in the middle of the night and then not being able to fall asleep again, leading to me being even more tired the next day and I have just spent the majority of the last weekend in bed. My main problem is that I seem to have the immune system of a one week old ancient Aztec bay that has not been breast fed.

I wouldn't mind but I was just turning the corner on my fitness and starting to get some benefit from the hours spent on the turbo trainer, now I feel like I am back at square one and I am still not recovered! This is all very depressing and all the more so when you have dreams of being a biking god in the ensuing summer (well I can dream can't I)?

I am sure this all a lot worse for cyclists / athletes, not only is a cold / virus robbing you of your current day but also robbing you of all your previous hard work and fitness gains - I shall now stamp my feet and say "it's not fair"! So I head into the vicious cycle that is illness - the weather is fine for cycling into work - but I am not well enough and I end up being crammed into a train with the army of the great unwashed with all their variations of the flu virus, maybe by next winter I will be well enough to cycle into work and then the snow will force me back onto the train (or the flu incubator as I now call it).

As you tell from this post - I am not in the best of places currently. I think I need a "crook cyclist" group therapy session - actually cancel that - they will just pass on their various colds to me as well.

Bike Theft - one small step.

I saw this article in the Independent a couple of days ago, and I thought it worthwhile enough to inform my glorious readers about.

To summarise:

It has always annoyed me that it is so easy to sell stolen bikes quickly and for a decent amount of money. Being a member of cycling forums I hear about expensive bikes being stolen every week.

That’s why I’ve started this petition calling on eBay and its subsidiaries to make frame numbers mandatory on listings on its site.

Frame numbers are found on every bike and can be used by owners or police to identify stolen bikes. Forcing sellers to list frame numbers on online ads will make it harder for thieves to shift our stolen goods.

eBay goes to considerable effort to protect the intellectual property of music and film companies. It removes auctions for designer items it suspects are illegal copies and requires motorists to enter a registration number when listing a car for sale.

Now we are asking that eBay and its subsidiaries do the same for bikes.

If eBay do this and we all take the responsibility to note our frame numbers and lock our bikes up properly we can start constricting the marketplace for stolen bicycles.

 

This all seems sensible and simple! 

Now it may annoy those people who want to buy a cheap stolen bike - but it would be a very simple matter for the police to run a list of serial numbers of stolen bikes against those for sale. The main way to restrict the theft of items is to reduce the places they can be onward sold - this coupled with the police taking the time to visit local markets and check a few serial numbers and there would make a serious dent in the ability of thieves to sell stolen bikes (this is ignoring Gumtree but that place is beyond hope). It would also help those unfortunate people who buy stolen bikes unwittingly.

One of the things that has annoyed me about owning a bike is the total disregard there seems to be about theft of bikes - I have written about it on this blog a few times. There seems to be an attitude amongst cyclists that as long as it isn't there bike being stolen then let's just ignore it. It is almost like people in a WW1 trench being glad that they guy next to them got shot and not they themselves. 

Whilst I am at it (and it appears to be a growing trend, I am going to set myself up against people who are pro cycle lanes again) I was very annoyed when I read an article recently (and no I don't have the link any-more) where they were so busy arguing that the only reason that cycling was not growing faster, was due to lack of cycling lanes, that they dismissed out of hand theft as one of the reasons. Yes, it is not the main reason, but it is a contributing factor a certainly significant enough not to be dismissed in such an out of hand way.

There is a correlation here that has not be taken into account - the bikes that are the main targets for thieves are the light ones -  owners of such bikes therefore need to carry around a gold secure lock, a lock that more often than not weighs the same as the bike itself. It may be fine for the beardy cargo bike owners, to carry around a heavy lock for their bike, a bike which people don't want to nick anyway, but for those of us who are sad Mamils, with our ultra-light carbon penile replacement bikes it is a real issue. A quick 4 mile jolly to the shops, becomes an exercise in logistics and padlocking that soon means the car comes out of the drive instead - so yes all that hassle means we don't use our bikes for little trips, even though we would love to.

Apart from everything else I am old fashioned enough to not accept the idea that bikes (or any item for that matter) should be allowed to be stolen. For me (as with many others) our bike is more than just a group of mechanics - it is something we genuinely care about and an object we have invested real time and attention to looking after and it means more to us than the sum of its parts.

So go have a read of the article and maybe sign the petition - it costs nothing - and who knows you may be the next person to be shot in the trench, so help end the war now.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/kickstarting-the-fight-against-bike-theft-8497331.html

Segregated Cyclepaths and me.

I Think I had better start this post with a disclaimer:

"I am 100% in support of segregated cycle pathways - I have no doubt that it will increase the number of everyday cyclists and offer safer routes for a majority of cyclists - at a personal level though, I have a different opinion (runs and ducks for cover).

As mentioned above - and I will say it again (just in case some readers were perplexed and enraged when they read it, and didn't fully take it in). This post is about my own personal views on segregated cycleways and how they may be better for the general good of cycling but PERSONALLY they may not be for me.

It is fairly clear, to even the less than perceptive reader of this Blog, that I am a MAMIL - I like to ride as fast as my tired and aged body will carry me, I have to travel a reasonable distance to and from work (24 miles) and I am inherently idle and therefore like to get up as late as possible - this means I am always racing against the clock to get to the office on time or home to meet my loving family.

I have very little experience of cycle paths - only those in Lewisham - come to think of it, I can't imagine many UK cyclists having much experience on segregated cycle paths! My experience in Lewisham (my bete noir) is of a cycle path infested with people who seem incapable of walking on the pedestrian part of the pavement (even though it is far more luxuriously paved). I have change the use of this cycle path from one of risk free and joyful cycling, to it being a mid-point breather, this is because I can go no more than 10mph due to people wandering out around in front of me for most of its length. I have no desire to damage a pedestrian and more importantly (given they are people are probably from Lewisham) myself.

I have seen pictures of those wonderful segregated lanes in utopia (better known to most people as Denmark and the Netherlands) with a large number of people happily pootling their sensible bikes along safe and friendly paths, it is without question the way cycling should be - enjoyable and safe. But it just isn't what I want! Yes I want the safety, but I don't want the gentle ride into work. I guess, I don't ride for the need to get from A to B in a practical way. I ride for exercise, I like going fast and I like feeling tired at the end. No this does not mean I take stupid risks and break laws, it means that I like the exercise (in fact it is the only regular exercise I get).

If someone like me wants to ride on these utopian paths, I would not be welcome - I would add speed and risk to other uses, in a place where risk should not be. So what would the other option be - well the same as it is now, the roads. Only this time there would be less cyclists and far more angry drivers wondering why I am blocking "their road" when there is a perfectly accessible cycle path. But if I am cycling 25 - 30 mph on the road I will be within the law, whereas on a  cycle path I am sure I will breaking some new man made speed limit.

It occurred to me yesterday as I drove to the airport at 1am. that there is an ton of pointless man made traffic controlling measures (yes fine during the day when there is lots of traffic) but as I sat there at the 15th set of red lights waiting for no traffic to pass from the other direction before being able to set off again, and seeing someone, coming from the other direction, get flashed by one of the 40 or so traffic cameras en route (the road was dry and totally empty) it occurred to me just how much those in control, feel the need to control every facet of our lives - long gone is the belief that people can act sensibly depending on the situation. Sadly this is probably true given the idiocy of 50% of people - but it is still sad and limiting.

Cycle pathways I am sure, will be the same. As time passes, more rules will inevitably follow, if you want to ride on the cycle path I foresee a 10 to 15 mph speed limit being one of the first things to be implemented. No doubt we will get policemen, looking to make up their pension fund, hiding behind bushes with speed cameras and helmet avoidance awareness pamphlets.  While health and safety is laudable, it will remove one of the most important elements that cycling offer me and others like me - freedom.

Edit: For reasons of fairness and because I have no axe to grind on any subject (I'll leave that to others) I feel I should link this article HERE - which basically says all I have written above is wrong (it is not written with reference to my humble Blog post though). But I would like to point out that judging by the videos posted as evidence, the writer has a very different view of what constitutes "fast cycling" than I have.