Lune Valley

Kids off school.  My other half is working two days this week.  I want to be good, force them to spend time outdoors, do some real exercise (not just Wii Sports Resort).  Cycling seems a good option - but where?  We are not a confident lot, my youngest is still on stabilisers (I don't like to force them...).  We've done Tatton Park to death - I want something a bit more interesting.  After some research I decide to try a bit of the Lune Valley.  Lancaster - Caton, a short section of the Way of the Roses.

It was a great success.  Granted, the weather was fantastic, but the route was great too.  And Lancaster was easy - to drive into, to park, to find a toilet, coffee and ice cream afterwards.  I hope to do it again.  Perhaps do the whole Way of the Roses one day?

Into Spring

The shorts are out, even if a good tan is not.  The rainjacket begins to feel superfluous, even when it does rain.  Woolen socks and fleecy gloves are no longer necessary.  And yes, there are more cyclists about - on roads, on pavements too. Groups of kids on BMX, novices on mountain bikes - like I was, only 6 years back.  Lycra-clad types, old codgers on touring bikes, the lot.  Yes, the numbers are up, though i suspect it's only noticeable to cyclists, the total figures still a very small fraction of traffic, a marginal form of transport.

Auntie Beeb gets it right!

It isn't often that I find such a well balanced article on cycling coming from the BBC - so here's one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13040607?postId=108037642#comment_108037642

It links to the proposal by MP Andrea Leadsom to change the law so as to enable the tiny number of cyclists who kill people on the roads to be jailed for doing so.  Fair enough that they should be if found guilty - but the article does well to remind us that the proportion of cyclists causing death of injury is microscopic when compared with injuries and fatalities caused by motorists.