Manchester to be 'cycling city' - yeah, right

I'd love to believe that this will go beyond mere little gimmicks, but I'm not holding my breath.  Cycle hire schemes are all very well, as is training for 'novice' cyclists, but above all, cycling in Manchester is impeded by the attitude of some people - drivers, pedestrians, other so-called 'cyclists' - whose agressive demeanour put people off cycling. This combines with poorly-designed 'cycle lanes' - in reality nothing more than green paint on the road - to create the perception of great danger the media love to focus on and report widely.

Great Manchester Cycle

The 13-mile course, which starts at the Etihad Stadium, takes participants through the city centre before heading to MediaCity and Old Trafford. It then heads back to City’s home ground.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1546769_mapped-7000-will-be-on-their-bikes-for-great-manchester-cycle?rss=yes

Cycling initiatives are favourite green policies of Greater Manchester candidates

Cycling initiatives are favourite green policies of Greater Manchester candidates

Cycling protest in Peru

Life for Peruvian cyclists is harder than anything experienced in the UK:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17329797

Many signed, but many didn't

Whatever you may think about the campaign by The Times to promote safer cycling, it is interesting to see who in Parliament has signed a motion supporting the campaign - and who hasn't.  Andrea Leadsom, for instance, has not - she who spent valuable parliamentary time to change the law to ensure cyclists who kill are properly punished, even though this is extremely rare - a move widely regarded as without any real positive effect on road safety.

I'm no ranting cyclist - I am a level-headed chap who cycles as much as he drives. It takes something out of the ordinary to get me to post a comment on a newspaper website, and this horrendously silly article by Mr Grimes is just it. 


The litany of nonsense that flows from his pen is compounded by a complete lack of factual information. Start with maintaining that capital cities Amsterdam and Copenhagen are 'mere villages' compared to 'most British cities'. Really? Take Amsterdam - its metropolitan area comprises c.3m people, in what can only be described as a thriving metropolis - if we compare it to our beloved Manchester. I know this - I've been. 


As for declaring that cycling cannot be healthy since it has such a 'high mortality rate', this is an assertion without head or tails - cycling is generally safe as a mode of transport, and like any exercise it does promote good health. It is green and it is inexpensive. 


Mr Grimes then latches on to the fallacy that classes cyclists as an entirely separate tribe, opposed to 'ordinary' people, and who want to subvert civilisation as we know it to accommodate their extravagant sport. Far from it, most cyclists, like myself, are ordinary people who want nothing more than for other road users (drivers, pedestrians, other cyclists) to observe the law and act and follow the highway code - thus avoiding, for instance, sudden turns at junctions without indicating. 


One could go on for ages but that would mean bestowing on Mr Grimes a journalistic status he does not deserve. He mascarades as the voice of the common man - he is not.

Read more at: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/comment/blogs/s/1472953_andrew-grimes-why-the-bicycle-has-no-place-on-our-city-roads

Tips for cycling in snow

Only the BBC in their unassailable wisdom would think of complementing an article on extreme polar cycling with a text box full of advice on how to cycle in snow.  God bless Auntie Beeb, and -by the way- thank you for bringing ciabatta to the heart of Salford, in a civilising effort worthy of Rome.