One good thing to say about cycling in Britain...

... is that, by and large, nobody here would bother you to stick slavishly to cycle lanes, as happened to this chap in New York.  But before we uncork the Buck's Fizz, let me say that in fact that maybe just reflects how little people care about provision for cycling on the roads - cycle lanes get invaded and obstructed all the time, but even when they are not they can be so poorly designed as to make them useless.

This morning for instance I cycled from Whitefield to Bury town centre.  Along a section of the A56 there is a cycle lane approaching a traffic light.  It is so narrow that, although it was clear of cars as the light changed to red, I still could not get through to the front, so had to wait in line with other cars and lorries.  This is actually worse than useless - when traffic there is moving, cars can sometimes assume I will fit in the cycle lane, and in effect push me into the kerb.  Bonkers!



View Larger Map

That fiscal year end

End of March: end of the fiscal, or financial year in the public sector. Link to cycling? All cycle lanes and road markings in Manchester city centre have had a shiny, new lick of paint. I'm sure it was planned months in advance, you understand.