This mad computer lives on in outfits called Railtrack or GNER and in the ghost of God’s Wonderful Railway. It issues instant instructions to its staff. On the first day of the "petrol blockade" last autumn Connex SE banned bikes on trains until they suddenly realised that they didn’t have enough carpark capacity for the extra traffic they were getting. The British disease seems to be the speed with which authority says, "No."

The tragic crashes on what might now be renamed Derailtrack have brought our transport system to its knees. Lines have been flooded. The massive rainfall over the last three months have brought watertables to a few inches below and in some cases a few feet above ground level. This has not just happened in East Kent, but all over the UK and Europe. It is one of the first signs of Global Warming and it knows no boundaries.

In the first decade of the 20^th century, St Mark’s Square in Venice flooded on average nine times a year. In the Eighties it was 40 times. Between September 2000 and January 2001 there have been 40 tides causing flooding. The tide of 6 November 2000, at 144cm, was the third worst since 1900 and 93% of the city was under water. If this can happen to the most beautiful city in the world, where there are no cars, then nowhere is exempt. We have been warned.

Sam Webb

Campaign Corner - In the winter lull between two exciting summers for cycling in East Kent, it is perhaps time to draw breath to see what should be done in terms of campaigning. Spokes contacted the District and County Councils 12 months ago to promote and seek support for various improvements to road safety and the resulting silence was deafening. This was a missed opportunity as Councils should be in the forefront of improving road safety. Two issues ago, the Spokes Newsletter invited   KCC to establish a road safety and speed policy forum to allow vulnerable road users to have a voice. KCC did indeed organise a forum meeting, but aimed at motorists. All Council Members, receive a copy of the Newsletter as do Highway officers, it is regrettable that no one has contacted Spokes about our idea. A letter is winging its way to the Chairman of Highways to ask the question formally.
Spokes wants everyone to be safe on the roads. We have a good dialogue with some of the District Councils and some officers of  KCC and want to have an input. We have a good grasp of road safety issues, not just for cyclists but for pedestrians and indeed all vulnerable road users. We offer a professional approach and are keen to work with Councils.

Looking ahead, we see a great summer for cycling in   Thanet and Canterbury with new parts of the cycling network coming on stream. In Swale, as we go to press, there are new long awaited routes under construction in Sheerness, Sittingbourne and Faversham. Spokes wants everyone in Kent to be proud of the completed section from Dover to Central London. We have campaigned for this for a long time.

• Do you constantly scratch your head, whilst looking for somewhere to secure your bicycle when you visit the shops, pub, dentist or doctors?

• Do you know somewhere that would benefit from some easily installed bike parking?

• If you do then please contact Spokes with your suggestions by either email or post and we will do the rest.

• We would like to provide some extra facilities such as short-term local parking to back up the Sheffield Racks throughout the county. Tethering rings are the ideal solution.

We look forward to hearing from you.

By Stuart Milligan

But we were due to the cycle down the Danube just 4 weeks later. No mention of cycling was allowed. No mention of the forthcoming "holiday" could be made. But when it came, the contrast was remarkable. Bikes by air for the first time… no problem! Bikes on the Munich underground and then mainline train - easy - all with dedicated cycle space. Hotel at Regensburg, "bring your bikes in and put them behind the reception desk". Traffic free cycle paths along the Danube for 300 miles - a dream! Little boats to ferry bikes across the river. Bars and restaurants welcoming cyclists even when dripping wet. Dedicated camping areas for cyclists on the edge of the river - beautiful. Conversation began to return! Would we do it again? Absolutely!

Here’s an ingenious solution. You buy a smartcard that entitles you to use a SmartBike around town before leaving it at one of the many drop off points in key locations. The scheme backed by Adshel, has been a big success in Rennes France and now it’s likely to get the go-ahead in London, Birmingham and Cardiff.
For more information, follow the link... www.adshel.com

Price: A Snip at just £5 including p&p for the UK and elsewhere negotiable. Orders and cheques payable to: Brixton Cycles, 435 Coldharbour lane, London SW9 8LN tel: +44 (0)20 7733 6055 or email: post@brixtoncycles.co.uk

Richard Evans is also open to invitations to come and present the video to local authority audiences anywhere in the country. This could be with a short talk and OHP slides, to give say a meeting of local transport planners and councillors a chance to really think about what is involved in participating in European Car FreeDay.

You can contact Richard Evans on tel/fax: +44 (0)20 8946 0912 or email: pascale@compuserve.com

Spokes on Air
Spokes members, Sheila & Sam Webb and Kent Cycling Officer Gary Macgowan recently took to the airwaves on BBC Radio Kent to talk about cycling developments.

Among topics raised were, the benefits of cycle touring to the local economy, the National Cycle Network, Cycle Recycling with Necessary Furniture, problems of pollution, commuting by bike and the folding of a Brompton. Quite how listeners were meant to make sense of this last, which was done in 15 secs while a record was playing we are not sure. The presenter couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

A number of people phoned in with constructive comments including someone who works at the newly reopened "Yew Tree" pub in Barfreston on Route 16 from Canterbury to Dover. Now that is good news.

I have enjoyed my short time as Chair, it has been a real learning curve and I hope that some time in the future I will be able to come back. I would like to thank all of you for your support and in particular the committee and serving officers. They have all done me proud and I’m sure will continue to carry on doing the same in the future. Sheila has been a hard act to follow, especially when you consider how long she led the campaign. So a special thanks to her.

Finally, I must apologise for the cancellation of the Saddle Bag Fair in December at such short notice. I hope it did not inconvenience too many of you.

Best wishes to you all for 2001.

Penny Farthing World Tour - One hundred and seventeen years to the month that Thomas Stevens set out on his epic voyage from San Francisco to cycle round the world on a penny farthing Joff Summerfield a cyclist from London will leave Greenwich to cycle down through Kent to Dover and set off from Calais to Dieppe where he will pick up Steven’s route.
Steven’s cycled across America before taking a ship for Liverpool where he spent the winter. before reaching Newhaven in 3 days. He is reputed to have carried only a spare shirt and a loaded revolver.
After France Joff will head for Hungary, avoiding Serbia and go through Romania and Bulgaria picking up Steven’s route from Turkey to Teheran before leaving it to cycle to Pakistan. From there he will go via India and Nepal with a visit to Everest base camp and on across the Himalayas and into China before heading east to Laos and Vietnam. Then he heads down through Thailand and Malaysia ending up in Singapore then across the Indonesian Islands before going on to Australia.
After making a lap of Australia he has three options. The easy one is to follow Stevens’ route to the West Coast before cycling across the US. Option two he describes as tougher, through South America to the USA and the last option is described as very tough. This involves the East Coast of Africa heading south west to South Africa before going to South America.
Which one will he choose? As Joff says, "Only time will tell, and I believe it will take a good deal of that."

The Mark 3 machine for the world tour is now finished. It incorporates all lessons learned in Penny Farthing design. My completely unsupported journey will take two years plus to complete and you can follow me in Cycling Plus magazine, or on the website www.pennyfarthingworldtour.com

All dressed up and somewhere to go. You’re never too young to start.

Ashford’s Green Corridor Action Plan
Ashford Borough Council is trying to encourage more people to walk and cycle rather than use cars, by creating a network of footpaths and cycleways throughout the town of Ashford. The existing and proposed routes through the green corridor are a vital part of this network which is identified in the Ashford Borough Local Plan.

The river Stour runs through Ashford and having an attractive riverside brings numerous social, economic and environmental benefits to the town, including:

• Adding to the visual attractions of the town and complementing other initiatives to regenerate urban areas and the economy.

• Providing valuable wildlife habitats.

• Offering educational and play opportunities for all.

• Providing pedestrian and cycle routes through the town which are not just for recreational purposes but make a crucial contribution to day to day travel and transportation needs.

• Improving quality of life and enabling more sustainable lifestyles.
• Giving the area a more positive image and identity.

• Providing a tranquil atmosphere in contrast to the noise and congestion in other parts of the town.

The riverside areas in Ashford – known as the "green corridors" have enormous potential. They are a fundamental part of the overall planning strategy for the town. They provide welcome breaks between built up areas of new and old development, opportunities to create footpaths and cycleways and provide open spaces of recreation, landscape and ecological value.

Canterbury is also updating its own plan along similar lines. This gives an ideal opportunity to link the two plans together with a new walking cycling Green Corridor along the Stour Valley. This would link many of the villages and the railway stations at Wye, Chilham and Chartham.

All the homes will have roof gardens and the landfill site next door will be planted up as woodland and lavender fields to provide sustainable land based industry as well as creating habitat for wildlife. The homes will be built to maximize the use of solar energy reducing heating requirements and all the energy supplied will come from renewable sources. Water will be conserved through recycling grey water and by fitting all the homes with water saving toilets and washing machines. Even the materials used to build these homes will be chosen from renewable or recyclable origins and located within a 35 miles radius to Beddington so as to reduce the need for unnecessary travel and to support local enterprises.

This is precisely the type of development which would benefit the people of Canterbury and the rest of East Kent. Let's BEDZED (www.bedzed.org.uk) the Tannery and the Wincheap Industrial Estate and start by making Canterbury the environmental jewel in the English crown.

CYCLE RECYCLE – PUTTING OLD WHEELS BACK INTO MOTION - Between 23 to 29 of October last year, Kent County Council, working with the charity, Necessary Furniture and Spokes, held an ‘amnesty’ on bicycles. For one week, Kent residents could empty their garages, sheds and cellars of unwanted bikes and take them to any municipal waste sites around the County. The aim of the project is to sell the bikes back into the community or give them to charities that are providing bicycles for people in lesser-developed countries.