Newsletter for Autumn 2001
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Editorial - Once upon a time the only book you could find on bookshop shelves was Richard’s Bicycle Book, usually well thumbed with the occasional smudge of oil, as if a cyclist had dashed in to find out how to fix a spoke. But all is now changing. One of the measures of the growing popularity of cycling today is the number of books that are written. Elsewhere Bikie, a wonderful account of cycling in the UK from the 1950s to the present is reviewed. But there are others.

Tim Moore’s book French Revolutions: cycling the Tour de France is an account of an innocent abroad attempting to cycle round the entire Tour route carrying all his luggage. First he has to find where the actual route is going. All he has is the 1:5 billion map from Cycling Weekly.. So like the good journalist that he is, he phones the Tour Press office:

"Oh it’s you again." It’s never wise to phone a Frenchwoman more than once in any given fortnight, even if - especially if - she works on a help desk. Asking the Tour de France press office for details of the race route was clearly ranked on the scale of telephonic enquiries somewhere between "Have you ever considered the benefits of pet insurance?" and "What colour knickers are you wearing?" No matter that the route had clearly been decided well before the release of the basic outline in September some six months previously. "We do not announce zis informations," said the voice defiantly, "until fifteen May." 

 The line went dead; you could just imagine her flinging the phone down in petulant exasperation as a sympathetic press office colleague looked up from her Paris Match and, slowly unwrapping another bon-bon, said, "Don’t tell me - another journalist."

I won’t spoil it and tell you how it ends. But this is a wonderful book and, is to cycling what Round Ireland with a Fridge was to hitch hiking.

By the time you read this, baring a catastrophe, Lance Armstrong will have crossed the line on the Champs Elysee to notch up his third consecutive win. What is remarkable about Armstrong is that five years ago he was diagnosed with stage four testicular cancer. When lesions appeared on his brain and then his lungs he was given a 40% chance of survival. Against all the odds he responded to treatment. Out of hospital he rebuilt his life. He started to cycle again, went into training with the target of just completing the 1999 Tour. But not only did he complete, he won in the fastest ever time. Lance Armstrong’s book is called It’s not about the bike: My journey back to life.

Tim Moore dedicates his book to Tom Simpson, Armstrong to his mother and if you have ever wondered what it is like to the ride the Tour, or what it is that grips millions of people all over the world in this heroic sporting event, then these books are for you. And if you want to ride the mountain stages then try www.bikepyrenees.com

New Cycle Route opens up Planet Thanet - The newly opened Viking Coastal Trail gives cyclists the opportunity to explore some of the most varied scenery in east Kent. This circular 28-mile route winds its way along coastal promenades, cliff top paths and minor roads, and passes through the seaside resorts of Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate, before turning inland.

Following the line of the Wantsum Channel, which once separated the Isle of Thanet from mainland Kent, the trail goes through the ancient villages of Minster, Monkton and St Nicholas-at-Wade, linking up with Regional Route 15 of the National Cycle Network at Reculver in the north and Pegwell Bay in the South.

in Pegwell Bay is Ebbsfleet, the site where two famous adventurers, Hengist and Horsa, are said to have landed in the fifth century. A full-sized replica of a Viking ship, the 'Hugin', which sailed from Denmark to Thanet in 1949 to celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of their landing is on permanent display on the clifftop overlooking the bay. (The trail was funded jointly by Kent County Council, Thanet District Council and the European Regional Development Fund.)
Loose Chippings - A regular feature column by Malcolm Bulpitt appearing in all our newsletters. 

Snap Bands

 Spokes latest fun and safety must have is the Spokes Snap Band. Fitting all sizes including children the Spokes Snap Band comes in beautiful Hi-Viz safety day-glo yellow to coordinate perfectly with your Spokes Hi-Viz Safety Jacket. 
The Snap bands retail at £2.50 each or £4.00 per pair. They are popular - 32 bands were snapped up (groan) at the pre-launch committee meeting.
To order contact Tim 01227 367422.

Cash for Parishes - Funding for small scale transport projects, has recently become available from the Countryside Agency as part of their Vital Villages rural support programme. It is a new scheme that helps rural communities through their parish or town councils to carry out a wide range of small projects to meet local transport needs. It includes Projects to promote walking or cycling. For instance where local need can be proved for enhanced cycle facilities such as cycle racks, lockers, routes etc or a walking bus route to schools, an application can be made for up to £10,000 per parish or small town and the grant will fund up to 75% of project costs. Match funding can include up to 20% of volunteer time with only 5% of actual cash needing to be raised for the project.

This is a new grant and applications are actively being encouraged. For more information contact David Terry at the Countryside Agency at Maidstone on 01622 765222 now!

 

KCC’s cycling officer, Gary MacGowan, chooses the Top 10 Cycle Routes in Kent
  1. The Viking Coastal Trail - A circular ride starting at the point where the Vikings first landed in Britain and following the coast around the beautiful Isle of Thanet.
  2. The Cliffs and Castles Cycle Trail - A scenic cycle route between Dover, Deal and Sandwich. There are five castles in the area, three are around Deal.
  3. The Crab and Winkle Way - An off-road link between Canterbury and Whitstable, along parts of the now disused Crab and Winkle line, the first passenger railway to be opened in the world.
  4. Romney Marsh Meanders - 5 delightful circular routes on quiet, flat rural lanes. The routes are an excellent introduction of the history, churches and wildlife of the Marsh.
  5. Bike Trails by Rail in the Stour Valley - 8 routes, all starting and finishing at railway stations along the beautiful Stour river valley in east Kent.
  1. The Chalk and Channel Way - A dramatic cycle route along the top of the famous White Cliffs of Dover, with panoramic views of the Channel, rest stops and cycle sculptures.
  2. Cycling for Pleasure - 4 circular routes following quiet lanes and paths in Swale’s lovely orchards and woodlands. Plenty of pubs and historical interest.
  3. Parish Pedals - 14 circular routes in the beautiful heart of the Garden of England, around Ashford and Tunbridge Wells.
  4. Cathedral to Coast - a circular route from the famous Canterbury Cathedral through quiet villages and stunning countryside to Dover and Folkestone.
  5. The Heron Trail - the route combines rural and maritime interest with spectacular views of the Medway and Thames estuaries. Several detours include a National Nature Reserve famed for the herons that give the Trail its name.
This list is just the top ten! There are hundreds of miles of quiet country lanes and over 100 on and off-road routes to cycle passing through superb countryside and peaceful villages with friendly pubs. Kent is also developing a network of cycle-friendly places to stay and working closely with partners in France to develop cross-Channel cycle routes. For more information and a cycle pack, contact the KCC’s Cycling Officer on 01622 221028 or email on cyclekent@kent.gov.uk. Watch out for our new cycling website in August.
Driving on the National Curriculum is a bad move - It has been stated in the national press that the DLTR intend, against all advice and results from previous studies around the world, to introduce instruction in driving to those pupils in the upper years of secondary school under the spurious category of "safety improvements", namely getting to new drivers younger to prevent accidents. What this in fact does is increase the amounts of fatalities on the roads as it encourages youngsters to buy their first pollution packer and start driving earlier.

This is typical of measures introduced over the years under the safety banner, backed by the road and lobby have simply been methods of making it easier to drive and therefore increase sales of tarmac, cars and petrol.

We would like to see the DLTR take a balanced approach here, and give training in other methods of transport. Many kids are brought up strapped in the back of estate cars. Then they get bought a car by mum and dad at the first opportunity. They never get to travel by train or use their bikes for anything other than recreation.

It demands far more intelligence and skilful logistical knowledge to use underfunded public transport than a heavily subsidised car on the heavily subsidised car network. One also asks why car manufacturers are given this boost by the tax payers to their sales. In these days of PPP they aren't asked to pay for the whole sham themselves. Just consider the huge sums we have donated to Dagenham and Sunderland to bolster their profits. Surely it is time for this to become a two way street.

I don't agree with kids being taught how to drive at school, full stop. It puts anti-environment pressure on them to acquire and drive a car over any other method of transport. What if the kid doesn't want to drive? Will they be under such peer pressure that giving in will be the only way? It seems that the Blair State wants to obliterate conscientious objectors of any kind.

Emily Shirley
Thanks to our leaders - but we still need more
As Rides Coordinators Gail & I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ride Leaders who have offered their services in the last twelve months or so. As you can see from the appeal at the foot of the rides list we could not exist as a Cycling Group without these volunteers. In fact as the volunteers will tell you this "task" is not too difficult. Just choose your favourite route(s) and the nearest railway station, phone us (01227 367422) and agree a date. If you need advice on any aspect of running the ride again call us or any Spokes Committee member. Remember we are willing to help and you will not be on your own on the day. The more Ride Leaders we have the greater the variety of rides we can offer.

Tim & Gail & Joshua.

Pathway takes away A road misery - I enjoy cycling in Kent by necessity and for pleasure, alone and in the company of friends and family. I cycled from Ashford to West Malling railway station (just past Maidstone) along the A20 and would like to spread the news that there is a very cyclable ‘pathway’ all the way along this part of this major road. After noticing it hadn’t petered out by the time I got to Charing and nearly losing my wits as countless badly-loaded international lorries stormed past, I decided to ‘cycle on the pavement’ for a while. On joining it I regained my composure and had a much more pleasant and productive ride. I also saved 40% on the price of my train ticket to London (my destination). Nowhere, however, on any cycle map was I given a clue as to its existence (from tracks in the sun-baked mud I noticed it is used by cyclists). Couldn’t something be done about this? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has to go to London every so often and likes to store up some beautiful memories (bluebells, rabbits, pheasants and fields of flowering crops) to keep me company in the train-jams of London Bridge.

Jezia Tarleton
Langdon Battery wins engineers' award - Langdon Battery has just won the coveted Institute of Civil Engineer’s South Eastern Association Merit Award for National Cycle Route 1. The award stated that the civil engineering works were in harmony with the environment. This is a great first for Kent. It is not only the premier route into the UK for European visitors it is the first cycle route to win this award in the UK.

Gary Macgowan would like to extend thanks to Colin Porter of Babtie for his hard work in designing the route.

London's gain is our loss - Gary Macgowan, the Cycling Officer for Kent County Council will have left KCC by the time you read this and be cycling round Lithuania using up his annual leave. Gary was appointed in November 1998 and in under three years, building on the work put in first by Phil Sams, and then Malcolm Bulpitt, has revolutionised the profile of cycling in Kent.

I know all of us in Spokes will miss Gary very much. He has achieved a great deal. John Grimshaw often says publicly that Kent has one of the best cycling organisations in the UK. This is something we can all be very proud of.

Gary will be taking up his new job on September 3rd in Transport for London’s Cycling Centre for Excellence. This is part of Ken Livingstone’s new GLA initiative to put cycling on the map in the capital. The Mayor of London’s gain is our loss and we wish Gary all the best, and many, many thanks for all the hours he has put in for cycling in Kent. Gary will be joining us on rides and giving a talk at the AGM. We also extend a warm welcome to the new cycling officer whoever he or she may be.
Wheely good fun - The Big Wheel of Kent is a time of the year when people of all ages and cycling abilities get out their bikes and set themselves an aim. This aim is to cover a certain distance with like-minded people and enjoy themselves. 2001’s Big Wheel certainly proved that anyone can come out on their bikes. To my knowledge, the age range was from a five year old who rode his own bike, (although there were younger ones being carried), to a seventy year old gentleman (if there was anyone older I apologise for not knowing this fact). There were people for whom long distances held no fear and those who had not been on their bikes for a long time, but with encouragement from those around them they completed the journey and surprised themselves. Everyone I saw, had had a really good ride and enjoyable, sociable day. Let us hope that this event carries on for many years as it had proved again that riding a bike is fun.

Sylvia McNally

Last change: 06 May 2002