Spokes 34

Editorial - If they can do it, why can't we? This issue sees a number of changes to the structure of Spokes. John Shirley has taken over from Andy McNally as Chairman with Nick Evans our new Vice Chairman. Terry Croft is now Treasurer. Our thanks to Sylvia McNally, Treasurer for many years, her husband Andy and Paul London who was secretary for meetings. Spokes started life in the summer of 1994 following a meeting in the White Hart pub in Canterbury between The Bridge Irregulars and CLIPS, aka Chartham Local & International Pedalling Society, which started life as Chartham Ladies Intermittent Pedalling Society. The meeting had been arranged by Robin Townsend and from it grew a campaign group which has achieved much. Most of the cycle routes you now see in the area would not have happened without the close co-operation between Spokes, Sustrans and the cycling officers of the local authorities at local and county level. We also work with the Cyclists Touring Club. In the eight years since Spokes has achieved both national and international recognition. Members of Spokes rode Sustrans’ Trailblazing Rides from Inverness to Dover in 1995 and Belfast to Land’s End in 1996. John and Emily Shirley took all their children. Following an email from the Deputy Mayor of Calais in 1999, Spokes escorted the Mayor of Dover to Calais on Car Free Day.	Resounding success Out of this grew links with Richard Evans of ETA (Environmental Transport Association), meetings with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, and the setting up of a national group of authorities keen to promote and expand the Car Free Day idea. In Europe it has been a resounding success. The authorities in Paris have even closed the motorway along the Seine during the summer months and covered it with sand, palm trees and deckchairs. This year for one day only on 22 September, London’s Tower Bridge had Sand Sculptures and Street Theatre. The north side of Trafalgar Square has been closed to traffic linking it with the National Gallery for the first time. In Kent enthusiasm for the CFD has waned despite a promising start. There is still a lot to do in our area. Bridges have been built on National Route One, near Faversham, and on the Canterbury Fordwich Route. Spokes would like to thank the volunteers from Kentish Stour Countryside Project who gave their time to clear the vegetation on this route recently. Their work has enabled it to be used during the winter months. A key element of the Crab & Winkle Route is still missing over the railway tracks near Whitstable station. If two bridges were built not only would cyclists, walkers and horse riders benefit, so too would local residents, shopkeepers, B&Bs, boarding houses, hotels, pubs, cafés and restaurants. But the greatest benefits would come from the reduction of unnecessary traffic in the town which would make it safer for everyone. These bridges would do for Whitstable what the Winking Eye Bridge has done for Gateshead. That too is part of national Route One and only open for pedestrians and cyclists. If they can do it, why can’t we? SAM WEBB

The Bridges of Swaleborough council - Once upon a time there were three little Billy Goats Gruff. They were Gruff because they had lovely bikes to ride but nowhere to ride them. They lived near Faversham Creek and their mum and dad said the road was too dangerous and the path was too rough. Nearby lived a Big Bad Troll. He smelt like a sewage works. He loved the creek, he loved nice juicy little billy goats, but what he wanted more than anything in the world was a bridge to hide under. One summers day along came a good fairy, whose name was Swaleboroughcouncil. That’s a hard name so we’ll call her Baptie for short. Whoever Baptie met, she promised to grant their dearest wish. So she promised the three little Billy Goats their cycle track and she promised the Big Bad Troll his bridge. They waited and they waited. Summer turned to Autumn, Autumn to winter. The leaves fell from the trees and the creek froze. No bridge. The Good Fairy had done a feasibility study, but no-one knew what that meant. Winter turned to Spring and the birds started to sing again. No bridge. The Good Fairy had identified possible supplies and obtained tenders but no-one knew what that meant Spring turned to Summer. The Good Fairy had to stop being a Good Fairy because of Foot and Mouth. Summer turned to Autumn again. The Good Fairy went to the opening event of National Rout One but still…no bridge. Then all of a sudden as if by magic, not one but two bridges appeared! Fragrant Bridge by the sewage works for the troll to hide under, and Virtual Bridge near Sandbanks Farm for the Billy Goats to Ride their bikes over. And because they were different bridges everyone was happy, no-one wasted any time with threats like "who’s that trip-tripping across my bridge" and they all lived happily ever after. And if you ride from Faversham to Graveney you can see the bridges. If you’re very quiet you might just see the Troll and the Three Little Billy Goats too. But you might not. RICH

Introducing our new Chairman and officers - As incoming chairman writes John Shirley, it is only fit and proper that I pay tribute to the wise steerage of the outgoing chairman Andy McNally and the hard work put in by Sylvia McNally the outgoing treasurer. It is fitting that at the time of their resignations Sustrans honoured Spokes by holding a board meeting in Canterbury.
For those who do not know me perhaps a brief introduction might assist. As a schoolboy fed up with the unreliability of buses and motorcycles I began cycling to school. This led to a solo cycle ride to Yugoslavia and back, which taught me that no matter how many cars pass you will always get to your destination, and enjoy the journey to boot unlike most other forms of transport. In London and Sarajevo whilst a student, and then in Quebec as a married man inspired by "La Monde à Bicyclette," I learned the speed and freedom of urban cycling where five or ten miles go unnoticed, cutting from street to street.
Back in Kent the creeping encroachment of tarmac, bricks and mortar over the limited green space was shocking. We got rid of the car and formed "The Bridge Irregulars" which helped found Spokes. Why the title "The Bridge Irregulars"? Well’ we met of an evening on the spur of the moment, agreed the number of country pubs we would visit that evening and work out how much time we would allow in each one. There was nothing more fun than riding along in a long line of bright rear lights with every rider laughing their way to the next hostelry.

Be that as it may, I would like to propose seven points for strengthening The East Kent Cycle Campaign:

Closer links with pedestrian and equestrian organisations such as we had recently at the Kingston A2 bridge demonstration.
Occasional surveys of members travel habits, to see why on certain days we choose one method of travel over another.
Set up some open lectures or challenges to speakers who wish to defend car culture.
Set up an information pool, library or advice line to those willing to wean themselves off cars.
Make it clearer to the public the link between oil/car/steel and rubber barons and power. How by buying cars and petrol they make governments vulnerable to intimidation by multinationals vastly more powerful than they are.
Perhaps set up some car free columns in mainstream magazines with contributions from Spokes and pedestrian and Equestrian organisations.
Take advantage of the new routes which have been built and hold some games similar to those played on roads and streets in days when traffic hardly existed.

Anybody wishing to add to or extend these ideas is most welcome.

How to make an impression at the lights - by Andy McNally

When I was a lad, traffic light changes were triggered by pneumatic pads set into the road. Sadly, bicycle wheels were too large and too light to produce the effect needed to trigger the lights, so I used to stop in Palace Street, for instance, and dig my heel into the pad to get the lights to change in my favour to allow me to ride legally into the High Street. Traffic lights in Canterbury High Street! That’ll tell you how long ago it was.

Since then, technology has changed everything and traffic lights are no exception. Pneumatic pads have been replaced by buried induction loop technology. Induction loops can be seen as a thin tar line on the road surface. They work very well, for motorbikes, cars and larger vehicles that is. Unfortunately, the poor old cyclist has missed out again, because, depending how they have been set up, some induction loops do not detect bikes.

The loops detect metal mass; the greater the mass and the closer to the loop the metal is, the greater the chance of detection. Even a small car weighs around 600Kg, so it doesn’t matter that its centre of gravity is 400mm or more above the loop. However, an average bike weighs about 12Kg and the centre of gravity is considerably higher than a car. This means that, unless a loop has been set to maximum sensitivity, unlikely because that can produce other problems, it will not detect bikes that are ridden over its centre. So how can lone cyclists make the lights change?

The answer is fairly simple. Throw away those lightweight aluminium-rimmed wheels and fit thick, heavy steel ones. The greater mass gives you a better chance of being detected (but forget braking in the rain). A more acceptable solution is to ride with your wheels as close to the tar lines as possible, right over them is best. The greater proximity to the loop dramatically increases your chances of being detected. However, if you ride a super-lightweight bike, with carbon-fibre wheels, you should seriously consider carrying a small anvil in your pannier.

Spokes needs your support - If you would like to join Spokes, please complete the online joining form and send it off. Or join at :

SPOKES, The Canterbury Environment, Centre, St Alphege Lane, Canterbury, CT1 2EB Tel 01227 457009.

The centre is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 4.30pm. Good food, drink and lots of useful resources and information.

Danish Network makes cycling a piece of pastry - The Danes having invented Safe Routes to School are now poised to take over a uniquely British idea, the Walking Bus.
SR2S started in the Danish university town of Odense in 1973. With the Danish economy threatened by the crisis caused by the Arab Israeli War and with no internal car industry, they looked afresh at the problems of getting about and cutting down car use.
They started in Odense by linking all the schools, libraries, university buildings and the town centre together with safe traffic free paths. This was so successful the Danish Government ordered all towns and cities to implement a similar plan and when these were complete they were all linked up.
As a result Denmark has a wonderful network of cycle and walking routes, all of which are properly signed with destinations and distances. There is a superb set of cycle maps. All this is an immense tourist draw. Fly to Denmark with your bike and you are directed to a safe cycle route into Copenhagen. If you don’t fancy that you can hop on a taxi with your bike as they all have racks in their boots. Trains positively invite cyclists with bikes painted on carriages. Denmark transformed its child casualty rate from the bottom of the European League in the 1970s to the top, partly through its Safe Routes to Schools programme. It will be interesting to see how the Danes develop the Walking Bus.

From Sustrans Newsletter Summer 2002 No 19. For more info email Troels Anderson

Sustrans lends support to Crab & Winkle Way bridges scheme
Members of Sustrans board of directors, including Chairman John Grimshaw, visited Whitstable in early October to lend their support to plans to build two bridges over the railway line. If permission is granted, and funding found, the bridges would provide an invaluable link to take the Crab & Winkle Way on a direct route route all the way to the town centre and harbour. The scheme, which is being proposed by the Crab & Winkle Trust has the support of local organisations including Whitstable Chamber of Commerce who see it as a way of bringing more tourism to the town. It is also viewed as a safe encouraging cyclists and pedestrians to travel between home and shops. C & W Trust, Spokes and Sustrans members with plans for the bridges at Old Bridge Road, Whitstable.	The C&W Trust wants money from a £475,000 ‘sweetener’ given by Tesco to be used towards the £250,000 cost of the scheme. The money is to be given to Canterbury City Council in exchange for planning permission to extend its store, which lies close to the route. Townspeople are being consulted on how the money should be used and ideas have included updating town centre amenities and providing a park and ride scheme but the bridges plan seems to be the most popular so far. Around 40 members of the C&W Trust and Spokes turned out to meet the Sustrans boarding in Canterbury the following day. The group had earlier ridden the stretch of National Route One from Faversham and were to be guided to the city and on to Fordwich. During the meeting in Whitstable, John Grimshaw presented Spokes Chairman John Shirley - only elected a few days before - with a copy of the book Millennium Miles to celebrate the group’s contribution to building the Crab & Winkle Way in the past few years.
Anybody wishing to support the bridges plan is urged to write to Council Chief Executive Colin Carmichael without delay.

Light reading for those dark nights - As the nights draw in, the mornings grow frosty and the bike gets put away in the shed, what can be better than to curl up by the fire with a good book? They make good Christmas presents too and this year cyclists are spoilt for choice. Bike books range from the serious and only for the anorak types to the useful.

Sam Tracy’s: How to Rock & Roll: A City Rider’s Repair Manual is very funny and thought provoking.

Lance Armstrong’s autobiography: It’s not about the bike, my journey back to life is truly inspiring. In October 1996 was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors gave him a 40% chance of recovery and said he would never race again. Between the summers of 1999 and 2002 he rewrote history, winning the Tour four years in a row. He is poised to add a fifth victory.

Of course if you read that you’ll want to read Graham Fife’s: Tour de France-the history, the legend, the riders and about one rider in particular, certainly the greatest British cyclist of all time, Tom Simpson. His last words on the unforgiving slopes of Mont Ventoux are the title of William Fotheringham’s: Put me back on my bike: In search of Tom Simpson.

Matt Seaton's The Escape Artist: Life from the Saddle tells the story of his love affair with his wife Ruth Picardie, a journalist on the Independent who died tragically young from cancer, and his career as a racing cyclist.

"Chris Brown rode a "Dilecta", it was electric blue with white box panelling; the tubing wasn’t 531 double butted and it didn’t have a wrap-over seat cluster or even Simplex ends, but it was undeniably French and that made it a hothouse bloom in ‘50s Shepherd’s Bush." Those of us who remember those days of Woodbines and National Service will love Charlie Wood’s: Bikie: A love affair with the racing bicycle, and so too will the rest of you, even those of you who have been told about it by their granddads.

Any book by Dervla Murphy is a good read. An inveterate traveller, now in her 70s, who ventures to places on her bike that George W Bush would only visit by proxy with Stealth Bombers and B52s. Through the embers of chaos: Balkan Journeys tells of her visits in 1990 and then on her bicycle after the NATO bombing in 1999. Writing of the river running through the Rugovo Gorge she says " Thus it flowed when the Illyrians were around, when the medieval Serb Kingdom flourished and a monastery was built on its banks in the twelfth century, when the Turks came, when the Austrians attacked, when the Turks went, when later kingdoms came and went, when the Nazis came and went, when Tito came" - and when Nato came they dropped 31,500 depleted uranium tipped weapons on Kosovo.

When pavement riding would pay - In October Ashford’s Kentish Gazette carried a front-page story reporting that a young boy was hit and knocked down by a car while cycling to school.

It was the first time he had ridden on the busy road linking his home to the school. Previously he had cycled on the pavement but following a phone call to the school complaining about children cycling on the pavement the head teacher had banned youngsters from doing this.

Approached by the paper, the caller defended his views. The boy ’s parents were shocked and the boy said he didn’t want to get a detention. Ashford Council has no plans for a cycle route along this road. Everyone was lucky the injuries were not more serious. The usual argument put out for not providing a safer environment is there haven’t been any serious accidents or deaths – but do we need a need-less fatality and yet another wayside floral tribute before we act?

While the Highway Code is specific about not riding on pavements, Home Office guidelines to police forces say cyclists are allowed to use them if they do so cautiously, for their own safety.

Newsletter for Winter 2002
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