| Newsletter
for Autumn 2003
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| Newsletter Archive |
Or if you prefer, you can download in pdf format. |
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Newsletter for Autumn 2003
Newsletter Archive Or if you prefer, you can download in pdf format.
Follow this link to
get the pdf reader
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Out &
About - Spokes roving
reporter spotted the Lord Mayor of Canterbury Nick Eden-Green with the Civic
Bike en route to the Cathedral with a group of Swedish visitors. The Civic
Bike was donated by Spokes it is used frequently for getting around the
city.
The new coach pickup and drop off point is certainly curtailing the amount of illegal parking in the cycle lane leading to Canterbury East Station. Those that do block the lane end up with a whopping £80 fine. Nearly 700 cyclists took part in the Big Wheel of Kent Ride this year. They came from far and wide, two ex-firemen from Manchester cycling back from Milan and the Giro d’Italia, but perhaps the one who came farthest were three cyclists from Athens, Georgia in the USA. They had flown into Heathrow that morning with their bikes and were en route to Munich in Germany. Overnight they camped in John Shirley’s garden. |
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Jade's Crossing: a story of
our times - "My story is a
sad one," began Jade’s mother as she opened her talk to the Crab
& Winkle Trust and Spokes members. It happened to an innocent happy
family when they moved to Detling a village on the Pilgrims Way in Kent,
in the Garden of England, split in two by the A249 and traffic speeding
up and down a hill linking the M2 with the M20.
Caroline Hobbs and her family moved into their new house in 1987, a winter of snow. The road was quiet then. But they learned that the lady opposite had been hit by a car and killed on 16 December 1986. It was an ominous date. They heard of other fatalities and incidents and tried to put them out of their minds. "We went through our days and nights with sounds of accidents, people knocking on our door, bringing people into the house, giving them cups of tea, including the police, who got to know us well. I would wait in fear as my two secondary school children and their friends would try and cross the road in the mornings to try and reach the other side to catch the bus." Caroline decided to do something. She told councillors, the press that, "A child is about to die," little realising the awful prophetic ring her words were to have. She wanted a bridge, if not, warning signs and speed cameras. "Too dangerous to maintain them," said the Experts, and more ominously, "Not enough dead." On the 16 December 2000, holding hands with her grandmother, eight year old Jade Hobbs, was waiting on the pavement to cross the four lane A249. Witnesses said she tried to pull her grandmother back because she hadn’t seen the car. But it killed them both, just the same. Another statistic of death on our roads. Figures that make up the 10 road deaths everyday, 3500 every year, many of them children. Hidden statistics. We mustn’t upset the motoring lobby. It’s worse than a war. Jade’s mother decided to act. If they wouldn’t build a bridge she would. She didn’t know how, but she would. She raised £75,000 and did. It was opened on 31 August 2002. She set up "The Jade Appeal" a Charity which has given £5000 to promote a walking school bus calendar which will go to 20,000 children in the Canterbury and Thanet area. In her talk she asked, "Where is the money Tescos donated to Canterbury for the two bridges to link Whitstable to the Crab & Winkle Cycle Route? Why spend the money on another car park and bring yet more cars in?" Caroline’s moving talk can be read in full here. Sam Webb |
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Not everything is bigger
in America - In the USA, it
has been decided to create the cycling equivalent of the Appalachian Trail,
a footpath that follows the chain of mountains down the eastern side of
North America. The plan for the East Coast Greenway, as it is known, is for
a foot and cycle path from the Canadian border in Maine to the Florida Keys.
The aim is to pass "the doorsteps" of 30 million Americans by
creating a route that goes through the centres of population and it will
have links to 27 railway stations.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is very similar to Sustrans’ vision of the National Cycle Network. However, there the similarity ends, because after 10 years and over $400m spent, there are less than 370 miles out of 2,600 completed. That’s more than $1,000,000 per mile! (About £650,000 at today’s exchange rate). Apparently, "reducing the need for foreign oil and promoting a healthier lifestyle" is the rationale behind the scheme (Note that the oil comes first and health second). Being the home of the "gas guzzler" and the Sport/Utility Vehicle (SUV - another name for a 4-wheel-drive upholstered roller-skate), one has to admire the optimism of such a venture. It is estimated that another $1.5 billion will be needed to complete the route and a total of 23 Senators have signed a letter, to President Bush, supporting the Greenway. Given George W’s record on Global Warming and sustainability, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Andy McNally |
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What would you do with £7
billion? - On 10 July the
government announced a massive increase in spending on roads and
motorways, including the addition of an extra lane round the M25. This is
a complete reversal of the stance the government made when it came to
power in 1997. Then it cut road spending saying that building more roads
was, "not the answer." All the usual suspects were paraded in
front of the cameras to say the £7b was, "a boon and a tonic to the
motorists and a boost to industry." Lauded as an investment, this
£7b is in stark contrast to the state of our railways and the pittance
spent on safer cycling. Any money spent on them is always stated to be a
"subsidy."
When will it dawn on road engineers and politicians that the capacity of any ring road such as the M25 is directly proportional to the capacity of the primary and secondary routes leading to and from it? These roads can barely cope at the moment. So what will happen when the "capacity" of the M25 is increased by 33%? Don’t all rush to answer. Commuting from York to Devon - Well, I wasn’t, but it got you looking, didn’t it! "My husband and I", generically known as "Trotties" were once proud Spokies living in Kent. For those of you who didn’t know us then, we emigrated to Devon almost five years ago and we still miss the sight of the Webbs and other friends pedalling vigorously ahead of us in the garden of England. In July my bike and I set off to a nursing conference in York. The train left Exeter at 10.45. I was not allowed to sit in my reserved seat because an elderly gentleman had taken up residence there... but I was happier with a table seat at which I could spread out my reading material anyway. A comfortable journey up there and arrived on time at 16.05. No problems with the bike (free), having been given a label to attach and a tear off receipt from the label. Used the lift at York station, since I was quite heavily loaded with luggage. I cycled out to Thorganby, where I was staying, along the York – Selby cycle track, an absolutely gorgeous Sustrans route with sculptures, lots of birds, rabbits and friendly people. The journey from Thorganby to York each morning and evening was delightful. It took me just over an hour and I think, must be slightly more than 10 miles. On the final day I cycled from the conference and had a couple of hours to spare. I pushed the bike through York, having cycled the lovely bit by the river, and had a browse in Cycle Heaven (good web site). The train left at 16.44 and again, a smooth, trouble-free journey to Exeter. I arrived at 21.58 and would recommend the journey and the location to anyone. Kate Trott |
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The Tour de France by Graeme Fife Part One Early last July, 180 professional cyclists set out from Paris on the centenary edition of the Tour de France. In their wake, a vast entourage: team support crews - mechanics, soigneurs, drivers catering to their every need on and off the road; team directors in constant radio touch with every rider (they even have read-outs from individual heart monitors) – as well as the race organisation, publicity caravan and a small army of media – press, radio, TV journalists and cameramen. And, watching the race as it wound round the hexagon of France, from flatlands to rolling hills to the monsters of the Alps and Pyrenees, countless thousands of roadside spectators. For, this, as ever, is the magic of the Tour de France – the greatest bike race in the world sweeping into cities, towns, villages and hamlets, a grand spectacle of sporting endeavour brought to a huge audience who see it free. A hundred years ago, on 1 July 60 riders – sponsored professionals riding alongside independents – embarked on the first Grande Boucle (‘the Big Loop’), a daunting 2,267km in six stages on roads which, when dry, spat thick dust and shards of loose bitumen into their eyes, mouth, nose, and, when wet, turned to mud. They carried all their own spare gear – tubes, tools, food – were allowed no help at any time, even slipstreaming was forbidden. The fastest endured up to 18 hours in the saddle over the final stage, 471km back home; the slowest a lot longer. Commissaires lurked at hidden controls as well as in the canvas kiosks set up to sign them through. 21 made it back to Paris, the winner, Maurice Garin, a chimney sweep by trade, in over 94 hours, the last man, Millocheau, a whacking 64 hours behind him. But, the freelance from Chartres made it and, in the century since that epic début Tour, the truism has been constantly reinforced: this is a race like no other, an unparalleled extended test of resolve, physical strength and courage; no individual rider is greater than the Tour and none, not even the great champions, can say they beat the Tour, only that, this time at least, the Tour did not beat them. To be continued………. Read more in two books by Graeme Fife: "Tour de France: the history, the legend, the riders" and "Inside the Peloton: riding, winning and losing the Tour de France". Both published by Mainstream Publishing |