Spokes Newsletter

Newsletter for Autumn 2005
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Editorial
SPOKES will soon clock up its 1000th individual member. That’s not bad for an entirely volunteer cycle campaign group, which started the year the Tour de France came to Canterbury in 1994. We have achieved quite a lot in that period, putting cycling on the map not just in the Canterbury district but all over Kent. Spokes helped in the planning and building and of many local routes such as the Crab & Winkle and Canterbury to Fordwich routes both part of Sustrans’ National Cycle Route 1 – Inverness to Dover. In fact it was due to SPOKES that this prestigious route came through Canterbury on its way to Dover. We designed the Cathedral to Coast Routes 16 & 17 and were instrumental in getting Euro Tunnel to lay on a cycling service where bikes are carried through the tunnel with their riders. We have been instrumental in the development of many cycle routes in Ashford and elsewhere and our team of Sustrans Rangers work hard to keep routes litter free, cutting back undergrowth and clearing the route.	In previous issues you will have read about the Cycle Track at Betteshanger . Work is also underway on Canterbury’s own Cycle Centre at the end of the City Wall by the St George’s Street roundabout. This will be a first not just for Canterbury but the UK as well. Cycle Tourists, visitors to Canterbury, shoppers and commuters will be able to leave their bikes there secure and undercover. To achieve all this work we need the help of supporters. That means you if you haven’t joined yet but have just picked up a free copy of this newsletter from one of the many outlets we distribute to. So for the 1000th member SPOKES will donate 2 free tickets plus off peak travelcards for this years Cycle Show – “Cycle 2005” – which is being held at ExCell in the London Docklands from Thursday 13th – Sunday16th October 2005. It could be YOU!
PS. Spokes would like to thank Malcolm Trott – who now lives in the West Country - for acting as creator our web edition of the newsletter from its inception for all his help in the past. Sam Webb Editor

Chairman’s address

The recent survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance on the state of Kent’s rural roads confirmed my views on their poor condition. Kent is fortunate in having more minor roads than any other county due to its long history of settlement. The report said that non-principal roads were resurfaced every 75 years and unclassified roads every 86 years! The importance of cycle tourism is underestimated in Kent. Could not designated cycle routes be given priority for resurfacing?

My thanks to all those Spokies that counted cyclists for the first Canterbury Cycle Census during National Bike Week. By doing this every year it will provide hard facts on cycle usage and crisis points in the cycle network. An ‘innovative’ pedestrian and cyclists crossing is to be installed by the Council Offices at Fallala Way at the cost of £30,000. Our survey showed 23 cyclists using this crossing yet 110 used the Wincheap/Ring Road junction, mostly cycling on the pavement. Although Spokes in no way condones pavement cycling it is all too understandable for Wincheap cyclist to do this to avoid the narrow railway bridge. The foot tunnel under the railway line should be unblocked as a matter of priority to give safe access at Wincheap. Cycle routes should be straightforward and direct to eliminate temptations to make shortcuts across routes not designed for cycle use and to avoid potential conflict with pedestrians.

Saturday 11th June was the 2005 Big Wheel of Kent Ride writes Sylvia McNally. This year, I decided to ride the Ashford ‘spoke’ so that I could answer people’s questions about the route with firsthand knowledge. On the Ashford leg, I met two young lads aged 6 and 8 with their parents. Alex and Gregory Hawkins each rode their own bicycle, as can be seen in the photo.

Although it took a long time to reach Canterbury and we had lots of rests on the way, it was worth it to see the look of achievement on the boys’ faces when we arrived at the White Hart. One of the advantages of riding with children is the slower pace and this allows you to be more observant. Our group was able to point out things of interest to the children to keep them involved. We saw a peacock, lots of farm animals, wild flowers and unusual buildings. These may not seem that interesting, but when you have the time to look they are remarkable. I would thoroughly recommend Ashford as a start-point to people in future years. Yes, there are a few hills (and one very long hill), but again the view from the top is fantastic: Dungeness can be seen, as can the hills outside Hastings and it makes you realise just how small we are in this Island of ours.

So a big thank you to Alex and Gregory for allowing me the chance to really appreciate the countryside and not just dash through it. For those other riders who rode the other routes, I hope you enjoyed your ride and will join us again next year. Try starting in a different place and see different parts of Kent.

Alternative energy

It was one Sunday in mid-July that we decided to attend the AGM of the Electric Boat Association of which we have been members for several years but never attended any events. We invited Isobel Stoddart of Sustrans fame to join us and used integrated transport to get to Cookham Reach on the Thames. We cycled Emily, Finbar and I from Victoria to Paddington and Isobel went cross country from Richmond via Windsor and Eton Central to Maidenhead where we all took the branch line to Cookham.

Loaded with our picnic we descended to Cookham Reach Sailing Club where we shared an outdoor picnic lunch with the members of the association including lots of champagne. At our table was a Mr.Malcom Moss and his son Simon owners of a solar boat called Callinda, holder of the record for the first and fasted solar channel crossing and they cordially invited us aboard for the afternoon cruise. For two hours we cruised up and down, our conversations flowing freely without the noise of a diesel engine, and best of all it was our first trip other than by bike or foot creating no pollution.

Mr.Moss built two of these craft; one for himself and one for the Maharajah of Rajasthan (of the famous magnificent white palace in the lake). Mr.Moss has also built two solar bicycles and a car.

Unfortunately for the Maharajah his craft arrived a little too late as climate change has resulted in his lake drying up.

John Shirley

Police officers in Herne Bay are taking to the streets on two wheels this summer to fight crime.

PC Karis Ingledew, Neighbourhood Officer for the Herne Bay Seafront and Town Centre, and PC Jason Heather, Neighbourhood Officer for Greenhill, have started undertaking some of their patrols on specially equipped Police mountain bikes.

The Neighbourhood teams were set up by the Chief Constable to build closer relationships with communities and provide reassurance through visible policing so were considered perfect for bike patrols.

The officers were issued with the special cycles at the end of spring and now that training is complete they are becoming an increasingly common sight around the town.

PC Karis Ingledew commented, “The response from everyone has been really positive. Older people are happy to see a police officer on a cycle again while children are really impressed by the high-tech mountain bikes. The bikes are quite expensive so just in case anyone gets too excited they have been fitted with trackers.

“The bikes are good for areas like parks where cars cannot go. Often a group of kids up to no good will make off the moment they see us on the horizon but we can pursue them far easier on the bike. All Police cyclists receive special training on matters like health and safety, the training even includes tips on how to cycle down steps.”

Her colleague PC Jason Heather said, “Although the bikes are primarily for patrolling we can often be called upon to reply to emergency calls and assist our colleagues. Sometimes the bike allows us to get to incidents quicker than an officer in a car so we carry flashing blue lights to wear.”

On the Pilgrim Trail to Santiago de Compostela

Just pitched up here after another 100 mile plus day. Today, it has been 28 degrees upward on the high mesata -a huge flattish area that is largely deserted away from the villages which are widely spaced. I´m travelling faster than other bikers but that´s not a problem as I´ve not met an English person since Creon near Bordeaux. I´ve helped out and ridden for a time with some Italians and Spanish, -mainly because we tend to congregate at roundabouts wondering where to go next since the old route has been updated to an Autovia and bikes aren´t allowed.
It´s an fantastic sight, all these walkers and cyclists all looking roughly alike and heading in a constant stream in the same direction.
It´s like a raggle taggle pilgrim army. Mansilla is about 10 miles from Leon and it´s a pretty village. I´ve met some great people, I´ll tell you my stories when I see you. I know some people are away for the 19th, but if you can make it, I´d like to see you. If not, I´ll catch you another time. I´m off to find some grub now -being a veggie is hard work here...

Mike Nee 03/08/05

Towns get £5m to start cycle revolution

By Frances Booth
(Filed: 26/09/2005)

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
Taken from here

Five towns are each to be given a million pounds of public money to promote cycling and become "beacons" to show how increased investment can encourage riders on to the streets.

Eight towns and one London borough have been shortlisted, and are being tested by members of Cycling England, the Government funded organisation behind the scheme.
The grim reality of life for a lone cyclist in London

Today, Taunton and Exeter are being visited, and last week Lancaster and Southport were tested. The other towns shortlisted are Brighton, Aylesbury, Derby and Darlington, along with Hackney, north-east London.

The five winning "cycling demonstration" towns will each receive £500,000 a year from the Department of Transport for three years to be matched by £500,000 a year from their respective local authorities.

Phillip Darnton, the chairman of Cycling England, said that on average each person made 1,020 trips per year, ranging from popping to the local shops to travelling abroad. Only 15 of these trips, on average, were by bicycle.

The aim of the demonstration towns programme was to make a step change in the town's environment that suddenly makes you feel that cycling is a possibility, and it is just like a really great European cycling city. It is about changing a culture."

He said that 25 to 30 years ago the levels of cycling in Copenhagen were no higher than England now, but that it had become one of Europe's best cities for cycling after a concerted effort to make it more attractive to riders.

What was needed, he said, was investment. Less than £1 per head is spent on cycling in England. In the demonstration towns, this will be raised to £5 per head - based on the level of investment in European towns with high proportions of journeys by bike.

Cycling England, a body set up to co-ordinate the development of cycling and supported by several Government departments, hopes to show that a significant difference can be made to cycling levels in the chosen towns, and spur on further investment.

Detailed questionnaires were filled in by 30 towns which entered, and a shortlist of nine was drawn up. The towns have to show that the whole community is behind raising levels of cycling, with support from council leaders, officers, schools, police, employers and local people. "They have to be saying: 'This is a town where cycling is a real option'," Mr Darnton said.

The towns have to be able to provide the right physical environment for cycling, as well as promote a range of "soft" measures to encourage more people to cycle.

A decision will be made by Oct 5, then Cycling England will make a recommendation to the Department for Transport, suggesting the winning towns.

The £1 million to be spent in each demonstration town will be used for measures including cycling maps, qualified instructors, controlling traffic speed and encouraging schoolchildren to cycle, in an aim to raise cycling levels.

Cycling England, launched in March, has funding of £2.5 million a year for three years from the Department for Transport for the project.

In its proposal, it cited the need to achieve positive results quickly. In the past nine years, it said, despite increases in Government investment, there has been no increase in the number of journeys by bicycle.

At present, less than one and a half per cent of all journeys are by bicycle in England, but in Hull, Bristol, York, Cambridge, Oxford and London - all cycle-friendly towns - the figure is higher. In Hull, where there are 20mph limit zones, it is 12 per cent.

In contrast, 25 per cent of trips in Holland are by bike, a situation which Mr Darnton described as "a dream". One way to encourage people to cycle more is to slow down traffic, he said. Danger from fast drivers was commonly cited, especially by women, as a reason they did not cycle.

The cycling demonstration towns will show, he added, that cyclists get exercise, save money and tackle the pollution problem.

Mr Darnton said investment was needed because we are "all completely car-centric". "Get out of your car, change a culture, change an attitude."

We aren't all eco-warriors.

Cycling England

Department for Transport

Car sales slump as America gets on its bike

By Harry Mount in New York
(Filed: 04/10/2005)

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
Taken from here

Lance Armstrong, rising petrol prices and America's love affair with the body beautiful have helped to launch a boom in bicycle sales while the number of cars sold has slumped.

Sales of speciality bicycles have soared by 10 per cent so far this year while car sales are down by 9.5 per cent in the same period.

As if to confirm the apparent new trend towards eco-friendly transport, the energy secretary, Samuel Bodman, yesterday outlined a national oil conservation campaign.

Americans were asked to rein in their petrol consumption to compensate for disruption to oil supplies caused when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita roared through the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr Bodman issued his plea only days after President George W Bush, himself a keen mountain bike rider, urged the country's motorists to share cars and drive less.

Even before the latest campaign Americans bought almost as many bicycles (19 million) last year as they did during the 1973 oil crisis (20 million).

The increase in petrol prices by almost 50 per cent over the past year has been the main motor behind the switch from four to two wheels. But it is not the only explanation for the change.

"Above all, it's the higher price of gas," said Paul Gaiser, the owner of Scooter Commuter in Bethesda, Maryland. "But also it's concern for the environment and the cost of another car.

"Our sales have quadrupled in the last two months. I think it's a major paradigm shift. It's here to stay."

The pedalling boom brought sales of more than $5 billion (£2.8 billion) in 2004, mostly in the cheap hybrid road bike sector that the Wal-Mart and Kmart chains specialise in.

The boom in the speciality sector has much to do with the success of Lance Armstrong, who won his seventh successive Tour de France in July.

The Trek machines used by Armstrong can be seen across America, with many cyclists adopting the racing colours of the United States Postal Service worn by the cyclist until last year.

Trek, based in Wisconsin, has seen its sales increase from £28 million in 1990 to £280 million last year.

Mr Bush, who rode around his Texas ranch with Armstrong in August, also patronises the Trek brand.

The bicycle is also becoming popular among those concerned by America's obesity crisis. With 130 million Americans overweight, anything that tightens the waistband is commercially appealing.

Washington has wholeheartedly endorsed the craze. Congress last month allocated £1.94 billion to create cycle paths over the next four years.

Spokes Report - Taken from Guardian Article of Friday August 12th 2005

Over 15,000 inhabitants of Lyons in France have registered with the City’s new bike rental scheme. They pay 5 euros a year for a pre-paid card and one euro per hour rental, although the first half hour is free.. In practice, this means that using the bike is free since 90% of all bike journeys are less than half an hour. The Vélo’v scheme is funded by JC Decaux, the billboard multinational that owns sites in Canterbury in part-exchange for the advertising rights for the city’s bus shelters. There are 1,500 bikes that are checked every time the bike is returned to a rack and the results sent to a control centre. There are strong incentives not to abscond with bikes. Users must register in advance so that their personal details are on record. What about it Canterbury?