Author: smsm1986

Over the past few years I’ve noticed a huge rise in the number of parents, particularly of younger pre-teenage children getting involved with cycle campaigning. This was particularly evident in the discussions at the November 2014 Cycle Ipswich meeting, where several parents commented about the problems that they have with cycling locally with children. One… Continue reading The rise of the parent of young children cycle campaigner

On Sunday I was cycling from near Needham Market back towards Ipswich along National Cycle Route 51, when an incident occurred that reminded me of the Nice Way Code’s “Think Horse” video. It got me wondering what if car drivers had to treat me the same way I had to treat that horse? As a bit… Continue reading What if drivers really had to think horse towards cyclists

Yesterday afternoon I was out on a cycle ride with my wife from Ipswich to Colchester via Hadleigh and Sudbury. Most of the route was covered by either Sustrans or South Suffolk Cycle routes. Some of these routes run along busy B roads, with traffic speeds of up to 60 mph through the use of… Continue reading Should councils be fined for cycle promotion on fast/dangerous roads

Having been to many places now, I’ve started noticing a pattern of a particular itch or tingly feeling I get in my legs to hop on the bike and cycle somewhere, potentially aimlessly. Cycling aimlessly involves hopping on the bike and just randomly cycling wherever looks good. This desire usually comes from the quality of… Continue reading Desire to aimlessly cycle test

I’m increasingly finding that many people who want to cycle in Britain, have two options for their style of cycling. Note this doesn’t apply everywhere, however is particularly prevalent in Ipswich, Suffolk and other places that I’ve cycled. If you are in the mood for cycling slower at a pootling pace, or have kids learning to… Continue reading The Two Speeds of Cycling in Britain

Have you wondered how much your local authority would have to spend on cycling if the Get Britain Cycling report was implemented? Particularly the point about £10 to £20 per head of population per year. Well wonder no longer as I’ve created a spreadsheet with the population for each local authority in Britain based on… Continue reading Ever wondered how much your local authority would get per year if the Get Britain Cycling report was implemented?

One of the big problems with the funding of cycle infrastructure in Britain, is that unlike other things it is rare for there to be a dedicated revenue budget for the cycle infrastructure. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of the notable exceptions who have allocated 5% of the transport budget and are increasing it… Continue reading Hidden costs of British cycle funding