Ann Arbor is a Michigan college town a few miles outside of Detroit. As the home of Google’s AdWords division and Domino pizza you might not immediately associate it with a healthy cycling community. However Ann Arbor positively welcomes cyclists so wherever you look there are people on classy road bikes, sturdy MTBs and, the most popular of all, ‘sit-up-and-beg’ town bikes.
Whilst on a recent trip to Michigan I bumped into a fixed rider and asked him about what kinds of cycling the area offered. 70 mile excursions along the wide open roads seemed to be his ride of choice. With more space on the tarmac, and fewer cars per mile than in the UK, I could see the appeal. Personally I was surprised by the poor condition of the roads. They say everything is bigger in the USA and that also includes potholes.
Although I didn’t find many mountain bikers in downtown Ann Arbor I discovered the next best thing… mountain bike beer. The local brewing company teamed up with a nearby Ypsilanti bike shop to support local trails through the sale of beer. I was able to express my ‘support’ for the mountain bikers several evenings running.
On the wide sidewalks on Ann Arbor and the leafy university campus sit-up-and-beg bikes intermingled at low speeds with pedestrians. Cycle paths are conspicuous by their absence. Cyclists actually use their bells and pedestrians seem to respond appropriately. Very strange. Of course it wasn’t all idyllic and one taxi driver rattled off the familiar shouldn’t be on the road tirade. However two factors seemed to make cycling more appealing to the citizens. Firstly the weather is quite settled, so although the winters are very cold, the summer is relatively dry so people spend less time worrying about packing waterproof clothing. Secondly Ann Arbor is a relatively low crime area and the fear of bicycle theft was a minimal concern. Londoners would laugh at the puny bike locks Ann Arbor residents use.
A graduate student at the nearby University of Michigan said she bought a cheap mountain bike from Target due to rumours of quality bikes being stripped for parts. But on the whole people seemed happy to take their bicycles pretty much everywhere. Some commutes were surprisingly short which seemed to free people up to take less clutter with them - afterall who needs a puncture repair kit, pump, multitool, water and so on when the commute is only two miles?
Back in England I find myself wondering if more people would take up cycling if it weren’t for the fear of theft or vandalism? Unfortunately whatever we do the weather is one thing we really can’t fix.
Last week we looked at the road positioning that cyclists often use, and why they will sometimes place themselves in the “Primary” position despite that fact that it may slow down following traffic. We saw that cyclists will do this for the benefit of their own safety, and to prevent other road users from overtaking when the cyclist can see that there isn’t space up ahead, or to avoid other hazards. We also learned that cyclists are particularly vulnerable road users, and that minor incidents in a car can become major accidents when a cyclist is involved.
So if cyclists are in such danger on the road, why use it? Local governments spend tax payers money increasing cycling provisions, so why don’t cyclists just get off the road and use those instead? Surely it is in everybody’s interest if they didn’t use the road at all.
Firstly, lets clear up an incorrect belief that I’ve heard a couple of times. Cyclists are not allowed to cycle on the pavement. It is illegal to do so, and cyclists caught may have to pay a fixed penalty fine (Section 51 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988). It also completely disregards the needs of any pedestrians, who in comparison to cyclists are the more vulnerable party. Cyclists who do this are being selfish, but sometimes justify their actions in that they feel pressurised into using pavements to avoid the dangerous behaviour of a minority of people on the road.
Cycle lanes are often touted as a catch-all solution to this problem. Theoretically, a segregated cycle lane will allow a cyclist to be safe from other traffic, and also without the cyclist affecting other road users or pedestrians.
Sadly, many cycle lanes are so badly designed they are utterly unusable. Imagine a road where the signposts are grounded in the middle of the lane, and whats more, a tree is planted there too! Ridiculous? For cyclists this is more common than you might think. Many cycle lanes are “advisory” meaning that other road users can use them to drive in, sometimes to park in or walk on, but give the impression that cyclists must remain in them at all times.
This isn’t the case. In fact, The Highway Code was recently amended to make this clear (rule 63).
Yet some cycle lanes are installed without any consideration for the impact that their placement may have. Last week’s article demonstrated that a cyclist may need to move to the centre of a lane when passing a traffic island to prevent dangerous overtaking. However, near my home the council have painted cycle lanes to encourage the cyclist to keep to the left.
Furthermore, there simply isn’t space on the road for the cyclist and the car to pass side by side at the island, as this photograph demonstrates. The lane shown here is “advisory” which means that other vehicles may use that part of the road should they wish, however this sort of marking encourages cyclists to keep to the left, and drivers to think that there is space to pass by safely when there is not.
Cycle lanes are also poorly maintained. It is not uncommon for them to have broken glass, and other debris scattered across them. They are often used for parking other vehicles (increasing the chance that a cyclist may be “doored“), or simply be a handy place to put road signage. Where cycle lanes are not a part of the road they are often treated as footpaths by pedestrians, a problem which is exacerbated by the proliferation of shared use paths and increases the problem of cyclists having to look out for potential dangers.
Similarly, cycle lanes are quite often not the most direct route. They often cover many more junctions than a road, with frequent “Cyclist Dismount” signs.
Not that I want to portray myself as Twickenham Cyclist’s shameless publicist, but he has produced a very good video demonstrating how much longer a journey can take when using a cycle path. Cycle paths can be equated to drivers having to travel long journeys through housing estates and carparks. The route would laborious, and the progress slow. Roads, on the other hand, provide more-or-less direct routes to the required destination, with rules that are followed by most users.
Don’t get me wrong, a well designed cycle lane can be of great benefit to many cyclists. Sometimes they will be a handy route for avoiding heavy traffic, provide a shortcut (or even a longcut), give new or inexperienced cyclists somewhere to gain confidence without intimidation, or for leisure cyclists to have a gentle pedal.
But a cyclist may choose to use the road, not only because it is their legal right to do so, but for the same reason any motorist will choose to use a particular route - it is the easiest, quickest, or otherwise most beneficial way for them to get to where they are going.
It occurs to me that this post and my last portray cycling almost as an inherently dangerous activity, when this quite frankly isn’t the case. As long as a cyclist takes the appropriate measures to protect themself, and other road users do likewise (not really an undue expectation) then cycling is a perfectly safe activity.
Camcart is made from steel tubing, bends seem accurate and welds of a reasonable quality. Following the online step-by-step instructions on above site it went together easily, bolt holes lining up well but a proper 10mm spanner served better for assembly than the supplied stamped out steel plate multi-size thing.
Instructions are included in the box but are in German. (Product is shipped from Germany).
Very sturdy once assembled. I can’t see that the 100kg as a handcart / 40kg for cycle towing would present any problem.
Small problems I encountered. The towing ball attaches to the bike seat stem clamp, the one on my Giant Escape is quite tapered where the clamping bolt fits and a trip to my LBS soon found one that suited better (see http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryDangerousday/BikeCartPhotos ).
A bit of ‘persuasion’ with vice/hammer to close the 2 mount sides up a bit and then bolted it all together ready for its first trial. Incidentally packaging stated 12 bolts included - I only got 11 but due the clamp issue that didn’t prove a problem.
Cart does not sit horizontally on its own supporting leg (would be in the way when towing if it did) when used as a handcart.
First trip was to local tip (about a 2 mile round trip) with the sturdy plastic bin of 90 litres full of very damp (heavy) garden waste. I used luggage straps around the frame to hold on the large cardboard box the cart came in to take that away too. Towball arrangement rattles a bit over bumps, but it just served to remind me the trailer was there. It really does roll very easily with little discernible effect on bike handling.
I found to my cost you cannot drop 2 wheel trailers off curbs at anything but 90 degrees (D’oh!) when it fell over- luckily at the end of a dead end street.
I’m very pleased with it and can see it being used regularly. The optional plastic cover is a good fit (shopping? detach trailer from bike and take it straight into kitchen? Hmmm)
Supplier very friendly and apologetic over a long delivery time due to holiday periods in Germany but kept me informed, a sort of LBS type service. Also a thanks to my LBS - Cliff Pratt Cycles for help with the clamp and generally being a nice buch of folk even on a very busy saturday morning.
As I mentioned in my previous blog article, I am a borg on a bike (BOB). So how did I become a BOB.
It all started with the birth of my first son 3 years ago.
My wife and I had always had one car between the two of us. That worked fine for us, and my wife would often drop me off at work on the way to her work. However, with the impending birth of our son I realised that my wife would be off on maternity leave for a considerable length of time and would probably benefit from the use of the car. So my options were; buy a second car (too expensive), take public transport (very, very inconvenient), or get a bike.
My commute was five miles each way, so after investigating online (on the old C+ forum) I decided that cycling was by far the best option and would allow me to get some exercise in as well. So a Ridgeback Cyclone was purchased, and following my paternity leave I bit the bullet and cycled. Scary at first, but after I settled in I realised how brilliant it was. Of course the beautiful weather at the time (28C) helped!
My cycling technique at the time was far from perfect. I will admit that I used the occasional footpath in those days, but I soon learned the err in my ways. However, as time passed I realised was that I was having incidents on a reasonably regular basis which I felt were dangerous, i.e, vehicles passing too close, cutting me up, pulling out in front of me etc. So after reading some discussion on C+ where a couple of users were talking about using helmet cameras, I decided when I had the money, I would take the plunge. Before I did though I decided to have a go with my mobile phone strapped to my bag strap (Nokia N70). So on the 29th June 2006 my youtube broadcasting days began with a video of me cycling through the Clyde Tunnel I used this phone on the odd occasion when it wasn’t raining!
It wasn’t until January 2007 that I bought my first proper helmet camera the ATC-2000. It could be described as many things, but small isn’t one of them. So I plonked it on the left side of my helmet and once my neck muscles recovered, and I learned to point it in the right direction, I started filming. It wasn’t long until it showed its worth.
The bus driver in this clip decided to start overtaking me, despite the lack of room. A quick glance over at him, a quick tap of the helmet camera, and amazingly he backed off!. Result!!
From that moment on I was fully assimilated into the BOB……
Following last week’s trip to Malaysia by the Woodlands checkpoint to the north of the island, I set out this Saturday to try getting to Malaysia by the other road route, the ‘Second Link’ at Tuas on the west coast. I didn’t have much luck…
The south-west corner of Singapore is dominated by industry. Thanks to some forward thinking/paternalism in the middle of the last century, the gently rolling hills of this corner of the island were scooped up and used to fill in some pesky bits of sea. The area is now nice and flat and is covered in various factories. Small outlying islands have been adjoined and turned into an enormous petrol refinery where access is restricted to prevent terrorist attacks.
The upshot of all this is that there exist some lovely nice wide roads that are relatively free of traffic at the weekends and in the evenings, so not bad cycling conditions. Whilst most people like nothing other than to tour the more picturesque regions of the world, scaling the Alps or cruising the country lanes of Cornwall, I’m quite a fan of industrial areas.
Whilst I will freely admit that the Alps are stunning, there is also a beauty to behold in industrial wastescapes, in a refinery, or a container port. One of my favourite spots in London is Creekmouth, a massive expanse of nothingness near Dagenham. It overlooks the river where it is nice and wide and deep enough to receive big ships, and affords a great view of the Ford plant and the sewage works to the south.
These places are full of life, there are always lights twinkling, flames burning atop narrow stacks, machinery moving back and forth, night never really falls on these places. From the window in my apartment I can admire the constant to and fro of the truly massive container movers of the Keppel port, ships arrive and depart all day, heralded by a blasting poop of their big horns. The stacks of containers rise and fall, ships bob up and down as they are relieved of their cargo and instantly replenished.
This kind of activity dominates most of the south coast of Singapore. As you head further west, the air becomes heavy with fuel fumes and warehouses which looked like small blocks of flats from a distance loom above you, immense and windowless, impressing upon you the sheer scale of everything. Singapore might be tiny, but its influence is huge, a massive amount of stuff comes in and goes back out every single day.
Some might think this the antithesis of what cycling should be about, why do I glory in what most find ugly and depressing? But there is beauty nestled in amongst the concrete megaliths. Many of the roads remain tree-lined, beautiful views of the sea appear suddenly in between factories and shipyards, workers collapse and sweat in shady patches under the trees nestled in the corners by the fences.
All of this rolls by me on my way to the second bridge to Malaysia, and it would not let go its grip. The Tuas checkpoint is for motors only. The approach is a motorway, so I had little choice but to bend the rules and slip onto the road from which I am banned and make my final approach to the barriers. At the bus and coach checkpoint the police were very friendly, and told me to turn around. Then ensued a quick discussion in Malay, and they suggested I try ‘upstairs’, at the car and motorbike checkpoint. This involved doubling back down the motorway, doing a u-turn at the first junction, and climbing the drag up to the top deck, where after a number of phone calls to the bosses, I was told to go back again.
So rather than take my lunch in Malaysia as planned, I retraced my route back to the industrial wastes and found a food court I had passed on the way to the bridge.
Food Courts are something that the UK could think about introducing, they really are great. The concept is simple. You have a communal seating area surrounded by various stalls. Most stalls specialize in a small number of dishes, so the quality is often rather good. Other stalls operate a ‘pick-n-mix’ system, with a number of dishes on offer. Rice is dumped onto your plate and you pick and choose what to have alongside. ‘Aunties’ and ‘Uncles’ from the drinks stalls stalk the tables and shout your orders back to their colleagues and return sharpish with a variation on your order. Others prowl and remove the used cutlery and crockery so that subsequent diners may take your place.
You don’t hang around a food court at lunch time. Singapore is busy, to say the least, and it can be impossible to find a place to sit in the popular places. Clued up Singaporeans reserve their spots with little ‘Handy-Andy’ packs of tissues, whilst first-timers walk in endless circles with their food going cold in a futile attempt to find a seat.
Most importantly, food centres are cheap, a meal and a drink will set you back between $3 and $6 (1-2 pounds). If we could introduce this system in the UK, I think it would be incredibly popular. A cooked meal, tasty and quick, costing probably about three pounds, it’s got to be a winner!
