The first rule of cycle club is....

...don't go up the lefthandside of skip lorries.

The second rule of cycle club is - Don't go up the lefthandside of skip lorries.

This morning I watched two people, a bloke and a girl, both sqeeze their bikes up the lefthand side of this bumper sized skip lorry - whilst it was moving - and whilst it was indicating left....sigh.

I'll freely admit to going up the leftside of the occasional big vehicle, but only when I know it really is safe to do so (99% of the time it's less hassle to simply hold back or filter down the right). This thing moving at 10mph AND indicating is definately not in that category. Besides, most of the time getting ahead of this thing at the lights only means it will it will overtake you again further on unless you know for sure that you will be making enough progress to get away from it. Overtaking lorries are never nice, even when done competently, so why create an extra overtake?.

Thankfully the driver saw them and slowed right down, but I'd rather rely on my own wit than on someone else's who might be too busy listening to Radio 1 next time.

This one even comes with a cryptic warning label. Presumably this is there to aid the bloke whose job it is to extract you from the chassis.

2011 Census: Help shape local transport

I noticed this poster up on Hyde road this week. Until I saw it, I had completely forgotten it would be the Census this year, so in what might be a first for the country, a Government advertisement scheme has actually had an effect on somebody.

 

I can't remember what any of the questions were like on the last Census, I just remember putting Jedi Knight down as religion. But if you believe the poster then your ticks in boxes will 'Help shape local transport'. A couple of minutes down the road I got the chance to take a photo of the current shape of local tranport. This is near showcase cinema in Bellevue. Imagine this level of nose to tail traffic for the next 2 miles or so til you get to Denton roundabout and you'll have some idea of what local transport in Greater Manchester looks like on most weekdays.

Visual & Mental Reasoning Test

 The test is to be completed by Mr. or Mrs. Average.

Existing cyclists or people who ride bikes please return to your respective holding pens and await the results. (or make yourself useful and go find a friend to take the test)

Dear Mr . or Mrs. Average you have 5 minutes to examine the attached imagery and complete the test.

Test begins.

Please examine the image above & take in the following scenario:

• It is a pleasant February evening
• Visibility is good & traffic is relatively light.
• The image shows an AC 100/4 Terex Demag - 4-axle mobile crane, weighing in excess of 30 tonnes & travelling at approx. 20mph
• The vehicle in question is being driven very professionally & will take great care when overtaking cyclists
• This is the most direct route available to your destination consisting of a mixture of 40mph and 30mph roads.

The question:
If at any point in the future you decide you would like to take up cycling to work (or even the shops, a local restuarant or do the school run) - Would you:

A: Prefer continuous Dutch style segregated infrastructure on all A-roads so that your interaction with vehicles such as this is thoroughly minimised.

Or

B: Prefer to cycle 'vehiculary' amongst traffic bearing in mind that you are statistically very safe indeed & of course the driver of this vehicle is exceptionally mindful of your presence.


Test ends. Pens down. Hand in your papers in the comments section below.

Class dismissed.

The Dutch win again - this time road building

The Dutch company is called Vanku. More details & photos here.

Almost everything you see online from The Netherlands is fascinating but depressing at the same time!, Why can't we do this?

In contrast here is a recent photo of road maintenance in Manchester ;-)