round and round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows…
CTC policy co-ordinator Chris Peck said it was important to ask why a minority of cyclists used pavements instead of the roads or went through red lights.
Mr Peck said CTC wanted to see road rules “rewritten” to help cyclists.
The AA said the behaviour of some cyclists effectively meant there were “two tribes” at war on the roads.
Is Britain really getting on its on bike – The Independent votes yes:
* More and more people are discovering the benefits of cycling – both to themselves and to the environment
* Car use at current levels is unsustainable in the long run. Cycling is the obvious alternative for short journeys
* ‘Liveability’ is the watchword in today’s urban environment. Bicycles contribute to this ideal – cars do not
Cheered me up a bit, that article.
The Daily Echo reports on Friday’s naked bike ride:
Drivers honked their horns in support as the cyclists, who had started from the eastern side of Southampton Common at Highfield, passed through Portswood.
By the time they reached the city centre, rounded the Bargate and headed up into Above Bar small crowds were waiting with their cameras ready to capture the revealing scenes.
City centre shop workers finishing for the day and restaurant customers enjoying food and drink in the sunshine also stopped to cheer on the protestors.
Watch the echo video
Watch James’ Youtube Video
Echo article
Southern Daily Echo reports,
The city council is shamed as having fixed just one fifth of road “hazards” reported to it by cyclists over the past year – among the worst records in the country.
Keep reporting them kids: fillthathole.org.uk.
Read the article at the Daily Echo online.
Four out of five children nationally are banned from cycling to school by their parents, due to parents fears for their safety. Cycle training could increase parents’ confidence and help children reclaim some freedom.
This is what parents are afraid of … teenage cyclist killed in a collision with a lorry. Sad news ):
Cambridge: firms offered cash incentive to improve cycling facilities (do office showers count as cyclist facilities?). “The scheme advises companies on quality cycle stands that cyclists want to use, thereby encouraging them to cycle more often.” Apparently nearly 25% of stolen bikes are never replaced — so reducing bike theft is surely important in keeping people cycling!
On a related note – Southampton University staff may be interested to know that the Cycle2Work scheme will be running for the first two weeks in June. See the BUN site for more info.
New cycle facilities in Surrey beauty spots For those people finding this site searching for Southampton to London cycle routes, how about via Surrey? 
Today’s online echo has an article about the naked bike ride to be held in Southampton on June 6th:
Organiser Thea Bjaarland, who stripped off in public for the first time at last year’s event, said: “The Naked Bike Ride is a peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture.
“It’s a celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body.
“It is also a symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic.
“The message to people is come as bare as you dare.
Read the article
As promised work has started on the Millbrook Roundabout improvements. The Daily Echo has reported this with the headline Installation of 30 traffic lights to cause four month delays, to the horror of motorists. The article begins,
JUST when you thought traffic in Southampton couldn’t get any worse – plans have been unveiled to put 30 traffic lights on one roundabout.
It was followed the next day (15 April) with
Mixed reaction plans to install 30 traffic lights on roundabout
DOZENS of motorists have voiced their opposition to council plans to install 30 traffic lights on a Southampton roundabout.
However, the controversial plans have found favour with many pedestrians and cyclists who have given the scheme the thumbs-up.
Click the links to read the full articles.
From the Daily Echo:
the situation is now so bad the company is considering using electric scooters and motorbikes to dodge the congested traffic.
In a league table of the slowest cities in the country Southampton was tied in fourth place with Liverpool with both cities having average road speeds of 17.8mph.
This is just behind London where traffic flows at an average of 16.9mph and where the AA is trying out its new scheme.
So now we know – it’s HARD FACT you can get around Southampton faster on a bike! If you pedal fast.
Read the article
I think this petition is US-Centric, but I’m sure if Google implements the feature for the US it’ll follow in the UK eventually…
petition blog: http://googlemapsbikethere.org “GoogleMapsBikeThere.org was created to ask Google to help us make the world safer for bicyclists by adding bicycle routes to Google Maps.”
petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.html. “We would like a ‘Bike There’ feature added to Google Maps – to go with the current ‘Drive There’ and ‘Take Public Transit’ options..
I use Google Maps (from: to: to:) routing often to find out distances between places, but finding an optimal cycle route is more than just ticking the “no highway” button. Google maps is constantly adding new features, adding your name to the petition might just move features for cyclists up their lists.
