Newsletter - Life Cycle news | June

Sent: Sun, Feb 5th 2012, 09:20

Message

Welcome to the June edition of the electronic newsletter from Life Cycle UK the cycle promotion charity. In this issue:

Super surgery
More free Doctor Bike surgeries
BMWs
Adult cycle training
Free bike hire
Cheap and cheerful
Cameron has bike nicked -- again!
Station cycle parking slammed
Paddle powered clean up
Cycling vending machine
Bikes outsell cars
Diary dates

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Super surgery

Life Cycle is about to run its biggest Doctor Bike surgery ever! We’re working with the big employers based at Bristol’s Temple Quay business district and the council to raise the profile of cycling and tempt more people on to two wheels. The mammoth cycle surgery will ensure that everyone has a bike that is safe and roadworthy.

The event runs from 11.45 a.m. to 2.15 p.m.

If you’d like Life Cycle to run a Doctor Bike surgery at your workplace, just give us a ring!  0117 353 4580

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More free Doctor Bike surgeries

Life Cycle is running more Doctor Bike surgeries over the coming weeks. If you bike is looking a bit peaky bring it along for a health check and some medical attention. Minor adjustments and repairs are carried out on the spot. There is no charge. If your bike needs more intensive care the mechanics will write you a prescription so you know what to ask for when you visit a cycle shop.

Saturday 30th May, from 12 noon to 2.30 p.m. we’re outside the Co-operative supermarket (formally Somerfields) in the centre of Downend. That’s the day of the Downend Bike Ride to the Kingswood Heritage Museum at Warmley and a tour of the famous Warmley Grotto.

Saturday 6th June, from 12 Noon to 2.30 p.m. We’re at Bristol’s CREATE Centre for the EcoHome open day.
 
Wednesday 10th June, from 11.45 a.m. to 2.15 p.m. we’re at Gloucester Docks.
 
Wednesday 17th June, from 7.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. we’re at the  MOD roundabout on the A4174 supporting South Gloucestershire Council’s Bike to Work Breakfast.
 
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BMWs

Maybe a chat with Doctor Bike will encourage you to start doing your own cycle maintenance.  It’s a lot easier than you might think. You'll save lots of money and get a lovely glow of satisfaction!  To help you learn some of the basics Life Cycle runs regular BMWs (that’s Bicycle Maintenance Workshops) – special one-day courses that will show you how to set a bike up for maximum comfort, how to cope with a puncture, how to keep your brakes in good condition and your gears changing properly.

The courses run at the Life Cycle Centre, our shiny new workshop and training facility in Knowle, Bristol. You’ll get to use a proper tools and a cycle workstand (it’s so much easier to work on your bike when it doesn’t keep falling over!).

A place on a BMW costs £60 and includes spare parts such as inner tubes, brake pads and cables. Plus all participants get a free copy of Bike Easy: Top Tips & Expert Advice for the New Cyclist (usual price £6.50)

We normally run one BMW each month, but due to demand we’ve scheduled some extra ones including a special course for owners of Brompton folding bikes. Check out the courses and events section of our website for more information.
 
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Adult cycle training

Cycle training for all!  Whether you're a complete beginner unable to ride a bike at all, or an experienced cyclist wanting to polish your skills to perfection, you'll benefit from a one-to-one lesson.

Life Cycle is now able to offer lessons for just £5 to anyone living in the city of Bristol (normal price is £30).

We offer a personal service. Training is one-to-one, that's you and your instructor, and we tailor the lesson to meet your individual needs and concerns. We come to you - daytime, evenings, or at the weekend - whatever is convenient for you. If you want to practise a particular route, such as your journey to work, we can do it.

We think you'll be amazed! You'll learn new skills and develop greatly improved confidence. But don't take our word for it; read an independent assessment of our cycle training from Cycling Plus magazine.

 

We offer two types of training: 

Biking for beginners

A gentle introduction for people new to cycling or who are returning to it after a gap of several years. Whatever your age we can help you. Our oldest trainees have been in their 80s. We have taught people who have never ridden a bike in their lives to cycle in less than 40 minutes!

You'll learn new skills and develop greatly improved confidence. Cycling will become easy and pleasurable. There's more useful guidance and advice in our information pack too. Then, to arrange your lesson simply phone the Life Cycle office on 0117 353 4580 to book your lesson.

Urban cycling skills

Special advanced training for competent cyclists who want to improve their skills still further. We'll show you how to ride quickly and safely and to cope with whatever the city can throw at you! You'll discover new ways of handling big roundabouts, gyratories, multi-lane junctions and dual carriageways, and how to maximise the benefits of facilities such as advanced stop lines.

You'll learn new skills and improve your riding technique. Download an information pack. Then, to arrange your lesson simply phone the Life Cycle office on 0117 353 4580 to book your lesson.

 

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Free bike hire

In our last e-newsletter we reported on some of the problems facing the Velib bike rental programme in Paris. According to some newspapers (possibly desperate for a bad news story) bikes are going missing, being robbed of their components, or being vandalised. Where, we wondered, does that leave the Hourbike scheme planned for Bristol and South Gloucestershire?

The answer, according to Hourbike’s managing director Tim Caswell is “alive and well”! The scheme has been piloted at Bristol Parkway railway station and at UWE’s Frenchay campus, without incident. And now, docking stations for loads more Hourbikes are being installed in Bristol city centre.

Hourbike is a fully automated bike rental system that operates all day, every day. You pay a one-off £10 registration fee and then the bikes are yours to use. Your first half-hour of pedal time is completely free; thereafter it’s £1 an hour.

In Paris, despite its hiccups, Velib, has generated an estimated 26-million bike trips.  We’re looking forward to Hourbike having a similar effect here in Bristol!

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Cheap and cheerful

Here’s an interesting alternative to the high-tech Velib or Hourbike projects. 

Called GreenStreet it hails from Gothenburg in Sweden.  It’s a bike share system with 60 bikes scattered across the city. After the (free) registration, a GreenStreet bike costs just 10 kroner (about 83p) to use for 10 hours. To get a bike, you text the company the name of the bike you want (each bike has its own name!) and the company texts you back the code to open the combination bike lock. When you’re done, you text the company again to say where you’ve left the bike. It's that simple. No smart cards, no GPS, no website.

In a rare example of joined-up thinking, the bikes themselves are sourced locally from a bike recycling project (a bit like Life Cycle’s BikeBack initiative).  So abandoned and unloved bikes get a second lease of life, the amount of waste going into landfill is reduced and the city gains a low-cost pollution-free transport system.

Put the lock through the red slot to signal that the GreenStreet bike is still in use. A lock through the green slot means the bike is available to rent.

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Cameron has bike nicked -- again!

In May, it happened again. Conservative party leader David Cameron had his bike stolen. This time thieves took it from outside his home in west London. 

The avid cyclist says he saw his silver and black Scott bike chained to railings at 7.10 a.m. but an hour later it was gone. Undeterred, Mr Cameron borrowed another bicycle from his Parliamentary aide Desmond Swayne for his journey to Westminster.

In July 2008 his bike was stolen from outside a Tesco store near his west London home but was later found in a nearby side street. Mr Cameron had described his bicycle as "priceless".

More than 100,000 cycles are reported stolen every year although the actual figure is thought to be much higher. If a thief is determined to make off with your bike there’s little you can do. “Professional” tea-leaves carry bolt croppers and angle grinders (to cut through even the toughest bike locks), car jacks (to force locks open) or intricate lock picking tools. But most bikes are pinched by opportunists who seek easy pickings, and these worthless low life vermin [steady! Ed.] can be deterred by following a few simple rules. 



It’s also very important to local your bike to a solid immovable object, ideally to a proper bike stand. Here at Life Cycle we’ve got hundreds of stands to give away.  Organisations based in Bath, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset or Swindon can apply for up to two stands free of charge under our Take a Stand scheme.  In South Gloucestershire organisations can get up to four stands. There’s more information and an application form on our website.

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Station cycle parking slammed

Transport minister Lord Adonis recently underwent a 2,200-mile railway tour of Britain last month to see for himself the state of the nation’s railways. His Lordship reported that “the quality of stations is extremely variable and at many major stations the service level is often downright poor. I experienced stations where toilet facilities were closed or uncleaned, where there was a lack of refreshments or adequate bicycle or car parking facilities.”

Here at Life Cycle, we’d like to see all stations fitted with abundant Sheffield stands, and the unstaffed stations (think Stapleton Road, Lawrence Hill, Bedminster, Patchway…) equipped with cycle lockers.  These are like armoured cupboards that swallow an entire bike plus its luggage and accessories.

 

 

Everything is stored away from prying eyes, light fingers and wet weather. You pay a small fee to become a keyholder and then the locker is your personal parking space. Top marks to South Gloucestershire Council for installing lockers at Bristol Parkway, Filton Abbeywood and Yate railway stations. 

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Paddle powered clean up

A reader told us about John Pursey, an intrepid canoeist who’s been dredging old bicycles from the Bristol’s river Avon.  Mr Pursey, 64, a delivery driver, was so sick of seeing rusty old bikes dumped in the New Cut he decided to do something about it.

Two or three times a fortnight, when the tides are right, he launches his canoe at Temple Meads and paddles from Bedminster Bridge to St Anne's, picking up discarded frames as he goes. He then tows them away on a raft made from inner tubes, strips off any parts that might be useful and takes them away for scrap. Since the start of April he has removed about 20 discarded bikes.

[Thanks Lee!]

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Cycling vending machine



Here’s a handy device that's making the streets of Madison, Wisconsin in the USA a little bit more bike-friendly. It’s a prototype cycle vending machine that dispenses items such as a puncture repair kit, water bottle, energy bar or chain oil. It also houses an air hose, maps, a message board, and a kiosk with video instructions on how to do various repairs and adjustments.

[Thanks Trek]

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Bikes outsell cars in USA

During the first quarter of 2009, more bicycles were sold in the USA than cars and trucks. While the recession is hurting bike sales, they didn't fall as fast as automobiles. Around 2.6 million bicycle purchases were made, compared with 2.5 million cars.

[Thanks Huffington Post]

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Diary dates

 

Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride

Sunday 21st June. Choice of routes. Loads of people. Fabulous time guaranteed. Life Cycle will be running an information stall at the finishing point - do drop by and say hello. More info.

Summer holiday cycle training courses

Life Cycle's popular children’s cycling courses will be running over the summer holidays. Book early to ensure spaces! The courses are designed for 8-11 year olds and run from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon over three days.

Bristol Grammar School: Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th July and Tuesday 11th - Thursday 13th August. The cost is £10 to children who attend Bristol schools.

St Keyna Primary School, Keynsham: Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th July and Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th August. Free to children who attend B&NES schools.

Widcombe Primary School, Bath: Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th July and Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th August. Free to children who attend B&NES schools.

Backwell Junior School, North Somerset: Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th July. The cost is £49 to children who attend schools in North Somerset.

To book a place, please phone Life Cycle on 0117 353 4580 or e-mail office@lifecycleuk.org.uk

Instructor training

Could you give children the skills and confidence they need to cycle on today's roads?  Life Cycle's four-day instructor training course covers the theory and practice of teaching children and adults how to ride safely and confidently on today's roads. Places cost £450 per person, but bursaries are available which reduce the fee by £300. It could be a whole new career...

Our next course runs on 20, 21, 28, 29 July in Bristol.  There's more information on our website.

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Everyclick

Here's a way to support Life Cycle at no cost to yourself! Simply use the Everyclick search engine. Every time you search, a tiny donation is made to Life Cycle UK. It takes a few seconds to register and then away you go! Surf the net, check your horoscope, update your Facebook profile, do a spot of shopping… and you’ll see the donations clock up remarkably quickly.

 

Sent

Sun, Feb 5th 2012, 09:20