Newsletter - Cycling News | November

Sent: Thu, Nov 1st 2007, 08:27

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Welcome to the latest electronic newsletter from Life Cycle UK, the cycle promotion charity.

In this edition:

Haynes manuals
Cycling?  It’s a class thing
Bike bigger than bus shock
Meet the team   
Cycle training
Nice to knees
“I’m on the bike!”
Just the Tikit



Haynes manuals

We're delighted to have added the legendary Haynes manuals to the range of cycling books available via the Life Cycle UK website. Famous for their car maintenance guides, Haynes have branched out over the years and now publish a breathtaking array of titles. Lots are to do with motoring of course, but there are also manuals covering everything from washing machines, to eco-homes, to lawnmowers, to teenagers! 

All follow the trademark Haynes format: clear, meticulous writing and lavish use of step-by-step illustrations.  We’re stocking six of their cycling titles: ride guides that cover...
Bristol and Bath 
Birmingham & the Black Country
London
Manchester 
 
We’re also stocking the Haynes Mountain Bike Book and the classic Haynes Bike Book, the definitive guide to cycle maintenance, now in its fifth edition.



And with Christmas approaching (it is, honestly!) Haynes guides make fantastic presents. All proceeds from book sales go to support local cycling initiatives.


Cycling?  It’s a class thing

Mixed messages from three of the UK’s quality newspapers last month.  Both the Times and the Observer claimed to have spotted new social trends.  Under the headline “Ride a bike? You must be rich” the Times reported that cycling is becoming chic amongst Britain’s upper classes.  The richer people become the further they cycle.  The paper cited the Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey which indicates that the poorest fifth of the population despite being five times less likely to have access to a car, are unlikely to consider cycling as a solution to their transport needs. By contrast, the richest fifth are taking to their bikes and riding on average two-and-a-half times as far.  Click here to read more.
 
For the Observer however, it was the middle classes who are fuelling the cycling boom.  The paper claimed that “Pashleys have replaced Harleys as the lifestyle choice of professionals… Cycling enjoys a vogue among the middle classes… It is
precisely because they can afford to run expensive cars that they choose to cycle.” Click here to read more.

Not to be outdone, the more plebeian Independent ran an article in its financial section pointing out the high cost of motoring and all the lovely lolly to be saved by cycling. “It now costs more than £2,200 a year to run a car. Although many families feel they would be unable to dispense with their vehicle … simply substituting a proportion of car journeys for trips by bike can save you hundreds of pounds a year”.

You can save time too.  “Using a bike instead of public transport or car can make all the difference to slicing minutes off a regular commute. And cyclists have a much clearer idea of when they are going to arrive at their destination, as they don't
find themselves getting caught up in traffic jams or held up by train or bus delays.” Bristol’s commuters seem to have taken this advice to their hearts.  See Bike Bigger than Bus Shock below.  Click here to read the Indy article

So, to sum up, cycling is the transport choice of posh people, it’s a middle class lifestyle thing, and it’s a cheap ‘n’ cheerful way to save serious dosh.  Or to put it another way -- cycling is for everybody!


Bike bigger than bus shock

In October 50 Bristol-based companies, with approximately 20,000 employees between them, took part in the city’s first Big Commuter Count to find out how their people travelled to work.  Nearly nine thousand employees took part.

The survey produced some interesting results. The private car was the most popular form of transport with 40 percent of commuters driving to work, while the second most popular mode of travel was walking, at 20 percent.  Then came cycling which, at 10.6 percent, knocked the bus (9.8 percent) into fourth place.

The survey was carried out by Bristol City Council and is to be repeated next year.  Here at Life Cycle we’re predicting an increase in cycling.  Bristol’s buses are notoriously overpriced and unreliable (Bristol East MP, Kerry McCarthy recently
lambasted FirstGroup for their poor performance) and our roads are some of the most congested.  A pro-motoring website recently named Bristol along with London, Glasgow and Belfast as having the slowest moving traffic in Europe.  

During the rush-hour it seems that the bike is the fasted vehicle in town!


Meet the team   

Life Cycle UK’s mission is to help more people take up cycling and we do this through a range of practical services such as cycle training, teaching bike maintenance, providing maps and information, and installing cycle parking.  We thought it was about time we introduced you to some the people who make all this possible…

Name:  Veronica Pollard

Role:  Cycle instructor and also instructor trainer

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do: I teach people to cycle! My adult clients range from complete beginners, to people who are nervous about riding on roads and who would like more confidence and knowledge about cycling through the city centre or on particular routes. I also teach primary and secondary school children. Life Cycle runs regular Instructor training courses in Bristol and I’ve run courses in Nottingham, Liverpool, Coventry, Taunton, Exeter, Wokingham, the Isle of Wight, Derry and Belfast. I also teach the Alexander Technique, which I got into because I used to ache so much when I cycled!
 
Best thing about my job is: All of it! But especially watching a complete beginner become a cyclist – often in less than 20 minutes.

Do you do much cycling? I cycle every day and do almost every trip on a bike. I have just cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in two weeks on a folding bike.

What bike(s) do you own? A Trek hybrid, a mountain bike, a Brompton and a Birdy (folding bikes) and a ‘folding shopper’.

Favourite cycle journey? Down Bristol’s Park Street.  I go as fast as the cars, in the middle of the lane so I don’t have to worry about car doors opening or people manoeuvring in and out of parking spaces – and hope there’s no-one in front of me to slow me down!

Veronica’s top cycling tip: The most important principles I teach about cycling on the roads are that bikes are vehicles and therefore cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other road users. A cyclist should think about their own safety and always put it ahead of drivers’ convenience.



Cycle training

Would you like to book a cycle training lesson with Veronica, or another of Life Cycle’s instructors?  Our training comes in two varieties…

Biking for beginners.  A gentle introduction to cycling ideal for people who cannot ride a bike at all 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. Click here for a free information pack. Then, to arrange your lesson simply give us a ring or click here

Urban cycling skills.  For people who can ride a bike but who want to improve their skills still further. We'll show you how to ride quickly and safely, and how to cope with whatever the city can throw at you! This is the same sort of training that Life Cycle UK provides for police officers, paramedics and other professionals.  As one satisfied trainee put it: “I learned things I didn’t know I didn’t know.” Click here to download an information pack. Then, to arrange a training session simply give us a ring or click here.

Sorry to mention the “C” word (again) – but we also have gift vouchers available so you can treat a family member of friend to a lesson as a Christmas present.


Nice to knees

Cycling is extremely good for the human body.  It gently exercises most of the major muscles, improves lung capacity, strengthens the heart, and a one-hour bike ride burns up 300 calories, so it can help with weight control.  Click here to read more.

But cyclists sometimes complain of soreness in a couple of areas. One is in the nether regions (and we’re looking forward to examining bottoms in a future edition), the other is knees.  If your knees ache after cycling it could be a simple matter of
adjusting the height of your saddle. (Caution: it could also be something more serious.  Any deep, persistent pain, any crunching or creaking from the joint and we suggest a trip to the doctor).

Anyway, saddles. New cyclists like the reassurance of being able to plant both feet flat on the ground and often set their saddles way too low.  As a result your legs twist outwards and the knee joint gets stressed with each pedal stroke. It’s equally 
bad to set your saddle too high as this over-stretches the joint.

Look at how you ride too.  If you use mainly high gears and pump away at the pedals with a lot of force you're punishing your knee joints.  The body prefers light, repetitive movements. So choose a slightly lower gear. You’ll turn the cranks more rapidly but it will take less effort and it reduces the strain on your knees.

A Munich-based study recently reported that gentle cycling on a correctly adjusted bike can actually benefit the knees over the long term. It helps produce more synovial fluids which lubricate the joint surfaces. 

[Thanks earthtimes.org]

“I’m on the bike!”

As a professional cycle training organisation, Life Cycle always advises riders to pay full attention to the road environment and to maintain proper control of the bike.  But perhaps we’re being over-cautious?  In the Netherlands where they know a thing or two about cycling and where they have some of the worlds highest rates of cycle use, the Government recently decided not to make it a traffic offence to use either a mobile phone or an iPod whilst cycling. 

After looking into casualty rates the Hague concluded that the dangers were negligible and that enforcing a ban could only be achieved by deploying extensive police surveillance. Read more here.

[Thanks expatica.com]

Just the Tikit

We love the look of the new folding bike from Bike Friday.  Called the Tikit it folds into a small wheelable bundle in an amazing five seconds.  Click the link below to see it happen.

And a quick reminder for owners of the no-less-amazing Brompton folding bikes.  Life Cycle is running a Bite-Size Bike Maintenance course on December 5th which will show you how to adjust and repair your Brompton and keep it in good working order.  Click here to find out more.

 

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Thu, Nov 1st 2007, 08:27