Pedal Power
Newsletter of Greenwich Cyclists -Issue No. 4 - September 2000
Next meeting
Our meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm at the Christchurch Forum, 177 Trafalgar Road, SE10. The next meeting will be on 4th October.
SUCCESS DOWN IN THE VALLEY
Charlton Athletic’s recent open day at the Valley gave Greenwich Cyclists an opportunity to contribute to the occasion and gain more local coverage of our activities.
Our assault course, constructed in a small corner of the car park, was particularly popular - virtually every child present parted with 50p of pocket money to take up the challenge. The raffle run in conjunction with this saw various GC members on the pitch at half time in the showpiece match presenting the prize (a bike generously provided by Action Bikes of Bexleyheath) to the lucky winner. Our own headline hungry leader Barry Mason also took the opportunity to introduce listeners of Millennium FM to their local cycling group. We’re hoping both listeners take the opportunity to join us sometime!
Our presence at the event also helped to push the of issue bike facilities at the ground further, with both parties keen to develop these and promote cycling to the ground. There is currently a painful lack of bike lock ups at the Valley, with gym users as well as football and rugby league fans requiring at least some form of provision. Watch this space for further details, or contact us if you would like to contribute.
Thanks Action Bikes!
Huge thanks go to Action Bikes of Bexleyheath who donated the bicycle for our prize raffle at the Charlton Athletic Fun Day. It certainly helped the day go so well. Check out the store for all your bike needs.
PLANNING NEWS
Readers of local letters pages and subscribers to our e-group will have noticed dialogue recently with Greenwich Council on the subject of bike lanes and the proportion of allocated budget that has actually been spent on improving the cycle infrastructure.
The Council has responded to calls from Greenwich Cyclists for improvements to Creek road by pledging to consider resurfacing the road. The lane on the London bound side is particularly problematic, though the possibility of a cycle lane there is promising.
In response to criticism that the Council failed to spend the budget earmarked for the London Cycle Network, Cycling officer David Moorhouse has provided us with a useful update of the work that has been carried out elsewhere. Improvements referred to include the Thames cycle path along the Greenwich Peninsula and on Gallions Reach, and the stretch of cycle path at Woolwich Arsenal which is expected to open by next summer.
Greenwich Cyclists welcomes these developments but believes that the Council must develop a more comprehensive cycle network throughout the borough in order to encourage more people to consider cycling as a method of transport for regular journeys. And our question of whether the money not spent last year will be spent this year remains unanswered!
Details of cycle routes already established, as supplied by Dave Moorhouse, can be obtained from Greg Englefield.
If you have a comment on cycle lane provision in Greenwich please contact David Moorhouse the cycling officer at Greenwich Council on 020 8854 8888 or David.Moorhouse@greenwich.gov.uk
SEASIDE RIDE
Saturday 12th August saw 10 cyclists venture out to Southend for a gentle coastal ride through the lanes of Essex.
Meeting at Liverpool Street station the numbers were swollen by the company of a couple of strangers who fancied the ride, and after a relatively short train trip, the group found the route out of Southend simple, with the lanes starting just ten minutes away from the station.
It was a flat, sunny yet windy 10 miles up to the isolated, tiny marina on the river Crouch where there was time for a quick beer before loading the bikes on to the ferry across to Burnham-on-Crouch. The lanes north of Burnham were wonderfully quiet and flat, surrounded by marshland, with St. Peters church sitting at the end of a Roman Road by the sea. Upon investigation it was discovered that the church dates back to 650 AD, some 1350 years ago!
By now it was early evening, so some of the group took a London bound train from a local station, the remainder went a little further, enjoying the local fish at a pub on the estuary before heading homewards as night approached.
As always, the group was a varied, optimistic one. One rider revealed that in years of cycling she’d never cycled outside London and absolutely loved it. Three others chose to wait for the latter stages of the ride to drop the news that they were over 70 years old, startling others who had trailed in their wake for much of the day!
THE FULL SPIN — bike events
August saw the start of a regular series of rides taking place on the last Sunday of every month. Each ride commences at 10am at Cutty Sark Gardens, and distances will vary, allowing flexibility for the wide range of riders we hope will join us. The next ride is on Sunday 24th September...
Other events are as follows:
Monday 4th September Meet 7pm at Cutty Sark Gardens(CSG) for the short ride to the Shipwrights Palace Deptford for a ‘biknic’, bring own food & drink
Wednesday 6 September 7.30pm: GC monthly meeting
Saturday 9 September 10am CSG: long ride out to the Gravesend Ferry and back via the Rainham Marshes. 60 miles.
Saturday 16 September Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Festival, Birchmere Park, Southwood Road from 1-6.30pm
Friday 22 September European Car Free Day. Help Southwark Cyclists in The Cut all day. Contact Barry Mason for details.
Sunday 24 September 10am CSG. Monthly 40 or so mile ride.
Friday 29 September Central London Critical Mass, 6pm, outside National Theatre
Greenwich Cyclists are putting together a fun set of rides for all the coming months, aiming for one at least every three weeks, each likely to be held on a
Sunday. Some ‘off-road’ sorties are also anticipated for the coming months. For details on rides please ask us. If you want to suggest a ride, we’ll consider leading it, or if you know of any other existing rides we’ll be pleased to swell the numbers.
CYCLE PROVISION — A NEW PROBLEM?
As any urban cyclist will acknowledge, cycling infrastructure provision is still far from ample or particularly effective in the UK today. However, we can take consolation perhaps from a bit of historical perspective, as unearthed from Colin Buchanans’ book ‘Mixed Blessing — the motor in Britain’, published in 1958. He noted that the oldest cycle paths known in Britain could be found on Western Avenue, London and between Wolverton and Stafford, near Milton Keynes. These date back to 1934, in advance of the official birth of the cycle path, which was invented in California in 1967. Even more impressively, Brooklyn claims to have the oldest bike path in the world, along Ocean Parkway and originating in 1895.
The most revealing insight in to the history of bike provision can be seen in a quote from the same book: "The meagre efforts made to separate cyclists from motor traffic have failed, tracks are inadequate, the problem of treating them at junctions and intersections is completely unsolved, and the attitude of the cyclists themselves to these admittedly unsatisfactory tracks has not been as helpful as it might have been." Sounds familiar?!
LCC UPDATE
It's the London Cycling Campaign AGM on Saturday 28 October, at the Globe Theatre on Bankside. Members should try to go (020 7928 7220 to join!) They need nominations for their annual London awards: Best Cycle Route, Best individual facility, Most effective complimentary activity (something that doesn't involve engineering work), Most cycle friendly development (4 sections: leisure, workplace, residential, public building). Must have been done since April 1999. Nominations need to be at LCC by 13 October. Does Greenwich deserve anything? The Dome for lost cycling opportunity? Please contact us with any suggestions!
CYCLE SHORTS
* Greenwich Cyclists would like to offer congratulations to members Paul & Dasha, who tied the knot in the Czech Republic on Saturday 26th August. They return in the autumn, presumably to make Greenwich Borough the exotic location for their honeymoon!
* Get your handlebar/helmet/headband cameras ready! On 20 September 2000 a useful bit of the Local Government Act 2000 comes into force. Illegally parked vehicles (including those in cycle lanes?) can now be fined by remote control. Parking wardens no longer have to put tickets under window-wipers. Vehicles spotted by, say, CCTV cameras or from a distance or from a moving patrol vehicle can be ticketed remotely. The first thing the parker gets is the fine by post.
* Greenwich Cyclists have been invited to run a stall and obstacle course at the Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Festival on Saturday 16 September in Birchmere Park, Southwood Road from 1-6.30pm. They're expecting 20,000 people. If you want to help out on the day, please contact us.
* It slipped out without anyone noticing but Greenwich Cyclist's spotted it: the dome’s press release of 9 August proclaimed: "You've a bike of your own, take it to the Dome". Odd phrases like "two-wheeled possessions", "cycle-crazy fund-raisers" and "strong calf-muscled cyclists" made for a very dull read but the aim was laudable if somewhat overdue. But whatever happened to that much-vaunted state of the art valet bike parking promised pre-opening? All we get is stainless steel hoops in the middle of the car park a hundred metres from the entrance. We're hoping the new tenants are better all round.
* Our website is still under construction but is due to be live shortly. In the meantime, to keep abreast of news and developments, or to offer feedback, join the newsgroup at Greenwichcyclists-subscribe@egroups.com
August cycle count
Our 9 August cycle count confirmed that approximately 300 cyclists pass through Greenwich Town Centre each day. On a fine day, weatherwise:
* 251 cyclists passed St Alfege church on Church Street, Greenwich between 7am and 8.50am. 21 were travelling towards Lewisham, including 3 women;
* 131 cyclists went through the foot tunnel between 7 and 9am, of which 118 were going towards Canary Wharf. 16 were women; and
* 196 cyclists went over Deptford Creek, of which 165 were going towards London. 19 were women.
CONTACT US
We welcome your contributions, suggestions and even your criticisms about either our newsletter or our organisation! We meet on the first Wednesday of every month at The Forum, 177 Trafalgar Road in Greenwich, SE10 9EQ. You can write to us there or try:
Co-ordinator Barry Mason 020 7232 0444
masonb@supanet.com
Planning co-ordinator Greg Englefield 020 8858 7982
englefield@home-london.demon.co.uk
Events organisers Duncan Brown duncan@outtakes.co.uk
Graham Johnson graham.johnson@dreamcast.com
Membership secretary Liz Delap liz.delap@dial.pipex.com
Treasurer Eeva Berglund eeva@ukonline.co.uk
Minutes secretary Teresa Griffith
Newsletter team Jeffrey Salway 020 8853 0431
jeffrey.salway@tfeurope.com
Nick Williams 020 8853 3947
August cycle count
Our 9 August cycle count confirmed that the number of cyclist passing through Greenwich Town Centre each day is approximately 300. On a fine day, weatherwise:
* 251 cyclists passed St Alfege church on Church Street, Greenwich between 7am and 8.50am. 21 were travelling towards Lewisham, including 3 women;
* 131 cyclists went through the foot tunnel between 7 and 9am, of which 118 were going towards Canary Wharf. 16 were women; and
* 196 cyclists went over Deptford Creek, of which 165 were going towards London. 19 were women.