Friends Of River Crane Environment AGM
Friday, 12 October 2007
RCC will be attending the Friends Of River Crane Environment (FORCE) AGM on the 22nd October at 18:00.
FORCE want to integrate cyclists into the river Crane corridor and are interested in the Sustrans plan to extend the Crane river route to the Grand Union and onto Wembley for 2012. They are also about to do a feasibility study into Crane Riverside Park, linking Hounslow Heath with Twickenham Station and a cycle route will be an important part of that project.
FORCE website here.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 11:42 0 comments
A Marshal's Job Is Never Done Until It's Done
Friday, 5 October 2007
Another day, another LCC organised feeder ride; emails to be sent and replied to, phone calls to make, people to cajole into helping out, panniers to be packed in readiness and sleep to be deprived in worry, all part of the job of volunteering to lead the Richmond feeder ride to Ravenscourt Park. And so we set off, resplendent in our marshal’s jerseys of sun kissed yellow and orange, closely followed by any number of eager riders, some regular cyclists, some not so regular and a few complete novices.
Slowly, so very slowly, we made our way along Kew Road, past Kew Gardens and over Kew Bridge. A lovely right turn onto Welesey Street and our journey was almost over. I think it was around here that my hangover (hungover in charge of a large group of cyclists, is that against the law?) got the better of me and I drifted off to the numbing sound of traffic accelerating past.
At Ravenscourt Park most of the group set off on their own, including a marshal’s young son who set off without his parents in his eagerness. It was then I realised I should have given out my mobile number to everyone in the group. Pants.
Our group was whittled away to us marshals (we stick together, like fluff to a half sucked pocket sweet, it’s the tabards) and a couple of other riders who we soon lost in the twisty route to Bayswater Road. And here we came across our first adventure, a family group with a wobbly young son who was tired and wobbly. We gave him a full escort to Hyde Park, protecting him and his family from the cars. What a terrible route to encourage new people to cycle.
We arrived, bereft of responsibility but still weighed down with our marshal’s tabards. One of us went off to perform official duties, one of us nearly fainted from lack of food and another went off to search out the free sandwiches. A couple of emergency flapjacks later and then the sandwiches arrived, along with a stream of people who thought we were marshals of the event and kept asking questions. At one point, we were the info desk and lost person’s meeting point. We took off our tabards.
And set off down the Mall with about a million other happy cyclists. A friend was somewhere, watching it all go by and I had a mobile cycling moment and met up with her and her two young tagalongs for a quick chat and a peck on the cheek.
Off we set again, only to be held up in a wall of cyclists somewhere before Parliament Square. We waited and waited and didn’t move and then it was Whitehall and we’re all moving now.
It was a lovely day with a cooling breeze, proof that cycling is blessed (cf the weather for the Tour de France stages). We went past the sights and I took some pictures with my mobile. We even passed the wobbly family we’d shepherded to Hyde Park. We saw the Dutch Cargo bikes with four, yes, four kids in the front. Recumbents, stripped down fixed wheel beauties, kids bikes, carbon bikes, tourers, racers, tandems, girl’s bikes, boy’s bikes – I love looking at the bikes, bikes everywhere.
And then we were at the finish outside Buckingham Palace, wondering what to do next. We checked out the festival and drank tea, ate cake and chatted. I had a bike map badge made at the LCC stall. It’s great. The badge, not the stall, although the stall was good, too.
The marshal posse met up once all official duties were done and we set off to search for that wanted beer, located in a pub somewhere by the river in leafy south west London. Roll on next year, it’ll be wheelie good.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 18:26 0 comments
Marshalling at Hovis Freewheel
Saturday, 29 September 2007
What a brilliant day I had at the Hovis Freewheel on Sunday. I helped to marshall a feeder ride for the Richmond branch of the LCC. I had been to the marshall’s training and also had marshalled on the tour de France feeder ride, so had an idea of what to expect. We met at Richmond Green at 9.30 and about 61 people turned up for the ride. Jonathan gave an inspiring introduction to everyone, ensuring that they all knew what was happening.
The ride went very well, we managed to stick together pretty much as a group, and arrived at Ravenscourt Park after about 45 minutes. From there people went in their own time to St. James’s Park following the route which was patrolled by Freewheel marshalls. We helped a few families along the way who were having trouble with tired children.
At St James’s Park we stopped for the free sandwiches which were much appreciated, and then did the Freewheel itself. It was amazing to see so many cyclists of all different types. At some points it was so crowded that we had to get off and wait, but the atmosphere was terrific. The underpass on upper Thames Street was great with everyone whooping and shouting and generally making as much noise as possible. It was also wonderful to see so many families and children.
Finally we got back to St. James’s park where we browsed the stalls, and made some lovely badges out of the old TfL maps at the LCC stall. We then had a much needed cup of tea and a piece of cake and a sit down on the thoughtfully provided blankets. I thought that the whole event was very well organised, people were all in a very good mood, and some wonderful tales of how well people, especially young ones, had done.
After sufficient restoration, we managed to pedal our way back to Richmond and a much needed pint.
Posted bysue at 14:45 0 comments
London Freewheel - It was all about the bikes
Friday, 28 September 2007
After carrying out bike safety checks, with a few saddle adjustments and tyre inflations but thankfully no disqualifications, we headed off for Ravenscourt Park, the destination of our feeder ride, taking in Kew and Chiswick en route. There was much chattering along the way and it was clear that people were excited about being involved in the London Freewheel event.
After successfully concluding the feeder ride at Ravenscourt Park, we set off through the streets of London to the Freewheel start. It was great to see so many people out cycling along into London with confidence, thanks to a team of marshals controlling the traffic and pointing us in the right direction.
By the time we had reached Hyde Park, we were starting to feel a part of the 38,000 mass that had registered for the Freewheel. We then crossed into St James Park, and with Buckingham Palace behind us, we set off up the Mall and along the Freewheel course. It was quite surreal to be in central London where cars were replaced by a sea of cyclists wearing red Freewheel bibs with the slogan “The Bikes are Coming !”
After crossing St James Park, we cycled towards the Embankment and past Big Ben which was looking great after its recent refurb. It was great to see such a variety of bikes on the road. The cargo bike that proved such a hit at the “In Town without my Car” event joined our feeder ride filled with a cargo of 4 children. Along the way we saw regular bikes old and new, hired bikes and smart fixed gear bikes, but perhaps the best sight was a tandem recumbent with additional child seat passing by a standard recumbent.
Along the Embankment people were shouting and ringing their bells - an activity positively encouraged as we went through some of London’s echoing tunnels. We crossed the river via London Bridge which marked the half way point and then cycled back along the Embankment and on to the finish where we completed the event with well earned tea and cakes.
All in all, a good day out and a great way to promote cycling in and around London.
Posted bySue Higham at 12:14 1 comments
The London Freewheel
Thursday, 20 September 2007
The London Freewheel Takes place this Sunday 23rd September.
There is a feeder ride from Little Green to Ravenscourt Park, the nearest hub.
Meet at 09:45 to depart at 10:00.
Route is here.
Hope to see you there!
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 12:03 0 comments
Twickenham Riverside
Thursday, 13 September 2007
There will be a public consultation on Thursday 27th September to discuss the plans to improve Twickenham riverside. More details here.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 20:52 0 comments
Barnes common cycle route
There will be a meeting this Thursday 20th September to discuss this important link in the LCN. If you want to see the proposals, which consist of three options, please contact us - richmondcc@gmail.com.
We will be attending the meeting and will attempt to get the best option for all concerned. We will be riding the route on Monday 18th at 18:00. Meet at the junction of Laurel Road and Glebe Road.
Let us know if you have any views on this proposal.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 20:45 0 comments
Colchester Cyclists new petition
Colchester Cyclists have started this online petition...
Sign this petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/roadsafety9/
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to improve road safety by introducing strict liability for motorists in collisions.
Youngsters are being asked to walk or cycle to school to be green and reduce jams.
Walking and cycling are generally safe but parents will worry - if they are brave enough to let youngsters be independent.
The perception of safety has to be improved.
Lower speeds and extra road education will play a part but this petition is calling for a change to strict liability laws on drivers' insurance policies.
At present, in a car - bike/pedestrian collision, the cyclist or pedestrian (probably the worst injured) has to prove the motorist was reckless.
We want that burden of proof switched so the motorist - choosing to use a ton of metal at speed - has to prove the cyclist or pedestrian was at fault.
This only applies to insurance claims. In criminal law, drivers in collisions remain innocent until proven guilty.
This rule exists in many EU countries with more walking and cycling, and a better child road safety record, Let's raise driving standards and create better road user attitudes.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 12:00 0 comments
RCC New Yahoo! group
Friday, 7 September 2007
Because we are not able to administer the old Yahoo group, we have created a new group. It is located here...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondcycling/
We urge you to sign up, for these reasons:
- You get to control the way you see our email.
- We can openly discuss issues related to cycling in Richmond.
- We will be using the calendar, so you will get reminders of events and rides.
- We will be using the 'Files' section, so you can see agendas and minutes without them clogging up your inbox.
Instructions on how to sign up are here...
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/
Briefly, they are as follows:
You must have a Yahoo! account.
Once you have completed the Yahoo! registration process, subscribe to the group using your Yahoo! email by sending a blank email to:
richmondcycling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or go to this page to view the group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondcyclingIf you have any problems, email richmondcc@gmail.com and we can instruct you further.
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 14:06 0 comments
Shape the Future of the LCC
The LCC's strategy event this Saturday needs more people to introduce
new ideas and debate our direction and aims for the next 5 years.
This is your chance to have your say - shape the future of London
Cycling Campaign
We are inviting you to 'London a Cycling City for All - An Open Space to
Shape the next Five Years' this coming Saturday 8 September.
You are being invited both for your personal commitment to LCC and your
unique perspective and experience of cycling in the city of London.
It is your everyday experience of cycling in London, your knowledge of
what does and does not work and your passion that will shape and achieve
LCC's future of a cycling city for all.
We will therefore open the space for intense and creative discussion
around the question:
How can we work together to develop London as a cycling city for all?
We truly value your input as a member and your perspective from a local
level.
This unique event will be held on 8th September, 9.30am - 4pm (including
lunch) at Working Men's College, 44 Crowndale Road, Camden, NW1 1TR
To register please respond as soon as you can to shadia@lcc.org.uk with
'future' in the subject box to, or register online at www.lcc.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Koy Thompson
Chief Executive, London Cycling Campaign
Ian Callaghan
On behalf on the Board of Trustees
Posted byRichmond Cycling Campaign at 12:40 0 comments
