Gateshead

The papers today are full of this - a bike lane that takes up half the road: I was particularly impressed by the Daily Express’ title for the story: BIKE LANE WIDER THAN THE ROAD THIS must be Britain’s craziest cycle lane – wider than the rest of the main road. The new super-size lane...
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Because with the way everyone was driving, it sure felt like it - they were all doing everything they could to get their steel boxes as close and as cosy to me as possible. Highlights included: Lady in the big black 4×4 overtaking me on the bend as we dropped down to Durham city centre....
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Well three cheers and a "Huzzah!" for the weather this weekend - the roads were neither covered in snow, nor frozen with sheet ice! What better excuse do you need to get out in the elements and experience some wind-in-your-face cycling? I did one of my favourite loops, taking in the three hills at Sidegate, Stanley,...
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This was the soundtrack of my ride today - Out Ta Get Me, from Appetite For Destruction. (The bleeping out on this version of the song is really subtle - even if you’re not a G’NR fan, it’s worth watching for the awesome audio edit ) So, to my ride today - visiting a client...
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It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden my road bike, Christine - last July in fact. So on Friday last week, I gave her a good spring clean and lubing. Along the way, I used the handy chain wear checking tool I bought to check her chain. Good thing too - it’d done...
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No - not that early ’80s thing with Hazel O’Connor, but the type that gets left all over the road. Actually it’s generally not left all over the road, and if it is, passing cars soon sweep it aside / grind it down to a harmless dust. No. I’m talking about the kind that gets...
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Reading a couple of pieces over the last few days by Magic Roundabouts and Padded Pants, and Treadly and Me, and even this piece in the New York Times, I’ve been struck at the way we see differences in our fellow human human beings rather than the similarities. There’s some switch inside our brains that...
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OK, so say we’d set out to make it safe for every child of nine years and older to cycle to school unaccompanied. What sort of measures could we put in place to ensure that the public money spent on this project was being well spent? Ian Walker points out that the easy measure apparently...
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So this afternoon, on my way back from the Team Valley, I dropped in to my local Apple dealer to see about some more memory for my PowerMac. The guy I usually deal with was outside indulging in his recreational drug (nicotine), chatting with a friend of his. As I rode up, this guy looked...
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OK - first off, please go and read this first rate article by Andy in Germany - Car Free Struggles. When you’re done, and have left a suitable comment, come back here and read the rest of this post. You’re back? Good. Here’s my question for you: Really, how hard is it to ride your bike...
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