A very British cycle lane

At the end of a long street in a gyratory system, the carriageway suddenly blossoms with a very British cycle lane. Five metres of perfunctory markings, leading to a segregated contraflow lane. And just look what’s in that segregated lane! Yes, it's G4S again.



























Also note the signing. Two numbered cycle routes are indicated, but where they go to and how many miles are involved in getting there is not identified. Or you could turn left and use the contraflow lane. Where that goes is equally enigmatic. Because cyclists and cycling aren’t important, and it’s not worth wasting money on them. Somewhere in the centre of Bury St Edmunds, but don’t ask me where. I was lost.

Waltham Forest surrealism exhibition opens

Hey, grab a drink and come and sit by the fire. We could talk about Magritte. (Cassiobury Road E17)


Move over Grayson Perry! Legendary local prankster ‘Belam Bob’ has just unveiled his new display of surrealist installations at selected locations across the borough. And the exciting news is that Tate Modern is currently negotiating to purchase these truly amazing artworks.

Cyclophobia in Sydney

This is a classic of journalistic rhetoric, is it not? And the media of the world’s most cycling-hostile societies (i.e. Canada, the USA, Britain, Australia and New Zealand) are full of such sentiments:

For motorists worried about losing their licences amid an orgy of fines, speed cameras, school zones, chicanes, speed humps, road closures, infinitely variable speed limits and a dizzying array of new signage, the growing band of entitled cyclists on painfully congested roads is simply the last straw.

"Some cyclists have become … the most obnoxious, aggressive and self-centred people in Sydney," wrote William. "A single cyclist on an inappropriate road often causes a cascade of delays and congestion to multiple people in cars behind them."

In the London Borough of Waltham Forest these ‘inappropriate roads’ are known as ‘quiet routes for cyclists’ – and woe betide any cyclist who finds herself pedalling down one when a driver catches up with her. The blowing of a car horn and the screaming of obscenities are often the prelude to a determined attempt to use a ton of metal to force the cyclist aside and get past.

Lord Adonis distributes the scraps

"We're investing £140m in improved facilities for cyclists over the next three years," Adonis said.

This is the same government that is handing over £100 million alone just for

a 3.5 mile single carriageway road between the A259 in Bexhill and the B2092 Queensway in Hastings.

This is the same Lord Adonis who boasts of the government’s

ambitious programme of motorway widening

Biker maniac

''The speed of 166mph is thought to be the highest speed recorded on a public road in Scotland.''

Purves, from Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, earlier admitted a charge of dangerous driving. His lawyer argued the case for a non-custodial sentence, saying his client was a man of good character who had been ''seduced'' by the power of his high-speed bike.

The manufacturers and distributors of this lethal weapon were not, of course, in the dock, as they should have been.

Statistic

A quarter of households in Britain – more in the larger cities, and a majority in some inner cities – live without a car.

Hungarian pessimism

Three more reasons to melt down your bicycle and sell it for scrap.