Killer Loop: the image of cycling

Is it an alien from an extraterrestrial craft?

Is it someone in a horror movie whose soul has become possessed by the devil?



































No, it’s a cyclist. Whose face is splattered in mud (proving he’s a tough, fearless red-blooded man, presumably). Underneath the personal details it says

FAVOURITE RIDE: Killer Loop, Surrey Hills.

This flyer was being handed out at London Sky Ride and advertises the Cycle Show at Earl’s Court, 8 – 10 October.

Another child cyclist dies

A SCHOOLBOY was killed when he was hit by a car while riding his bike.

The 13-year-old was pronounced dead at hospital following the smash on the A68, near Corbridge, Northumberland, on Saturday.

"The car windscreen was broken and there were two push bikes on the road going to Sandhoe, so we thought there must have been a child involved. It is such a shame. It’s just very tragic.

"There was a lad killed here about 10 years ago, at the bottom of the drive. His dad left some flowers here about three weeks ago, on the anniversary of the accident.

"It’s just such a bad road. They fly up it doing 60-70mph and think they can see over the dips."

Several signs aiming to deter motorists from speeding have been erected on the bank. One informs drivers that there have been 75 accidents in three years.

Ah, yes, ‘accidents’. There is nothing we can do, is there? They are as natural as rainy days. We are helpless. We certainly wouldn’t want to put in a reduced speed limit backed up by cameras because this would be a gross infringement of human liberty. It would be war on the motorist.

The morning car crash collection

This little detail intrigued me.

The wreckage of another blue car at the scene was not involved in the crash. Police had been moving it from another incident elsewhere in the borough and decided to collect the Wanstead crashed cars on the way.

Bless.

TfL opens new routes to Walthamstow and Hackney

Two innovative new cycle routes linking Walthamstow and Hackney across the Lea Valley have just opened. The new ‘quiet route’ to Hackney offers extra safety for cyclists by encouraging ‘crawling along the ground’ in order to ‘avoid the crossfire’.

By contrast the new TfL ‘Cycle Superskyway’ to Walthamstow offers a traffic-free route above the marshes. However, one user, ‘E.T’, said he had been ‘cut up by the police helicopter’ and ‘just wanted to get as far away from London as possible and back to my own galaxy.’

New TfL figures show there has been a 91 per cent increase in ‘pie in the sky’ cycling targets over the past 12 months.

32,000 violent deaths (now go back to sleep)

In the past 10 years, the U.K. roads death toll has amounted to 32,298. As such road crashes are the largest single cause of accidental death for people aged between 5 and 35 years.

Compared with other forms of transport travelling by road is far deadlier than going by train, plane or boat. Yet for some reason it's largely tolerated. These deaths generate little of the coverage or thundering newspaper commentary that typically follow fatal rail accidents or those involving aircraft.

The Olympic Park: just fancy that!

The Mayor's sports commissioner Kate Hoey said it was unlikely that East End boroughs would enjoy the access to the Olympic Park after the Games that was originally intended.

She said there was little chance park facilities would be used by the community — as opposed to privately — 90 per cent of the time. The target was set by the London Development Agency to justify council tax payers' investment.

Failure to meet the target would be bound to anger the five Olympic boroughs — Newham, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Hackney and Tower Hamlets — which have been promised that local groups will have low-cost access to the main venues such as the pool complex, main stadium and cycling.

Meanwhile here are two pictures of the Olympic Park and the current condition of the riverside path just outside the site. Can you possibly spot the difference?

cyclists in mid town

Mark recently had a very good post on the privatisation of public space in London, with a focus on inmidtown in particular and its implications for cycling:

The rangers in question are private security guards employed by the Holborn and St Giles “inmidtown” Business Improvement District (BID)

More worrying still is that the BID is able to pick and choose which laws they wish to see applied by their street rangers.

I haven’t been able to find out which businesses are associated with inmidtown but I would not be surprised to learn that Pizza Express was one of them.

Inmidtown claims to be passionately concerned about protecting pedestrians. Which is funny when you walk around in mid town and see who is obstructing the pavement. This is Little Russell Street, where you would be unable to pass with a wheelchair, mobility scooter or large buggy.

























































(Below) Blatant and inconsiderate obstruction of the crossing on Montague Place. But you can be quite certain that the inmidtown wardens won't be having a word with the contractors who did this.





























(Below) Southampton Row. A huge, pointless and unsightly street banner promoting inmidtown (with a wasp, for some reason). It's much, much bigger than the directional sign for pedestrians.





































(Below) Cycle parking just below the 'In Mid Town' banner. I would not be particularly surprised if inmidtown was working towards removing bicycles locked to railings (as opposed to, say, providing adequate cycle parking).