Mudguard destruction

This week was probably the worst possible week to destroy your mudguards on your bike. The incessant rain and huge puddles of standing water have left my bike - which was gleaming on Monday morning - looking like its been cyclocrossing for ten days.
I managed to completely destroy my Crud Roadracer mudguards by taking the outdoor cover off my bike - absurdly, the cover was stuck under the front one and as I pulled it up, a loud crack signaled the end of its useful life.

That the rear one suffered a similar fate only moments later left me in a magnificent mood as I grappled around in the dark under sheets of rain.
Anyway, five soaking rides later, my replacement Crud Roadracer guards arrived today and have been fitted post haste as it's still lashing down in Uppermill.
These guards are the only choice for winter road bikes in my view - dead easy to fit, light and great coverage - what's not to like?
Hey ho, things should get better now - well when my shoes dry out from Monday they will.

New year, same rain

It's amazing how quickly your fitness evaporates when you don't do much riding isn't it? 
Having not ridden my bike since before Christmas - happy new year by the way dear reader - I was back on my trusty steed this morning fresh after a winter overhaul.
New chain, cassette and wheels in place, it was great to be back on two wheels but far too hard for my liking!

Get cape, wear cape, ride

It's lashing down now too - welcome back to the world of cycling in the UK's north west in January...

More people cycle in the UK now, right? @roadcc know, I think.

Are we cycling more or less? This question lies at the heart of many of the current debates affecting cycling. The discourse goes that more people are riding so we need better infrastructure and then even more people will be encouraged to ride which will lead to a healthier society, less congestion and wall to wall happiness and glee.
It's undoubtedly true that if you go to the smoke, more people are riding there than have been in recent years. While not exactly looking like Amsterdam, Euston Road has a good number of riders on it whenever I hop off the train. The bike racks too are testament to the increase in popularity.
All this is simply a bit of context behind an excellent piece over on Road CC relating to Sustrans' interpretation of the self same figures which led British Cycling to wet themselves over last year.
Sustrans' interpretation is rather more downcast as it describes the figures from the ONS as 'bitterly disappointing'. The problem for Sustrans is that they say the figures show no increase in the numbers of cyclists in the year to October 2012 whereas British Cycling reckon the same figures show that every journey in the UK is now completed by bike. Yes, every single journey. Including the one which takes a first class parcel containing a marble bird bath and plinth from its distributor in Watford to the home of Elsie Thristwistle in Baxenden.*
Who's right? Well, Road CC have  good go at explaining the stats but ultimately, nobody really knows.

*not really

In my humble view, I think there are a few more wheels on the road but not that many. and fewer when it rains. Devastating insight there I know, but accurate I reckon.

Happy new year dear reader

Well, after ten days of unenforced absence from the bike, today was my first of the new year back in the saddle.
Following a determined but ultimately futile effort to rid the planet of red wine and mince pies, I felt like I had as much power as an Austin Princess this morning and despite the Met Office's promises of a dry but overcast day, it obviously rained for my entire journey.

Austin (very little) Powers

So a lovely introduction to cycling in 2013, but despite all that, it was still great to be back on two wheels.  My Strava deets weren't too bad either - managed a few PBs which was surprising as I was really just plodding.
Maybe there's something to be said for a rubbish diet and lots of rest...maybe not.

Rain induced road rage

I'm not going to bang on about the rain again today, well, not directly anyway.  But I am going to bang on about the effect the rain has on road users. For us bicycleists, the effects are well documented and experienced: you get wet, your brakes stop working, you cant see, white lines and tar banding become lethal etc.  As I've argued before, the rain, or rather standing water, can help too by showing up diesel spills and revealing the shitty patchwork state of the roads we walk, ride and drive on.
But I want to explore what happens to the average Carist when the heavens open because it seems to me that people's ability to operate an internal combustion  engine fixed to a chassis and transmission rig, diminishes massively in the wet.
Its obvious to anybody who drives a car that the way you drive in the wet is different to the way you drive in the dry - same as if you ride a bike or motorbike or scooter, drive a JCB, a bus, horse & trap or whatever.  While there is a range of ability to adapt to different road conditions, there is also a palpable change in the attitude of some Carists when it rains and its this that troubles me.

The simple explanation for this is that car drivers are just a bunch of [expletive deleted]s and they are more concerned with trying to get the lights, answer their mobiles or disagreeing with John Humphries' questioning on the Today programme to care about other road users like cyclists.  
The problem with simple explanations is that they are usually wrong.
So what does happen on the roads when it rains? First of all, you probably get more people using them which means there less space for the next enclosed bubble of glacier-melting inhumanity.  I have no figures to back this up, but there's bound to be a cohort of people who will  choose their car as they cant face walking to a bus stop or riding a bike cos of the rain.
Secondly, I think more difficult conditions magnify the abilities and, crucially, inabilities of drivers.  In effect the spectrum of ability becomes wider resulting in the fatal mixture of indecision and nervousness placed cheek and jowl with over-confidence and bravado. 
At the heart of why this matters lies the essence of why the motor car is an inappropriate method of transport in modern cities: impatience. 
While I'm fascinated by technology generally, including cars, I find the hubris of Carists unbearably disgusting and anti-human.  Your car might be able to reach 130mph and go from 0-60 in ten seconds but not on Northumberland Avenue in Old Trafford you cant, and especially not when there's a queue of eight other cars 150 metres ahead of you.
But this does not deter the impatient Carist, as the world caves in around them because a bus has pulled out, the lights have changed or woe betide, somebody wants to use a zebra crossing, impatience grows to dangerous levels.
You can tell I had a run in with a Carist this morning, can't you!
Ride safe

Free cycling training in Manchester

Hats off to the people over at Bike Right on Ashton New Road who are giving away free bike training to commuters.
The fear of the roads is a huge barrier to increasing cycling for commuting or pootling to the shops - journeys which could easily be done by bike.
Training has to be one of the central tenants of any effort to get more people on two wheels along with better infrastructure and some dry weather.

A dead rainbow, yesterday

There is a positive to all the rain we have here - it has rained every day in Manchester since February 26th 1982 - it enables you to spot obstacles in the road more easily in two distinct ways.
Potholes become more easily identified as they fill up with water and diesel spills (known by children as dead rainbows) reveal themselves in all their colourful slippery grandeur.
So, I'm trying to be positive about the rain as it is the only course of action really.

New cycling specific rain forecast for Manchester

Cycling in Manchester and the north west in general makes you very aware that we have weather in the UK.  I admit, I do obsess about the weather and have various forecast sites bookmarked on my computer.
One of my favourite, and most accurate in my experience, is metcheck.
Its dead easy to use if you a. know where you are and, b. can type.
They have just added a function which allows you to select your activity and it provides a tailored forecast detailing those elements of the forecast which are pertinent to said activity.
So, for cycling you get wind speed, a meaningless UV index and something called the SweatIndex.

How much is it going to rain this weekend?

Although the Sweat-dex doesn't appear to be operational yet, the wind and rain volume counts are useful. It's easy to understand and you can tell, at a glance, how wet you are going to get, how intense the rain will be and at which angle the rain will be battering you from.
Good stuff I reckon.
Ride safe

How is Manchester's Brompton Dock doing?

Back in March Brompton, in partnership with Virgin Trains, launched its Brompton Dock hire scheme at Piccadilly Station - a dead easy and convenient way to hire a lovely Brompton for the day.  Six months on, it'd be interesting to know how it's been going.
The first half of 2012 in the north west has provided a superb test bed for widening the participation in cycling with two huge forces pulling in opposite directions.
In one corner, is the hugely enhanced profile cycling is currently enjoying thanks to Team Sky's successes and to Team GB's Olympic successes.  With Manchester being home to both organisations, you would hope that the Brompton Dock would receive wholehearted backing of commuters.
Pushing in the opposite direction has been the wettest April, May, June and July on record [this mightn't actually be the case but it's felt like it].
While the set up of the scheme can't really be faulted and the lockers are well positioned, unobtrusive and have a certain industrial chic, I have to confess that I don't see many people whizzing round the city.  But that's just my impression so I've written to Brompton to ask them how it's going.
Hopefully they will give me a line to say it's going 'very well' or 'initial take up has been encouraging'. I really hope they tell me it's oversubscribed and they are installing more but we'll see.

Ride safe