Monthly Archives: January 2007

In which I have a bit of a rant

Posted on by
Reply

What started as a link to an article in the New york Times about how New York is lagging beind the rest of America when it comes to non-car transportation, turned into a bit of a rant in my latest post on Bike Darlington: The City That Never Walks.

The pedestrian and cyclist is taxed every day: by delays and emissions. Though we think of it as a luxury, the car taxes us, and with it we tax others.

I’ve been quite busy at Bike Darlington recently, with all the Pedestrian Heart stuff going on (Can I ride my bike in the Pedestrian Heart? – Part 1, Can I ride my bike in the Pedestrian Heart? – Part 2 and Can I ride my bike in the Pedestrian Heart? – Part 3) and the articles in The Advertiser and The Northern Echo.

Change of biking plans

Posted on by
2

SSWC2007

Aviemore, Scotland,
1st & 2nd September 2007

Which means I can’t go.

I just looked at the train times from Aviemore to Darlington. I could get back for work on the Monday, but it would mean a seven hour wait in Edinburgh and going straight from the station to work. And that assumes I can get booked onto the right trains, given the silly two bike rule we have in the UK.

Teaching is great for holidays, but we don’t get to choose when they are. I’m probably going to have to wangle some unpaid leave to get to SSUK in Bristol in June, but because of when it is in the year it shouldn’t be a problem. But, September 3rd will probably be the day that our first year students start, which means there’s no chance of some swaps or leave.

2007 Biking Plans

Posted on by
Reply

What started as a comment on Alex’s blog, grew bigger than I intended, so I’ve nabbed it to post here too. Efficient!

My riding plans for 2007 and filling up. There’s a six hour enduro in Hamsterley in May that I’m doing. From the people who brought us the SSUK trails, so it should be great.

Around that time there’s a planned club group ride from Hamsterley to Reeth; 37 hard off-road miles from Weardale to Teesdale to Swaledale. I’ve been reading too many blogs I found via Dave Nice, so I’m half-tempted to ride the road to the start (20 miles) and home again (30 miles). Maybe solo later in the year though, not sure the middle miles would be fun with a fresh-legged group after 20 miles and knowing there’s 30 to go.

There’s SSUK and SSWC to look forward to as well.

I’m hoping to do a fixed road century in September; it nearly killed me geared last year, but the weather was the worst they could ever remember for it.

I’m also eying up a possible big loop made out of parts of the Sustrans C2C and W2W routes, with some linking sections, starting and finishing in Darlington. Or maybe organising a Tan Hill and back ride/race, a la Trans Iowa.

Lots of plans, but as we all ken, The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men Gang aft agley, so we’ll see what happens. (I’d forgotten Burns’ night was today until it was too late to organise haggis, but it does give me an excuse for wee dram of a slightly underage Ardbeg.)

Global warming will happen faster and be more devastating than previously thought. Fact.

Posted on by
Reply

A report encompassing the work of thousands of climate experts says that “global warming will happen faster and be more devastating than previously thought”. “The really chilling thing about the IPCC report is that it is the work of several thousand climate experts who have widely differing views about how greenhouse gases will have their effect. Some think they will have a major impact, others a lesser role. Each paragraph of this report was therefore argued over and scrutinised intensely. Only points that were considered indisputable survived this process. This is a very conservative document — that’s what makes it so scary.”

[lifted completely from Kottke]

You’ve got to ride it to believe

Posted on by
Reply

Todd at Clverchimp has posted quite an old video showing Selling the Revolution, a thirteen-minute documentary from 2000 about launching the then-new product, the Xtracycle.

I’m on the Xtracycle mailing list, so I might see if I can arrange a local test ride with someone on the list.

Anyone who hasn’t seen an Xtracycle before need to take a look. If you’re looking for a way to extend the way you use your bike, these are for you.