good enough for the sustrans founder

We know that people have been complaining that the concorde way still forces people to cycle through bicycle-unfriendly roads in horfield. However, we have hard evidence that John Grimshaw is happy to use it. Here we see him on Dovercourt Road, looking perfectly happy.

Furthermore we see the shared-space concept being rolled out, as the bus stop provides short stay paveparking for motor vehicles, parking which provides a space for bicycles to get buy

Such shared spaces are clearly to be encouraged, even if the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity is complaining about such things.They say: how can you tell where the pavement ends? We say: when you walk into a car it means you are about 50cm from the pavement. Next question?

Breaking news: a new route for cyclists arrives

While dark things were happening in London; a new movement set up to bring cycling to the masses, and troublemakers in Filton were painting bollards to make the cycle paths somewhere safe to cycle, here in Bristol the council spent the weekend trying to bring cycling to Horfield, at least Dovercourt Lane, which now has a route between their houses and B &Q that doesn't require 120-140mm of front suspension.

We had hoped for something that would create pedestrian/bicycle conflict, one where S Gloucs council would have to come down, show them city folk how it was done, and add some white bollards down the middle and gates at the end to calm down the cyclists and make the whole thing generally unpleasant. We call this the "Coronation Road" gambit: a cycle lane impossible to cycle down.

But this looks, well, wide and inviting.

There's a gentle rise, with visibility. People will be able to get from Dovercourt road to Muller Road without even going to any effort, to get the farm pub in St W's without working up a sweat. Compare that with the frustrating effort to drive to the same pub on a friday evening from the same location -all because the same council refuses to open up Boiling Well's Lane as a through route between Muller Road and the city.

We are shocked and disappointed.

Our big fear now is that the council will use this as an excuse for making Dovercourt Road and Wordsworth Road pleasant to cycle along. We shall be monitoring this, and ask for contributions from local drivers to resist this fundamental attack on the Bristol lifestyle.

North Fringe Route Update

Both cyclists who read this site will be interested to hear that the North Fringe cycle route, linking Abbey Wood with the Farm Pub, will be installed this weekend; the schedule still says "February". Here is the view from the B&Q side.

Sadly, for those cyclists, the council is still looking at selling off the land, so the greenery may not last for long.

Further up the route, the council is preparing for the event by parking vans saying "look out for cyclists" up on the pavement.

By parking directly opposite a road junction, the council van CN06CXR ensures traffic approaching Wordsworth Road will know to look out for bicycles.

Cyclists: losers or gentry?

Our coverage of cycle-friendly hairdressers in Cheltenham Road raised a comment from a known subversive: are cyclists therefore gentry? Good point. We hadn't considered the origin of the word gentrification before now.

1. Really important people: they drive.
2. Poor, under funded students: they drive.
3. Outside the inner city, people don't walk.

Cyclists are interesting. While cinema shows that any adult riding a bicycle is a loser, there is some discussion about how best to manage this conflict of images between cyclist-as-loser and cyclist-as-posh-git-with-fancy-bike. The answer is both images are true. Some have money, but not the intelligence to realise they can get a car for the amount they spend bicycles. All are losers.

That's why were horrified to see this footage from Horfield.


Within a couple of seconds, our van encountered two pedestrians and a cyclist -with one of the pedestrians walking in the road as if they had the right to. This is not Montpelier! This is a nice fast road where people park up on the pavement to let passing traffic through. Yet today, somebody walking. Here!

We had to drive up the rest of the road in shock, until the sight of all the cars and vans up on the pavement reassured us that this was a temporary event.