Leyton may not be so bad after all

I’ve taken about three Transport for London maps and have been looking through the area a little more. I am pleased to say that the place isn’t just ‘surrounded by cemetaries’ , but there are quite a few nice parks nearby, with lakes, a mountain bike area and even Epping Forest is nearby – which people keep raving on about. It all looks quite nice on the map, but what will the reality be like?!

Providing I cycle away from Leyton I will be fine.

One thing I notice is that there are a lot of Sustrans Cycle Network signs which are intriguing. Intriguing, because I haven’t a clue where they go.  Is it just me?

Some of these signs are ambiguous. For example, it just says Sustrans National Cycle Network 18 (well, where does that go?! Why no destination?).  Others say something similar but they put a destination say Hackney Wick (what is the difference between Hackney Wick and Central if you don’t have a map on you?)and still you don’t really know where it goes after that. Why can’t they just say National Cycling Network Destination Westminster/City/Docklands etc so at least you know it you will end up there, well, at least in the right direction. Perhaps a Compass Sign? Like the tube, you have a map of where the trains go and the station. With Sustrans, unless you have a National Cycle Network map on you, you are pretty stuffed. Maybe even landmark signs ie Big Ben perhaps – Tourists know that landmark immediately.  

I think there should be larger maps at certain points in London so you have a better idea where you’re going. I mean not everyone carries a cycle map with them, if they’re like me, they lose them. I find Sustrans signs very confusing. Another thing, which needs A GOOD SHAKEUP! 

So I have bought from Amazon a London Cycle Map. I bet it will be useless though!.

Denmark opposes boycott of Beijing Games + Cyclists in Chinese Pollution

 

 From the Xinhua News Agency 2 April.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said his government opposes a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games, reports from Copenhagen said Tuesday.

Representatives of Denmark’s royal family and government will attend the event in August, Rasmussen said in a written reply to some Danish lawmakers’ inquiries.

“Sports must not be confused with politics,” he said, adding that Denmark should send official delegates to Beijing in support of its athletes’ participation in the Olympics.

Earlier, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller also said the government opposes a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games.

“It is erroneous to threaten to boycott the Olympics,” he told reporters earlier when attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia

 unquote

 The Government of Denmark may not want to boycott the Games, but athletes have a mind of their own. I like to think that more informed international cyclists protest against the Chinese Government like Thor did, who’s riding for France.

One of the letters in ‘The Times’  said today that maybe we could create an ‘alternative Olympics elsewhere’ somewhere where the country is more humanitarian’ (and (I add) less polluted).  

Now here’s  a  photo of intrepid cyclists pedaling through ’a spot of pollution in China’ and our professional cyclists, with their powerful lungs and healthy lifestyle, have to breathe in this type of gunk.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jul/18/china.pollution?picture=330216030

If our cyclists want that, well, that is their choice. They probably don’t know how bad it is as they are surrounded by ‘yes/PR men’. I mean most of the cycling magazines never mention rubbish respiratory conditions. As an endurance cyclist myself, sod that for a lark, I prefer a longer life; a cyclist’s life is pretty damm short as it is in London with all the taxi drivers, as we all know in Critical Mass!

So all you professional cyclists out there, take a Gas Mask with you if you want to see your retirement days.

I have also put this site on my Favourite Links on the right.

Now, dare our ‘censored’ British Cycling magazines print such a picture?

Thanks to the Guardian for this photo.

Girls talk Sport

girlstalksports.com/Special-Reports/Olympics/…

It’s good to see a website just for ‘girls’ and it’s good that these sportswomen are discussing politics and the Olympic boycott. I will add this to my links here too.

I see from the website that Rebecca Romero is still going and Richard Gere will boycott it.. he is particularly involved with people in Tibet and has fundraised for them.

I’ve written on the website that as woman endurance cyclist, I won’t be watching our British  Cyclists at  the Olympic Games in Beijing. So if you have an opinion, please add it to the forum. It’s a free country, so you can even agree with her but I won’t. I think it is important to disagree with our British Sports Industry. It’s one big marketing ploy that all of us cyclists ‘are for it’.

I am really looking forward to April 6 when the Olympic Flame dares to come into town. Bring some good placards!

Critical Mass

I was up in London today hoping to go to Critical Mass but I was absolutely soaked from trekking through London throughout the day - AND my new umbrella broke, which didn’t exactly help my mood.  I had a lot of plans I wanted to do today but when you are drenched, you just wanna get home and dry!

I didn’t have anything to wear under my cycle helmet too to protect my hair and so I didn’t want it to get any worse than it already was.  I think ‘Angelina Jolie’ would done the same!

However I came back home and noticed that the track racing was on BBC today. Both women and men’s events. This was a big shock for me as I’ve never seen cycling on BBC unless it’s the Le Tour de France. It was really good to see although once the Olympics goes, ‘I bet that will be the last of British cycling on BBC for a few years’.

Anyway, it was good to see what the Manchester velodrome looked like.. something we desperately need in the South…. an indoor one. I’m so jealous! It was also good to learn about our own riders and seeing ‘our international cyclists’ in action. They looked really good on TV, although on TV you can’t always tell the difference between the men and women cyclists sometimes.. I still think women should wear skorts, though I don’t know how this would affect their performance but some women ‘have bums that look big’ so a skort would be more ‘discreet’.. and ‘stylish’.   

One thing I noticed at the track event that I thought was curious.. firstly that we have an actual Royal in the audience but Prince Edward? I wonder when he last cycled and whether he actually likes cycling? I hope he wasn’t too bored. At least with Princess Anne she knows a lot about the stuff she gets ‘roped in’ and can be very knowledgeable. Prince Edward probably got roped into this because ‘all the other Royals were busy’. Still it is good to get Royals involved in it.. as it means ‘more media coverage’ for the support. 

Another thing I noticed about the women’s track cycling was that there was a British woman cyclist who was ‘bald’, either because she suffers from alopecia or perhaps another illness. I admired her for not bothering to wear a wig and being successful as a track cyclist. I think she is a great example to other women. ‘We should be accepted for our achievements’.  

 When the weather is terrible, we do need indoor velodromes. I wonder what the LCC or other cycling organisations such as the CTC are doing about this? Maybe I should get in contact with them. 

Saying that, the news still is that the cyclist athletes are still bent on cycling in Beijing which I am ’outraged’ about of course.

Lorries to have free ‘Mirrors’ so they can see cyclists

  

  

This is news from the Transport for London:

10,000 safety lenses for lorry drivers distributed and new ad campaign launched to help cut collisions between cyclists and goods vehicles

TfL is spending a record £49.6m on improving road safety this year

David Brown, Managing Director of Surface Transport

As spring arrives and more and more Londoners take to their bikes, Transport for London (TfL) has launched a major new campaign to tackle the biggest cause of cyclist fatalities in the Capital.

Every year, more than half of all cyclist deaths on London’s roads follow a collision with a goods vehicle.

To help address this serious road safety issue, TfL is working with haulage companies and cyclists to help make sure that cyclists can be safer and more visible on the Capital’s roads.

 unquote

I also read that Tfl were dishing out dynamo lights to cyclists. If I were you I would contact them and get some free lights! My brother is in transport so I better make him aware of this too.

www.tfl.gov.uk