Category Archives: Safe Cycling

Some of the things I do to try to remain as safe as possible on the roads as they currently are.

The Safety Paddle

This seems to attract interest each time I show it on Twitter (sometimes called X), so I’ve added this article to explain it in a more concise way than my earlier post, which you can still read for the full … Continue reading

Posted in Article, Road Justice, Safe Cycling, Space for Cycling | 3 Comments

Why “competent 12 year old” is too weak an ambition for cycle infrastructure.

At a recent panel session, I prefaced a question/comment by saying that about 13 years ago, my stated ambition was that my newly born granddaughter would be able to cycle to school by the time she was eight years old. … Continue reading

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Highway Code Rule 66

This post is prompted by the misinformed comments of a significant number of ill-informed commenters about an incident in which a police officer attempted, incorrectly, to instruct us that we must ride in single file next to the kerb, and … Continue reading

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Flying the flag for increased passing distances.

It is clear that GM Police’s Operation Considerate is not going to change the toxic culture on the roads any time soon; in fact it seems to be going backwards rather than forwards. It is also clear that, whilst the … Continue reading

Posted in Article, OpConsiderate, Safe Cycling | 15 Comments

My response to the CWIS Safety Consultation

11.45 PM today is the deadline for responses to the UK Government Department for Transport’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Like a typical student, I left it until the last minute to do my assignment, … Continue reading

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Arriva North West, you’ve taught me so much over the years.

Indeed, you’ve been teaching me for years how to ride on Blackburn road when there are drivers such as yours who simply cannot be trusted with my safety. Here are some examples. Bridge Street, passing Topp Way In 2011 and … Continue reading

Posted in Article, Bolton, Road Justice, Safe Cycling, Space for Cycling | Leave a comment

Some Spanish cycle infrastructure: not perfect, but decades ahead of the UK

We recently enjoyed a 3 week holiday in Spain and I was surprised by the quality of the cycle infrastructure that we encountered there. Whilst they had the advantage, in the area we stayed, of a lot of fairly new … Continue reading

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Government by ignorant prejudice.

Today I actually feel ashamed of my home town. I discovered yesterday that my elected representatives, the members of Bolton Council, have voted almost unanimously to “urge the [national] Government to bring in legislation to make it compulsory for bike … Continue reading

Posted in Article, Bolton, Safe Cycling | 3 Comments

Why do you … ride in the middle from Higher Bridge Street to Bank Street, Bolton?

This post is about a short length of my commuting route that involves going through three traffic light controlled junctions in succession and includes a short section of road that, due to its width, appears to be appropriate for lane … Continue reading

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Why do you … ride in the middle of the f*****g road through Farnworth?

I sometimes get problems with aggressive drivers when riding through Farnworth so, in response to an ignorant driver who tried to “educate” me about cycling road positions, despite his having no training or experience, here is an example giving chapter … Continue reading

Posted in Article, Bolton, Safe Cycling, Why do you...? | 2 Comments