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ridewithgps.com/routes/1022287

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The politics of cycling safety

The politics of cycling safety:

Olympic cycling champion Nicole Cooke in the Times:

I certainly wouldn't fancy riding across Vauxhall Cross or Elephant and Castle in rush hour, and those are only two examples. If we want more people to ride their bikes, we can't have parts of the city where cyclists feel like they are taking a big risk just crossing a junction - it just shouldn't be that way.

Cooke's piece is part of the launch by the Times of its Cities Fit for Cycling campaign. This follows the serious injury sustained by one of its reporters, who collided with a heavy goods vehicle while cycling close to the paper's office.

Some of London top blogs have responded to the campaign. Cyclists in the City contrasts Cooke's remarks about the Elephant roundabout with Boris Johnson's insistence that "If you keep your wits about you it is perfectly negotiable." I Bike London says of Tower Hamlets in general, the borough where the Times is based:

I ride these streets every day and would like nothing more than to share them with children, young people, Mums, Grans, the less able and indeed everyone else. These people deserve the urban independence and benefits that riding a bicycle can provide, but most of all they need to be able to do it in a safe and secure way.

Kings Cross Environment, which has been advocating corporate manslaughter charges being brought against Transport for London over the death of a cyclist on a notorious junction there, remarks:

The people who work in and run our major civic bureaucracies know what needs to be done to make cyclists safer at persistently dangerous junctions. They just make the chilling choice not to do it.

Meanwhile, Green Party mayoral candidate Jenny Jones has extracted figures from TfL's latest annual Travel in London report to show that the rate of cyclist casualties per cycling trip has increased since 2007/08. The Guardian's transport correspondent Gwyn Topham has summarised these as follows:

Although Boris Johnson has been keen to push his image as a champion cycling in London, the trend for safer cycling has reversed since he came into office. The TfL figures show, I calculate, a casualty for every 58,000 cycling trips in 2007 to a rate of about every 49,000 in 2010.

Last year looks even worse, with deaths and serious injuries up from 358 to 407 for the first nine months recorded so far in the capital. While we don't have the numbers for the first three quarters of 2011 to make the same per trip comparison, the bare figures so far in London suggest it is set to be the worst annual toll since 2000.

Cycling is well and truly on London's political agenda - and not in the way "the cycling mayor" had hoped.

• Cycling
• Cycling holidays
• Boris Johnson

Dave Hill

guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Snowdon's Big Mountain Decent

Snowdon's Big Mountain Decent:

It's a new year so why not set yourself a new challenge? If you're in need of a little inspiration

The Llanberis path, as it's name suggests it starts in Llanberis and approximately follows the line of the railway going through the mid height train station. From the very summit it heads NW back towards Llanberis. It's a steady gradual descent without anything too hairy involved. One downside is it's normally very busy with walkers. To reduce the friction beteen mountain bikers and hikers there's a voluntary cycle agreement in place which asks cyclists not to travel certain routes between 10:00am and 5pm from 1st May to 30th September. Click here to find out more about the Snowdon Voluntary Cycle Agreement. Here's a great helmet camera video from Edward Watkins which provides a great insight into the route.

A more technical descent would be the Rangers Path.

MBWales Photo Competition

MBWales Photo Competition:

THE COMPETITION

Would you like to win a free place on a Campbell Coaching bike skills course? If yes then here's what you have to do.

We’ve set up a new Flickr group - ‘MBWales.com – Mountain Biking in Wales’ – and to celebrate we’re asking you to upload your best or most interesting shots from your Welsh mountain biking escapades and the two winners (1 male & 1 female) will receive a free place on a Campbell Coaching bike skills course. So if you want to be in with a chance of riding the trails with a little more skill this year get entering your photos!

Doesn’t matter whether you’ve just got back from a Welsh weekender or
you have a hard drive full of photos worth digging out from various
trips over the last few years. We want to see them!

Your photo entries
must be related to mountain biking and taken within Wales and there is a maximum
of 10 entries/photos per person.

Good luck!

HOW TO ENTER

1) Register or login to Flickr.com

2) Upload photos to your account (there’s no date restriction so your photos may well already be uploaded)

3) Give your photo a name and remember to include a short description including where in Wales the photo was taken.

4) Join the Flickr group ‘MBWales.com – Mountain Biking in Wales’ which can be found here:

















http://www.flickr.com/groups/1841960@N23/

5) Go to the photo you wish to enter. Click on the ‘Actions’ drop down menu. Select ‘Add to a group’. Choose ‘MBWales.com – Mountain Biking in Wales’ from your list.

PRIZE

Two free places on a Campbell Coaching mountain bike skills course.

Each winner (1 X male & 1X female) will receive a free gift voucher for a place on one of Campbell Coaching’s 'open'Core Skills or Jumps & Drops courses. The voucher must be used within 6 months of the competition closing date 20th Feb 2012. There is no cash alternative however upgrades to 1-2-1 'bespoke' sessions can be done with payment of the difference (£70) to Campbell Coaching.

You could be joining Bob & Ally at Campbell Coaching on one on their Core Skills or Jumps & Drops courses. It’ll be a professional but friendly and relaxed atmosphere where you’ll get the chance to improve your skills within a small group and they will help you develop both your skills and also your confidence. The course will be run in their own private Skills Area and Campbell Coaching are based near Llandegla so when you’ve finished you can go and use your improved skills on Llandegla’s great new trails too!

Pete @Peterstevens Photograph

RULES

1. Eligibility. Contest is offered only to legal UK residents 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Prizes are non-transferable by winners. All entry form information must be complete and accurate. Sponsors will not award a prize to anyone not meeting eligibility requirements at the time of entry. Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify any entrant if these Contest rules are not followed. By entering, you agree to comply with all applicable law and these Contest rules, and you agree to abide all decisions of the Sponsors.

2. To Enter. The Contest entry period begins On 6^th January 2012 and ends at 10pm on 20^th February 2012. There is one way to enter: 1. Log on Line to





www.flickr.comand upload your photo entry. 2. Add your entry to the MBWales.com Flickr Group. All entries must be

January Challenge: Wales Coast to Coast

January Challenge: Wales Coast to Coast:

January's MBWales 2012 Challenge is by anyones standards pretty epic but we thought we would inspire you with a biggy. We want you to mountain bike the length of Wales from coast to coast. Who's up for it?!

We wouldn't expect you to complete this challenge in January but get making those plans and thinking about the route and you should be ready to go when the longer summer days arrive.

It's possible to take on this epic two-wheel experience independently but if you'd like to make the most of a little expert help then look no further than the Welsh Mountain Biking Coast to Coast itinerary, run by Monobo Adventures. We spoke to Christy the Founder & Director and asked him to tell us more about what to expect cycling from coast to coast.

"From the city lights of Cardiff to the Victorian Pier in Llandudno, Monobo Adventures could take you on an incredible off-road route through Wales’ ever-changing landscapes.

Let’s be clear. This isn’t your cup of tea if you’re wanting to lounge on a beach looking to top up your suntan – but you’re not interested in that anyway. During this 1 week adventure, we cover just over 50kms a day and a fair few contours to boot. But Monobo Adventures has all the logistics covered (support vehicle, mountain guide, quality accommodation and bumper food stops along the way) so all you have to think about is turning the pedals and enjoying the intrepid route.

The team at Monobo has had some real fun in putting the route together. Most of us are used to doing circular routes. We park the car and head out in one direction with a route in our heads to return to the car coming back from the opposite direction. There’s a pretty sound logic for riding that way too. Recently, however, we found that when we got to the furthest point away from the car, we had that little burning desire to explore a bit further. That furthest point was usually the best bit as we found ourselves in the most remote part of the route. So that got us thinking.

Why can’t we create a route that just keeps on going. When we found ourselves on that furthest point on our circular route, lets carry on to the next valley, and the next and the next. And so the Welsh Mountain Biking Coast to Coast itinerary was born.

We’ve made sure that the route drops in on some of the bestsellers – Cwmcarn, Nant yr Arian and Penmanchno for instance. But we’re also really excited about the bits in between. A route through the Brecon Beacons wouldn’t be worth its weight in gold without a visit to the Black Mountains. The rarely visited tracks of Crychan and Halfway forests are special in their own right. Then there’s Llanwrtyd Wells, well known for its annual bog snorkeling event and being the smallest town in the UK, but we’ve found some great tracks taking you through the surrounding open mountain landscape.

Further North of Llanwrtyd Wells, we’ve included an incredible wild camp experience into the itinerary. Taking account of the remoteness of this particular part of our route, we know the wild camp will give you the chance to get a real feel for this place. Monobo’s resident chef will be cooking up a wild feast to ensure you keep your energies going for the rest of the trip.

So if you’re looking for a mountain biking adventure to remember 2012 by, come with us on the Coast to Coast. Sweeping through the mountains and stunning scenery that the Red Dragon has to offer, you won’t want it to end."

For more info visit http://www.monoboadventures.co.uk/

Tempted? We would love to hear about it. Let us know what you think on Facebook.

Where would You go in North Wales?

Just ask Weston.

http://westonswales.weebly.com/my-travel-journal.html

Why Snowdonian surf rockers Y Niwl are making big waves on the music scene - Arts - Lifestyle from @walesonline

Why Snowdonian surf rockers Y Niwl are making big waves on the music scene - Arts - Lifestyle from @walesonline