LCC B&D communication

Some people have asked to become members of the new Hubbub Meetup group (meetup.com/hubbub)  that I have set up in place of the events list on www.stibasa.org.uk. It isn’t necessary to join, because anyone can see the events listed without being a member of the group. If you do join, you will be e-mailed reminders and have access to other functions provided by meetup.

I can’t use it as a primary means of communication for the LCC group, any more than I can use Facebook, or my blog, because most members of the Google e-mail group have not liked the Facebook pages for Stibasa / LCC B&D branch, nor joined the Meetup group, nor followed my blog, so for the moment I’m sticking with e-mail as the primary means of communication.

If you don't want to miss out, please ask for your name to be added to the stibasa e-mail group.

LCC contact data clean-up

Please can you verify the contact information that LCC HQ holds about you, if you are an LCC member.

 http://lcc.org.uk/pages/update-my-record.

To encourage you, there’s a free prize draw to win a bike.

Goodbye stibasa rides/events lists

I have decided to list the events that were on www.stibasa.org.uk on www.meetup.com/hubbub. Meetup provides much better facilities, especially for repeated events. Stibasa is left with what amount to links to other sites listing rides, though I am hoping some organisers will come on board with my proposed centralised list.

As always, I am pleased to know details of any other events that fit the bill.

Hubbub is the name of the London Cycling Campaign Newsletter for the LBs north of the Thames and east of the R Lea or Lee, where rides/events are theoretically listed, though being designed for paper, it can't catch everything in its timeframe.

Hammersmith and City Line Departures from platform 6 at Barking

Most H&C trains use platform 3 at Barking (the "bay road" further west than all the other platform faces). There's a poster on the bridge listing which departures are from platform . I haven't been able to find this poster on the web, so I took a photo of it. I have also updated the Wikipedia article about Barking Station with the info from the poster.

The information is a bit ambiguous, because it isn't clear whether there are departures from platform 3 intermingled with these. Some are so close together that it seems unlikely, but others are more spaced apart.

If you're planning a journey this information could help - the TfL journey planner doesn't currently tell you which platform to use.

If c2c get their act together they will start to integrate dynamic LUL train information with their own. It would be extremely useful to know the departure times from platform 3 from information displayed near the steps from the bridge.

Cycle4All change of meeting day

The cycle4all.com group meeting will be held on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays starting from 27 September. The sunday meetings will continue as usual. www.stibasa.org.uk for further details.

How long before we can spend a penny?

An undated sign on sign on the door of the gents' toilets at Barking Station says that the toilets will be out of use "for the next few weeks". I hope you noted when the sign went up; otherwise not only will you have only the vaguest idea of the length of the closure ("a few weeks") but you will not know when this vaguely determined period started.

Thank you, c2c for this almost entirely useless information.

Ticket Machines

All 3 Shere Fastticket machines at Barking Station were out of action on Sunday when I called in to collect a ticket I'd ordered on line. There were queues for the Scheidt & Bachman machines:  They are Oyster compatible, so more people use them, but a Shere machine would have been OK for me.

When I called in today, the three Shere machines were out of action. The c2c man on the gateline said he had no idea why the machines ween't working and that it was something to do with a satellite. so I e-mailed Shere, as I have done before.

Update on 14/9. Shere tell me that "The three machines were turned off, by the staff, due to a printer issues. An engineer has attended site, and has resolved the fault. All three machine are now back in service."

So it seems that the staff didn't report the fault to Shere, but just turned off the machines. Not impressive.

The cost (price) of motoring

I got involved in a discussion on an internet group about the substantial increase in Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) fees and the differentiation of them acording to the CO2 emission rate of the vehicle.

As this conversation was continuing, the new IPPR report came out - see http://stibasa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/motoring-taxes-need-to-triple-to-cover.html - having the conclusion that (in essence) the £ motorists pay out does not cover the cost of externalities and therefore is too low.

I introduced the IPPR report into the discussion, but the whole thing got bogged down. My opponent took the view that the CPZ charges were too high and unfair. I tried to make the point that if the £ paid out by motorists in total does not cover the total costs of what motorist should pay for, the fact that one element of the total cost is too high doesn't especially matter.

Of course there would be some disagreement about what motorists should pay for, but the principle still holds. Even if my opponent could show that the price of the CPZ permit was really too high, he couldn't simply ignore the fact that other prices are too low.

The list of things that motorists pay out for, and how much they pay, ought to be fairly easy to make, at least for an individual motorist, though I expect many don't keep a note and would have no idea of the total. This could help explain the focus on pump prices for fuel and parking prices, which are easy to see.

In her book "Cutting Your Car Use", Anna Semlyen gives, in chapter 6, a comprehensive breakdown of the elements of running a car that cost money. (She gives cost estimates, too; Even if these weren't at 1999 prices, there are lots of assumptions, but nevertheless, it gives a clue). It is complicated, and it's no surprise that people don't know.

Reasons against cycle tracks

The new DfT Local Transport Note on Shared Use Routes for Pedestrians and Cyclists is quite succinct in explaining this problem:

"A common reason for taking cyclists off the carriageway is the perception that it will improve safety. However, it is important to understand that a shared use route will not necessarily be safer than an on-carriageway alternative. In particular, careful consideration is needed where a cycle track running alongside a road crosses side a road [sc: a side road]... At these locations, there is significant potential for conflict, which can sometimes negate the safety benefits of segregating cyclists from motor vehicles."

Hybrid Cycle Tracks, and other animals

The UK Department for Transport have released a new Local Transport guidance note entitled 'Shared Use Routes for Pedestrians and Cyclists'.It includes guidance on hybrid cycle tracks, which are raised from the carriageway but lower than the footway. These are common in Copenhagen, but rare elsewhere.

Sign error

B&D council have installed an information sign in Ripple Road to reinforce the no motor vehicles signs that many motorists seem ignorant of. The problem is the new sign is wrong. It says "no vehicles beyond this point", but pedal cycles are vehicles and there are no restrictions on them here.

The error could give the wrong impression that pedal cycles are not vehicles, or that cycling beyond that point would be an infringement.

Roadsafe London

http://www.met.police.uk/roadsafelondon/

"Roadsafe London is an information and Intelligence gathering tool. It is the Metropolitan Police response to requests to provide a means for members of the public to advise us about criminal, nuisance and anti-social behaviour on the roads of London. It is part of the Road Crime Intelligence Unit and staffed by experienced traffic officers.
We want to know about people who; -

• Drive under the influence of drink or drugs
• Drive with no insurance
• Drive without a licence or whilst disqualified from driving
• Speed
• Use an un-roadworthy vehicle

We also want to know about:-

• Locations where there is a problem with anti-social driving e.g. vehicles racing on public roads."

Barking to Waltham Abbey

http://tinyurl.com/foec2012

Here are 46 photos that I took on our (indirect) ride from Barking to Waltham Abbey on Saturday 8 September. Many of the photos are taken with my camera mounted on my bike – some whilst in motion. Composition was a bit of guesswork, as I couldn’t see the screen on the camera, but some nice shots have come out (IMHO).  I haven’t tampered with them! This was experimental – my first attempt

As you may gather, my offer to ride as the back marker was taken up. It means many photos featuring the backs[ides] of the other 11 riders.

The second Saturday in September must be the biggest leisure cycling  day in the country as it is the day that bike rides in support of what's now called the National Churches  Trust take place all round the country.

Vandome Cycles

I've mentioned Vandome Cycles before. The company is run by B&D  LCC member Russell Coe. They offer free cycle training as part of their "extensive range of cycling services" and also host an over 50s cycling club in Barking Park in Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm.

Cycle4all.com

www.Cycle4all.com is a new venture aimed at getting people of all ages and abilities cycling. Come to Barking Park on Wednesdays and/or Sundays between 10am and noon for the change to try out a bike or trike or to get advice / encouragement.

If you need something other than a standard bike, contact Tony Harvey at Cycle4all and he will let you know what he can have available for you at one of the try out sessions.

Gascoigne family bike rides

The Sustrans led rides starting at the Gascoigne Children's Centre held successfully over the summer, will continue, though at the later time of 4pm to fit in with school. Bikes can be provided for those that don't have their own, and there are some child trailers too. It is helpful to know if you want to borrow a bike/trailer. Contact Christabel Buchanan / +44 7833 057603 for more details and to reserve your bike.

I'm not sure  yet how much longer the rides will continue - perhaps until the clocks go back.

The stibasa bike?

Riding the wave of enthusiasm for cycling post olympics, I have posted details of rides and events on www.stibasa.org.uk like never before, and set up a stibasa facebook page, to be a sister to the new B&D LCC branch Facebook page.

Whilst in may be the case that people have used this information and joined the rides featured (or intend to) the information has not resulted in any contact with me. There may be many reasons for this, but from talling to an old friend in the cycling world recently, I've come to the conclusion that people who want to go on rides are already in groups whether publicised or private and there is no supressed demand for rides.

In  a Sustrans meeting recently, someone observed that there are people interested in cycling, but who haven't got bikes. This led me to think of ny friends and acquaintances who don't cycle, but probably could - not on leisure rides particularly, but a bit of local pottering about.

This in turn leads to thoughts about the ideal bike and whether it exists. Mountain bikes with a low ticket price are going to be pretty poor quality and not good value for money in fact. Neither are mountain bikes particularly practical for local pottering around Barking. It seems to me that a simple folding bike is what is needed - one that has a low ticket price, but is not poor quality and therefore poor value for money.

A to B magazine, who I trust about such things, mention this Marine Compass 20" wheeled single speed bike http://www.compass24.com/web/catalog/shop/technics_comfort_bicycles/4857423# , which they say is a badged Dahon. It costs £125 + £13 delivery, and I wonder whether it could be the "stibasa bike".