Categories
Reasons to ride

It’s snow time for my MTB

I may be the only person thinking this way, but I am LOVING this snow fall. First of all, I should say that there has only been a few inches in Suffolk, and that we are not suffering anything like as badly as other parts of the UK.

Earlier this year, I got a GT XC Agressor mountain bike. All summer I’ve been cursing its 2.5″ tires, because of the tremendous rolling resistance. But now the snow has some and I know why those clever folks at GT spec’d as they did. My Trek hybrid, with its skinny 28mm tires, is resting in the garage. For two weeks my MTB has been my main bike, waiting for it to snow….

And now….well what can I say? I am very pleased. I haven’t fallen over once. I only lose traction if I stand up in the saddle and really give it some welly. It turns in snow and on ice like a dream. Venturing off-road for my commute, I cut through the parks of Ipswich.

It’s not going to work – it’s an adventure and I am in control!

Categories
general Ipswich - transport fit for 21st century News

Major scheme bid gets £25million funding!

The Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Phillip Hammond, announced to Parliament yesterday (26th October 2010) that the £25 million major scheme bid has been approved. Known officially as “Ipswich – transport fit for the 21st century”, this will provide improvements in traffic flow and management around Ipswich, including the upgrades of several cycle routes.

The Local Transport Minister, Norman Clarke MP visited Ipswich today, to view the proposal.

Cycle Ipswich provided a response to the major scheme bid, and will be taking an active interest in ensuring that our recommendations are adopted.

You can read the Cycle Ipswich response document here.

Categories
general

Ipswich station travel survey

Suffolk County Council are conducting a survey to assist with an update of the Ipswich station travel plan.

The survey takes just a few minutes and is at http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/stationtravelplan

Cycle Ipswich has formed a Rail Focus Group which will be providing recommendations for improvements to SCC during October 2010. Contact Alex Oldman if you are interested in being involved in this exercise.

Categories
Consultation Events

Next meeting: Friday 24th September 2010

The next meeting of Cycle Ipswich will be on Friday 24th September 2010 from 7pm until 9pm at the Brewery Tap, Ipswich.

The Brewery Tap is located on Cliff Quay, just behind the Riverside NHS medical centre. There is a map on the Google place page. There is not much secure bike parking, so bring a lock and some lights for getting home afterwards. The Brewery tap have an excellent selection of bar food and restaurant meals, as well as local beers and other beverages.

We’ll be starting a consultation on cycling and rail in Ipswich. We’ll be looking at recommendations in the following areas:

  • Security
  • Storage
  • Ticketing
  • Routes to station
  • On train cycling provision
  • Other areas…

The aim is to provide an objective and balanced priority list of recommendations for future improvements.

We will publish our conclusions in mid-October.

If you have something you want to share with us, why not post at our discussion forum?

Categories
Events News Sustrans

Gavin Turk leads Les Bikes du Bois Rond

As part of Fleet: Art in the Haven Ports, acclaimed Young British Artist Gavin Turk, a contemporary of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, organised a 17 mile ride from Ipswich’s maritime to Felixstowe’s Languard Fort.

May of the bikes used were part of Gavins art collection.

This footage is close up and shows the art in action, as the participants cross the A14 slip road near Ravenswood Ipswich. The route followed Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 51.

Cycle Ipswich are calling for a cycle crossing to be installed at this site to improve safety and the speed to cross the road. The footage has been edited to remove the one minute wait before traffic is light enough to stop. This same crossing is regularly used by pupils and parents on the Nacton School Bike Train.

Categories
Tools

Proof that FixMyStreet.com works

If ever proof was needed of the effectiveness the Tim Steinberg’s MySociety experiment, it will be in my recent experiences of the FixMyStreet.com website.

Following discussion with Des P, we agreed that something needed to be done with the kerb at the top of St Nicholas Street.

So on June 28th, I logged onto www.fixmystreet.com and reported the fault. You can submit a problem anonymously. You are encouraged to post a photo, which obviously would help enginers asses the problem remotely – saving time and money.

Before
Before

Surveyed
3 days later – survey evidence!

After
After

Response

Just three days later, the site had been surveyed, as evidenced by the spray paint.

The fix

Now, just two weeks later, we’ve got a tarmac ramp, over the kerb. It doesn’t look like a long term fix, but it has already vastly improved the ride at that junction. What I impressed by is the convenience, anonymity and response that this site offers. Hats off to Ipswich highways for monitoring and responding to the alerts. Hopefully we can have a proper party when a more permanent fix is put in place.

Conclusion

What a great website! To report a fault in your street – road surface, signage, lighting, visit www.fixmystreet.com

Categories
Events Sustrans

Next Meeting: Friday 30th July 2010

Rowan Wilson grinMillions of children in this country want to cycle to school. Nationally, only 2% do. A 2008 Sustrans study showed that the local Kesgrave High School as a UK leader with over 60% of children cycling to school. So why are other local schools not following Kesgrave’s example?

The 2010 Cycle Ipswich Member Survey highlighted safe routes to schools, cycle education and tackling childhood obesity as areas of major campaign interest for our group.

Our guest speaker will be Rowan Wilson who is Sustrans Bike It Supervisor for East of England. Bike IT is the Sustrans campaign which aims to get more children cycling to school.

The meeting will be held on Friday 30th July, from 7.00 pm until 9 pm. The venue is the Friends Meeting House, 39 Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, IP1 3JH. Cycle parking is available!

Download our invitation.

Categories
Reasons to ride

Reason to ride #2 – it makes you happy!

Reasons to Ride #2  – riding a bike makes you happy

Purely on a physiological level, outdoor pursuits increase your body’s production of Serotonin, a natural hormone that gives a feel good factor. Riding feels good!

If you use the bike to work scheme, you can make yourself happy by beating the taxman. Discounts on new bikes exceeding 40% are possible.

Cycling is of course a social activity, and leisure riding with friends or family is a great way to spend time together, get fit and enjoy local scenery.

Categories
Survey

Cycle Ipswich member survey 2010

We are pleased to present the report on the 2010 Cycle Ipswich member survey.

Click here to download the survey report in PDF format.

Categories
Reasons to ride

Reasons to Ride #1 – Convenience

According to the DfT “Cycling for a sustainable future” 23 percent of car trips are less than 2 miles – a distance that can be cycled in less than 15 minutes.  It’s both sustainable and more convenient to do these trips on a bike that in a car.

Worried that you can’t fit a weekly shop on your bike? Add cargo carrying capacity to your bike with an Xtracycle.