Cycle Superhighways - maybe not all that bad really

Last week, I went to The Vitality Show and decided that the best way to get there would be by bicycle. This meant a cycle in to The City in the morning, to work, then head West at around lunch time to Earls Court, then from Earls Court home again afterwards. Around 45km of cycling spread across the beautiful, sunny day.

You may remember I've been a bit cynical about the CS7 Super Highway of late, but my opinion may well be swinging back the other way again after the experiences of 24th March.

Holborn Viaduct is nowhere near as bad as people say, but in general the route West across London was pretty horrid in places. The road too narrow to be able to effectively filter through traffic never mind cycle freely in your own road space without White Van Man, BMW/Audi/Mercedes twat man, or London Bus Driver trying to tell you in no uncertain terms that you don't deserve that road space, usually by squeezing out, cutting across your line of travel or simply honking their horn at you WHEN THERE'S ACTUALLY NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY BEING IN FRONT OF YOU! *fume*

Some of the back roads are quiet, but a massive detour, with higher chance of getting lost , making the overall journey longer and there are still idiots who speed and honk at you. And the road surface in general is pretty damned awful. Pot holes, uneven manhole and drain covers, subsided and undulating concrete where the structure under the tarmac simply isn't coping with the physical weight of the traffic (Putney Bridge, oh god!)... it's all well and good the government saying that general policy is to leave road surfaces a bit rubbish in cities to encourage people not to speed in motorised vehicles, but what about the rest of us, eh?

So, while CS7 isn't as protected as it could be, it's hugely better than there not being any provision at all. The experience of cycling through town away from it brought that message clearly home to me.

But the whole things does seem to be working

I don't know.  It's all pretty expensive just to be a nod to the cyclist.  Maybe it's up there with electric cars; you have to get it visible and make mistakes and get it mostly wrong but it's a heck of a lot better than doing nothing and not raising visibility and awareness.

It -does- seem to be working though.  As "Cyclists in the City" says, more bicycles than cars cross bridges in London in the morning peak hours and that's been increasing at incredible rates for the last couple of years.  It may not be much safer, but there are a buttload more cyclists out there and the numbers keep going up.

Cycle Superhighways - sort of pointless

"Barclays Cycle Superhighways are new cycle routes that run into central London from outer London to provide cyclists with safer, faster and more direct journeys into the city. The new routes are clearly marked and easy to follow. There are new signs and road markings, as well as information about journey times and links to other cycle routes. Brand new cycle lanes and bold road markings will increase awareness among other road users, and make it clear that the route is used by many cyclists." (see here for more information from TfL)

So, right, there are no actual rules.  It's not like a bus lane where there are times when other vehicles aren't allowed on the blue bit, it's just there for "awareness" and route finding.  WTF?  So we're just lucky that other road users seem to mostly stay out of it.  Mostly.  When it suits them.  And it seems to sort of mostly work in the morning, and earlyish in the evening, but in the middle of the day or after about 6pm, it utterly does not work in the slightest.  Delivery vans, parked cars etc. park in the lane and either simply obstruct it completely or open doors into traffic without checking for oncoming vehicles regardless of the amount of flashing, bright lights, fluorescent clothing, reflectors...  Oi!  Boris!  Sort it out!

Having a bit of a relax

My god I needed a rest today.  That run on Sunday was nice, but a bit of a mistake if I'm honest; 8 days in a row with no rest from exercise is the most I've ever done and my body was telling me to take a break now please.  It was lovely to run with Mr TOTKat while we're both roughly at the same pace level - he'll start running training again soon and be back to being a lot faster than me so I can't keep up any more.  So anyway, rest day very much needed and to round it off, I decided to finish off the chocolate ice-cream that's been lurking in the freezer for weeks.  Mmmm :o) - Available from Ocado for home delivery enjoyment!  It's made with really good ingredients and is by far the nicest chocolate ice-cream I've ever had.

I'm pretty tired due to lack of sleep last night.  It was so hot and humid.  Ick.  So, early to bed tonight and up bright and early for the cycle in to work.

The new southern cycle Superhighway is turning out to be a lot better than the impression the media is giving.  It -isn't- pointless at all!  There are huge swathes of the A3 now that you can sail along through the traffic like a bus on a bus lane.  It -is- better than it was before.  The road surface is so much nicer.  The lane is wide enough for two cyclists abreast easily so overtaking is possible even in heavy traffic and the cars pretty much stay out of the cycle lane as much as they obey traffic lights, which is no more than you can ask and makes a huge difference to the perception of safety.  I have no idea how many cyclists were using that route before, but there are loads using it now and for the most part, people seem confident and happy with the route.  The really great part is being able to avoid Elephant and Castle roundabout going south in the evening rush hour.  That was the only part of the journey I was apprehensive about before I tried the CS7 by-pass of that junction.  8 journeys on the Superhighway so far (including a trip in and back at the weekend) and I'm enjoying it.  Being back on the tube on the way home today was a far less pleasant experience than cycling.  The only thing about cycling in the morning is that it has to be early as my route starts beyond CS7 and that part gets very blocked up beyond about 07:15, so I have to leave by 7am - which gets me in to the office at 07:40, 5 minutes to put my bike away, 10 minutes to shower and change and I'm logged on and ready at 8am.  40-42 minutes to cycle in, 48-50 to get home.  Same route both ways just in different directions.  Go figure.

B - greek yogurt with 1 scoop MP Max, Yeo Valley fruit compote and flaked almonds
S - banana
L - cold beef chilli with fresh sweet peppers
S - greek yogurt with fresh mango
S -beef jerky
D - prawnychilligarliclimething with couscous, followed by chocolate ice-cream

Calories (kcal) [kcals to maintain weight (inc. exercise)	1564 1798]
Protein (g)	142.0 (37.5%)
Carbohydrate (g)	161.1 (39.9%)
Fat (g)	37.9 (22.5%)
Fibre (g)	21.1
Fruit & Veg	11.6