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MCC News, Issue 40, April – May 2006

Free Adult Cycle Training

Merton Cycling Campaign is delighted to offer free one-to-one cycle training* to adults living or working in Merton.

This is available at any level: from complete beginners who have never ridden a bike, people who might not have cycled for some years and feel nervous about returning to cycling, and those who want to brush up their skills and gain confidence and skills in urban traffic.

Lessons will be tailor-made to your needs, from your front door or your workplace, and will take place on the routes that you want to use, e.g. commuting to work, riding to the shops… wherever you want to go! Complete novices will start in suitable off-road areas, again at a location of convenience to the trainee, and can expect to be able to balance and ride a bike by the end of the first lesson.

More advanced training will be on-road and focus on teaching assertive cycling techniques, how to "take the lane", developing confidence and learning how to share the road safely with all other road users. You will learn the safest way to use different types of junctions, roundabouts, gyratory systems and multi-lane roads. When to use cycle routes… and when not to! The training will be on-road at a pace that suits you.

*This sounds too good to be true… what's the catch?

The only requirements of the trainee are that you provide your own roadworthy bike and you are a member of the Merton Cycling Campaign. If you are not yet a member, we will even subsidise that! While funds last we are offering half-price MCC memberships to all trainees. Click to see membership benefits and current rates, and remember: you pay half these rates for the first lesson only!

Richard Evans of the Merton Cycling Campaign said "Our 2003 local cycling survey showed that that many adults would like to return to cycling but lack the confidence - that is what our adult training sets out to provide. With a combination of some generous grant funding from the Bridge House Trust, and one of our own members who has recently qualified as a cycle instructor, we are delighted to be able to offer free cycle training and to help people in Merton get back on their bikes for local short journeys. Half of all journeys are under two miles long, and many of them could be made by bike. A switch to cycling for short journeys could really help cut congestion and pollution on our roads. For short journeys a bike is often the quickest way of getting about. Furthermore, regular cycling is a great way to keep fit as part of a daily routine. This sounds...."

Interested?

Contact MCC Cycle Instructor Godwin Calafato for further information and to book your first lesson:

Phone 020 8543 3442

Email godwincalafato@tiscali.co.uk

Godwin Calafato's relevant qualifications:

· CTUK Cycle Instructor Temporary Accreditation

· Current Royal Borough of Kingston Cycle Instructor

· Bicycle Maintenance Course Certificate

· Currently qualified First Aider Certificate holder

· BMF Blue Ribband Advanced Motorcycle Riding Award

· Institute of Advanced Motorists (car and motorcycle)

· Ex IAM Senior Motorcycle Observer.

· RoSPA Advanced Motorcycle Gold pass (car and motorcycle)

Don’t you Love Yr Bike?!

A successful social gathering

The first ever Love yr Bike event took place on Saturday 11th February. What is Love Yr Bike? Put simply, it was the largest social gathering of cyclists seen in London for a long time. Over 250 cyclists, including many

well-known faces, descended on the previously obscure Commonside Centre at Pollards Hill to celebrate the positive aspects of cycling. There was plenty to do.

Our wheel-builder demonstrated his art all day whilst beginners were taught to fix their own punctures, the police ran out of SmartWater property marking kits due to the high demand, the cycling cinema was full all day, especially so for the lecture on bike theft by Safer Merton and Merton Police and the keynote speech by London Assembly Member Jenny Jones was standing room only.

Cycling Plus's Karen Birt ran an oversubscribed Yoga For Cycling class and local kids got stuck into a series of competitions with cool prizes such as FX Flares that spell out phrases on your spokes as the wheels spin.

But above all else, the free food and cake stand provided a forum for cyclists to actually sit and talk, to exchange thoughts, routes and views or just an opportunity to gossip. Outside the constraints of their racing club or LCC borough group allegiance, it was heartening to see so many cyclists interacting, sharing and socialising.

The next one is on Saturday 24th June at the Croydon Arena. Come and join us.

Mark Dawson

GLA Mayor’s Road Safety Ambassador Jenny Jones at Love Yr Bike

LYB lived up to its billing of something for everyone… Great food too, and free! Jenny Jones, the Mayor’s Road Safety Ambassador, was a star attraction. In her discussion, Jenny emphasised that taking bikes on trains should be normal. She’d like DLR to take bikes on trains. Croydon Tramlink is an obvious local candidate for cycle carriage. Renegotiations of contracts with rail franchisees were opportunities to improve things.

Jenny would like every London borough to have a cycling officer as a way to promote cycling in councils (some of which she perceives as ‘car-dedicated’). She tends to focus on people - whether through training for children as a way of gearing up to the Olympics, for increased budgets for cycle training more generally, or training to ensure that all traffic engineers understand pedestrians’ and cyclists’ needs.

Inevitably, Ravensbury Park barriers were discussed. Jenny stressed that such physical barriers go against the 'access for all' approach; the Disability Discrimination Commission might take an interest. She is willing to help highlight local issues such as these.

Normalising cycling by getting emergency services on cycles is another way to promote cycling. Lack of enforcement of cycle lanes and ASLs concerns many cyclists, whilst red light jumping by cyclists (and motorists) is a hot topic. As a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority [annual budget: £2.5 billion], Jenny is well placed to influence policing across London. There are now over 1000 police on bikes, with the Hendon training scheme oversubscribed. Jenny is lobbying for 600 more traffic police officers, to help make our roads more cyclist-friendly.

The suggestion of closing Richmond Park to through motorised traffic at weekends seemed to appeal... watch this space.

In summary, an enjoyable discussion with a politician who’s clearly in tune with issues affecting cyclists 'on the ground'.

Susie Morrow

(Member of Wandsworth Cycling Campaign who works in Wimbledon / chair - LCC cycle parking & carriage working group)

Outsider

When I went to the Love Yr Bike event I found myself a virtual outsider in that social gathering as almost all the cyclists there were wearing cyclists' specialised clothing or gear - except myself. Where I come from everyone cycles in their normal clothes, like me! We all got on well together and I thought event was good.

Duncan Harper