Author: Secretary

How to Keep Your Bike Secure

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bikeregister

One of our members contacted us recently to report that their bike had been stolen. As well as the obvious inconvenience and financial cost associated with losing a bike, it can be very upsetting, particularly if it is stolen from your home.  However, the good news is there are steps that you can take to prevent the theft from occurring in the first place, and to increase the chances of being reunited with your bike in the event that it is stolen.

It is vital that you register your bike with an on-line database such as Bike Register or Immobilise.  The basic service is free and allows the police to check the frame number of any bike that is stolen and subsequently recovered to identify its owner.  You can pay to receive an electronic tag or tamper-resistant label with a unique QR code that can be scanned.  This can deter thieves from stealing the bike in the first place and alerts the police to check the database. You can also pay for permanent etching kits for additional piece of mind.

We would also recommend that you insure your bike(s). Low value bikes are often covered as part of household insurance policies when stored at home. However, you may need to increase your cover, or take out a separate policy to get cover outside the home, or to insure more expensive bikes. If you intend to take your bikes abroad, then you will need to check that your policy will cover this. Also, if you live in a block of flats with a communal bike store, it is worth checking that the bikes will be covered if left in these areas. You can use an on-line price comparison website to compare prices and cover.

Make sure that you take reasonable steps to secure your bike. Buy a good quality lock – preferably two. We recommend that you buy a lock with a Sold Secure Gold or Silver rating. D-locks are popular and can be used with extender chains. However, these locks can be heavy and cumbersome to carry, but there are alternatives available. For example, the HIPLOK is a heavy duty chain that loops around your waist. Alternatively, a Dutch-style horseshoe lock and extender chain offers a neat solution. Be sure to lock your bike whenever you leave it, including at home.

When leaving your bike, make sure you attach it to a bike stand or item of street furniture that cannot be easily broken, cut, or moved, or where your bike could be lifted clear. Try to choose a well-lit area with CCTV coverage. It is best to choose an area where other people are around and are frequently walking past – never leave it in an isolated place.  Wheels are an easy target for thieves, particularly where they have quick release skewers. When locking your bike, make sure that you secure both wheels and the frame to the bike stand, and if you are going to leave your bike in a public place on a regular basis, then consider fitting security skewers or skewer locks such as those made by Quick Caps.

Spokes Carry Out Local Cycling Audit

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St John's Roundabout

One of Spokes’ early achievements was a Cycling Map of Newbury and Thatcham, which was produced after a detailed audit of the local cycle network by Spokes members.  It was a great success and helped to get more people out on bikes.

West Berkshire Council has now asked if Spokes can carry out another audit of the urban cycle network in Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford, while Reading Cycle Campaign are covering Theale and the Reading fringe. The audit will help to inform how the cycle network can be improved, including for the various new developments that are planned.

The audit has to be completed by 31 March 2016, so we have recruited volunteers from our membership to help us over the next couple of months. This team effort will be coordinated by our Highways Officer, Dr Tony Vickers.  We are focusing initially on ‘commuter routes’, identifying gaps that could be filled, junctions that could be improved, and anything else that would make life a little easier and safer for a cyclist.

If you would like to help with the audit, or if you have any ideas about how the local cycle route network could be improved, then please get in touch and let us know.  We would love to hear your ideas.

Little Joy for Cycling in the Government’s Spending Review

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Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.JPG

On 12 August 2013, David Cameron joined with Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Jody Cundy to announce a new government ambition to kick-start “a cycling revolution which will remove the barriers for a new generation of cyclists.” On 31 July 2015, the Infrastructure Act was passed, which placed a legal requirement for the Government to produce a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This is all promising stuff, and so it would be reasonable to expect this commitment to be supported by suitable levels of funding. The Government’s latest Spending Review has just been published, so we thought we’d take a look to see what it has in store for cycling.

Unfortunately, the reality fails to match the previous rhetoric. The headline news is that for areas outside of London, more than £300 million has been allocated to cycling investment between 2015-16 and 2020-21. This includes delivering the existing commitment of £114 million for the Cycle Ambition City scheme. In their report, ‘Get Britain Cycling‘, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group recommended that the Government create a cycling budget of at least £10 per person per year, increasing to £20. The current allocation of £300 million over 5 years equates to just under £1 per person per year. Even if this were to be on top of local authority spending, it would only equate to around £2 per person per year, which is well below the amount needed to deliver the Government’s commitment to double cycling levels and reduce the number of people killed and injured on the roads.

There is more bad news for cycling later in the Spending Review. The Chancellor indicates that “the government remains concerned about the growth of salary sacrifice arrangements and is considering what action, if any, is necessary. The government will gather further evidence, including from employers, on salary sacrifice arrangements to inform its approach”. The Cycle to Work Scheme is one of the most popular salary sacrifice schemes, where employees can make tax savings of up to 42% of the value of a new bike and safety accessories used for cycling to work. Thousands of cyclists have benefited from the scheme since it was launched and while not all have used their bike to cycle to and from work, the health benefits of using a bike regardless of journey purpose must surely outweigh the tax that is foregone by the Treasury.

This is a disappointing Spending Review for cycling and it means that Spokes will have to fight even harder to secure the funding that is needed to improve cycling infrastructure in West Berkshire.

Be Safe and Be Seen This Winter

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The clocks go back on Sunday, which means darker evenings. Spokes is urging all cyclists to be seen and be safe by using lights and reflectors on your bike. Without these, you are not only illegal, but drivers may not see you and your risk of being involved in a crash is much greater.

The law requires that you have a white front-facing light. a red rear-facing light and a red rear-facing reflector fitted to your bike if riding at night. You are also legally required to have front and rear-facing amber reflectors on both pedals.  The police have the powers to stop anyone they catch cycling without these and issue a £50 penalty.

There is a bewildering array of lights available from cheap ‘flashers’ costing a few pounds to high power units costing several hundreds of pounds. There is also a wide range of clothing that you can buy, including fluorescent and reflective kit.

What you buy will depend on the type of riding that you intend to do. Some kit is better than others, but the rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for.  If you only ride at night occasionally on streetlit urban roads, then the priority is to be visible to other road users. A set of flashing lights and perhaps a slap band on the ankle will suffice.  However, if you are rising on unlit roads, then you will need something brighter, not only to increase your visibility to other road users, but also to light up the road ahead of you. You may also want to invest in come hi-viz clothing – a combination of bright colours and reflectives helps you to be seen in both low light and night-time conditions. This useful video helps to demonstrate the various option.

Remember that Spokes members get 10% off all lights and clothing at participating local bike shops, including Banjo Cycles and the Specialized Concept Store in Newbury.

National Cycle Network Appeal

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Pretty much anyone who cycles in the UK will at some point have encountered the National Cycle Network – a series of safe, traffic-free paths and quiet on-road cycling and walking routes that connect cities, towns and villages up and down the land.

This audacious project was brought into being by the sustainable transport charity Sustrans. Their first project was the Bristol to Bath cycle track, which followed the line of the disused railway line.  During the summer of 1979 five miles of usable pathway were completed by an army of volunteers. By the early 1990s they had built cycle paths all over the country, but they weren’t linked together. So, in 1995, Sustrans campaigned and won the first ever grant from the Millennium Commission for £42.5 million to create a UK-wide network of high-quality, convenient routes. Today, the Network passes within a mile of half of all UK homes and stretches over 14,000 miles across the length and breadth of the country.

TV presenter and travel writer, Nicholas Crane, is championing a BBC Radio 4 Appeal for Sustrans to raise vital funds for the National Cycle Network in its 20th year. You can listen to the appeal on the BBC website. The money raised will help Sustrans to maintain and enhance the Network, and provide their volunteers with the training and equipment they need to carry out this vital work. You can help by donating; spreading the word to colleagues, friends and family; and sharing news of Sustrans’ appeal on social media. But hurry – donations close at 7:00AM this Sunday, 13 September.

We are hopeful that at least some of the funds raised will be allocated to carry out much needed maintenance work on NCN4, which connects Fishguard to London, passing through West Berkshire along the way, following the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath for much of its length. Although the route is popular for both utility and recreational cycling the path has been badly neglected. In places, the grass has encroached to such an extent that the path is less than a foot wide. In other places, the top coat of the towpath has been worn away exposing the larger stones beneath, which makes for uncomfortable cycling. Also, increasing levels of usage within urban areas has exposed the inadequate width of the path, leading to some conflict and ill-feeling between different user groups. Spokes will therefore be writing to Sustans and the Canal and River Trust, who have responsibility for the day-to-day maintenance of the path to push for NCN4 to be at the top of the investment list and make it fit for purposes again, and restore the legacy for future generations.