Snowy January Critical Mass

This evening's Critical Mass had a surprisingly good turnout considering the city was under an amber weather warning for snow. Nearly 50 people turned out for a snowy ride round the city centre. My photos are a bit random, thanks to my little camera having not entirely survived bouncing along the road earlier in the evening and the viewfinder having stopped working.









There was one, well waterproofed, sound system providing entertainment.



The ride came to an early conclusion and many people headed to a nearby pub.

Some people are now thinking about having another mass ride, but on Sundays in line with the traffic free Sundays that happen around the world in many cities where the council close roads for the day.

Cycle Parking at the National Cycling Centre

The Bike Creche Cycle Jumble was held at the Manchester Velodrome today. Whilst the vast majority of visitors were clearly turning up by car, a few of us actually cycled to the place. The result was chaos outside the front entrance, bikes locked up the stair rails,



and bicycles locked to the trees.



The one, badly designed cycle pod, was crammed full.



Quite why the Home of British Cycling can't install proper Sheffield Stands is beyond satire. This design is just hopeless for any bike fitted with a back carrier. British Cycling, and Manchester City Council really should sort this out. Perhaps if they charged for car parking they could afford it.



To be fair, if you accidentally found your way to the back entrance there were a further two of these pods, and there was a bit more space.



However, it wasn't just the bike parking that was chaotic, there were cars all over the pavements too!

Coffee Cranks Film Night

The Coffee Cranks Film Night at Popup Bikes was a great success. Zym and co demonstrated their ability to pull in a good crowd to the point where it was standing room only at the back.

PopupBikes really is a great venue for this kind of event, an informal space with good coffee on tap.



By the time Zym started the films there was a good crowd.



And during the films people were still arriving, squeezing into the back. The films were followed by a short discussion and an opportunity to socialise.

A great evening, and may it be the first of many such events.

Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign AGM

The AGM of Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign will be held at 7.00 pm on Monday 11th February 2013 at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, M2 5NS.

This is going to be a very important year for cycle campaigners in Manchester, starting on February 18th with the opening of the TfGM consultation on the Oxford Road Bus Priority Scheme. This scheme could be a make-or-break moment for cycle provision in Manchester. If done well it could provide the first high quality cycle route in Manchester, but if done wrongly people cycling on Oxford Road could find themselves squeezed between double-decker buses on a token piece of green tarmac.



Come along and get involved. There will be lots to do to push for a decent cycle route along Oxford Road. It is already Manchester's busiest cycle route and is "officially the busiest bus route in Europe, with more than 100 buses an hour." The campaigning will be tough because TfGM seems to be set on imposing a poor quality solution.

BT Blocking Cycle Lanes

Same place, same disregard for cycling, same company, just opposite sides of the road.

This BT Openreach van was blocking the mandatory cycle lane and on the pavement in Water Street Manchester, 21/12/2012.



This BT Openreach van was blocking the mandatory cycle lane and on the pavement in Water Street Manchester, 11/01/2013.





What use is a cycle facility when it is blocked by a motor vehicle?

None at all!

There is plenty of space to put these vans on Princes Bridge, only 10 yards away...

cycle hub - CYCLISTS DISMOUNT

TfGM's city centre cycle hub goes from bad to worse. Not content with the no bikes allowed through this door notice on the street level entrance they have now added a new notice on the bike entrance.

Unbelievably it is a CYCLISTS DISMOUNT sign on the car park vehicle ramp.



This is a normal car entrance ramp, which, if it is safe enough for cars it should be safe enough for bikes. There is even a cycle lane painted in green down the ramp.



One wonders what madness brought this about, or is it just the anti-cycling officers up to their usual tricks.

The last message I got from a fellow cycle campaigner said that less than 1/5th of the hub spaces have been taken, so this half-a-million pound flagship project is increasingly looking like a waste of money.

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Update

March Critical Mass we cycled past the car park entrance and the sign has been removed...



Someone had had words...

@madcyclelanemcr just took a quiet word
— Chris Paul (@ChrispLOL) March 30, 2013