This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Windy.

For that I think they've invented Belfast Bikes...there's no fecking way I'd drive 1.7 miles unless I'd have to carry so much it's physically impossible.

Around Donegall Sq./Lagan Courts is the 7th circle of hell during rush hour ;)

Very quiet today.

Spotted a guy on a carbon road bike at ASL (said hi, let him go first) with just a 22 at the back and a double. Er, megalegz? :)

are some schools still closed? it was awesome. Rode a fixie with a helmet after more than 3 years! Helmet is not staying lol.

Schools are shut for Easter, at least I hope they are or I am about to get an angry phone call.

It makes such a massive difference that is borderline comical. Is this an 'issue' charities like Sustrans, LCC are tackling? Might be worth summoning @Oliver Schick to answer.

/mothballs lights for another year.

No school traffic + first geared commute in ages + zero luggage = fastest commute evar?

Gears is easy.

It's up to government I'd say.

...You'd need to do phased school times, but that may not work for 9-5 ppl OR alternatively have park and rides for school kids...school bus & bus to work, but you need a critical mass for that to work.

Or go Amsterdam and make everything box bike ;)

In my day, we walked the mile and a half to the bus stop (which wasn't a bus stop, it was just the point where our road met the main road), flagged down the Ulsterbus and went to school.

Don't know they're born, etc.
#childhoodobesityproblems #peopleinglasshouses

Big arse tractor pulling huge trailer of cow poo through Streatham this morning. Streatham has not smelt so sweet in a long-time.

Thought it was the school holidays. Apparently it's not yet the school holidays round here.

Some schools are on holiday. Some schools have gone back because Easter was early this year and will be taking holidays in a couple of weeks.

I didn't know that.

Every day's a school day. Or not.

This morning I saw 2 bikes in 12 miles.

It also seemed a lot darker than last week.

Ah, that makes sense. In my head it goes Easter bank hol then half term directly afterwards.

Hah indeed, no mums in massive cars that drive 10 mins a day.

In my days it was a cycle to school. Tough shit if it was raining as "You won't dissolve, you're not made of sugar".

Parents be like "deal with it"

@amey Sustrans does an awful lot to encourage walking/cycling school runs. An awful lot. Catch 'em while they're young and the behaviour sticks, is the idea. Learn early that cycling is the way to go and they'll do it forever.

Its a real issue that I never see get raised at least in the mainstream media. Similar to air quality and pollution.

Is there any work done on encouraging parents not to drive to schools?

^ I have no idea how stuff works here, I am foreign so might be noob questions.

I thought that one of the largest drivers of house prices in London was school catchment area, as in you have to live local to a school to go to that school, so where are these fuckers driving in from? When I were a lad I used to walk to school...

We have people who go into schools and work to remove the barriers to cycling. So they might give cycling lessons to kids, help install decent bike sheds, help people find quiet routes from home, educate mum and dad to the benefits, that kind of thing.

Personally I have also complained to schools on my commute who have particularly inconsiderate parents, parking where they want and swinging doors open without looking. I copied in the local MP one time and the school sent a letter home to parents reminding them not to be daft. If we all did more of that, who knows what could happen?

Is there a platform other than social networks for this?

Don't most schools have a defined catchment area (no idea, not a parent)?

Surely in towns/cities, that would then be relatively small and hence the distances would be easily manageable by their own steam.

Granted, it must seem more convenient to just sling everything into the boot of a car but it would could easily slightly helped by those that can, walking or cycling.

For complaining to schools? You can get email addresses from their websites.

The school wee man goes to have installed a cycle rack and does cycle training for the wee ones.
I'm teaching him to cycle, he can cycle on the kerb for now and use traffic lights.

But to be honest it's a 50 mph road he needs to come into from a junction would he use the road once he gets older, with no lights...so it's not really safe for adults or younguns unless he does a sneaky half mile kerb cycle and then uses lights.

Parking is still woeful despite letters going out every year to not PLAC.

The NI school system is split in various catchment areas based on trust, and that's caused problems this year. I can't afford to move either and am probably not the only one. So a drive it is. Perhaps a box bike lateron as the cycle lanes are improving and I'm fit enough to take on 8 mile there and 10 mile back.