The Guardian's bike blog

Zing! even a mere saddlebag/framebag would be enough.

I agree, people always pack to much, not like this guy...

chevrons.

Totally worth it though, until I realised I underestimated the Dun Run and didn't ride back #ohtheshame

couple of Dutch couriers are making a film about bike cuture/ cities, they look alright, can you help?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/aug/08/how-bicycles-change-major-cities

There is a spin-off minefield of protocol connected to drafting: as a male rider is it a bit ungentlemanly to do so to a female commuter given that the basic technique involves staying as close to their buttocks as possible?

One of the great pleasures of cycling. ;)

Brilliant :) Overtaking in rush hour traffic is often a dicey proposition so I sometimes end up behind a slower commuter, but only until there's room to pass safely.

Besides obstacles the other risk in stealth drafting is catching a gob of spit if the chap in front doesn't head check first.

One of the great pleasures of cycling. ;)

agreed :D

wonders how long this post willl take before it descends into the endless helmet/helmetless debate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/sep/08/helmet-legal-status

Just read the headline and will now put this thread on ignore for the next few weeks!

dont worry about helmets... look at that prick with no shirt.

You know you want to revive the helmet thread on here

Ugh. This case. Firstly, the cyclist declined the helmet offered, rode like a cnut and suffered horribly for his poor decisions. How is his employer even 1/3rd responsible? Secondly the court is implying they should have either not held the event, or required helmets to be worn - over and above the legal requirement. I don't like it either way.

• the employer should have done the risk assessment - they should have demanded that all employees wear a helmet or sign an indemnifing waiver.
  

wonders how long this post willl take before it descends into the endless helmet debate

No, You're a helmet.

• the employer should have done the risk assessment - they should have demanded that all employees wear a helmet or sign an indemnifing waiver.
  
  

it makes me sad that we live in a world where this has to happen.

dont worry about helmets... look at that prick with no shirt.

this !

I thought yesterday's piece on Obree was much more interesting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/sep/07/cycling-graeme-obree-interview

On the topic, looking at the pic of him and his bike, how do you think he has mounted his shifters? For a geared knock about bike, I quite like the idea of flat / slightly swept bars but with STI shifters mounted for braking / shifting / offering a different hand position.

Oh look and Obree's talking tonight in south kensington: http://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/cycling

dont worry about helmets... look at that prick with no shirt.

I have seen a few people doing that over the last couple of weeks. Shame no women have tried it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/sep/09/copenhagen-cycling-congestion

"I went on a cycling trip around Copenhagen with a friend visiting from London recently, and she was terrified by the mass of cyclists and the aggressive way they behaved," said Hadju. "She found them so overwhelming that she burst into tears. She was too scared to get back on her bike. We had to put it in a taxi and drive back home."

London cyclist afraid of riding in Copenhagen. Has the world been set upside down today?

Not surprising, they're pretty aggressive and ride like they've never ridden before.

yeah! copenhagen cycling retards. they could learn a thing or two from lomdon.

Just want to congratulate the cycling blog team - The last few weeks have produced a good variety of articles, and not at all london centric. The obree piece was particularly good. They need to try and get more coverage from the front page though

It's a shame the CIFers moan so much (read the discussion on the bike films piece) I've never seen so much hatred directed at fixed gears. Can't we just all get along? I actually quite enjoyed BIKEZOIMOND

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/sep/09/copenhagen-cycling-congestion

"I went on a cycling trip around Copenhagen with a friend visiting from London recently, and she was terrified by the mass of cyclists and the aggressive way they behaved," said Hadju. "She found them so overwhelming that she burst into tears. She was too scared to get back on her bike. We had to put it in a taxi and drive back home."

London cyclist afraid of riding in Copenhagen. Has the world been set upside down today?

No, not upside down at all. What (some) people feel in Copenhagen is a disadvantage that we don't have in London, while we obviously have other disadvantages in London. In Copenhagen, you don't have the freedom of riding in the carriageway almost wherever you like. The cycle tracks there concentrate cycle flows on relatively few routes, creating an illusion of great popularity of the tracks. Like London, although on a smaller scale, Copenhagen has an over-concentrated centre, which means that most commuter movements are tidal (high flows in in the morning, high flows out in the evening), putting additional strain on the infrastructure because of very uneven distribution of trips.

Now, obviously, cycling is very popular in Copenhagen, and that is wonderful, but the tracks effectively constrain cycling levels. Given that more development of other centres in other locations is needed, constraining traffic into the main centre is not necessarily a bad thing, but it shows some of the limitations of the Copenhagen approach. In some ways, it's a bit of a luxury problem, but as ever, cycling is a social skill. If you don't expect to apply a high standard to your own cycling, which is what tends to happen when you rely on infrastructure to guide you (John Forester calls it 'incompetent cycling on bikeways'), you are likely not to interact in the best way with your fellow cyclists.

The good news is that there is scope in Copenhagen on many arterial roads to dedicate more space to cycling only--many roads there are very wide and there are certainly superfluous general motor traffic lanes. :) It does require a large amount of public investment, though.

I concur with what Oilver said based on my experience of Copenhagen.

motorists did not like it when you're on the primary position on a road without a cycle lane - they do honk and shout at you for example, apparently what you learn from bikeablitiy/cycle training must be unlearnt if you were to cycle in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen have too much road space, not many people drive apart from when it's raining where everyone decided it would be a good idea to drive (cue lots of gridlock, especially near Osterport).

The cyclists in Copenhagen make London's own look like Mary Poppins.

Not Graniaud but worth a read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/opinion/sunday/bruni-janette-sadik-khan-bicycle-visionary.html?_r=3