California : cycling culture This story is part of our youReport series. I grew up in semi-rural California where I spent a lot of my youth outside riding my bike (even the mile to and from school on my own from the age of 9 or so). I didn’t cycle much after age 16 until I moved to the UK in 2004. As we all know, the US is very car centric and it’s a bit of a rite of passage to get your driving license at the age of 16. My family couldn’t afford the lessons (they’d stopped offering[…]
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Mima reports from Helsinki
Helsinki : cycling provision in new developments This story is part of our youReport series. You asked for some photos! I only took three when I was visiting Helsinki in August 2012. Because I grew up in Helsinki I forget to take my camera, or even my phone. I suppose the big thing you could mention is that some cyclists cycle all year round in Helsinki – even when it’s -25C and lots of snow – because it’s safe to do so. Two photos are of a newish development linked by a network of cycle and pedestrian routes taking you[…]
Read moreGeorge reports from Dublin
Dublin : Making Tracks This story is part of our youReport series. Here’s a picture of improvements in Dublin I spotted on a working trip. The usual white line has been replaced by a kerb & the cycle track is 2 way. This is alongside the Grand Canal (Herbert Place), great place, if only the weather were warmer… I always feel that Dublin is a similar size to Newcastle/Gateshead. Although with all the extra facilities of a capital; they do things so much better. I don’t think they had cycle provision 20 years ago. The whole city seems pretty bike[…]
Read morePeter reports from Berlin
Berlin: Cycling city This story is part of our youReport series. With the grandparents still bonkers enough to offer to look after our kids we decided on Berlin for a city break. It didn’t even occur to me we would cycle much there, or that it would be a good place for it. I’d imagined we’d buy a travel pass or whatever. It dawned on me as we took the train from the airport that it looked extremely flat and as we planned to eat well we’d better burn it off as we went. As this article shows http://sf.streetsblog.org/2011/10/13/berlins-striking-cycling-renaissance/, Berlin[…]
Read moreYouReport – tell us your story
A list of all the youReport stories you gave us is here. It’s simple. It’s holiday season. And we want to use it to our advantage. All of you out there – abroad possibly – possible cycling, possible sampling liveable cities. That fietsen force must be harnessed! Email us a couple of photos that show cycling provision that inspired you, maybe your experience made you think differently about public space and people. It needn’t be the obvious ones either. Copenhagen, Amsterdam or Newcastle’s twin town Groningen – world’s famous cycle town – are bikelicious, but other places are catching up[…]
Read moreLove the Netherlands, Go Newcastle! (originally posted on CEoGB)
Claire Prospert of Newcastle Cycling attended the latest Hembrow Study Tour of Assen and Groningen. In order to whet your appetite for the next one, here's what she found: First of all, I’m not a blogger and this is my first attempt at writing a piece about cycling. I’m not a cycling expert either, I’m just a simple girl who rides a bike in Newcastle and turned into an active campaigner because, above all, I believe that collectively we can change a lot for the better. I’m not doing it because I’m some kind of anti-car eco-warrior; I’m campaigning so[…]
Read moreA Fair Slice (originally guest post in Spokeswomen)
It is a woman’s territory to keep their loved-ones safe: women take household decisions, lead and guide their families with safe and caring hands. It is no surprise therefore that the Newcastle Cycling Campaign is led by womenfolks and steered by women’s view of the world. Cycle campaigning is inherently female in its cry for safe space, safe conditions, safe cycle systems. The campaign wants everyone to be able to enjoy cycling, easily and safely, on attractive and pleasant routes, paths and streets. We want our (hypothetical) eight-year old to be able to cycle to school. All by themselves. Soaking[…]
Read moreA Cycling Campaign is Born (originally posted on CEoGB)
A mere German person, simply used to cycling as a means of getting-out-and-about and good cycling provision, I was in severe shock when I first saw Newcastle’s crazy cycle network. If it was a spider’s web, it would not hold together. But didn’t somebody say riding a bicycle is easy? Photo: Typical bicycle in Germany. Old. Functional. As an individual I tried talking to the Top. Communicating with the council chief executive and others such as council leader and the MEP, the councillors’ cycling champion, resulted in nothing better than “we are stuck with what we’ve got” or… [silence]. Sorry,[…]
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