http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Notes from a foreign correspondent en Sun, 17 May 2026 13:04:20 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126966 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:33:11 +0000 kaputnik 126966@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>That video's a great example of how inefficient the motorcar is at moving people around city centres. There had to be at least 10x people on bikes for every car. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126959 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:48:20 +0000 HankChief 126959@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@amir <blockquote><em>"I don't really understand why so many students cycle in Cambridge. It must be amidst as quick to walk with the short distances in the centre."</em><br /> </blockquote></p> <p>The centre is pretty compact but it's actually quite hard to only live in the very centre as a student. There are several outlying colleges (and most central ones have newer accommodation blocks built further out) and nowadays most of the departments have moved out to greenfield sites on the outskirts and then you have trips to the boat houses and sports field.</p> <p>Cycling in Cambridge is relative easy to get used to - just follow the crowd and don't expect to still have the same bike in a year's time - it's driving which is very unnerving for the first timer. They do come at you from all angles, but that just makes you totally on edge and looking round continuously. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126900 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:52:06 +0000 PS 126900@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>When you see the number of cyclists filtering up the inside of cars and those cars that are looking to turn left at the junction half way up the street actually waiting for cyclists to go past before they turn, I'd say that shows safety in numbers as the drivers have obviously learnt to check their left for cyclists before they turn.</p> <p>It does, however, look like anarchy. And a strong justification for some tangible cycling infrastructure there. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126896 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:44:51 +0000 chdot 126896@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Which St. Ives... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126895 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:43:46 +0000 kaputnik 126895@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>As I was going to St. Ives,<br /> I met a student with seven bikes,<br /> Each bike had seven baskets,<br /> Each basket had seven cats,<br /> Each cat had seven youtube channels,<br /> Youtube channels, cats, baskets and bikes,<br /> How many were there going to St. Ives? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126892 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:41:04 +0000 Min 126892@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It looks kind of awesome. :-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126890 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:37:58 +0000 DaveC 126890@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I recognise that street! The pub round the corner serves Duchars IPA! :O)</p> <p>I notice (though speeded up) there appeared to be no accidents! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126884 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:24:55 +0000 i 126884@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This video doesn't convince me of safety in numbers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA_Crc67SAM" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA_Crc67SAM</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126876 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 10:57:51 +0000 DaveC 126876@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>When I moved to East Angular, I found drivers to be more arrogant and pushy. Of course I was a driver myself not having redeiscovered cycling in a big way, but just driving round, drivers were less forgiving than my daily commute in Edinburgh, when I lived here before. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126855 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 09:16:21 +0000 amir 126855@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Interesting blog.</p> <p>I am not sure that banning students from having cars explain the number cycling. Money stops most students anyway from owning or at least running a car. And many universities are far more spread out than Cambridge. I remember walks of 3 miles each way (or the bus). For some reason there is a long standing culture in Cambridge with supporting businesses. The more studenty types are concentrated around the college's in the centre whilst a wider cross-section can be seen a little further out.</p> <p>It is interesting to see in the blog that driver antagonism towards cyclists still exists in Cambridge. Clearly numbers are not enough to stop this. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126809 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:28:39 +0000 crowriver 126809@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@amir, read David Hembrow's blog post. Cambridge students are barred by university regs from keeping a car! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126808 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:16:45 +0000 amir 126808@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I don't really understand why so many students cycle in Cambridge. It must be amidst as quick to walk with the short distances in the centre. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126748 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 12:34:28 +0000 DaveC 126748@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>amir said "Roof Plus Air Con...".</p> <p>Aye like thats very green. May as well have busses running up and down along side using similar amounts of CO2.... ... oh I see they already have that.</p> <p>You'll be asking for a travelator to speed up your cycling next... ;O) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126740 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:38:34 +0000 amir 126740@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Roof plus air conditioning? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126715 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 10:12:39 +0000 DaveC 126715@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>No no no!!! If you pt a roof on it, people would expire of heat in summer. East Angular ;o) does get its fare shair ;o) of heat in summer! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126706 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 09:20:43 +0000 amir 126706@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The Cambridge-St Ives cycleway is missing one thing - a roof! I was planning to go for another spin on it today but it's raining heavily and I am on holiday! Of course it would even more pleasant commuting on it on a day like today than the road. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126704 Wed, 02 Oct 2013 08:50:36 +0000 chdot 126704@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> more Cycle Points (including a 3000 space hub at Cambridge</p> <p>"</p> <p><a href="http://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news/2013/09/greater-anglia-consults-on-cycle-strategy-and-further-cycle-rail-improvements" rel="nofollow">http://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news/2013/09/greater-anglia-consults-on-cycle-strategy-and-further-cycle-rail-improvements</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126661 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:34:20 +0000 Roibeard 126661@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I had cause to be in Cambourne in the late summer - lovely it was. There was Bikeability training happening on the day, and the streets seemed obviously designed to appear residential and "enforce" low speeds. Some dedicated cycle infrastructure was also present (as well as plenty of cycle parking), but the general roads felt designed for people not vehicles.</p> <p>The opposite was near Althorne (<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps?q=Garden+Close,+Althorne&amp;hl=en&amp;ll=51.665016,0.757048&amp;spn=0.003008,0.016512&amp;sll=51.66452,0.758116&amp;sspn=0.003324,0.008256&amp;oq=garden+close&amp;t=h&amp;hnear=Garden+Close,+Althorne,+United+Kingdom&amp;z=17&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=51.665014,0.757044&amp;panoid=uQ2sOmMINzp8VtnlhQWB_A&amp;cbp=11,266.64,,0,0">Google pic</a>). This was folk living in a car park, although the only clue is the oddly parked vehicles in Streetview. Every driveway, turning space and half the carriageway was filled with vehicles as I passed one evening - cycle commuting here was obviously an alien concept, so Cambridge (or even Edinburgh!) might be seen as an aberration/abomination...</p> <p>Robert </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126641 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:25:02 +0000 cc 126641@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I thought the Dutch only go short distances"</p> <p>@<strong>amir</strong> David Hembrow points out now and again on <a href="http://aviewfromthecyclepath.com">a view from the cycle path</a> that children from outlying villages happily cycle quite long distances each way to get to and from school. Also the NL has a big network of intercity paths I think.</p> <p>Also he has <a href="http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2011/11/truth-about-cambridge.html">things to say</a> about Cambridge, where he used to live.</p> <p>That busway does look nice to cycle on though. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126636 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:44:07 +0000 sallyhinch 126636@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I think at the last census / survey something like 50% of people living in Cambridge cycled at least once a month (and the figure for once a week was quite high too - maybe 40%). That's the highest by a long way for anywhere in the UK </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126635 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:36:02 +0000 DaveC 126635@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yes, lots of student types and ex student types, still living and working in Cambridge. Once they have children they move out where bigger houses are cheaper. Lots of collegues cycled when I worked in Cambridge.</p> <p>16 miles eh? a bit like the Dunfermline to Clackmannan cycle path. Would be ideal for St Ives people who worked in the North of the Cambridge, nice fast, straight smooth traffic free route, to work. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126631 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:18:49 +0000 amir 126631@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>St Ives so about 16 miles. </p> <p>In my experience, apart from right in the centre, there's a good cross section of society cycling here. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126630 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 14:13:37 +0000 DaveC 126630@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I used to work in the Business Park where the guided bus way runs to. We used to use it for quiet walks in lunch time, when ot walking round the Science Park. The section after the VW Garage, which runs down the side of the Business Park, was still over grown when I was there 3 years ago. There were rumours that they couldn't extend into the Railyard behind the Business park as (rare??) Newts were found on the old track bed.</p> <p>How for does the guided busway go Amir? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126625 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:51:54 +0000 amir 126625@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"nah, if it were dutch there'd be more bikes in the pictures"</p> <p>I thought the Dutch only go short distances - this was about halfway between the town's - quite a way from either.</p> <p>@morningsider that route near St Andrews is very disappointing - the bit in Guardbridge is interesting.</p> <p>I regularly come for meetings in Cambridge and have found that mentioning the busway a good way to waste time, a bit like the Edinburgh trams. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126623 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:43:56 +0000 fimm 126623@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I believe (well I read it on the internet) that the Cambridge busway cycleway is very prone to flooding. I also get the impression that while central Cambridge is full of cyclists because there are lots of students there, get even a short way from the centre and it becomes British again (I think it was a Cambridge blogger who was claiming that the police were stopping cyclists and fineing them for cycling on the pavement just after a piece of shared-use pavement ended). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126621 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:24:37 +0000 Morningsider 126621@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Looks good. I took a ride up to St Andrews yesterday and then on to Leuchars to get the train back. I took NCN1 for the section to Leuchars and was amazed that it looked like the photos above. I was thinking about lavishing it with praise when the path ducked between two houses, into metal barriers, shrank to about three feet wide, turned into a shared use pavement and then led to a pavement that was possibly shared use - but it wasn't clear. Inevitably, I ended up back on the road. Nice to see somewhere in the UK getting it right.</p> <p>Don't ever praise the St Ives-Cambridge guided busway if you are near any rail campaigners though, they may get a tad heated.</p> <p>Almost 14 quid for the train back from Leuchars! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126617 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:16:04 +0000 SRD 126617@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>nah, if it were dutch there'd be more bikes in the pictures </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126616 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:11:45 +0000 Uberuce 126616@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>With the windmill especially it looks helluva Dutch. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11257#post-126613 Tue, 01 Oct 2013 13:01:30 +0000 amir 126613@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>After our adventures in Suffolk, we are now having a short stay in Cambridge. This morning over breakfast, it was remarkable how many were cycling to work - just a random street in Cmabridge with good facilities.</p> <p>Around town, the facilities are bit mixed but more effort has been put in by the council here. Some facilities were on the road - generally lanes were reasonably wide and not too bumpy. Sometimes they were even mandatory!</p> <p>However on occasion the cyclepath was on the pavement, sometimes shared use and sometimes with a fat line segregating. These were sometimes up and down due to drives and poor surfaces, with slower speeds possible and stopping to give way at junctions. </p> <p>We ended up on the Cambridge to St Ives cycleway. This a a wonderful facility for guided buses and cycles. I think it is the longest and it seems to be popular with bus users. For cyclists, it is nice and wide with a great surface and takes you right into the countryside, with access to nice lanes, an RSPB reserve and of course St Ives. It felt Dutch.</p> <p>Below are a few pics:</p> <p>Car trap<br /> <img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/10036250324_b94f71b1f5.jpg"></p> <p>Bus and windmill<br /> <img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/10036376403_51d9070c15.jpg"></p> <p>Bike and bus<br /> <img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/10036305125_f652dcbb3b.jpg"> </p>