Aye, first bit of colder weather and the number of cyclists drops off noticeably! Pretty chilly last night. Dry though and not much of a breeze.
Just wait for the snow and ice and then we'll see "results"...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
More of 'us' ?
(591 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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Very quiet run from Fife today. Passed by no one until the Cramon Brig (and I was dawdling) and even then one a few other cyclists until Haymarket.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Yesterday 1300+ on counter at 7pm MMW (17/11/14).
Local traffic perked up after morning deluge.
Today there's tree felling just down from counter.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Weirdly, I only ever seem to commute by bike in the winter. Massively misjudged the temperature this morning and arrived at work in a delightful state of heat exhaustion.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Well I have added +1 to the 'us' for this year.
I try to do about 6-8 commutes a week and base some of it on the weather. for example, Monday was a bit of a rainy one and as i'd cleaned and lovingly attended to the bike I decided to get the train Monday and cycle Tuesday-Friday....although I haven't done 4 days in a row yet! tired legs come Friday!
The cold won't bother me unless its dangerous but I intend to keep going through the winter.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Looking at the bike counter on Middle Meadow Walk (MMW). Again!
Today Saturday 22nd November at 18.10 it was at 780.
May reach 1k by midnight.
During week it was under 2000 as I headed home around 7pm. So reckon it could get to 2k by a weekday midnight.
Not surprising as it just shows that there must be around 500 extra journeys into town by this route. Assuming people come back by same route although you never know.
Anyway it's all data and should be looked at. Spokes Surveys look at Forrest Road I know and other entry points to city centre.
The Spokes meeting had some vague bit of data of around 1000 journeys from the 'Lothians' into city by bike per day but not sure where that came from. Some authorities though had no figures on bike use so were criticised for not being able to judge if there was a growing trend - pretty important if we are to meet any targets. Basically we want to prove that if you make a nice wide friendly place to use bikes then more will come. We all feel that should be so, but expenditure has to be quantified. (Except for road building as we know that new roads are always well used and will actually encourage people to use them. Someone will now name a recent road failure where they built something that no-one wanted to drive on!).
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Someone will now name a recent road failure where they built something that no-one wanted to drive on!)."
I believe the Midlands toll motorway isn't that popular.
Posted 10 years ago # -
the Midlands toll motorway isn't that popular
The Midlands toll motorway is bloomin marvellous. You pay £8 and then you get to drive at 90+ mph in the 'slow' lane.
Posted 10 years ago # -
But is it making money??
Posted 10 years ago # -
You used to be able to chuck the money into a funnel and get through automatically on the toll road. All the pay bays are staffed now. Perhaps there was a roaring trade in counterfeit pound coins?
Lovely quiet road, sometimes less than a fiver at weekends etc but cost creeping up. If it was ever not quiet then it would not get used. It has separated long distance car drivers from local journeys and lorries.
It used to have pay bays that worked automatically when you chucked the right amount in but all bays now staffed so perhaps there was a roaring trade around Birmingham in counterfeit pound coins? Or it is making enough money to take on more staff? The congestion remains on the m6 but you have paid for the privilege of avoiding this congestion. Thus the road has to stay quiet or its purpose is defeated. Thus if you build a road but charge people for using it, the road will not become congested? Is a theory.
Always see a sign for Lichfield canal but never see the canal.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I'm a wimp and won't cycle on ice or in high winds on my short commute. However it's been a very mild autumn and I've kept going. I've noticed though that there's only my bike in the stands at work when usually there's half a dozen or so.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I wonder how to cycle on ice?
Posted 10 years ago # -
very, very carefully.
see also: http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=202
Posted 10 years ago # -
Was at the Chiropractor this morning and went to park my bike in the usual spot on West Newington Place. Two Sheffield stands there had 4 bikes attached instead of the usual 0/1 and I had to attach my steed to a lamp-post.
Posted 10 years ago # -
On ice? Carefully, with spikey tyres, say Winter Marathons.
No sign of needing them yet.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Or slightly less carefully with Ice Spikers!
Posted 10 years ago # -
I was one of a line of eight bikes heading west on the towpath from Slateford at about 0740 this morning. That's the most I've ever seen together.
All eight rode across the aqueduct, much to the dismay of the cyclist coming the other way who has very strong views that cyclists should walk across the aqueduct. He's got grumpy with me before on this topic (in fact he threatened to throw me in), and seemed to be quite grumpy about it today.
Nothwithstanding the rights and wrongs of the aqueduct, the towpath would have been a pretty unpleasant place for a walk this morning. There were just too many of 'us' about, travelling in both directions.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Greenroofer
Anyone gets grumpy about this on the 'duct again, just get off your bike and stand beside it, whilst inviting your interlocuteur to step around you on the canal side and also keeping hold of the railing.
Works a treat.
Posted 9 years ago # -
last night I was in the ASZ box at concrete aqueduct with four others. The race to balerno was on. young fast boy on mtb dropped immediately. took tow off morose grumpy looking guy but he was struggling up the hill, he is big lad and was into wind. Then took tow off very nice chap and when I took my turn at front sort of dropped him so I finished second. I had taken the beechams all in one linctus go faster juice before setting off. Alas none of this recorded on strava
Posted 9 years ago # -
Do they know something I don't? Racks were empty this morning only 4 or 5 other bikes, I'm not earlier than normal and until today there was only ~30% reduction* in number of cycles.
*Based on number of racks being utilised on both sides.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Steveo - non-fulfilled forecasts of ice this morning? Or after work festive drinking?
Posted 9 years ago # -
Could be a combination of party which to which I am not invited and my failure to be put off by the weather.
Posted 9 years ago # -
MMW counter was at around 1200 at 7pm today Friday 5th Dec
Posted 9 years ago # -
Was quieter last week for the first time
It is now proper dark into and back from work
Posted 9 years ago # -
Rather quiet this week for cyclists in the office.
Had a lot of "you surely didn't ride in today!" Comments.
Its the end of the world, I tell ya.......or actually, its just winter.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Counter was around 700 at 7.30.
Temp 3 degrees
MMW was starting to have frozen slush. Friday morning will need to be cycled carefully.
Posted 9 years ago # -
There were 5 cyclists in quick succession coming under the railway bridge at Slateford Station just after 7am this morning. That led me to count all the cyclists I saw on my way to Livingston - 13, with none in Livingston.
When I started doing the long commute, I rarely saw another cyclist in Livi - these days it is unusual not to see at least one.
Posted 9 years ago # -
There were loads of cyclists about yesterday - New Year resolutions?
For example, on my way home there were six cyclists on Baird Grove (about 200 yards long) at the same time. Three others had passed me seconds before on the way to Roseburn and two more were going that way on Baird Drive when I turned the corner a few seconds later.
The rain this morning didn't appear to reduce numbers too much, which is encouraging.
Posted 9 years ago # -
New Year resolutions?
I had coined the name "resolutionaries" and was playing a game of "spot the resolutionary" on the way to work yesterday.
I suppose there must be various obvious indicators of resolutionaries such as shiny new bikes that haven't been gotten round to commuterifying (e.g. lacking mudguards), 3 grand carbon road bikes being ridden slowly and tentatively along in the gutter, mandatory naff plastic reflectors still mounted on bars / seatpost, fresh clean tyres at this time of year.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Who in their right mind would resolve to start riding to work in January? Surely you'd resolve in January to start riding in April after the clocks have changed and it's not dark and filthy.
I do a regular census of the bike store at work. Our peak of activity for two years in a row is around the August bank holiday when there's a really striking spike in numbers. The number today was about the same (83) as it was in the lead-up to Christmas. So no evidence of resolutionaries here...
Posted 9 years ago #
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