CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 14years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Actually, kids to the front would be amazing ... what a photo that would be. Definitely something to throw into the pot for next year.
We've got a survey up here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zGSQSJ6_zuivleOMwV7q2c2d2UDSYcxKS7HkVU3KK6k/viewform
which will help keep all the feedback & suggestions in one place so if you haven't filled it in, please do so
Talking of kids, this was a great tweet if you missed it...
EdinburghCityPolice (@EdinCityPolice) tweeted at 6:23 PM on Sun, May 19, 2013:
This little one was the last person at the pedal on parliament 2 #keepingpeoplesafe http://t.co/BTQlssDgyq
(https://twitter.com/EdinCityPolice/status/336170253618929665)
"Actually, kids to the front would be amazing"
- and happy families -
Harrison Park feeder ride.
Another vid:-)
"next stop Bike Breakfast?" don't forget the bike rides to it: breakfastbikeride.org.uk
There's a facebook page for it, and we might add more rides if there's interest (maybe one from the Pentlands ward?).
Huge thanks to all the organisers of the day - this was my first ever POP and group ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will certainly be at POP3 with bells on.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a good feeling from the minister and his lacklustre speech, so I suspect cyclists will be out in force shouting for investment for some time yet.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a good feeling from the minister and his lacklustre speech
A couple of work colleagues had gone along and this was their thoughts exactly. They had good words to say for all the other speakers, particularly Cameron Rose for how he worked a "tough crowd".
My main thought about the Minister for the Environment was that he must have been very angry by being hung out to dry by his bosses. What I just don't understand is why Keith Brown, John Swinney and other senior members of the government are turning down their biggest soap box opportunity they'll likely get. They've got a bigger crowd of voters and future voters infront of them than they're likely to get even at their own party conferences and yet they don't seem keen to engage. They should be falling overthemselves to be photographed on a hill outside the parliament addressing the masses. Grass-roots-democracy-in-action propaganda gold.
Many of the senior ones give the distinct impression that voters are an unpleasant inconvenience which they would much rather avoid.
Far easier to congratulate each other on how important they are, look for easy media opportunities, claim the money and let others do the messy business of actually dealing with the public...
Hehe, yes, I did think that a peloton of small children would make a fine photo... downside I suppose is that they'd then have to hang around at Parliment waiting for the rest of us, but I suppose Parliment is no worse a place to hang around than the Meadows.
From the looks of it the little 'uns would much prefer to be in the pond than the park any way.
My main thought about the Minister for the Environment was that he must have been very angry by being hung out to dry by his bosses.
I did wonder at the time if there was perhaps something about him that that had got him landed with the job from the party that doesn't give a flying toss about the environment, then Morningsider mentioned on another thread that he is the most junior of junior ministers. So that would explain it.
Hi guys, yes it was quite a fizzled speech from the Minister. And off paper, too. Cringe. No real passion or enthusiasm - had I been close enough I suspect I would have seen that he was a bit dead behind the eyes.
He probably hasn't been on a bike for decades; if he understood how cyclists feel I think he might have been a bit more engaged. Feel free to correct me on this assumption, though!
And yes, no senior ministers was extremely disappointing - Keith Brown's no show kind of encapsulates this government's lack of interest in dedicated cycling investment.
Thanks all for coming and to all the organisers thanks loads. Bruce was awesome as well!
Some funny points for me included.
* Getting to ask the police (twice) to stop blocking the pedestrian side of MMW
* Approaching the crazy on the meadows and being told that he wanted to speak to a police man - a second later when police arrived he panicked and said "I never said I wanted to speak to a policeman"
* The cooncil failing to have the roads confirmed to be shut and therefore delaying the start by a few minutes. They were meant to have closed by 2:50 and it's not like they didn't know for months we needed to get moving at 3:02
Just a note about sound systems - they cost a fortune. The one we had yesterday was kindly donated by the McNicols of Andrew Cyclists Charity otherwise there is no way we could have afforded it really. Hopefully more speakers next year but this costs dollar. (buy t-shirts!)
Batching also - This was something we agreed with the police/council - for me it was useful to ensure that there was a touch more space and that people could ride at a decent pace and get through. I know it's frustrating but there was no way we could have closed North Bridge and johnston tcce as well. They just wouldn't allow it - so the ride would have been slowed up anyway.
I had a great day and felt it went well although frustrated I missed Obrees speech! Do fill out the POP2 form and give us some feedback!
Not too good, and the vid still needs audio (if youtube can actually play it...), but..
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=34ce3d00-ca29-4e64-b901-24d0dae1e699
and
I was stopped at the barricades where NMW meets melville drive, removing a Pop poster, when I was approached by an older woman of the 'prosperously well-off' style, accompanied by a very respectable looking white haired gentleman.
I groaned inwardly because I thought I was about to get told off for having put posters up, or, at best condescendingly thanked for taking them down.
But no! She wanted to thank me for helping organise POP. She had been on the ride! and thought it was great! and that we were great!
That will teach me to make assumptions!!!
There have been various comments about the PA system and also visibility of speakers due to others on 'stage'.
It might be better if there is spot, with SP as background, where most people would be in front of.
I loved it! I wish I hadn't organised the Porty feeder ride to go the same route as the KiltWalk, but, to be honest, there is no other safe route we could have taken... Other than that, well done everyone!
I thought the PA system was a big improvement on last year. Mind you, both times I moved myself to an area where I could hear the speeches.
I seem to recall that the (human) speakers were facing the pond last year (?) - I think the set up was better this year.
Last year there were a couple of really annoying people mucking about in the pond who made it a bit difficult to hear what was being said.
On the subject of speakers ('tronic ones this time), did anyone else get treated to a blast of "Bicycle Race" from some street performers on the way down the High Street?
I captured a small snippet on film - on Flickr in the POP group.
The onsite set-up of the PA was my doing, with advice from the PA guys. So apologies if people were disappointed.
It is worth remembering that it was a massively better system than at PoP1 and that there was no obvious way of deploying the system we had to better effect. Money is a key constraint with the PA system - PoP has (effectively) none and PA systems cost a fortune to hire. I understand the PA for PoP2 was paid for by the Andrew Cyclist Charitable Trust.
I have been told by people who attend lots of events outside the Parliament that it is the best PA system they have seen/heard there. If people were really keen to hear the speeches then there was still room available closer to the front - myself and other marshals did encourage people to move forward just before the speeches, but most people seemed happy where they were.
"I wish I hadn't organised the Porty feeder ride to go the same route as the KiltWalk, but, to be honest, there is no other safe route we could have taken..."
I was heading up the Innocent a bit earlier and considered tweeting about the number of Kiltwalkers, but figured exactly that, there's no real alternative (I guess the park road is closed on a Sunday, but it's a guddle to get there in the first place).
I cut off at Duddingston Road West and headed through the industrial estate, then up Clerk/Minto Street - but I was on my tod and not shepherding kids and families, so easier to do!
@EddieD Thanks for the cool vid - very good! I was looking out for me (I stopped somewhere about there to give a by-stander a POP leaflet). Glad I had a few left - thought it was good to hand them out on the ride :)
I think it's unfair to criticise the PA system. There was plenty room for those who wanted to hear to stand in a suitable spot. It would not be unfair to criticise the Minister's complete lack of microphone technique though.
Yeah I thought the PA system was excellent. Thought after a minute or two of listening to the Minister, I could have happily done with being out of earshot.
With regards to the Kiltwalkers, fair play to them, they were on a charity event, but many of them I encountered on the Silverknowes to Roseburn section of NEPN showed zero regard for the fact they were on a shared route, taking up the whole width of the path. And I'm not talking about bunches of 10 or 20 walkers where they may have felt it harder to stay out of the way - this was groups of 2, 3 or 4 people.
I did my best to slowly weave in and out of them but two student-age females were unnecessarily impolite when I said "Excuse me, can you please keep to one side or the other", as they had made it impossible to pass them safely. "mumble, mumble... 29 miles!" Great! I do rides of over 100 miles for charity. It doesn't make me better or worse than you or more or less entitled to use the paths without inconvenience. I simply replied, "I'm just trying to make your walk safer" and carried on. To have stopped and tried to explain I was about to take part in a campaign to improve road safety and provision for all would probably have served little purpose at the time.
Any ride I've been on, a clear point has been made about considering the other people you will encounter, those not involved in the ride.I wonder if the Kiltwalkers were told the same (not that responsible people should need to be)? Their marshals certainly weren't saying anything when I passed more walkers near them.
Despite appearances, this is not a rant, but it actually goes to show a) there is still a need for everyone to think of others and b) that PoP2 was particularly well marshalled once under way.
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I spotted a Harrison park feeder ride one at the playpark. No wonder we had 140+ on that ride - it had its own posters!
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http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10232#post-111283
I happen to be going for a beer with one of the Kiltwalker organisers in the near future, so I'll tactfully feed that back.
Oh, and thank you. We did try to think of everything, us marshals.
If anyone ever wants a reassuring hug, I recommend Tulyar as your go-to guy. Got a cuddle off him at Holyrood when I was trying to convince myself it was time to relax, and while it didn't work(I doubt anything could have, short of massive doses of opiates) it certainly helped.
@ Uberuce
Thanks. It may well be that the walkers were informed but just chose to ignore it, but as I say, the marshals certainly ought to have been politely reminding them they were on a shared path and to keep to the side.
I suppose it's a problem with most mass-participation events using shared facilities - just try crossing the Forth Road Bridge when there's a charity walk on - the attitude I get there when I ask people to keep to the pedestrian side!!!
Aside form the two young ladies, I didn't get any mouthy comments from the other walkers, just to be clear, but a bit more consideration (of the sort I was giving them when passing) wouldn't have gone amiss.
And if only all pedestrians would have the sense to walk on the right-hand side in the first place. I've not spent enough time in any foreign country to notice but I wonder, do they walk on the right when that's the side they drive on? Or are they generally more cycle-aware to begin with?
Sorry for starting to drift off at a tangent!
complete lack of microphone techniqueIt's true, the two points re the PA - there was room in front of where I was and some speakers' delivery was clearer than others (Tory guy was best, ministerial speech reader worst).
I was held up by the Glasgow kiltwalkers a few weeks ago. They were in Gorbals around 0945 hrs. I was stuck at Gorbals cross traffic lights for several cycles. Nobody approached me to explain what was happening and the walkers didn't leave me space to get across, they just kept walking along the road. Towards the end a WPC was walking with them and I asked her what was going on. She said the end of the walk was a couple of hundred metres behind her and I would have to wait till they were past. I saw no marshals either static at the cross or walking along. There were Police at the back end.
I emailed them about this and they claimed to have had marshals but if there were then they didn't do anything to explain why I was forced to wait.
Technically OT
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"But we also know there have been improvements in infrastructure coming from that direction [the west] and a lot of what encourages cycling is feeling safer as well as being safer."
She added: "I think the momentum is building in favour of cycling. We're seeing a shift towards it becoming more normal and less of a niche thing to do."
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From http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=10237 article.
About Glasgow and evidence (with financial benefit calculations) that what 'we' want works!
As Graeme Obree said - it's about investing not just 'spending'.
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