Lee Semple.Com

SNP MSP Ian McKee leads a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Edinburgh bicycle recycling and cycling promotion charity, Bike Station.

Recently I’ve been building up a Dawes Giro 500 frame into a sort of audax/ fast touring bike. The plan is to get away to some Scottish campsites for a few days in the summer, plus some overnight away missions around some local forest parks and lochs.

So I’ve been checking out some bike touring sites and links and I came across this great resource of information, and excellent podcast called – Travelling Two: Bicycle touring around the world. So if you need some more “listenables”, or are interested in long distance stuff, then give this little beauty a go…

A further two videos from the Scottish Parliaments’ Transport Committee regarding Active Travel. The first of the two session’s deals with the more practical aspects of implementing better cycling facilities within Scotland road network.  The second video deals more with the aspects of road safety, with questions on training and road facilities. Well worth a watch…

Fist Session

Second Session

Just a quick note to say that the documentary film, examining why british girls stop cycling, called Beauty & the Bike has a new website, and the DVD and book are available to buy online here.

So pop over and show some support.

Cheers

The Scottish parliament transport committee recently heard from transport consultancy Steer Davies Gleave as part of the CAPS initiative which aims to increase cycling in Scotland by 10% by 2020.

The BBC covered the session on Democracy live TV and the information given is very informative and interesting. I have embedded the video below, and its available from the BBC here. Enjoy…

Picked this up from one of my favorite sites; Copenhagen cycle Chic.

“Beauty and the Bike is a cultural urban travel project that aims to help urban traffic planners, by looking at one such mobility culture – that of the teenage girl and young woman.”

It looks excellent, and I’m looking forward to seeing the  documentary and book when its released. The DVD and book are due on the 3rd of December, so pop over and place an order for Christmas, and/or lend some support. And if your in the Darlington area, then the premier is on the 9th December at the Darlington Arts Centre (details).

Invisible Man

I believe there are days when you are completely invisible to all other road users… and for me, today was one of them.

While commuting home from work, 2 cars nearly drove head on into me while travelling down a narrow section of road lined with parked cars. I know they didn’t see me as the swerved and braked sharply at the last second, when they realised I was on the road. It wasn’t one car behind another either, it was two separate incidents about 20 seconds apart!

50 yards later, a lorry drove straight out onto a roundabout while I was on it, and I had to stop in the middle of the road to avoid being crushed. Even after he had cleared I had to stop/start twice because the cars behind him just kept on coming, even though I was on the roundabout and had right of way.

Finally, while turning into my street; two blethering pedestrians stepped off the kerb without looking, and I  skidded to a halt to avoid whacking into them. To top it off, they never even turned round… cough cough, until I started swearing at them.

Anyone else experienced the invisible man syndrome?

Cateye EL-410

As the daily commute is getting darker and darker, I have been more and more concious about the drawbacks of my current commuting light, the Cateye EL-410.

My commute is only 4km each way, but some of the roads are pretty rough with some hefty potholes and badly set drains. As the bike is subjected to periods of strong vibration, it highlights a glaringly obvious problem with the EL-410; and that’s the quick release band mount. I thought that having a quick release band was a good idea at first, but having to constantly tilt the light back up every 500 yards is a real pain in the arse, especially with lobster hand winter gloves on. I went to the Cateye website and found that they supply the H-33 Commuter Bracket for the EL-410 as an accessory; so I purchased one to steady the light. The bracket is excellent and does its job very well, but the amount of light from the EL-410 is still pretty diffuse and disappointing. As such, I was looking for a cheap replacement “be seen” light with a sturdy mount… and so far I believe I found one.

I bought the Raleigh Special Products LAA883 on ebay for £16.99 with free delivery. There was a few people selling it for less, but every time I followed the link, they were out of stock (don’t you just hate it when shops do that!). The light arrived last weekend, and I slotted in the 4 X AAA batteries and, as advised on Bike Radar, I greased the seal before closing to ensure a water tight fit.

The first thing that strikes me is that the light feels quite solid and weighty as does the mount. The mount is excellent compared to the Cateye band system and can still be removed easily with gloves using the thumb screw. The bracket is shimmed with two pieces of rubber and the sturdy thumb screw bites down on the clamp with reassuring tension. The light unit then slides into the slot on the top of the mount, and here’s where you have to be careful. Sometimes it feels like its been slotted home fully but it isn’t; so make sure you give it a final push, and pull forward to test it has been seated properly.

RSP LAA883 Front Light

While riding the light stays absolutely solid, and there’s no more slowly rotating round the handlebars as the bike vibrates. It has two modes, constant and flashing and run time is meant to be  150 hours on flash, and I have no reason to doubt that. The light itself is very bright and easily lights up road signs from 100 + yards away but doesn’t dazzle the rider. It may be my over active imagination, but I noticed more drivers reacting to my presence further away and some looked a bit dazzled when they came closer. Not a bad result for a £17 5 LED light.

The beam pattern has a good centre focus with four light bands emanating from the centre in an ‘X’ shape. The bands are a bit useless, but they do give some extra light left and right. Although the light is very bright, its a little dim for unlit lanes and bike paths; however it would work if you were going slow enough.

The body lens, which is placed 20mm back into the body, also throws a large amount of light outward, especially onto the rider and bike to help side visibility. Upon further inspection, the body lens isn’t just a clear section that runs flat along the body like the Cateye. The lens flares out towards the front, which is probably why light easily travels backwards and onto the rider.

Flared Body Lens Projects Light Backwards

All in all this is an excellent front light for the money. Its bright, sturdy, good run time and very cheap. I’ve only ridden with it a few times in the rain, but one shower was very heavy and the light seemed fine, thanks to the rubberised switch cover and greased seal. The only drawback I have noticed is the vagueness of the light’s click when seated in the bracket, but as long as you double check before riding, that shouldn’t be a problem.

So; if you are looking for a cheap ‘be seen’ commuter light the RSP LAA833 is definitely recommended.

Saw these  Cyclehoop’s on a post from Hong Kong Fixed today. At first glance they look pretty cool, and are an excellent idea for expanding limited bike parking, but I do see some problems.

Firstly; you could only install them somewhere that the council wouldn’t rip them off what ever you installed them. Secondly, they appear to be held on with shear bolts. The problem with bolts, as opposed to welds, is that bolts can be drilled or tapped out pretty easily making the removal of the hoop a distinct possibility.

Still; I think they are a great idea, especially for small companies or schools that wish to expand bike parking easily, but I would like to see how much they cost before believing.

Some pics from the London Skyride, of the Gorgeous Kelly Brook on her bicycle…

Awesome!