Is it possible to cycle round Crewe off road? 
15 local cyclists had a go today in glorious sunshine. We left after the Tea and Tinker session at CC Cycles to try to complete a circuit on segregated paths. The first snag we hit was that there are none that connect with the town centre so our first 200 yards were squeezing past parked cars down Broad st to connect with the start of the Leighton Greenway. We went round that then back across Broad st, over the footbridge across the West Coast mainline at the north corner of the  cemetery. Why is this pedestrian only, and why is the gate to the cemetery welded shut folk asked. we then went round Sir William Stanier school to find a link with Sydney Road Bridge. Pushing bikes over a bumpy meadow (pictured)we found a narrow rough path to the bridge where we had to cross between the single phase lights and back again to connect with the footpath alongside the rail line to hungerford Surgery. Although we were going extra carefully at this stretch, as it is not yet a designated shared space, we still overtook a train pulling into the station! Going round School Crescent and crossing Hungerford Rd we joined the brand new Macon Meadow path to the Macdonalds Drive Thru. Resisting that challenge we focused on getting past Crewe station. The roundabout is too daunting for novice riders and the clockwise path leads you into the two lane merge, which even in a car is scary, so we opted to cross by the garage and push our bikes past the station to Pedley St where we joined the new path which forms part of the new route to town along Edleston road.
We found that apart from links in the centre of town, a few non cycling paths, and of course, Nantwich Road at Crewe station, it is possible to get round town to work, leisure or shops off road, if you are willing to take long detours and go slowly.

For the second year running the British Cycling Annual General Meeting was held in the 'cycling capital of Cheshire' and home town of Shanaze Reid. British Cycling's Chief Executive, Ian Drake, (pictured at Crewe Hall) thanked ACT's welcome to the town and said it was a fitting venue to celebrate the extraordinary success of the sports governing body whose membership has reached 80,000  with over 40% year on year growth. When asked why none of the hundred plus delegates had actually cycled to Crewe Hall he explained that delegates had come from all over the country, and most train services to Crewe only take four bicycles. He agreed that cycling infrastructure has to be a priority. Weston Road, which connects Crewe Hall just a mile from the station, is notoriously unattractive to local cyclists. The road is unlit, too narrow for vehicles to pass a cyclist with oncoming traffic, and the footpath is narrow and overgrown. It is in fact the only place where I have come off a bike in the last 15 years, trying to hug the kerb. There are many  workers at the Hall who work shifts out of bus hours who have to cycle along this dangerous road. If it is not suitable for the nations top cyclists, why should we subject our own people to this danger? 

Funding and planning permission has been obtained for the the new Crewe Green link road which will connect Weston with the University Way /Weston Road roundabout.. This new road is costing £27 MILLION for 1.1 km of dual carrageway. Yes, it will have a cyclepath, but it would be invidious to spit cyclists out on the totally unsuitable Weston Road. We suggest that the existing road should be downgraded from an A road and traffic calming or even closure should be considered. This will encourage vehicles to use the wider bypass and make the approach to Crewe Hall a safe and pleasant experience which will boost local tourism.

To mark National Bike Week, volunteers joined forces to encourage and explore cheaper, healthier and greener travel options in Crewe.

As a result of this, two Crewe schools have announced a 'Cycle Amnesty' to ensure local children have access to affordable bikes ready for the summer holidays. Crewe Christian Concern, famous for their furniture recycling project, will collect any old bikes from Hungerford and Underwood West schools this Thursday, 27th June. They will use them to train adults in mechanic and maintenance skills and then sell the refurbished bikes in the regular Friday sales at affordable prices.

Rev. Rob Wykes said "CC Cycles is already training and employing adults with different abilities to enable those who could not afford bus fares or a car to get to work in a way that is good for them, the environment and their pocket. Please bring your old bikes or ring 01270 586186 to arrange a free collection".

ACT volunteers and Cheshire East staff gave out advice and cycle maps to interested passers by, while Velo Management taught people mountain biking skills.ACT chair Paul Wade noticed a strong interest in developing safer local routes. “We spoke to several nurses from Leighton Hospital. These health conscious commuters are looking to the council to use government and local funding to complete the route to one of the biggest employment sites in Crewe.” 


The motto of Crewe is 'Progress Together', and today's Bike event on the Municipal Square was a good example of that. Standing in front of the ACT stall you can see a Spanish health professional, some cycling commuters from East Timor, a church leader and the chair of the Crewe Vintage Cycling Association exchanging views on what cyclists need in Crewe.

Younger people tried mountain biking skills on the upper level and Cheshire Police marked over 20 cycles. Generous passers by gave or pledged half a dozen bikes, which were balanced by the selling of 6 machines that will help local people get to school or work in a economic, healthy and environmentally and socially friendly way.

It has just been announced that 2012 was the wettest year on record. Brilliant news for cyclists and walkers, as this means it will probably be dryer next year! 
Rain is often cited by motorists as a reason for driving, but if you believe many climatologists it is actually driving that causes the rain. The link between carbon, global warming and increased rainfall in our hemisphere is well documented. 
It is trite but true that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. You can make yourself pretty well immune to rain with a cycling cape for less than a tenner. Not glamorous admittedly, but well ventilated and waterproof. The only snag I found is that they can act like a sail, and as any cyclist will tell you, the wind is always against you. 

If you haven't experienced the sudden opening of a door you won't plan for it properly. You can't avoid it as there's no time to look behind to make sure it's safe to swerve out in front of possible passing cars.

There is an immutable law that states that this only happens once to a cyclist. After the first experience a cyclist never rides along a row of parked cars within the metre that is a car door span. When it happened to me, l landed fairly comfortably in the drivers lap. As the driver helped me out she was as shocked as I was and just kept repeating, "Oh I'm so sorry, my boss cycles to work every day." I'm not sure how comforting she meant this to be, but it didn't help straighten my front wheel.