A view from the cycle path: School Triathlon

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

School Triathlon

The circle shows the 20 km radius from within which children
cycle to school in Assen. The green spots are approximate
locations where friends of our children live and from where
they cycle to school. The red line shows the triathlon route

We're nearing the end of the school year and school activities are leaning towards the less serious. Yesterday my youngest daughter took part in a triathlon. All the children in the first year of education at her secondary school (most are now thirteen) were given a pink sheet of instructions with directions to a running track and swimming pool roughly a 35 km round trip distance. It is, of course, expected that every child will have arrived at school by bike and be able to take part in the activity.

The instructions start "at the front of the school, by the cycle parking". Part of her school's cycle parking is shown at the left. There are more cycle parking spaces than students.

Perhaps some of the more sporty minded children rode quickly, but I'm quite sure that for many children the journey was made at a more relaxed pace while talking with friends. At secondary school, constant supervision isn't usually necessary, but during the triathlon there were teachers out on the route at controls every few km to make sure no-one was taking a short cut !

Last year my daughter was still in primary school at this time of year. The last primary school cycle trip was a 150 km cycle camping tour. At that age they were accompanied by teachers or parents at all times when cycling.

Staying on the school theme... Last year I made a video of primary aged children going to school by bike on a perfectly normal (though cold) morning. That video has now had over 20000 views. It's worth seeing again:

Explanatory captions on this video are only visible if it's played on a computer and not on a mobile device.

While we knew that children cycled to school before we moved over here, we had no idea about the number of other school trips that they made by bike.

School bags dangling from flag poles are a common sight right now. When school is over, this is a way of announcing the fact.

While most live closer, some secondary students ride a 40 km round trip each day just to get to school.

4 comments:

It's The Gardening Lady said...: It's another blooming world... Here we get schools banning children from coming by bike! And some which are actively encouraging it, I'm glad to say, but not nearly enough.; 24 June 2009 at 23:53
Nipper said...: Hi David,

Another great post! I am a UK primary school teacher and was amazed by the video. I wish all UK schools could work to the safety standards of the Dutch schools. I felt moved to post your video on my blog and make further comments.

Best
Nipper; 25 June 2009 at 02:11
tvcommentaar said...: About the bags and the flags. Thats only when you pass your exams and when your done with your secondary school.; 25 June 2009 at 13:00
Major Taylor said...: Very interesting and informative blog! Thanks for all of the information.; 27 June 2009 at 23:29

Posts sorted by subject

The positive stuff
Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle.
A second revolution took place on Dutch streets in the late 20th century, transforming streets which were just as clogged by cars as those of other nations.
Pedestrians are well catered for in the Netherlands and pedestrianized shopping streets are common. Usually they allow cycling for access.
Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers".
Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe.
A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together.
Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling. Primarily campaigning should be for children to be able to cycle. These links include reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s.
What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands.
Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands
Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed
Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists
Unravelling of routes is vitally important
History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder"
Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling
Directness - examples of prioritising cycling
Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands.
Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries.
Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share
Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice.
Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world.
School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike.
Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand.
Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time.
Health effects of cycling
Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again.
Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes.
Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands.
Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.

The less positive stuff
What not to do if you want a cycling "revolution" - Long list of interventions and policies which are not helpful.
Copy the best examples from the Netherlands - a short list summarising the above. Important to copy the best examples, not just anything "Dutch". Bear in mind that the Netherlands is not perfect.
Shared Space - this much hyped idea simply does not work well. It disenfranchises the vulnerable and claims of safety are exaggerated. Don't confuse the concept with far more successful nearly car free streets.
Shared Use Paths designed to be used by pedestrians and cyclists together. These rarely work well because the two user groups are too different and it leads to conflicts. They are not built in the Netherlands (but cycle access to pedestrianized zones is good).
Strict (or presumed) liability - If you think this is an important part of why people cycle in the Netherlands then it is probably not what you think it is.
Helmets - one of several ways of scaremongering about the supposed dangers of what is actually a very safe means of transport

Myths about cycling

Long list of myths and Excuses - Various reasons that many people, even existing cyclists, give for why the cycling rate is low in their country, including:
  "our streets are too narrow"
  "it's too expensive"
  "our population is too spread out"
  "we have hills
  "our distances are too great"
  "it took decades in the Netherlands"
  "it's because of the price of gas"
  "it's the weather"
  "Cycle-paths cause indirect journeys"
  "Cycle-paths make people slow"
Cycling is "booming" in Britain - a claim we hear remarkably frequently, but it'll take a lot more than the action taken now before it will be true.
The Truth about Copenhagen - Pretty pictures and nice branding are all very well, but facts are important too. Denmark has no explanation of why the cycling modal share is falling in Copenhagen. The Netherlands has avoided this problem and sets a much better example of how to achieve a high cycling rate.
The Truth about Cambridge - Cambridge in the UK has made claims of being a true cycling city. The city does have the highest cycling rate in the English speaking world, but there are special reasons for its high cycling rate which cannot be copied elsewhere. Most people don't talk about this. I do.
London Superhighways - Unfortunately, London seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the idea of prioritizing cyclists.
Boris Bikes - London's bike share scheme, just like others worldwide, lacks the capacity to make any real change, and makes up for it with hype.