A view from the cycle path: Two days of winter commuting

Saturday, 19 December 2009

Two days of winter commuting

On Thursday it was -6 C and snowing as I left home. I set off anyway, on surfaces which varied over the 30 km of my commute. Our road was quite snowy, so progress was slow. The canal cycle path had recently been plowed, but it was a bit slushy due to more snow having fallen. The same was true of much of the rest of the distance, but half way it greatly improved. I followed a wonderfully clear path, and even stopped and took a photo of it. However I then caught up with the snow plow, which was itself stuck in snow. After this the surfaces got a bit worse. It was clear that the attempts to clear snow were not quite working.

It took an hour and fifty minutes to get to work. Twice as long as usual, and it was quite hard work. The Mango picked up quite a bit of snow along the way to work. Harry got a nice photo of it just after arrival.

As we worked, the snow continued and attempts to clear it were only temporary. The snowfall was actually quite heavy for this area. 30 cm fell in some places.

It was quite clear that the normally very comprehensive gritting and ploughing of the cycle paths was not working as well as usual, and I was concerned about how long it would take to get home by bike.

A delivery had to be made in Assen, so I drove the Sinner van home on Thursday evening. It was the first time I'd driven in over two years. I'm not that keen on driving, but due to concerns about whether the paths and roads would be clear I happily took the chance to drive. It took over an hour. Longer than it usually takes to cycle.

On Friday morning I drove back to work. This time the roads were mostly quite clear, and apart from getting lost in Groningen due to only knowing the route by bike, it was a straightforward commute. After work I returned home in the Mango, and made reasonable time. An hour and 15 minutes. Most of the cycle paths were pretty clear, but I did have a bit of fun on slippery stuff along the way. I was soon down to two layers as it was simply too hot with my fleece on.

Judy got some photos from the city centre and of snowballing outside our home. My daughter's friends arrived by bike as usual.

My Mango is just over two months old and has just short of 2200 km on the clock. Great fun ! Read my review of the Sinner Mango Velomobile.

3 comments:

Pjotr320 said...: I rode to Nazca on Friday and it only took 20 minutes more than normal, 1:50 hour. I could ride all paths with at least 22km/h. And I even had a long stretch in which I could do close to 30.
It was a long day, so I got home at 11pm after another pleasant 42km ride with beautiful scenery and very little traffic.
Assen's mayor cycling routes where pretty clean.; 19 December 2009 at 17:20
David Hembrow said...: The major routes are pretty good, but overall I don't think it's quite so good as last year. Perhaps it's because it all arrived in such a hurry this year.; 19 December 2009 at 18:15
Zyzzyx said...: That's some impressive snow riding in a velo. I've wondered how much the footholes would scoop up the snow if deep enough.

We've only had a few days of snow here (melted off already), but it does give me a little regret getting a white Quest instead of yellow. Blends in just too much. Oh well, the rest of the year I'm pleased with the white. So, unfortunately for me, when it snows here, I'm back in the car. :(; 19 December 2009 at 19:42

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.