notes

There has been a lot of news recently about making space for cyclists: changes to the Highway Code, new cycle lanes and so on, but riding a bike along a road like this can be a nerve-racking and potentially dangerous activity. The following diatribe uses examples taken from roads in our locality - the roads I know best - but our roads are pretty typical and the ideas are equally applicable across Britain. The photo above shows the only classified road (the B5023) in our local area. the speed limit here, a couple of hundred yards north of our village, is 50mph. A mile-and-a-half south of the village the limit drops to 40mph at Cowers Lane (a hamlet I mentioned in an earlier post - Planning to Save the Country). The two houses in this photo are on the edge of the settlement, about a hundred yards from the nearest pub and bus route. When driving along this road I often see people walking dogs along the edge of the carriageway. It is tempting to think 'they're crazy - it's so d...