This week’s round-up includes a few stories of cycling developments in London, and two excellent adventures either being planned or already under way in India and America.
Two weeks ago we wrote about London’s upcoming East-West Cycle Superhighway, and this week’s featured image is a screenshot from an Instagram video by MattSparkes showing the route’s first ever rider. The picture below shows planned additions to the route this month, and it will be fully open sometime next spring.
Stark news from The Telegraph this week, who report on a warning from Sustrans that funding for bike lanes in the UK is abou to plummet.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise given the government’s funding cuts on various cycling related schemes, but it does make for sad reading when considering the great projects that are being planned and built in the UK currently (like the East-West Cycle Superhighway, for example).
The government pledged to spend £10 per person on cycle infrastructure but research by Sustrans has found their spending actually comes in at around £4.20 per person, and is forecast to drop below £1 by 2018/19. Disappointing stuff, guys!
It’s not all doom and gloom though. To offset the previous story, we have good news from the capital that HGVs without the newest safety features have been banned from London roads.
The required safety features include a sideboard to prevent cyclists being swept underneath the vehicle should a collision occur, as well as curved mirrors to give the driver a better view of the surrounding area. A maximum fine of £1,000 is in place, as well as the risk of repeat offenders losing their operating licenses.
Further to last week’s story about efforts to get more people cycling in India, we’ve found another great story about a citizen’s attempt to change the country’s attitudes to cycling. The Hindu reported on Anahita Sriprasad’s plan to cycle from Kashmir to Kanyakumari ( miles) alone, to challenge the frequent refrain she and other female travellers are told.
The route clocks in at around 1,900 miles and is currently undergoing training, including ~400km of riding a week, to ensure she’ll be prepared for the terrain and temperature variations she’ll encounter en route.
Anahita is raising funds on Indiegogo and plans to shoot a documentary on the ride titled ‘On two wheels: 3,200 miles towards women’s safety’. We wish her luck and look forward to watching!
This week we found a heart-warming and impressive adventure that’s currently under way in America.
Matt Stoltz, “a 22 year old Wisconsin native and proud Badger”, is riding 11,000 miles unsupported to attend a baseball game at every Major League Baseball stadium. This is to raise funds for Biking For Baseball (B4B), an organisation who “promote and empower youth and youth mentoring programs through cycling, baseball, and coaching”.
To undertake such a huge ride for such a noble cause is truly impressive, so join us in wishing Matt good riding! He’s also covered the cost of the trip himself to ensure that all donations go straight to B4B.
If you want your day brightened we recommend checking out this video of a B4B event in progress:
December 14th, 2015 at 6:57 am
Thank you for the mention in your blog post.
Just an update, I completed my journey on the 9th of December, clocking 4528 km in 2 months and 5 days.
Cheers!
Anahita Sriprasad.
December 14th, 2015 at 7:01 am
Thank you for the mention in your blog post. 🙂
An update: I reached Kanniyakumari on the 9th of December, clocking 4528 km in 2 months and 4 days.
Thanks for the support.
Cheers!