It has emerged over the past 24 hours that the first cyclist to be killed in London this year was an experienced courier. This is a poignant reminder that even if you follow safety advice and have experience there are still many dangers out there. It also brings home once more the importance of campaigns such as the recent one by The Times.

Henry Warwick was a bicycle courier who worked for Rico Logistics. The incident occurred last Friday at the junction of Wormwood Street and Bishopsgate. This was promptly reported on by the Times and BBC London.

Many members of LFGSS have expressed their grief in the forum. In the thread there is also a video of Henry Warwick introducing Ed Robertson to life in London as a cycle courier.

A memorial ride will be held on Friday.

With two bikes clogging my room and one clogging the hallway, it’s easy to think this house belongs to some kind of fanatical cycling blogger. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The house doesn’t belong to me, I rent.

However, as one reader recently asked me via email, which one do I use to ride around London on a daily basis?

My Voodoo mountain bike

I can see why people ride mountain bikes around London. I truly can. I sympathise that they are reliable and cheap. Often they’ve been a Christmas gift that has been in the family for many years.

However, that doesn’t stop me thinking that riding a mountain bike around central London is an exercise in futility.

Before someone throws a mountain bike at me – here’s why:

1. Dual suspension: Slows you down.
2. Thick tyres: Slows you down.
3. Ultra wide handlebars: Slows you down
4. Heavy frame: Slows you down.

Riding around London is by no means a race. I for one love cutting back on my speed on occasion and just enjoying a leisurely ride home. (Often because I’m totally exhausted from the ride there!). However, on a mountain bike, after riding a short distance to the train station I feel I’ve just competed in some kind of cross country marathon.

The mountain bike therefore, rarely sees any action.

My Marin hybrid bike

My hybrid bike was my go to bicycle for a couple of years of riding in London. It was the bicycle that caused me to fall in love with cycling and indeed London itself. Fairly fast, reliable, incredibly easy to ride and doesn’t really look worth stealing.

Through rain, snow and sunshine the bike has performed it’s duty both in the UK and in Europe. I couldn’t really fault it, until one day things changed for ever.

My Raleigh single speed

The day things changed, was the day I first laid eyes on a beautiful red, slim and sexy Raleigh frame in the Cloud 9 Cycles shop. I knew things would never be the same.

Suddenly my old Marin bike was a little slow, lacking in a more comfortable drop bar riding position and especially lacking in a certain charm that I found in the old Raleigh frame. I’d fallen in love with cycling all over again.

For short rides around London I believe it is perfect. Simple, reliable, light and fast. Also, I’m hoping it doesn’t attract too much attention from bike thieves, courtesy of the slightly worn look complete with tape coming off the handlebars. Although, this can be just as much down to the dual locking system I use.

Your bike of choice around London

Some people will have read this article nodding along and others will completely disagree with me. That’s one of the beautiful things about cycling. Whichever bike you choose to use, you’ll quickly find yourself inseparable from it. There’s a reason many people give their bike a name. They quickly become a part of who you are – it’s why a theft really sets you back beyond the pure monetary loss.

What bikes have you ridden around London or elsewhere over the years?

We all like to think we are the fastest cyclist around town. Especially those who like to play the silly commuter race. You know who you are!

But how rare is it to get a chance to actually prove it in a 250 metre sprint challenge?

Well, in steps the Deloitte Ride Across Britain City 250 Challenge and Olympic Gold medal winner James Cracknell.

On Wednesday the 8th of February at Finsbury Avenue Square the challenge begins and you are invited to take part and pit yourself against all comers including James Cracknell, Rebecca Romero and Paralympic flag bearer Danny Crates.

The fastest man and woman will be rewarded with one of the few remaining places on this year’s Deloitte RAB ride worth £1,740. There is also a prize for the fastest company team.

A Boardman Carbon Pro racing bike worth £2k will also be up for grabs in a prize draw.

The challenge will benefit the British Paralympic Association.

For more information and to sign up for this September’s Deloitte Ride Across Britain event, visit www.rideacrossbritain.com

In my adventures in trying to dress up as Lala from the Teletubbies I’ve found the ATC Mini Helmet Camera to be an irreplaceable accessory.

Teletubby impersonations aside, what does the ATC Mini Helmet Camera by Oregon Scientific offer cyclists?

High quality HD video

In tests with the ATC Mini helmet camera for cyclists, I’ve found the video quality to be excellent. The camera doesn’t suffer from curved recording edges, you can see licence plates and there haven’t been any issues where the recording has been too dark. Although, it’s not quite the level of the more expensive HD Hero helmet camera, it should be enough for most uses.

However, there is a downside to this high quality of video. For every one minute of video you are looking at around a 100mb file. On a 25 minute commute, you’d therefore have 2.5 gigs of data. You can buy 32GB Micro SD cards which costs around £30 and that should prevent you from running out of juice. The battery lasts for approximately 1.5 hours.

There is one further consideration. If you’ve got an older laptop then it may struggle to edit the HD video. You’ll find that converting the video to MP4 format will dramatically reduce the file size while maintaining the quality.

Wide Range of mounting options

The ATC Mini Helmet Camera has an excellent range of mounting options. Especially, when coupled with the ATC Mini Handlebar Mount. Thanks to the low weight of the unit it shouldn’t be a problem to place it on the helmet. I found the helmet mount provides the most clear angle for bike rides.

What really stood in my review of the ATC Mini is that you can make some excellent micro adjustments to get the recording angle just right. This is thanks to the design of the mount. Out of all the helmet cameras I’ve tested, I’ve found the mounting system in the ATC Mini the most useful.

Despite the lack of an LCD monitor it wasn’t too hard to guess where the camera was pointed. I found that from the first ride my guesses were pretty accurate.

(The video at the end of this post demonstrates the benefit of multiple mounting angles)

Easy to use

The ATC Mini helmet camera is designed to make life simple:

• To upload video you just plug it in to your computer without needing any additional software.
• There are just three buttons on the unit (On/Off, Camera, Video) all of them easy to press even with gloves
• Mounting is quick and painless (just don’t forget to tighten the screw that holds the camera in place!)

Waterproof

With water resistance of up to 20 metres you’ll have to seek out a pretty deep pothole to be in any difficulty. It’s great that this is something included straight out of the box with the ATC Mini, rather than having to invest in additional accessories.

Video Review

Review of the ATC Mini Helmet Camera

Overall, there’s a lot to love about the Oregon Scientific ATC Mini. Waterproof, competitively priced, high quality video and excellent mounting. Any let downs? 1.5 hour battery life may not offer enough juice for all purposes and when mounted to your helmet you do look a little silly!

Three months ago Times Reporter Mary Bowers was hit by a lorry as she made her way to her office. She remains in critical condition in hospital. Today, her colleagues have launched a campaign to call for safer measures to be put in place to protect cyclists.

The campaign has a front page position in the Times newspaper and is calling for people to visit this page to pledge their support:

http://thetim.es/cyclecampaign

Additionally, people on Twitter are asked to use the #cyclesafe to see if it can become a trending topic.

The times is calling for the below measures:

1. Trucks entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible truck-turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels.
2. The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side.
3. A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety.
4. Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision.
5. The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.
6. 20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes.
7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London.
8. Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

It’s good to see a big newspaper getting behind the campaign for safer cycling conditions. A front page feature helps get the message across to an audience that perhaps is less aware of the issues. Hopefully they’ll be a few copies of the Times floating around parliament today.

If you’ve ever stood, ridden or driven through Euston Circus you’ll know it is a nightmare. An area infested with fumes, ear piercing screeches of buses coming to a halt and sirens every 20 seconds. This is a part of London that you can’t wait to get away from as soon as possible. Yet, in one of the worst examples of urban planning, lies the greatest potential for improvement. In amongst this chaos also exists one of my favourite cycling facilities in London that I use on an almost daily basis.

TfL’s 11m makeover plans for Euston Circus

TfL today announced their 11m makeover plan that they are currently accepting public consultation on.

In their press release they recognise that this is “a traffic dominated area which acts as a significant barrier for pedestrians and cyclists.”

The new design has been a collaboration between TfL, Camden Council, Design for London and British Land. It aims to make things a lot easier for pedestrians with fewer crossings and more pavement space.

TfL also state that it provides a safer journey for cyclists with plans to enhance the contraflow (against traffic) cycle lane along the Euston Road.

Camden Cyclists plans for Euston Circus

Whilst the design upgrades look set to improve things for pedestrians with wider pavements, trees and easier crossings, the improvements for cyclists appear severely limited.

Here’s an example of a typical ride currently using the contraflow lane:

The video shows how there is plenty of room from improvement through re-allocation of under used space. However, I see little in the plans that would serve cyclists better.

Instead, cyclists will now have to take a less direct route and will continue to face many of the difficulties shown in the video above.

The main point of contention, is that once again, cyclists are having to mix with heavy moving traffic. Whilst it is something that experienced cyclists are able to grin and bear, new cyclists will continue to be put off switching to a more effective mode of transport.

However, there is an alternative. The below is the proposal by Camden Cyclists:

The proposals make it far easier for cyclists to travel from Camden and the Euston Road down towards central London through a contraflow cycle lane. The space does exist to make this happen. This is a facility I would personally use on an almost daily basis.

They also call for phased traffic signals, similar to the ones that will be installed at Bow Roundabout. This would give cyclists time to move across multiple lanes of traffic without having to battle for road space. The plans do not compromise on the amount of road space available for vehicular traffic.

If the original TfL plans go ahead unchanged, then it is unlikely they’ll be any further major improvements for another 10 years.

Information on the public consultation can be found here.

However, the idea stuck with me. I couldn’t help thinking that I’d been a little too quick to judge and actually they would be pretty useful. In particular, if you need to tap your iPhone or mobile phone screen when it is in a bike mount. As I often do when I’m following a new route somewhere.

I looked around at a couple of different companies that sell these types of gloves and came across the eGlove eXtreme (it’s all about capital letters in strange places). I was impressed by the quality and the price seemed about right so I’ve added them to our London Cyclist eShop.

With the cold weather we are mid way through at the moment I thought it would be a good time to announce their addition.

If you are looking for a pair then have a look at the size chart at the bottom of this page because they are designed to have a very snug fit (time to ask around for a tape measure or ruler!) I’ll end this post with this random fact: I have a 19cm hand.

Question: Is it legal or technically illegal to “scoot” your bike on a pavement? Scooting is what you can see the adorable granny doing in the video above (thanks @yvessalmon for sharing!)

• Totally fine! I do it all the time
• Illegal! I know I may be fined for this

This was the question posed to me by Cas via email. Cas was stopped by two PCSO’s after scooting through Smithfield Market.

It was time to refer to my wonderful Twitterers for answers.

They pointed me to the ultimate website for answers to the questions that begin with “Is it legal to….” – the UK Cycle Rules blog.

Inside the blog was this post on riding on footpaths which says:

“freewheeling or standing on one pedal still counts as riding. (DPP v Selby [1994] RTR 157, 162; Crank v Brooks [1980] RTR 441, 442-3)”

The judgement stated:

"In my judgment a person who is walking across a pedestrian crossing pushing a bicycle, having started on the pavement on one side on her feet and not on the bicycle, and going across pushing the bicycle with both feet on the ground so to speak is clearly a ‘foot passenger’. If for example she had been using it as a scooter by having one foot on the pedal and pushing herself along, she would not have been a ‘foot passenger’. But the fact that she had the bicycle in her hand and was walking does not create any difference from a case where she is walking without a bicycle in her hand. I regard it as unarguable the finding that she was not a foot passenger "

A couple of readers also talked about friends who had received a fine.

Definitely illegal then. I imagine however, you’d have to be caught by a fairly grumpy or “by the book” policeman to receive the fine.

See also:

• Ever been doored? It is actually illegal
• What cyclists can be fined for

Just when you think you’ve seen everything in the big wide world of bicycle accessories, along come the folding mudguards.

Full Windsor QuickFix Folding Mudguard review

This British Made Full Windsor Folding Mudguard is a lazy (wo)mans mudguard. As there’s not actually that many days of the year that we are caught cycling in the rain it can be a useful accessory to have to hand. Especially as installation takes seconds as shown in the dodgy home made movie below:

My awful pre-conception of the mudguard would be that it would be flimsy and a pain to install. I was very much proven wrong.

The Full Windsor QuickFix comes in two editions. You can have the zip tie edition or the clip edition. I much preferred the clip edition which makes things quicker and easier to install and remove, and doesn’t waste precious zip ties.

You also have a choice of colours. For testing I was sent the white and yellow edition but I’d probably prefer the slightly less conspicuous black edition. Although, whichever edition you choose, you are going to stand out a little. If that’s in a good way or a bad way I leave to your own sense of reality to decide.

On my test ride in yesterdays petrol soaked London roads I was impressed. The folding mudguard kept my back dry and free of horrible road spray.

When we arrived at the destination (Lock Tavern!) I was a little confused as to whether I should be taking the mudguards off or leaving them on. I chose to leave them on and they were there when we returned after 5 pints a quick non-alcoholic beverage. However, priced at £14.99 on Wiggle I probably wouldn’t leave them on the bike for an extended period. This creates the problem of folding them up and putting them in your bag. Something that isn’t too desirable when they are covered in road muck.

I really like these origami style mudguards. I think they are a clever idea that has been well designed and manufactured. If you always ride your bike with mudguards then you really don’t have any use for them. However, if you want a mudguard that can be installed and removed in seconds for rain related emergencies then these get the big thumbs up from me!

Around this time of the year, it’s unavoidable to take a look at your belly, reminisce about the many big, delicious meals and think about how you are going to lose that Christmas weight.

The answer is of course cycling! However, take a look at the window and you’ll soon have those gloomy January feelings.

Fortunately – we know better weather conditions for cycling are to come! So here’s a great event to add to your cycling calendar.

The 2012 Breakthrough Breast Cancer London to Cambridge Bike Ride. The ride involves 5,000 cyclists sweating their way along the 96km route to Cambridge. It’s a gorgeous ride that quite a few of my friends have done in the past. You’ll cover beautiful Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire with rest stops on the way. Which are good for catching up with friends and meeting fellow cyclists.

The event takes place on Sunday the 22nd of July and sets off from Pickets Lock in North East London. Registration is only £19.50 per person or if you go as a team of 6 or more then £18.50 per person. This registration cost goes to cover the cost of the event, and so Breakthrough asks that each cyclist aims to raise £100 to support Breakthrough’s life-saving breast cancer work. Which shouldn’t have you pestering too many people at work!

Click here to visit the ride website for more details and get registered