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.

This morning I took a ride to see the Trafalgar Sun. Other than providing a nice bit of publicity for Tropicana, I thought it would also be a good chance to test out to ATC-Mini Helmet Camera.

The ATC-Mini Helmet camera costs £123. Which is a bit of bargain considering the high video quality. However, the price does hop up a little when you throw in the handlebar mount at £25 and a £5 micro SD memory card.

What immediately does stand out is the quality of the mount. This gives a good range of mounting options and allows you to adjust the position to perfection. It is also very easy to use, although you can’t really make adjustments while you are riding.

On first inspection the 720p video is clear enough to see licence plates and doesn’t suffer too much from road vibrations. This should make the camera great for recording mountain bike rides as well as for safety during commutes.

The video below shows the ATC-Mini Helmet camera during the night and daytime. I’ll have a full review on London Cyclist in the next few weeks.

Also, if you are interested in the Trafalgar Sun then I’ve upload some pictures to the London Cyclist Flickr. If you’d like to go and see it for yourself, then it should be there until the end of today.

It’s that time of the year again when we all descent on the London Bike Show to take a look into what the bicycle companies have in store for us in 2012.

The show starts on Thursday the 12th of Jan at 10am and runs until Sunday the 15th. The busiest day is always the Saturday. However, this is also when most the attractions are on.

This year in particular the Training Hub looks to be of much interest. For £99 you get a full assessment of your cycling performance and you are given tips on how you can improve. Whilst that won’t appeal to the “just want to get from A to B” side of me it get’s my “I want to ride faster than my friends” competitive side tingling in anticipation. The £99 test includes “Fascial Stretch Therapy” and Postural Testing. If that makes you screw up your face wondering what on earth the sentence you’ve just read means, then there’s more on the website.

My recommendations from last year:

• Take cash – the few cash points inside are likely to be busy and you are after all visiting the world’s largest bike shop
• Use Cycle Superhighway 3 to get there – they’ll be cycle parking outside
• Factor in some time to wonder around the Boat Show and the Outdoor Show

For tickets click here.

This table lists the cyclists killed in London in 2011:

1. Gary Mason (48, male) Sandy Lane South
2. Daniel Cox (28, male) Dalston Junction
3. Tom Barrett (44, male) A40
4. David Poblet (20, male) Tanner Street
5. Paula Jurek (20, female) Camden Road
6. Gavin Taylor (40, male) Mildmay Grove North
7. Naoko (34, female) Queen Caroline Street
8. Thomas Stone (13, male) Bell Farm Avenue
9. Unknown (62, male) Layhams Road
10. Paul McGreal (44, male) Hackney Road
11. Johannah Bailey (49, female) Cavendish Road
12. Sam Harding (25, male) Holloway Road
13. Min Joo Lee (24, female) Pentonville Road
14. Brian Dorling (58, male) Payne Road
15. Svitlana Tereschenko (34, female) Bow Road
16. Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Carey (22, female) Abbey Street

This evening at 6 p.m. they’ll be a chance to remember them at the King’s Cross Vigil. The Vigil is organised by the LCC, RoadPeace, London Living Streets and cycling bloggers.

The event is open to anyone who wants to mark their respect. It will be part of a larger call on the Mayor and TfL to put cyclist safety above “smoothing traffic flow”.

On one hand it feels that posting the names of cyclists killed on London’s roads is off putting to new cyclists and creates the image that cycling is a risky activity. However, it would be wrong to let these tragic deaths go unrecognised. It reminds us of the dangers and to be as careful as we can be. It is also a chance to rally together as London cyclists.

What can be done?

Reading through what accident reports are available, a repeating pattern emerges. Heavy Goods Vehicles are involved in a disproportionate number of incidents. Wide blind spots are blamed for the problem.

Part of the solution is seen as a rollout of Trixi Mirrors. The mirrors installed at key junctions reduce drivers blind spots. Currently they’ve been implemented in the first Cycle Superhighway and have received positive feedback from drivers and cycling campaigners. Thanks to their perceived benefit, the Mayor has pledged to continue their rollout to all new cycle superhighways as they are built.

Unfortunately, any progress of getting Trixi mirrors installed in some of the most dangerous junctions in London is hampered pending approval by the Department for Transport. They are likely to need more statistical evidence before granting wider permissions.

Training for HGV drivers is another way of improving cycle safety in London. Currently it isn’t mandatory for freight companies to provide training to their drivers. The Freight Operator Recognition Scheme by TfL is one route some companies have pro-actively joined. Once again the feedback of these training schemes has been very positive. HGV drivers have noted an improved awareness of what it is like to be a cyclist and of the potential dangers.

The more recent rallying cry by cyclists and campaigners is for safer design of junctions. The Blackfriars Bridge protests were a part of this. However, so far this advice has largely been ignored and walkouts by the conservative assembly members have delayed any fruitful discussion as to ways of moving forward.

While Dutch style infrastructure remains largely a pipedream for London cyclists, it is clear that in 2012 the Mayor, whoever that will be, will continue to face tough questions about ignoring cyclist safety. Those tough questions will come from cyclists who continue to pile on the pressure in any way they can. Perhaps the most encouraging thing to have come out of 2011 is the increased organisation of cyclists as a group and the growing power that gives them.

Thanks to Ben Broomfield for the picture and Olaf Storbeck for compiling the statistics on serious cyclist incidents in London.

What’s the typical image of a handyman? Someone who tells you they’ll turn up between 10am at 4pm and turn up at 5pm, ums and ahs and then provides you with a highly inflated price which you grudgingly agree to because you need to get the job done.

What if someone turned up on time, on a specially modified cargo bike filled to the brim with tools, was friendly, gave you a fair price and expertly fixed everything quickly whilst not leaving any mess behind?

That’s the sort of London Handyman service Green Work Force is providing, with a strong focus towards being carbon neutral. That gets plenty of nods of agreement from cyclists. Scoring extra points, is the way the company offers reduced rates to UK charities.

To celebrate 3 years of success, Green Work Force has been nice enough to offer London Cyclist readers 10% off. So if shelves need fitting, walls need painting or electrical work needs doing, in the office or at home, then now would be a good time to give them a call on 020 3291 1298. To get 10% off simply quote London Cyclist.

Bit more background to Green Work Force..

• Started in 2008 by William Mobsby a resident of Hackney
• All work comes with a one year guarantee
• Covers central London (click here to see areas covered)
• Employs only the best handymen who take pride in their work

Note: This is a sponsored post

At 11am tomorrow (Sunday 18th of September) the Tour of Britain is returning to central London. This is the grand finale and there’s a good chance to take a look at it along the route.

The route takes in Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and the Tower of London. On the day they’ll be a time trial, a charity ride for Prostate Cancer and of course, the closing race which will cover 8 laps of the circuit.

The start point is near Whitehall, just outside Downing Street.

For more information visit http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/

The opening piece explains everything about the exhibition. It is a meticulously hand built dry stone wall. The wall, common throughout British countryside, is built using a single material, it lasts 1000’s of years and has multiple uses. The exhibition is a celebration of such clever use of materials. The pieces inside combine art, making, science and engineering to create beautiful and useful objects.

Sanomagic Mahogany bicycle

Using steam-bent timber and other clever manufacturing techniques more commonly found in boat making, Sueshiro Sano has built a fast and light wooden road bike.

Splinter bike: 100% wood

Built to win a bet and using only different types of wood, the Splinter bike has set speeds of 18 km/h and the makers say in the right conditions it could do far more.

Airbike nylon bicycle

Constructed using laser sintering, nylon powder has been fused into successive solid layers. This is the world’s first workable nylon bicycle.

Swarovski crystal low-rider custom bicycle

With over 110,000 Swarovski crystals the low-ride bike is a glittering sight. The bicycle was inspired by low-rider motorcycles Ben Wilson, the maker, saw on a trip to California.

At the back of the exhibition there is also 30 short films showcasing people totally absorbed in their craft. One of the videos features the guys from Condor cycles building a wheel.

The curator Daniel Charny hopes the exhibition will inspire future makers to learn and teach skills and create new things.

More information on the Exhibition is available from: www.vam.ac.uk/powerofmaking. Keep your eye out for the special talks and workshops. Especially, on Saturday 15th of October there is a bespoke bicycles workshop. It costs £63 and allows you to customise your bike using leather or luxury fabrics. The exhibition itself is free and bicycle parking is available outside.

See also:

• Is this the future of bicycle helmets?

Trek Madone 3.1

Going from a £200 second hand hybrid bike to a £1300 Trek Madone 3.1 road bike was always going to be a huge leap. Fortunately, not in the difficulty of riding. Even a friend of mine who has not ridden a bike in 8 years was able to hop on the Trek Madone and ride without difficulties.

The main change is in the riding position. For someone going from the sit-up-and-beg position to get-your-head-down-and-ride it was always going to take a few rides to get used to the change. After riding with the Trek Madone I found myself missing the drop bars on my hybrid bike.

The Madone 3.1 uses the Tektro R540 calliper brake combined with the Shimano 105 STI levers. In practise this combination didn’t deliver as much braking power as I would have liked. Especially for riding around London. A place well known for cars swinging out of nowhere. However, an inexpensive upgrade to the stock pads is likely to make a big difference.

Whilst the Madone may struggle to come to a halt, it certainly doesn’t struggle to pickup speed. In a couple of unscientific tests around Regents Park I saw a jump in my average speed from 13.5 mph to just above 17 mph. In practise, riding this bike around central London, the difference is unlikely to be so dramatic due to all the stopping and starting. None the less, on longer rides such as from London to Brighton, this will make a huge difference to your time.

The speed boost can be attributed to a number of factors. The lightness of the bike means there is less weight to have to push around on your pedals, the riding position is optimised for speed and the higher-end wheels, combined with thin 23c tyres deliver better performance.

Overall, from my first few rides, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the Trek Madone 3.1. My full review will follow a few months from now.

The fear of locking up the Trek Madone and crossing my fingers that it will still be there when I return

The Trek Madone 3.1 is unbelievably fun to ride. It is speedy, comfortable and looks great. However, those three factors also make it highly expensive and highly desirable. In other words: Highly attractive to thieves.

Take for example a recent summers day spent in Battersea Park. After a while lounging around we decided to checkout the food festival. It was time to leave the bike unattended but locked to the railings. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck.

Despite using the correct locking technique by securing both the wheels and the frame and using an excellent lock it was tough to leave such an expensive piece of kit out of my sight.

To calm my nerves there are a couple of things I could do. I could get my bicycle insured and I could also purchase lockable components. However, the bike is on loan from Trek for less than 12 months so such expenditures seem unnecessary.

If I was riding to work and leaving my bike in a secure garage then I’d feel far more comfortable. But that’s not my reality – my bike goes everywhere with me around London. This beautiful, expensive road bike is therefore relegated to the occasional use, when I know it will be in my sight. Ultimately, this is what would put me off riding one around London all the time.

Also from road bike week:

• Best value road bikes
• Great road cycling routes around London
• Why a road bike?

Another great way to find a good one is by recommendations. Are you part of a cycling club? If so, how is it?

Leave a comment below…

See also:

1. London’s cycle cafes
2. How does your bike fit?
3. Riding the Arch to Arc
4. Turning right on a multi-lane roundabout

With news of the scheme expanding east and west, love stories on Boris Bikes and news of how cycle hire schemes saves lives… you can’t help but ask: How are you getting along now, with the cycle hire scheme?

There was plenty of fuss in the beginning about overcharges, cards not working and docking problems. These seem to have drifted away from media attention but recent experience suggests problems are still persisting.

I’d like to hear from everyone’s experiences at the moment – the good and the bad.

Please leave a comment below.