Cycling against the flow of traffic was an eye-opener

I had the interesting experience of cycling against the flow of traffic on the cycle track that goes between St Helier and St Aubin last Wednesday.

It was eye opening. In the past, I had heard that even pedestrians who were miles away from the designated cycle path felt threatened, and I can believe it.

It must be the most hotly contested daily cycle race on the island, and what a fine selection of participants, there is a broad spectrum of riders ranging from the super slim on exotic racing bikes to the surprisingly chunky on much more modest equipment.

The only common denominator is the overwhelming desire to get in front of whoever’s ahead of you, at any cost.

They were probably still stuck in the day to day competitive environment of the office, one thing I did notice, on nearly everyone’s face was a stiff-jawed unsmiling look of determination, and I began to wonder quite how much cycling one had to do before you became stress free. Someone has probably done a clinically measured experiment on that.

The old motorsport adage:  ’When the flag drops, the bull sh*t stops’,  also sprang to mind, so for those commuters who think they must prove a point, here are the website addresses of the island’s cycling clubs:

Caesarean cycling club: http://www.ccc.org.je/index.htm

Velosport Jersey: http://www.velosportjersey.com/

Breaking News

• Last week’s news about all those bikes lying unused in Scotland would appear to have struck a chord, on Friday Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson announced a £3.9M investment plan to encourage cycling. Among the measures to be taken are: £2.5M to improve cycling infrastructure; a £150,000 loan scheme to help employers improve workplace facilities and £300,000 to go towards cycle training for children.

• I see that Sainsburys have just gone ahead with a Bike to Work scheme. The initiative is available to 150,000 staff in over 800 stores around the British Isles. Their scheme is being run by Cyclescheme, which means staff will be able to choose their bikes from over 1,500 cycle shops.

• The BBC dropped a clanger last week when a BBC London reporter claimed that not wearing a cycle helmet in London was illegal. This is incorrect of course.

• With only a few days to go until the Tour de France starts, the news that Belgian tour veteran Tom Boonen is out of the Quick Step team with a knee injury will sadden many of his fans, especially as the Tour passes through Belgium and the Netherlands this year.

Here is a reprise of some of Boonen’s greatest moments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNNXI_vERNU&feature=related

• Not a happy ending for Sir Steve Redgrave on his Race Across AMerica last week, when a horrendous accident saw him lose control of his bike and sustain two broken ribs, a broken cheek bone and a broken wrist. Until then,his eight man team were in line to finish fourth in the 3,000 mile event.

• Reporting stolen bikes has leapt into the 21st century with a new system from Bike Revolution. They have launched a free online bicycle registration service which uses mobile phones to scan and report stolen bikes. Bike Revolution’s anti-theft tag can be read by anyone with a smartphone, and if it is on a stolen bike, it reports this.

Find out more: www.bikerevolution.org

• A recent in-depth study of the potential cycle market in The United Kingdom by management consultants Allegra Strategies suggests that the market is far bigger than previously thought. In fact they see the market growing by more than 20% each year; they cite Halford’s bike sales, Tesco’s move into cycle retailing and the growth of cycling in London as indicators to the growth in the market.

• An extra inducement for 2010 Tour de France riders taking part in the Brandt Most Aggressive Rider Red Bib Prize has to be receiving your award from one of the lovely Miss France regional candidates. The winner on 14^th July, the French national holiday will be awarded his prize by Miss France herself, Melika Menard.

And Finally,

Don’t forget that Le Grand Boucle, or the Tour de France starts this Saturday 3 July.

Get live coverage from VeloNews: http://velonews.competitor.com/live

Arthur Lamy is a freelance writer and tourist guide specialising in cycling. www.cycleinjersey.com