Applespider

The Brixton brewery linked to further on the page is more interesting ;p I did notice a 'new' Sainsburys Local in Brixton the other night - there are now two within 100m of each other on the same side of the road which seems bizarre.

Many businesses are only upgrading to Windows 7 from XP rather than going to Windows 8. Although it's still involving lots of new kit so that it runs effectively. If you don't want to buy a new PC - and are reasonably tech savvy (you don't have to be a total geek) - then Linux isn't a bad idea. If you're buying new then at least go and take a look at Mac OS X - it might not be for you but must confess that my Macs have rarely given me any problems - and my current one is 6 years old and still going strong.

I loved the Hepworth and part of me likes the concept of having it landscaped but where in the park would it be? I'm curious as to how they might use the stage as a result - is it in the American Garden as the stump would be? I'm also a little concerned about how easy it might be to maintain. They cut the grass in the park with large mowers - would they be able to keep this in trim or will it end up looking a bit miskempt. I like the concrete stump because it is a fabulous contrast to all the actual trees in Dulwich Park and because the park keepers do a great job of digging up all the real stumps! The only thing that appeals about the cast iron work is that having a series of them might be fun - and presumably one could potentially go where the Hepworth once was.

henry - I agree entirely. A well-policed 20mph would make all the difference to all non-motorists lives - and aside from those who drive at off-peak times in London, wouldn't really impact motorists. Isn't the average speed at rush hour around 12mph anyhow?

I love routes with bus lanes - and would plan an unknown journey to use roads with them. Most bus drivers (at least on the routes I cycle) are considerate to cyclists. Some pull out early but being aware of where their blind spots are so that you are cycling far enough out so that they can see you in their mirrors does help avoid that. And there are a lot of very empty bus lanes in London so for the most part, you end up with a lovely wide lane to cycle in that cars don't encroach on for fear of being fined. Yes, you have to pull out to over-take but so long as you look around with more than 15m to go, there's generally not a problem so long as the traffic is flowing freely in the next lane.

There was some research done by TFL in 2010 about the blame in accidents involving cyclists and motorists (of every flavour) which did find that motorists were to blame in 4 out of 5 incidents - mainly SMIDSYs http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/pedal-cyclist-collisions-and-casualities-in-greater-london-sep-2011.pdf I'm not saying that cyclists are paragons of virtue and we do (yes, I'm one too) have to be aware, cycle responsibly and in a predictable way (i.e. following the rules of the road) - and not be in such a hurry at times. It always astonishes me how many people scoot down the side of vehicles (not just large ones) when the light change is imminent. However, there have been several accidents with HGVs where the cyclist wasn't to blame. They were already in the ASL when the driver stopped behind them and then drove over them. Yes, you could argue that if they were being truly defensive, they'd have moved forward again (out of his blind spot) when they realised he'd pulled up but that does feel like victim-blaming. Personally, I've had two close shaves with HGVs - neither of which involved me going past them (the idea gives me the willies) - both on the South Circular. The first was on the way up to the Horniman where the bus lane ends and traffic going onto the South Circular moves into the left lane. I was in the bus lane when an HGV driver overtook me and changed lane. Fortunately, I heard the engine and realised what was happening so was able to slow down and avoid the back of the truck. I don't think the driver saw me (despite lights/high vis). The second occasion was just outside the gate to Dulwich Park (one nearest the Grove) by a Sainsbury HGV. I know the driver saw me that time (since he moved out slightly) but he still chose to overtake on a bend with a traffic island coming up. I'd seen him coming and stayed in primary but couldn't believe when I heard his engine rev to overtake. He was mostly past me when he obviously saw the traffic island and pulled back in so quickly that his wheels nearly hit the kerb. Again, because I knew the road narrowed, I braked enough that I wasn't squished when those wheels came across but if I hadn't been local, I would have been hit and probably died.

If you haven't already, go and read the comments on the Standard's story about the Isle of Sheppey crash this morning. There are quite a few tongue-in-cheek comments from regular cyclists about how it wouldn't have happened had all the cars been in high vis etc. Given how often any cycling story on there gets taken over by trolls, I found myself chuckling. I'd support a law (like most of the rest of Europe) which enforces a presumption of liability in an accident to the less vulnerable - unless the vulnerable party was obviously at fault. So a cyclist is liable if they hit a pedestrian, a car driver is liable if they hit either cyclist or pedestrian and an HGV driver is liable if they hit anything smaller. It's not strict liability since if the vulnerable party acted in a negligent or a way that a reasonable driver wouldn't expect, they take their share of the blame. I do wonder about those stats on cyclists hitting pedestrians. I'm not denying that there are idiots out there who do go through pedestrian crossing and pavements but the closest shaves I've ever had with pedestrians have always been on the road when the pedestrian has stepped off the kerb or into the cycle path without looking round. Can we bring back the green cross code?

Just went down there to lay some flowers for the woman who died. There's nothing obvious to show where it happened but I met a Standard reporter who pointed out the spot. Apparently, she came from Gallery Road and had just turned west onto Thurlow Park when it happened - so just west of where balanceforlife has marked the hotspot. It is a nasty spot though - even while I was stopped to lay the flowers, there were quite a few cars going at some speed around the curve.

I did go... and ended up in the Evening Standard as a result which was a surprise since I hadn't spotted my picture being taken. I'm the one high-fiving the kids. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/5000-cyclists-protest-for-better-safety-on-londons-roads-after-spate-of-deaths-8795545.html It was a really great evening - cyclists of every age (in the attached pic, you can see six-months to 60+), bikes of every type (penny farthing to tandems to cargo bikes) and it was really good natured. The police held the traffic back so that the ride could flow - and I only heard one abusive driver despite the resulting jam - the LCC organisers were very good about speaking to drivers pleasantly as we went around. Quite a few people (including me) who said that it was their first campaign ride.

katanita Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don't think that works for auto-top up, see > https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/link/0002.do. > It's why I never use it, much as I'd like to, I > almost never make tube journeys. It's a pain. You have to go to a Tube station when you first set auto top-up but then it will work on buses as well as Tubes/DLR. The annoying thing about it is that it used to add ?10 when there was ?5 left. Now it adds ?20 when it drops below ?8 which, if you use it relatively infrequently, can mean you end up with nearly ?30 stuck on it occasionally.

Anyone here going to the 'Space for Cyclists' ride tomorrow night (Monday 2 Sept)? It's organised by LCC to coincide with a debate on cycling in the House of Commons. Starts at Jubilee Gardens (6-6.30) and then heads to Parliament Square. More details here: http://lcc.org.uk/articles/join-our-2-september-space-for-cycling-protest-ride-telling-the-mayor-that-we-need-dedicated-space-for-cycling I'd urge anyone who cycles regularly - particularly if they're riding home in any case and are nearby - to consider getting home a little later and joining in.

I do think it's much better now that you can use a wireless debit card on the bus. On the couple of occasions where I've needed to hop on a bus and realised my Oyster is at home, that's been a better option than cash for me - not least since it charges you Oyster rates...

Any humps in the road tend to increase vibrations in the houses nearby rather than reduce them. I am sure that the prior 'subsidence' in our house is more due to the speed humps in the road than simple earth movement. I'm also entirely unsurprised by the bus drivers ignoring any speed limits while off duty. There's a restriction on Wood Vale to stop large vehicles going along the LL end after 11pm but buses regularly go along around midnight.

I was the Central line too - one that I travel on very rarely. The football and animal questions were both a guess though since didn't identify with either. And the commute question threw me since I cycle most days so I had to pick sweat patches as the only one that applied!

The Kindred Bakery has re-opened. I'm assuming that they're probably selling stock from another branch rather than baking on site but I was heartened to see it when I cycled past the other day.

Laur Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Safety is a major concern as some people have the > need to take 2 buses. > For e.g the route 12 from West End to Dulwich > Plough, then you may have to change to a 197 or > 185 for the rest of your journey. > Or from Kings Cross the 63 takes you to Honor Oak > and you may have to change to get the 363 to > Crystal Palace. In my view, that's a separate argument. You don't have to pay to interchange across Tube lines so why do you have to with buses? In other cities, your bus pass is 'open' for 60-120 minutes (varies by city) and you can swap buses as often as you like within that period. Why we can't do the same with Oyster (given that it's already intelligent enough to auto-cap and work out the auto-top ups) is a mystery? To be really radical, why not allow the bus fare to be deducted from a Tube journey immediately afterwards? So you pay your ?1.40 on the bus but then only 0.70 rather than another ?2.10 for the Tube. You can switch from DLR to Underground without paying two fares, why not from bus to Tube? The main argument for keeping cash seems to be that we like it as an emergency back up but kids can lose cash just as easily as an Oyster card. Cash payment can be reliant on someone on the bus being able to help with change - sure we've all seen someone trying to pay with ?10 or ?20 - or being community minded enough to pay the extra fare. Over the next few years, more and more phones will be fitted with the chips that allow payments - and not just latest smartphones. Or you'll be able to buy phone cases that incorporate a similar chip to use as a back up if you forget or lose your card. Yes, there's the still the argument that if you are mugged you may no longer have your phone or your Oyster, but you may also have no cash at that point too.

PeckhamRose Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- As for being 'terrifying' when we ride past you in > a bus lane. Why is it terrifying? You should be > alert and awake to the traffic and then nothing > would be terrifying. Motorcyclists should know to > always slow down when in a bus lane For the most part, it's when they don't slow down and come screaming past you well above the speed limit for that stretch of road. I can glance around before signalling to overtake/avoid a manhole cover - and if someone is going at 50mph, they can come up very fast. To be fair, it's usually scooter drivers with Ls rather than motorcyclists who seem to cut it finer. They are also the ones who seem to have little understanding of hand signals or the fact that cyclists are allowed to overtake slower cyclists - if that means that I'm towards the right of the bus lane, that doesn't give them the right to sit on my wheel and rev until I move back in. zombiemonkey - I understand you might not want to breathe fumes either. But most car exhausts aren't set at a level that blasts into your face. I'd also assumed that motorcycle helmets had filters in them but that could be my error.

Half the motorcyclist and every scooter rider in London seem to use them anyway. They are there to allow cyclists to move off before vehicles since they don't have the same acceleration and speed. Motorcyclists don't have that problem - they can zoom out of danger at lights - although I accept that we share other risks like SMIDSYs. I'm in two minds on it. In one way, it's worse when a motorcyclist filters to the front and then blocks the way into the ASL for any cyclist coming along behind them. In that case, I'd prefer the motorcyclist to go into the ASL so that the cyclist can get in too. I'm not sure whether there's any scope to say that motorcyclist can use them but perhaps only the very far right of the box since that's often not used by cyclists. That may however cause problems on those junctions where cyclists do actually want to turn right and need to be there to be safe. I agree with LadyDelilah though - it can be terrifying when motorcyclists come flying past you in a bus lane. The relative speed differences (even when the cyclist is doing lifesaver checks)can be scary. I'd like there to be speed limits in the bus lanes for motorcyclists so that no-one in them can do over 25mph. I might even take that as a trade off for then allowing them in the ASL. One other thing about if they were legitimately allowed in the ASL. Strictly speaking, access to the ASL is only via the feeder lane. Now, it's generally easy enough for cycles to get down there but motorcycles would then end up in cycle lanes on occasions and potentially block access again for cyclists. And, from experience, there's little less pleasant than ending up with a motorcycle in front of you, pumping out exhaust fumes (which have those nasty smaller particles that embed in the lungs) directly into your face thanks to the angle of the pipe.

They do it in most London boroughs. My company support it and allow time out of the office to volunteer at the school local to the office.

chuff Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In my mind, once one sector of the community is > banned, it opens it up for others to follow. Why > ban the dogs and not cyclists/roller > blades/picnics/ball games ect. The parks are a > public space for us all to use (respectfully). It > seems like a slippery slope to campaign to ban any > of us. > > I am a small dog owner that does keep my dog on a > lead where instructed and picks up poo! I use > Dulwich Park and rarely come across irresponsible > owners, but know there are some out there. I > generally have trouble with fast cycling while > walking there but wouldn't dream of asking > cyclists to be banned. Maybe to slow down when > pedestrians are about but otherwise the park is > there for all of us to enjoy and that's the way it > should stay. Well said - there are annoying cyclists in Dulwich Park (especially those trying to do Strava laps at peak times), annoying runners (especially on 'race nights' where they block the carriageway for all other users), annoying ice-cream queuers (especially when the queue goes across the carriageway rather than along it), annoying dog-walkers (who don't have their dogs on leads or under control or who feel it's a good idea to throw the ball to their dog across the path of a cyclist) but for the most part, we do all rub along together. I do think dogs should be allowed off their leads in the park so long as the owner can keep control of them. It's not fair on them to expect their only exercise to be on a leash or along a pavement. So far as dog poo goes, the majority seems to be picked up these days compared to when I was a kid. There are guidelines now for cycling speeds and areas where dogs should be on a short leash but neither are enforced. I suspect even if you made the rules stricter, the same people will break those rules unless there's punitive measures which would probably not be cost-effective.

One problem is that rogue cyclists are very visible - one idiot sailing through a red light, across a zebra crossing or along the pavement is far more memorable than those who are sitting waiting or going along the road. And since those misdemeanours affect more than one group of users - both pedestrians and motorists which is pretty much the entire non-cycling population - you end up with virtually everyone having at least one bad cyclist story. I suspect every cyclist has at least one bad pedestrian/driver story but as a smaller subset of people, there's not the same antipathy amongst the rest of the world. The frustrating thing is that both pedestrians and cyclists should be on the same campaigning side to get better provision for all vulnerable road users against the more powerful motorist lobby groups. A driving friend once explained her frustration with cyclists to me; that when traffic is moving reasonably freely, she is 'slowed' by cyclists if the road narrows or goes uphill. But that she's then jealous when there's a traffic jam because cyclists can sail through it - be that filtering or using bus lanes or even hopping off and going round the obstruction on foot. I can see her point - car adverts sell driving as fun or sexy, when was the last time you saw a traffic jam in one.

My mother's Canon started playing up recently. She managed to find someone near her (sadly, not local to here) who said they'd take a look at it but it was going to cost ?25 just to get it there and look at it with 30 minutes labour - and online reports weren't promising so she bought a new one. I'm unconvinced that modern peripherals are really designed to last these days! However, there is a little shop that does PC/Mac/etc repairs on Dartmouth Road in Forest Hill - not sure if they tackle printers. http://www.polytechnics.co.uk/

You're right - it doesn't help that it's very very slightly uphill as you go up that way so it's easy to find yourself slowing (particularly if laden with panniers) and then pedalling for dear life as a bus looms up - although to be fair to the bus drivers, they're usually fairly good about not sitting on your rear mudguard; you just feel a bit guilty for holding them up.

northwoods Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mindbogglingly enough, my home state has a > football club: > > Minnesota United FC > Your football (US) team isn't that hot either. I have a long-suffering Viking friend. Are you going to go to see the Vikes at Wembley next month? I wouldn't bother with trying to get to grips with games that involve round balls - join your wife at the rugby, far more fun!

I cycle via Herne Hill each day and walked through this evening. Some of the shutters were partway up and the mess inside was heart-rending. I can't imagine what it feels like for the shopkeepers. Do you know if anyone needs any help this weekend with clearing up? A volunteer mop and bucket crew perhaps? I'd be happy to give a few hours.