Tag: speed

Environment, Tourism, Travel

To Oulu -reflections

Posted on by insightndes
The route (excluding within UK)

That was an amazing trip to Oulu and back.

Negatives: getting food poisoning and train delays. Germany really struggles to get trains to go on time. Eurostar also had its issues. I did have a 77 minute delay on the sleeper to Stockholm, but that worked in my favour. The sleeper Stockholm was also too hot and the curtains were poor allowing flashes of bright light into the cabin while travelling.

Questionable things: seeing people smoke on train platforms in Germany was strange, and also a bit objectionable. The speed that cars drive at in Hamburg is ridiculously high and not suited to the roads. Also objectionable.

Positives: the trains in Finland, Sweden and Denmark were great, excluding the sleeper. In time. The rolling stock was high quality throughout including Germany. Met some great people. The cycle facilities in Copenhagen and seeing so many cyclists was incredible. We should be doing this in the UK.

Exceeding expectations: The ferries between Stockholm and Helsinki were amazing, good prices, amazing views, great facilities. Finland in winter, incredible, stunning snowy landscapes.

Tips:

Don’t plan to catch the last train of the day.

Don’t make connections too tight.

Travel in your sports gear, make it multi purpose. (Sensibly)

Travel as light as possible.

Plan for the weather.

Don’t arrive late and leave early, it’s exhausting.

Staying for more than one night is more pleasant .

Rucksacks are better than wheelie luggage.

Make use of the late checkouts in hotels.

Carry just in case food and drink.

Make use of sleeper services.

Double check reservations.

Download apps for local public transport. They can be used to get the correct tickets and give directions.

Double check routes given by apps, sometimes they are sending you to the wrong place.

If in doubt, ask a local.

Chat to people on the trains.

Use tracking apps so friends and family can follow your progress. It’s fun and good for safety.

Give someone your itinerary- routes, hotels etc.

Look at and enjoy the landscape, as you travel through.

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Environment, Travel

South by train – with a non-folding bicycle

Posted on by insightndes
Sunny start

First time traveling in a long while with a non-folding bike. The chief difference is that I had to book the bike on most of the trains, including the far north line and the sleeper.

A stunning train ride to Inverness.

The bike went into a room on a carriage for bikes and large luggage. Not sure about the way the bike is hung up.

The bike on the sleeper.
Breakfast not impressive.
Euston station
Getting ready to ride to Waterloo.

Interesting ride, an impressive number of cyclists on route to work, some with no road sense. One, who was on my right, turned left across my path without looking or signalling.

The cycle route.
The stats.

Nice to be the fastest for a change. Faster than the bikes and the cars 🙂.

Waterloo

Some jeopardy getting onto the SWR train, as they don’t do bookings for bikes. Will I get a space?

On SWR Train.
Poole
Arrived at Dorchester

It only required three trains to get from the north coast of Scotland to the south coast of England. Weather good all the way,

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Safety, Travel

Lawbreaker!

Posted on by insightndes

When cyclists are a topic on social media there are always those shouting their condemnation because all cyclists are law breakers, according to them. But does this stack up?

Anecdotally, on my commute to work I see no cyclists breaking the law but I see plenty of drivers breaking the law, either contravening the double white lines or speeding.

If you look online there are plenty of studies showing drivers break the law, in their respective countries, far more often than cyclists, so why is there this apparently unwarranted demonisation of cyclists? Probably because when cyclists break the law, usually by running a red light, they are visible.

Speeding drivers are less obvious and there appears to an acceptance among a large minority that this is ok, to an extent that many complain about speed cameras, “it’s a money earner”. It’s actually easy to avoid being caught by a speed camera, don’t speed.

Drivers of vehicles cause far more damage when they have a collision than a cyclist, they are far heavier and far faster. Non compliance with the law by drivers is far more consequential.

When I have cycled through London, I have wondered why cyclists jump lights 🚦, a bad idea as this could end in death. Cycling between Euston and Padding, I add 25% time wise to the journey waiting at traffic lights. However I am still faster than the motorised vehicles.

It appears that both cyclists and motorists have impatience in common.

Cyclists are an easy target. Mostly harmless, mostly law abiding, but a minority. This is what is known as prejudice.

Car drivers moaning about cyclists feel free to keep complaining if you have never contravened the law while driving, otherwise be quiet.

The sound of silence!

It is Bike Week 2025. https://www.cyclinguk.org/bikeweek.

There are a lot of misconceptions out there. This bike week I thought that I would address a few of them.

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