2012 Autumn

BIKE! Go Bike News

Annual General Meeting with Mimi Jeffcot and Andy McAvoy Thursday 22 November 2012 at 1930 Registration and refreshments from 1900

The Go Bike AGM will take place in the Friends’ Meeting House, 38 Elmbank Crescent, Charing Cross, Glas- gow, G2 4PS. Most time will be spent on discussions about cycling issues in led by our guests. Michelle (Mimi) Jeffcot founded the quietly revolutionary magazine Unchained . She got into cycling ten years ago after meeting her husband, and together with their children are passionate about cycling. They want to promote a cycling lifestyle and their passion to others so in August launched Un- chained, a social enterprise producing family friendly and community focused content. Its aim is to promote, support and become ambassadors to people, companies and organisations who drive social change within the cycling industry. Unlike some other cycling journals, they aim to focus equally on women, men and youth. Andy McAvoy and Ann Nisbet are environmentally conscious architects with Edo Architecture in Glasgow, who are currently designing proposed cycle routes for ‘cinderella’ areas of Glasgow. They they are currently focussed on uncovering and using the gems in Glasgow's built heritage and will talk in particular about a ‘safe route into town’ cycle corridor they wish to create in the South Side of the city. They will discuss the ways in which cycle routes can influence cities, and make them more convivial places to live. The discussion will follow the brief, formal meeting (agenda on back). We encourage all members to attend – put this date in your diaries now. The more people who contribute, the more we can achieve, so please join the committee! Go Bike has an impressive list of achievements, such as providing the impetus behind the es- tablishment of the Glasgow Cycling Forum, and we need more people to maintain the momentum. Volunteers for Secretary and Publicity Officer would be particularly welcome. Please come and demonstrate your support for our campaigns to improve cycling in Glasgow! Open to members and non-members

Scotland’s cycling routes to get £ 6M revamp

It has been widely reported that ’s cycle path network is to get a £ 6M revamp, spread over the next two financial years. This will include improvements to the Land’s End to John O’Groats route and the creation of more cycle paths in Glasgow ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2014. While welcome, this funding remains a tiny fraction of the overall budget for transport in Scotland. Spokes have analysed the budget in detail and estimate the investment in active travel to be very roughly £ 20M in 2013–14, almost exactly 1 % of total transport spending. Cycling investment is only part of that and therefore remains well under 1 %. For comparison, the total spending on transport is rising from £ 1887M in 2012–13 to £ 2010M in 2013–14. Local news and events

Cycling Organisations Glasgow (COG) – a small group has been set up as a forum for the various groups concerned with cycling in Glasgow. New Cycling Czar for Glasgow City Council – Frank McAveety has been made head of the sustainability committee and has been called the Cycling Czar. We welcome him and look forward to progress in im- proving the cycling facilities in Glasgow for commuters. The first meeting with him on 15 October was positive. Closures of cycle paths on – The Go Bike email group carried a lively discussion during the summer about problems caused to commuters when cycle paths were closed for events on Glasgow Green. Typically there were no detour signs or other provision. The good news is that the boundary fence was erected alongside the riverside path and cycle route for the piping competitions in August, rather than across the path, so the route stayed open. We hope that this practice will continue. A Better Way to Work (BWTW) – This project, funded by the Scottish Government, is designed to support staff working for organisations in Glasgow and Greater Glasgow to cut their car use. It is based at the Bike Station and offers a range of free transport initiatives to companies registered with BWTW. These include Travel Choice Advisers, temporary bike loans, advice on low cost bike purchase, one-to-one or group cy- cle training, cycle computers and pedometers for new active travellers, and a mobile Dr Bike maintenance service based in the workplace. The Bike Station is looking for Travel Champions within workplaces to help organise BWTW events for their colleagues. Please visit or call 0141 248 5409 for details. Protect your bike – Strathclyde Police have a web page with advice on protecting your bike from theft. See . It includes a Bike Passport that you can download and complete with information about your bike, which may help the police to recover a bike if it goes missing. Annual membership reminder – Subscriptions fell due at the AGM in the past, which means that many members should now renew their subscriptions for 2013. Payment can be made through PayPal and we hope to accept standing orders in future. Membership now runs for 12 months from the date of payment. Local routes and facilities

Work under way on Bridge to Nowhere – Work began in July on completing the Bridge to Nowhere. The bridge, built over the M8 in the 1970s, was intended to link Anderston to the city centre but was not fin- ished and currently ends in mid air over the Marriott Hotel car park. Connect2 segregated cycle route along Waterloo Street in Glasgow City Centre – Work has started on this route, which will connect the Bridge to Nowhere to Central Station in readiness for completion of the Connect2 route from Kelvingrove Park. Work will also be undertaken in Claremont Street and North Clare- mont Street near the park to rectify problems there. NCN Route 74 opened between Chatelherault Country Park and Larkhall – The new section consists of a shared use footway alongside the main road plus a short link to Merryton Station. The route has been temporarily routed via the eastern footway at Allanton, but will be relocated on the western footway once the adjacent site has been redeveloped. NCN 74 is now open between and Larkhall, and bet- ween Douglas and Gretna. NCN Route 75 Clyde to Forth rerouted in – It now follows the between Lock Street and Drumpellier Lawns Estate. The route then runs alongside the A752 at Bargeddie to rejoin the previous route at the Showcase Cinema. This deviation avoids the poor quality route through western Coatbridge, where cyclists often complained of getting lost due to poor signage and complicated routing, and the Luggie Glen path, which suffered from subsidence. New footbridge for link to NCN Route 75 at – The footbridge over the North Calder Water at the end of the Monkland Canal at Calderbank has been replaced by a brand new bridge. The bridge re- places an old timber bridge that was closed after being damaged by fire some years ago. The bridge provides a connection to woodlands on the south bank of the river, and at the top of the steps at the other side of the bridge a track leads through the woods to the A8 bridge at Eurocentral. NCN Route 75 Clyde Walkway reopened at – This follows a lengthy closure due to a collapsed sewer and other work. Works on NCN Route 7 in Yoker – The cycle path beneath Dyke Road bridge is closed temporarily for work on the bridge, requiring a short diversion on local streets. A new 5 metre wide underpass will be construct- ed under what is presently the centre span of the road bridge. Dyke Road itself is closed to traffic at pres- ent and will remain so for the duration of the works. Levern Way to provide off-road route from Barrhead to Glasgow – The Levern Way will connect Barrhead to Glasgow by uniting two disconnected paths and closing a hole in the cycle network. Turbine yard will not close cycle path in Hunterston – There had been concerns that the SSE turbine con- struction yard would close the cycle path in Hunterston. The Largs and Millport Weekly News has reported that this is not the case, and the path will remain open after all. New cycle shelters – Covered cycle parking is now available in Glasgow city centre outside the RSAMD and off Byres Road at University Avenue. Cycle rides 2012–13

Regular, easy-paced rides are held on the first Sunday of each month, starting at 1000 from the north end of Bell’s Bridge in Glasgow unless otherwise stated. Please bring a note of the Go Bike phone number with you in case of problems: 07932 460093.

Sunday 4 November 2012 – The Near Southern Uplands A hilly ride south from Glasgow to Waulkmillglen and the Balgray Reservoirs, Neilston and up to the Gleniffer Braes, then descending through Paisley to ride back to Glasgow for late lunch. Sunday 2 December 2012 – The Forth and Clyde Canal Riding from Glasgow to Bowling along the Forth and Clyde Canal. After meeting at Bell’s Bridge as normal, heading to Speirs Wharf to join the canal at its city centre terminus, then riding to where the canal joins the at Bowling. After pub lunch, return to Glasgow. Sunday 6 January 2013 – Rivers, Canal, Lochs and Reservoirs A tour of natural and man-made water features in Glasgow, Bearsden and Milngavie, ending with a pub lunch in Milngavie. Note that this ride uses the canal footbridge with stepped ramps at Westerton. Sunday 3 February 2013 – Cathkin Braes A ride to look at path-building and mountain-biking developments for the Commonwealth Games in the Cath- kin Braes Park, before returning into Glasgow for lunch.

Suggestions for future rides are always welcome!

A page for past rides has been added to the Go Bike website: see . For further organised rides in the Glasgow area see CTC Glasgow, for Ayrshire see CTC Ayrshire, for Edin- burgh see Spokes, and for relaxed weekend rides in Scotland and Northern England, try Mellow Velo.

Weekend Rides

Summer 2012 seems to have gone down as a bit of a washout but the GoBike / GOC joint weekend ride in July was fortunate to hit a window in the weather and enjoy three days of mostly fair weather for the ride up the east coast following NCN route 1 from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. The trickiest part of the ride was negotiat- ing the tram works as we set off from the capital, but once past Haymarket we were well on our way to enjoy- ing three days of varied terrain that would take us along old railway tracks, coastal paths, minor roads, through forests and across the Forth and Tay Bridges. Looking to 2013, it is proposed to have two weekend rides. Routes currently under consideration are NCN72 (Hadrian’s Cycleway) for the spring bank holiday weekend at the end of May and continuing along NCN1 from Aberdeen to Inverness for the September holiday weekend. Watch this newsletter and the web site for more details. Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held at 1930 on Thursday 22 November 2012 in the Friends’ Meeting House, 38 Elmbank Crescent, Charing Cross, Glasgow, G2 4PS. Directions can be found on the web site. The agenda is: 1. Approve minutes of the previous meeting. 2. Consider the work done by, or under the auspices of, the Committee. 3. Approve the accounts. 4. Appoint an independent auditor. 5. Fix the membership fees for the coming year. 6. Consider any resolutions submitted by the Committee or Members (to be received by the secretary at least one week prior to the meeting – please send to the address below). 7. Elect Members to serve on the Committee. The current committee of Go Bike is Alan Munro (Convenor), Tricia Fort (Vice Convenor), Douglas Bingham (Treasurer), Andy Preece (Cycling Policy Officer) Peter Hayman, Jonathan Ridge and John Davies (Newsletter Editor). New members would be most welcome – please see the front page. Yahoo group

Sign up to the Go Bike News email group to keep in touch with cycling news, views and events. You are un- likely to be deluged with messages! For more information see www.gobike.org. Contact us Go Bike Strathclyde Cycle Campaign Phone: 07932 460093 PO Box 15175 Email: [email protected] Glasgow Web: www.gobike.org G4 9LP Join Go Bike or renew your membership

Many members’ annual subscriptions fall due at the AGM because the membership year was fixed in the past. It is now possible to join or renew your membership online at using PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account; credit and debit cards are also accepted. Membership runs for 12 months from the date of payment. Membership of Go Bike is by donation, which covers the cost of campaigning, newsletters, meetings and the web site. If you prefer paper, please use the form below and send it with your donation to the above address. Make cheques payable to ‘Go Bike – Strathclyde Cycle Campaign’. Alternatively, make a donation on a ride.

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