InTheUK

This might be worth looking at: http://www.duolingo.com. Free online learning thingy. Several languages.

Err, perhaps not.

If you like the wind... you could have come for a bike ride on Sunday. See here: http://www.sheffieldctc.org/?p=1861.

Sheffield CTC (Cycle Touring Club) are running a ride this Friday out to Cleethorpes. We run daytime rides every Sunday all year round and evening rides most Wednesday evenings through the summer, but this is the first overnight ride, at least in recent memory. This ride was originally planned for last Friday, the 24th of June. However on that night the weather wasn't really good enough - just a bit too wet & cold. The forecast for this Friday looks a lot more promising. The ride is open to all - no need to book, just turn up. I've made a few notes - if you'd like to come along and have any other questions you can email [email protected] or reply directly to this thread. Start location: Barkers Pool, just in front of Coles John Lewis from 21:15 for a departure time of 21:30. Please bring a good set of lights, front and rear. Most of the ride will be away from civilisation / street lamps and although the roads are generally high quality you will want to be able to see any potholes or other obstructions. You will also need sufficient batteries for 7 or 8 hours running time! Bring enough clothing. Nighttime temperatures in the countryside often drop lower than in the city. I've not found anywhere to stop for a midnight (2am!) snack, so bring something to nibble on. We'll be catching the train back to Sheffield, the first is just after 5am and they are hourly. Of course anyone who wants to could ride part or all of the way back... The ride will take place unless the forecast is very bad - check the rides list at http://www.sheffieldctc.org/?cat=6. Anyone who emails [email protected] will be notified directly via email. Thanks Ed

Sheffield CTC, Cycle Sheffield and others are putting on a range of events this week for National Bike Week. This Wednesday June 22nd, join us for a ride out to the Our Cow Molly farm at Dungworth. Meet Barkers Pool, outside John Lewis (Coles, for you old-timers) at 18:15. Ride will leave 18:30 prompt and head up to the farm. The shop usually closes at 6pm but they have very kindly agreed to stay open for us - they will be selling ice cream in cones, and also in tubs. Whether you eat the tubs there and then or take back home for the freezer is up to you! The ride will return to Sheffield for around 20:30 - 21:00. Everyone is welcome on this ride. You'll need a roadworthy bike, enough clothes / waterproofs for the weather on the evening and lights if it's overcast (should be okay without lights if it's a clear evening). We won't be going fast - we will aim to cover the 5 or 6 miles up to the farm in an hour, so the pace should be suitable for relatively inexperienced riders. Read more about Our Cow Molly farm.

Bike week is back for 2011 with another great mix of rides and cycling-related events. It's a national event with cities all over the UK organising their own events. Sheffield has participated for the past several years, and this year the offerings are as good as they've ever been. There's a PDF for download at http://www.cyclesheffield.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/bike-week-flyer-single-sided1.pdf. The week is centred around organised rides in and around Sheffield, including an evening ride out to the Our Cow Molly ice cream farm and two Friday Night Rides. There are rides suitable for all abilities, with an emphasis on easier / more social types of rides. There's also a few less energetic items, such as the bike film evening at the Showroom cinema. Thanks, Ed

Hello! Nice to see a cycling thread last a page and a half before this sort of comment is made. As it happens I believe you are wrong; but that's something I expect we would never agree on so it's not worth my time. However, I would say this: if you can't beat them, join them - the cleethorpes ride i mentioned a few posts up will be a great ride over mostly fairly flat territory at a relaxed pace, so not too demanding. If you've not ridden for a few years you've got three weeks to get some practice in! (you'll need good lights though )

Bikes on trains - yeah this is a tricky one. It's only possible to reserve spaces for two bikes on most trains; i'm hoping that by catching very early trains (first is about 05:20) we'll not have any problems, but I guess it depends on the guard. I've been on a similar train during the day with 6 or 7 bikes without any problems. It may be necessary to spread the load a little - some on the 05:20, some on the next. Depends how many riders turn up! I'm hoping people will let me know if they're coming so I have an idea of numbers - not that there's much I / Sheffield CTC can do regarding the transport situation if a lot of people do join us!

Hi, well it's the Sheffield CTC centenary next year and we're hoping to put on a wide range of rides over the year - if the Cleethorpes ride is a success this time round then I'm sure we will put on a similar event(s) next year.

Hello All, Sheffield District CTC will be running an overnight bike ride to Cleethorpes on Friday 24th June. We'll be setting off from Barkers Pool at 9pm (it might be changed to 10pm) and riding through the night to Cleethorpes, and then catching the train back to Sheffield. At a distance of about 70 miles, Cleethorpes is one of the closest costal towns to Sheffield. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us - all you need is a roadworthy bicycle, preferably with road tyres, and with lights that are bright enough to see potholes / the road ahead in the absence of streetlights. There's no cost other than the train fare home. The ride will be at a moderate pace - about 10mph, and will operate a strict 'no-one left behind' policy. It's also fairly flat past Doncaster, so anyone who rides regularly for distances of 20 or 30 miles shouldn't find it too taxing. If you'd like to come along, pm me - or see the ctc link in my signature for the full calendar and info on signing up to our events email; this way you can be kept up to date with the arrangements. Thanks

Okay, good - so that would've been around 1960. Do you consider that the behaviour of cyclists was different back then to how it is now? I wasn't around in 1960 but I'd be surprised if it was much different - there's undeniably a mix of careful and careless riders out there now; in my experience the majority of riders act responsibly. Perhaps you think the balance has changed? How would you consider your own conduct as a cyclist now, looking back?

I was responding principally to the matter of moving around parked cars, and the assumption that the cyclist will be sweeping into the middle of the road to do so. Of the three actions in the highlighted text, turning clearly isn't relevant to this and so i highlighted the first, moving away from the kerb. The third, manoeuvring, would also apply so I guess I could've left that in. Just out of interest Bassman62 is your use of the public highway as the driver of a car / motor vehicle only, or have you at some point braved Sheffield streets (and hills) on a bike?

The fallacy here is the presumption that to move round a parked car the cyclist will be riding at the edge of the road in the first place. The advice in the highway code quoted above is more relevant to setting off. In this context the cyclist is moving from the kerb at a slow speed into the flow of traffic, and will therefore want to hang back until it is safe to do so.

This is a pretty stupid thread. A phrase which is misleading, I think, is 'pulling out'. This suggests to me quite a sudden movement whereby the cyclist who up until (s)he encounters the obstruction has been hovering in the gutter, and suddenly swings out into the middle of the road. In reality, the cyclist anticipates the obstruction and is able to move out gradually from a distance and then pass said obstruction. As the cyclist shouldn't be riding in the gutter in the first place, the amount of pulling out is often quite minimal. The circumstances will dictate how much checking (s)he does before starting to move out. • As often as not the main danger is oncoming traffic. • If moving at pace downhill then bike speed may be much the same as motorised traffic speed. The bike is likely to be further from the kerb even without obstructions (to avoid potholes, and to allow more latitude if something should happen, like a car pulling out from a side road, so any moving out distance is minimal. No need to look behind. And in fact, looking behind at speed requires a fair amount of skill to keep the bike steady and so is not always a safe manoeuvre. • If completely quiet road (it happens sometimes!) then no need to look behind. Unlike in a car, it's possible to hear surrounding traffic. • Grinding uphill the bike is likely to be nearer the kerb and needing to move out more to avoid obstructions. This is the time when you think 'yeah, I can hear x behind me, I'm going to check I'm not going to get killed by swinging out into the road...' I guess my point is that arguing for m-s-m all the time is a bit silly. It's really a case of applying due caution for the circumstances - shades of grey, if you like, rather than black n white.

Friday night ride got 65 riders last time. See the CTC Wednesday evening rides in my sig - we were out to 11pm last night, although not as late as that normally.