New footage of the cycle lanes put down recently by Cardiff City Council. This one is from Wellington Street, through Cowbridge Road and along Castle Street, then Newport Road. This is one of the longest segregated lanes in Cardiff and you have a great feeling of security as you ride along it. The only negative, is at the traffic lights, these need to be prioritised for the cyclist, otherwise they won’t stop, and that makes it unsafe. Staying too long at traffic lights cools us down, better to keep the bikes moving, which helps remove traffic from the roads, freeing them up for everyone else. #CardiffCityCouncil #BikeWeekUK #Cycling
Sourdough Bakes Still Going Strong
A year into baking loaves on a regular schedule, they’re still getting baked. We’re into a routine now, and the kids miss it if the bake takes a break for a week. So every week we’re baking 3 x loaves. One gets eaten on the day, the other two get sliced and put into the freezer and then eaten during the week. That way, we’ve always got fresh bread on the go, plus when you get into this routine, it’s so easy to keep making as it isn’t difficult. You just need to be organised and have some time.
Bike Commuting – Cardiff City Center to Radyr
Filmed on an afternoon’s cycle home after a day in the office. The aim of the video is to show how easy it is to cycle now around Cardiff. In the last 12 months the Council have put in pop up cycle lanes and now recently, these have been converted into permanent segregated lanes in a number of streets around the city. The council are pushing through five main cycleways, more on this in another post, and though some are not yet fully connected, it’s only going to be a matter of time before they are and offer a safe space to cycle in.
This route that takes you from the City Centre to the outskirts of Cardiff in approximately 30 minutes. The elevation isn’t more than 80-85m, so it’s fairly gentle, except a last part that I end up pushing the bike up as the gearing is just not low enough to get me up the hill – going into Danescourt. Also, my bike is an old city bike that I’ve had about 20 years or so, and the gearing is the old-style Sturmey Archer, 3 x speed type, and probably not likely to withstand me pumping the pedals up this slope.
Future posts are going to look at some of these cycle lanes. So far, the most accessible ways are going into and out of the city. Perhaps new routes across the city will get a look in, in the future, but for the time being, the effort is going into making the cycle lanes into town safe, protected and welcoming.
An Italian Side Street
Propped up on its stand, an old timer bicycle waits for its owner in a cobbled side street in Mantova, Italy. Just a short drive from Verona, the home of the lovers, Romeo and Juliet. There’s history on the corner of every street in Italy. If the motorbike wasn’t in the picture, then it would be much harder to date the picture, but I took it just a couple of years ago on a Fuji X-Pro1, which was a pretty good camera for taking street photographs. This camera hardly made a sound when you take a picture, just the slightest noise.
Taken on a visit to a supplier in a nearby town, and this was from a walk about in the afternoon to chill out before flying home the next day.
It’s a Hill. Get Over It.
Inspirational advertising from Nike, to help us get out and into our running shoes. The last month has been poor, I’ve hardly run at all…a combination of ice, snow and generally cold, wet weather has meant that when I was free to run, the weather was against me. Hoping for better times in February, and whether or not there is a hill in the way, won’t matter…it will just be great to be running again and feeling fit.
