well, not strictly off to see the bike route, since it isn't there
yet, except in the sense that every road and every street is a bike
route. The route does exist in the form of a green line on a map
(which may be in the wrong place) so we're off to do a site survey,
or CRIM as its known here in London.
There's some bureaucrats, some consultants, a couple of other
cyclists, and me.
The original idea was to travel the route by bike, and that's what
the guidelines for CRIMs recommend. That can't be done, apparently,
although they have objection to me appearing on my bike. There are
insurance issues apparently, and problems with obtaining bicycles for
some participants (I suspect the local cycling officer may be one of
those lacking a bike)
Am I right to be worried about our local bike routes being in the
hands of people whose riding style makes them uninsurable?
I suppose I could be being unjustly rude about their bike riding. It
could be just that those organising the trip simply haven't the
faintest idea what is dangerous and what isn't. Given that those
people will likely be influencing the bike route design, that doesn't
make me very happy either.
Jeremy Parker