The Bugle | Blast 375

Friday 22nd February 2019
Chillier Edition



 

QUOTE  OF THE WEEK

“Cycling is possibly the greatest and most pleasurable form of transport ever invented. You can overtake £250,000 sports cars that are going nowhere fast. You can park pretty much anywhere. It’s amazing you can feel this free in a modern city.” - Daniel Pemberton

 

THANKS OF THE WEEK

BICYCLISTS OF LAST WEEK

Remember Valentine's Day? James and Cecelia Marsh remember 75 of them as a married couple tandeming around south east London. Now, both 95, in a Sidcup Care Home but the memories are only an album away:
https://www.metro.news/happy-valentines-day-for-the-75th-time/1433421/
 

BRITAIN'S BEST BICYCLE  AD OF 1902?

IS IT LEGAL TO USE A MOBILE WHILST CYCLING?

It's certainly can be dangerous. A friend was taking a picture of us cycling behind him with his phone. He wasn't looking where he was going and if it had not been for our cries he would have been in a Dutch canalled.

But is it legal? The official answer is:

Using a hand held mobile phone whilst cycling is not illegal per se. However, you could commit an offence of careless cycling. It is also not advisable for the obvious safety reasons.

For those people using electrically assisted pedal cycles it depends on the cycle itself as to whether it is illegal or not. A lot of new vehicles are being marketed as electrically assisted pedal cycles but are, in fact, classed as motor vehicles so using a hand held mobile phone whilst riding one of these would be illegal.

However this hasn't stopped Police in West London fining cyclists for using mobiles – but say no resources to target drivers using handheld phones at wheel. Read more and be inflamed by the comments:
https://road.cc/content/news/236374-police-west-london-fine-cyclists-using-mobiles-–-say-no-resources-target-drivers




MEANWHILE ACROSS THE POND

Knocking down a 10 year kid in your car is bad. It's good you get prosecuted and found guilty, its bad that the punishment is only to write a letter of apology. It's amazing when the driver can't even do that. But he can do sarcasm:

Dear Julian,
I’m very sorry that you rode into the side of the car I was driving on Friday, September 7. More importantly, I am glad you didn’t need to be treated by the attending ambulance on the day of the incident. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season.

Why not a more appropriate punishment? The family wanted the guy to do community service, but he said he couldn’t because of his age and health. The judge agreed with him – even though he’d just played a round of golf when he hit the boy. More here:
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26452913/non-apology-letter-hearing-postponed/

 

SWIMMING ACROSS THE PURLEY POND

Bill B writes:

Final call to Anerley - Swimming Cyclists:

The current team that I have is:
Tim S, Jenny & Jo G, Belinda, Viv, John D, Sandy, Frank, Rob H.
Res: Ian A, John E, Denise.

You all need to be at Purley pool this Sat to check in just after 1630 & ready to swim at 1700 as a relay team for 55mins. Lockers take 20p’s. You can either use the MyDonate Anerley link. All money raised will go to iChurch 60% & 40% to this year’s 3 nominated charities by Purley Rotary. My donate system does make life very simple for collectors!

CU at the pool....

 

RIDE REPORTS

16th February Gloomy to Gatton Park, Karen was rubber gloved: https://anerleybc.org/saturday-ride-16th-february-2019/

The Sundays went on a hill hunt. Tim out Mark back to Compasses Inn, Gomshall over Ranmore Common: https://anerleybc.org/sunday-ride-17th-february-2019/

The Tuesdays hill hunt. Both A & B did it the hard way to Edenbridge's Minstrel. But singleton Group C took the more sensible option: https://anerleybc.org/tuesday-ride-19th-february-2019/

UPCOMING RIDES

FINALLY: LOOKING BACK

TomTom sent this:

Tom Isitt (pictured above) has spent the past few years cycling around the battlefields of the first world war. He talks about his experiences on the Western Front and the mountainous border between Italy, Austria and Slovenia and tells the story of the extraordinary bike race that was held in spring 1919 across the devastated lands of Northern France and Belgium.

The Rough Stuff Fellowship is the oldest off road cycling club in the world and club archivist Mark Hudson talks about unearthing a photographic treasure trove of inspirational adventure cycling from the 1950s to the present day.

Check out the Rough Stuff Fellowship Archive’s Instagram feed and visit the Kickstarter page and read more about Tom Isitt’s book Riding in the Zone Rouge:
https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781409171140

And for more details on the Wayfarer Centenary Weekend (29-31 March), see the flyer and the dinner menu
http://thebikeshow.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Wayfarer-Centenary-web-flyer.pdf
http://thebikeshow.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wayfarer-dinner-menu-.jpg

Happy Cycling!