The date for next year’s Women’s Freedom Ride has been confirmed so put Sunday, 3 March in your calendars and do come along! It will be a fun family-friendly protest ride around iconic locations in central London where we call on the Mayor for gender equality in cycling in London. We will need help with feeder rides and volunteers for what we hope will be an all-female/non-binary ride marshal and lead team. If you’d like to stay updated on ride info and are planning to attend, please RSVP below.
Saturday 18 Nov: LCC Community Skills Summit
| The LCC Community Skills Summit is next week Saturday! A day of talks, workshops & networking on Saturday 18 Nov, to help skill up & inspire you to improve your area better for cycling, walking & wheeling. LOCATION: UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON DOCKLANDS. For full details see link below, It’s very exciting that almost a third of the people who have registered are new to campaigning, many not being LCC members, so we’d like to make them feel as welcome as possible. Therefore, we ask that you make an effort to speak to people you don’t know and encourage them (gently) to get more involved in their local LCC group. This is event is open to all – not just LCC members. !Pizza party updateAfter being neck and neck, Islington has nudged Tower Hamlets out of joint first place and are now in the lead with Haringey following closely behind. Snapping at their heels are Waltham Forest, Barnet, Hackney and Wandsworth. There’s still a week to go so if you want free pizzas at your next group meeting, encourage more people to register for the Summit.Registration link:Â https://lcc.org.uk/news/lcc-community-skills-summit-2023/ |
Had a close call on the bike from cars?
The LCC is again requesting that we report incidences of close calls to police – ‘Met police officers say they want to hear from cycle users about locations where incidents of close passing occur regularly – these could be roads without cycle lanes and those where speeds are higher than average.’
This will enable them to target specific locations and help reduce road danger so please contact them at   RTPC-Cy@met.police.uk Give the exact location and the type of incident encountered.
Bike Security and Tips at the September meeting
Following the meeting of 28th September on Bike Security and Tips the following two YouTube websites were found most useful to the discussions in addition to other bike security websites researched: ‘How to Lock Your Bike Securely’ and ‘Stealing My Own Bike’
The main findings suggest the D lock is still considered the best way to secure bikes for extended periods with stronger high security levels ( 6-10 security level and tested to Sold Secure). Lower level locks including cables and chains (level 1-5 are adequate for brief periods such as rural café stops or where bike is generally visible). Two locks are recommended or combined cable and D lock. Most insurance policies will require the bike is secured to a permanently fixed post for claims. Riders should briefly assess the security risk when choosing a place to secure bikes – well lighted, in busy pedestrian area, etc. Where the risk is very high, usually urban areas, then to use a lower value bike or try to make their bike less noticeable and attractive to a thief.
You Tube links:
Thursday 26 October: Monthly Meeting – Proposed cycle routes in Barnet.
We have a special speaker this month – Costi Rentzoz from Barnet Council.
Costi will provide an overview of the council’s use of the Propensity to cycle (PCT) tool to identify and prioritise potential cycle routes in Barnet. The tool takes into account a number of factors, including air quality, health, gradients and existing behaviour of cyclists. It models three scenarios, ranging from doubling cycling by 2025, going Dutch and the use of e-bikes.
16 potential routes have been identified and the council would like to sense check these with our group.
This discussion will start at 8pm – please come and participate in the future of cycling in Barnet.
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The pattern of meetings is the last Thursday of most months at 8pm. If you have any suggestions for topics for these meetings please get in touch.
Meet: 8pm, Trinity Church Centre, Nether Street, North Finchley N12.
All welcome.
Training venue required to run a cycle instructors training course
An appeal for help from Illias Ioannou, Barnet Council’s Cycling Officer:
You may be aware that we have a shortage of cycle instructors in Barnet and therefore have a very limited capacity to deliver cycle training in the borough. Our training provider Cycle Confident Ltd ran a recruitment drive over the summer to recruit new instructors across all the 18 London Boroughs they work in but unfortunately, they had no one apply from the Barnet area. They are now planning a more focussed recruitment exercise focussed just on Barnet in the next few weeks.
Once they have at least 6 individuals apply, they will then have to train these individuals and are looking for a Barnet venue, preferably at low cost, to run a cycle instructor training course for 6 people plus one trainer for 2 weeks beginning Monday 20th November to 1st December, Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm each day. They would need access to Wi-Fi and white board and secure parking for 7 bicycles. An outside playground/Multi Use Games Area/tennis court type space would be preferable but if not, a local park would need to be within the vicinity.
If anyone can suggest a suitable venue please email Cycling@Barnet.gov.uk
Thursday, 28th September: Monthly Meeting – Bike Security and Tips
After business and coffee we’ll be discussing issues on bike security and protection of cycles from theft. With over 18,000 cycles reported stolen to the Met Police last year and only 7% of them solved, bike security is of a major concern. Discussions will centre around the choice of locks and levels of protection and ways and means to improve bike security. Audience participation welcome as we want to learn what works for you and security experiences you have learned from. All welcome and bring along any locks or security devices you would like to show and discuss.
Meet: 8pm Carey Hall, Trinity Church Centre, Nether Street, North Finchley N12
Monthly meetings restart!
Our monthly indoor meetings are restarting for the new season. The pattern is that meetings are held on the last Thursday of most months. We meet at 8pm, Trinity Church Centre, Nether Street, North Finchley N12 7NN. This is your chance to meet other Barnet Cycling Campaign members and find out what is happening locally in campaigning and cycle rides. We try to feature a special topic for discussion. All are welcome
Dates: Thursday 28 September, Thursday 26 October, Thursday 30 November.
THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER Our special topic after the coffee break will be bike security. More details to come.
Battersea Bridge Protest this Thursday, 6pm
Please join us on Thursday 7th of September to send a loud, clear message to Transport for London, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth councils – Battersea Bridge must be made safe for cycling now.
Assemble: 6pm, south side of bridge – In Town Statue, 1 Battersea Bridge, SW11 3TP
Tragically, on 10th August, a 27-year-old woman was killed while cycling across Battersea Bridge. Last year, another woman lost her leg cycling at the north end of the bridge. On average, there’s a serious or fatal collision involving someone cycling on this bridge every year.
These deaths and serious injuries could have been avoided. Weak schemes have been proposed, but nothing has been delivered, and the bridge remains deadly. Join us on Thursday to demand urgent action from Transport for London, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth councils.
This ride will be short – please turn up on time and wear muted clothing for the ride, homemade placards welcome – our slogans are “Make Battersea Bridge Safe For Cycling” and “Fix Battersea Bridge”.
FOR MORE DETAILS:
https://lcc.org.uk/news/battersea-too-little-too-late-tfl/
New protest laws: For those concerned about the change in protest laws, we have done everything possible to avoid arrests – find out more here.
Urban Hill Climb 2023: Entries Close 24th September
Urban Hill Climb 2023 will take place on the 30th of September this year, bigger and better than ever! We’ve introduced new e-bike categories, new prizes, and an all new expo area!
Entries will close on 24th September for all categories! Book now to secure your spot.
This is a family friendly event. Whether you’re racing for the best possible time or cruising up the slopes waving to the fans we hope you’ll have an amazing day.Â
to register:
https://www.riderhq.com/events/p/hp50i08g/f/urban-hill-climb-2023
Barnet Cycling Campaign 