Tag: Aberdeen

  • Skiing in Aberdeen

    Skiing in Aberdeen

    We had another glorious day in the snow today. My mum is visiting and here she is getting into the spirit of the day and throwing snowballs at the grandkids. We got out our skis and went into the park to practice. Even Granny had a go. It was snowing quite heavily. You can see…

  • Winter wonderland

    Winter wonderland

    We woke up to a glorious winter wonderland this morning which was followed by a lovely sunny day. I cycled to Newton Dee like I always do. It wasn’t slippery but it was hard work cycling on the snow. There was lots of resistance; a bit like cycling on the grass. I was grateful for…

  • Ice on the River Dee

    Ice on the River Dee

    There are big chunks of ice on the River Dee today. I took pics. It’s very pretty.  

  • Merry Christmas from the bike path

  • King Street cycle path competition

    Last week, on behalf of the Aberdeen Cycle Forum, I launched a design competition for a cycle path on King Street in Aberdeen. Out of all the cities in Scotland, Aberdeen was the only one not to apply for Sustrans Community Links Plus funding this year which is specifically for infrastructure projects like this. The…

  • Sunday at the beach

    Sunday at the beach

    Elizabeth was invited to a birthday party today at Laser Tag which is by the beach. We don’t go to the beach very often because it’s a bugger to get to by bike but we survived the traffic to make it there in one piece. To be fair, all the motorists were very good and…

  • It’s 4C and I’m hot

    It’s 4C and I’m hot

    I love our Saturday bike rides to Highland Dance for Elizabeth followed by lunch at Newton Dee. My bike told me it was 4C: But I got hot from the exercise. I feel so happy after a bike ride. We’re so lucky to live somewhere we can cycle all year round. I love feeling the…

  • When no one comes to your talk

    When no one comes to your talk

    Yesterday I gave a talk at the Aberdeen Science Centre to, er, 6 people. That’s embarrassing enough as it is but 3 of the 6 people were Daniel, Elizabeth, and Ben. The other 3 were staff at the centre. I won’t give up my day job for paid speaking gigs just yet. My talk was…

  • Street art

    I saw this fantastic street art in Aberdeen yesterday. I think it’s new because I haven’t seen it before. It’s on Justice Mill Lane near the junction with Bon Accord Terrace.

  • Bike paths for all demonstration on 9th September in Aberdeen

    Bike paths for all demonstration on 9th September in Aberdeen

    The new bypass for motor vehicles – the AWPR – is set to open soon and I posted recently about the attempts to make up for the absence of cycling provision in the new road by organising a cycling event where you cannot take a bike. After a lot of bad publicity the event was…

  • I think our transport planners are stuck in a 1970s time warp

    I think our transport planners are stuck in a 1970s time warp

    I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry about this article – Is this the worst cycling event EVER? They’ve built a new ring road exclusively for motor vehicles around Aberdeen which is about to open but somehow they were allowed, in the 21st century, to build it without any provision for cyclists. Indeed cyclists…

  • The weekly yield

    The weekly yield

    This is what I picked from my allotment yesterday. There is more I could have picked but didn’t, like kale, swiss chard, spinach, beetroot, and potatoes. The tomatoes are some kind of tiger variety and are meant to look stripy. I’m really happy to get them because a couple of months ago the plants looked…

  • Broad Street is open to buses

    Broad Street is open to buses

    Broad Street is open to buses again after several months of closure while construction work was carried out. I was there yesterday and took some photos of the new design: Can you see what’s wrong with the new design? It’s not clear where the road ends and the pavement begins. There’s no kerb. It’s all…

  • Recap of the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen

    Recap of the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen

    I had a great day at the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen yesterday. I was there with Hoss, my new e-cargo-trike, and lots of literature from Cycling UK. The very lovely Fiona from Cycling UK also came to lend a hand. I was amazed by how many people had not heard about the campaign for a…

  • Aberdeen Sustainability Festival

    Aberdeen Sustainability Festival

    I’m representing Cycling UK at the Sustainability Festival in Aberdeen on Saturday. The festival is a celebration of sustainable living and a first for Aberdeen so I’m not 100% sure what to expect. There’ll be lots of wonderful produce from local farmers and also green community organisations like Aberdeen Climate Action and Cycling UK. I’ll…

  • Bikes and mikes

    Bikes and mikes

    I gave a talk at the monthly climate cafe last night about my petition for a bike path on Union St. It started badly. The microphone was too short and in my attempt to adjust it I dropped the clicker to advance my slides. When it hit the floor the back came off and the…

  • Pedal on Parliament 2018, Aberdeen

    Pedal on Parliament 2018, Aberdeen

    It was the Aberdeen Pedal on Parliament today.  The Pedal on Parliament is a demonstration for safe cycling infrastructure throughout Scotland. The main event was in Edinburgh on Saturday but there were two smaller events, one in Aberdeen and the other in Inverness. It’s the fourth year running for Aberdeen and we had 80-100 people…

  • Aberdeen City Council to report on the bike path for Union St petition

    Aberdeen City Council to report on the bike path for Union St petition

    Yesterday I got to speak at the Operational Delivery Committee at the Aberdeen City Council to argue the case for a bike path for Union Street. This is following on from the petition I submitted in February. It was initially meant to be discussed by the Petition’s Committee in March but this meeting was cancelled.…

  • Pedal on Parliament Aberdeen 2018

    Pedal on Parliament Aberdeen 2018

    When: Sunday 29th April at 11am Where: Starting at Rubislaw Terrace Gardens and cycling along Albyn Street, then Union Street and finishing up at The Town House on Broad Street. Pedal on Parliament is an annual event to promote bike-friendly cities in Scotland. The Scottish government wants to increase rates of cycling but money has…

  • Emotional attachment to a place and good bread

    Emotional attachment to a place and good bread

    Have you ever felt an emotional attachment to a place or even a landscape? A feeling of belonging when you go there even when you’ve never been there before? I feel that way about Scotland and to a lesser extent, England. It puzzles me a bit because the environment I grew up in was so…