Tag: cycling
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An open letter to the Aberdeen City Council about South College Street
This past week I have felt very frustrated with the Aberdeen City Council after I read about their plans to spend £5.5 million adding another lane for private motor vehicles to a road in central Aberdeen. A bike path has not been included in these plans and the road in question is uninviting for pedestrians…
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One week left to respond to the city council SUMP consultation
The Aberdeen City Council currently has its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) out for consultation and it’s closing next week on July 26th. This is a plea for anyone living in the area to respond to the consultation before it closes. It’s important for as many people to have their say as possible because politicians…
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Cyclist has to pay pedestrian who walked out in front while looking at phone
I’m pleased to see this fellow’s GoFundMe page doing so well. It’s nearly up to £40,000 after just a couple of days. For those who don’t know the story, Robert Hazeldean was cycling in London when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him and the two collided. The pedestrian was looking at her phone…
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I despair when I see these people cheer
Last week the West London Borough of Chelsea and Kensington, one of the wealthiest in the country, voted against a Transport for London proposal for segregated cycling infrastructure. Although I don’t live there and it doesn’t affect me directly, I felt despair when I saw the applause after the council announced the decision. Rapturous applause…
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Can bike paths save the high street?
High streets in Britain are in decline. People say this is due to online shopping and this is undoubtedly part of the cause. It’s so easy to buy goods on the internet and have them delivered to your home that there’s no need to go out to the shops. You can even get your groceries…
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Dresses, gardening, cycling, and lectures
I got a magnificent gown at the charity shop yesterday. I have no idea when or where I’ll ever wear this but it was too lovely to resist and fits me perfectly. Today I’ve been gardening mostly. There’s so much to do both at home and at the allotment. I’m so far behind this year…
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A vision for King Street, Aberdeen
Earlier this year I applied for and received funding for the Aberdeen Cycle Forum to commission two visualisations of streets in Aberdeen with a bike path. One of them has just been released. It’s for King Street and extends the King Street Design Competition we held by taking the winning designs and turning them into…
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Tern GSD – electric cargo bike review
I’ve had the very great pleasure of testing a Tern GSD – an electric cargo bike – for a couple of days. I picked it up from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative on Thursday evening and then flew home like I’ve never done before. Indeed on the way home I cycled up to some traffic lights where…
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Living a low carbon life
Last week the BBC came to our house and filmed us for a story on a low carbon family that aired on the news last night. It also went on the web at The Aberdeen family embracing a low-carbon lifestyle. In some ways I feel like a bit of a fraud because I feel there’s…
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Pedal on Parliament 2019
It was Aberdeen’s annual Pedal on Parliament today and we changed tactics slightly by cycling laps around the city centre. In previous years we’ve had a ride starting from somewhere outside Aberdeen and ending up in town. This year we cycled a circuit through town. It worked really well because it was all left turns…
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Police Scotland say roads unsuitable for slow-moving individuals
Tomorrow Aberdeen will be having a mass bike ride in protest of the lack of cycling infrastructure in the city. This is part of a nation-wide group of protests under the umbrella of Pedal on Parliament 2019. Several weeks ago I notified the police of the event, out of courtesy. In the past they’ve usually…
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In our convertible on the hottest Easter ever
It was a hot weekend and since my bike, Hoss, is a convertible we went out on Saturday with the top down. Apparently it was the hottest Easter for our region since records began which is, sadly, a sign of things to come. It will continue getting hotter and hotter unless we get our emissions…
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Mass bike ride in Aberdeen on Sunday 28th April
The Aberdeen Cycle Forum is organising a mass bike ride on Sunday 28th April at 11am, starting from Marischal College. This is part of Scotland’s Pedal on Parliament 2019 but this year is a little bit different because the usual Edinburgh ride which attracts thousands of people is not happening. Instead the focus is on…
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Inside Hoss and guns
Elizabeth and I had an appointment this morning which I cycled to on Hoss. We were a little early and it was cold so I hopped inside Hoss with Elizabeth because it’s cosy and warm in there. We took some photos. An adult can fit comfortably inside. My head did touch the roof but because…
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Aberdeen’s beach and veganism is mainstream
Daniel was invited to a birthday party today and much to my disappointment it was at a trampoline place by the beach. I dislike going to the beach in Aberdeen for two reason – 1) It’s a bugger to get to by bike. There’s no good route and I’m always stressed and worried about large…
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King Street Design Competition
We announced the winners of the King Street Design Competition today. It took a bit longer than expected because we extended the competition by one week and then the judging took just over two weeks. However the whole thing was a great success. I’m so impressed with all the designs we received and it was…
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How to get exercise without doing any exercise
I’ve started wearing my Fitbit again and yesterday, without doing any exercise at all, I managed to clock up 15,427 steps and 87 minutes of moderate activity in one day. Now before you get all excited about the possibility of getting exercise while Netflix cruising on the sofa, let me explain what I mean. Yesterday…
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Prince Philip is setting a bad example
Last week Prince Philip was involved in a car crash after pulling out of the Sandringham estate in his Land Rover and onto the A149. He’s received a lot of criticism for driving at 97 years old and many people are calling for him to relinquish his licence. The whole affair has outraged me but…
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View from the cycle path
The view from the cycle path today was misty with streaks of sunlight melting the snow. You can see on my bike’s dashboard that it’s 3°C. There were icy patches but I felt very stable on my three-wheeled beast.
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Merry Christmas from the bike path
rachel.blog 