Errandonnee #6: Local Advocacy

Last night was the bi-monthly meeting of the Luton and Dunstable Cycle Forum, plus its Annual General Meeting.

Errandonnee #6

Date: Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Category: Community Meeting 

Destination:  Travel Choices Hub, Dunstable

Distance:  13.3 km

Steed: Riley the Enigma

What I learned/observations:

1. Sometimes day to day change is hard to measure. Now and again it's good to step back and look where we were... yesterday, a month ago, a year ago.

This was the Forum's second AGM. The duration of the inaugural AGM was almost entirely spent on hammering out the terms of the group's Constitution! There was little time left to make plans for events and bike rides, much less things like soliciting volunteers to run them or resources to promote them.

A year on, it was great to review how much progress has been made in concrete terms, i.e. activities not just talk! After a number of years of not being in a good position to influence the local authorities to improve conditions for cyclists (other than by lobbying people in specific roles at the relevant Councils), now there is a sound foundation for actually "increasing the number of bums on saddles" by having a presence at community events e.g. Luton International Festival, Dunstable Party in the Park and -- thanks to formal Ride Leader Training by Sustrans -- leading more community bicycle rides.

Last night's proceedings were lively and interactive, with several new faces. Everyone had an opportunity to voice their concerns, and everyone's views were taken on board. The Chair, Robin Cowan, is invariably enthuasiastic, always seeking to move any situation towards a positive outcome. This was beneficial on a number of issues where not everyone saw things eye-to-eye but in the end everyone was happy with the agreed plan of action.

I intended to get a photo or two of the meeting in progress but forgot until afterwards. Here is a photo of a few people lingering in conversation well after the meeting had concluded and the majority of folk had left for home.

Rule 8 for Errandonneuring this year suggested completing at least two errands after dark. Last night, we arrived at the venue just before the sun actually set. But of course it was dark at 9pm when we left for home. Adam and I planned to go along the Busway as far as Skimpot Lane. Three others were headed all the way to Luton. So it was a merry group of 5 that set off together from the Hub.

Lights varied widely among us. David's vintage bike with correspondingly vintage dynamo doesn't cast much of a beam, so he rode at the back of the group. Mark has recently made great strides in making himself more visible: he still wears all dark clothing, but his mountain bike now sports inexpensive but quite effective (so long as the batteries are fresh) blinkies front and rear, available for under £5 from Wilkinsons.

Robin is our resident "Christmas Tree" -- shown here on the left but without full benefit of my flash.  I don't know what make/model his various lights are, but they are plentiful. The one mounted on his helmet is retina-searing.

Adam and I run a mixture of Cateye and Smart lights as "be seen" lights, in flashing mode. We particularly like the Smart rear lights, such as shown here on Adam's rear rack, just behind his pannier. To ensure he can actually see the way ahead, Adam uses two Hope Vision 1 lights on his handlebars. (I have one of these on my commuter bike as well.)

I use an Exposure Strada -- the early Mk1 without blinking mode! (The latest Mk5 is even more fantastic but I can't justify the further expense just now.)  I actually have two Exposure Stradas. The other is a MkII. I got both on Ebay as ex-demo models at much lower prices than normal retail. One stays on my bike all the time. I add a second for overnight rides where good light is needed for more than 3-4 hours, with the brackets angled so that one light throws a beam a bit higher/further out than the other. (For those overnight rides, I run both lights all night, one on high power the other on low, switching the power mode halfway through the night to maximum battery power.)

L-Robin with helmet cam. R-Adam with Smart rear light.

My Exposure in the centre, plus Cateye EL135 commuter to the right.

One final note:  Once we were clear of the residential streets and onto the Busway, we were riding in fog the thickest I've ever seen! Adam says the same. It was eerie and beautiful. I toyed with the idea of taking a panda shot but was riding in the middle of the pack and decided it might not be safe if I should start wobbling all over the path!