50 million quid for improving cycle routes is up for grabs!
Two quick things. One is that there’s this competition going on where four projects have the chance to win £50 million of lottery money in a public vote. One of the projects is being put forward by Sustrans (a sustainable transport organisation) to improve walking and cycling paths, including the National Cycle Network, across the country.
Of course, I have a vested interest in this, being a cyclist, but I also think that it’s the only nationwide project, the others are all specific to one place. Yes, they’re all great projects, but the best use of public money is surely to improve access to cycle routes?
Some cyclists are very much against this, assuming that, if there are designated cycle routes, then we’ll be forced to use them (and they’re not very good for serious mountain biking or road riding as they’re mostly paths used for leisure rides and shared with pedestrians), but the National Cycle Network is a great way for a beginner cyclist to discover longer rides, and was very much part of my catching of the cycling bug!
So, if you don’t know about it, or don’t really care which project gets the money, I DO! So please vote for Sustrans. Details on the competition here and details of the Sustrans Project “Connect2” here.
My Wobbly Wheels
In other, more personal cycle-related news, my rear wheel is wobbling again. I thought I’d done a grand job of repairing the broken spokes, but it seems to still be uneven and, when I hit about 25 mph, it starts to shake me around a bit.
But what to do? I’ve had a good go at truing up but without expensive tools it’ll never be perfect. Should I buy a new wheel? Hmm…