The journey by bicycle - Thursday 21 June

  • Distance: 6.88 miles
  • Journey time: 23 mins 40 secs
  • Cost: £0.00
Today, I did my usual commute on my bicycle and, needless to say, I really enjoyed it. It was a bit cooler and breezier outdoors than the last few mornings but it was dry and sunny.

My normal route is on the road through Chilwell and Beeston until the junction at the western end of University Boulevard where I join the pedestrian/cycling path that borders the university campus. Thereafter, from Dunkirk roundabout, it's either the road or the cycle path, including the relatively new western corridor cycling lane over Abbey Bridge and on to Castle Boulevard.

I find some motorists are still adjusting to the cycling lane on Castle Boulevard, and it's not really a surprise. The way the lane has been carved out of the existing carriageway means that if you're driving towards the city centre and want to turn right across the cycle lane, you have to not only be aware of oncoming cyclists - as you would have to be at any right turn - but also check over your right shoulder to check there isn't a cyclist heading from the same direction as you. Or vice versa if you're driving outbound and want to turn left.

This is not a criticism of the design, it just means drivers and cyclists alike have to take extra care at the junctions of those side roads and building vehicle entrances on the southern side of Castle Boulevard.

My ride this morning was free from any congestion until the University Boulevard junction. Sometimes, the traffic starts to build up earlier than this point, at the Queen's Road/Station Road junction in Beeston, but I believe that this variability arises from the timing of the trams that cross Queen's Road at the University Boulevard junction. 

In any event, both inbound lanes of University Boulevard had very slow moving traffic this morning as I joined the adjacent cycle path. As I rode that section, I thought that even though I was only about three or four metres away from the lines of cars, vans and buses, I was probably breathing in less polluted air than if I were using the carriageway itself.

As I expected, my journey time today was the fastest of the week so far. Door to door in under 24 minutes, a little quicker than Monday's car journey. Financially, the journey cost nothing and, according to the guest talking on BBC Breakfast's story on national Clean Air Day this morning, I was exposed to about half the pollution than if I'd used my car, because the car's filters would have allowed emissions inside the vehicle, trapping them there.

I'll be doing tomorrow's journey on foot and by train.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The journey on foot and by bus - Wednesday 20 June

Image
Distance: 8.23 miles Journey time: 1 hr 00 mins 36 secs Cost:  £2.60 (Indigo bus ticket) On what would have been another glorious, sunny morning for cycling to work, I set out on foot for today's journey, headed for the bus stop outside the Manor pub in Toton, a 15-minute walk away. I use buses very infrequently, mainly because the tram station is nearer to where I live than the nearest stop for the Nottingham-bound bus service. In fact, it must be several years since I last boarded the Nottingham to Derby service run by Trent-Barton called Indigo. It was called the number 5 bus in days gone by. The bus journey wasn't as pleasant as yesterday's tram ride, mainly because the bus doesn't run on the road surface as smoothly as a tram glides on rails. I was almost being unseated by the vibrations of the vehicle as it passed over potholes, sunken manhole covers and sections of tarmac repairs to the road surface, and also when it went round tight bends in the road.
Read more

Who am I and what am I doing?

Image
These are questions I ask myself frequently, but for the purposes of this blog...I am Tim Baggs, I work in Nottingham city centre for the Royal College of Nursing and I almost always do my commute to work on a bicycle. I cycle for commuting, pleasure, fitness training and competition, riding between 5,000 and 6,000 miles a year. I live seven miles away from the RCN’s Nottingham office and I find cycling is the quickest, most convenient and most cost effective way to commute. For me, it’s by far the most enjoyable method, too – I am rarely delayed by traffic congestion and if the roads are too busy I can cycle along the canal towpath into town instead. In fact, the canalside is sometimes my route of choice because it’s tranquil and free of traffic and stop signals. The 'argh' factor of stopping for a red light just isn't the same as the 'ahh' factor of giving way to an assertive mother duck crossing the path with her ducklings obediently in tow. I’ve cy
Read more