How many bollards does a bridge need?

The Bourg Walk cycle, and pedestrian, bridge
that is the centrepiece of the town's pro-cycling program.
Five bollards at one end.
Just how many bollards is TOO many?

Reading a post on another blog got me thinking about bollards on cyclepaths.

Five bollards protecting the "Bourg Walk" bridge in Aylesbury from errant motorists (and I suspect teenaged scooterists as well).
By the way, if you look up the Bourg Walk bridge on Google Maps, it isn't shown on the satellite view yet, and neither are the changes to the local roads that came with it, although someone has helpfully marked it on the map where it is (the namer is shown in a carpark, which the bridge crosses the edge of).
I guess it will be at some point in the future.

Just how many bollards are too many?

Why cycling on the pavement (sidewalk) is a good thing

Let me say, first of all, that this only applies to the UK.
Other legal jurisdictions are available :-)

iirc, a government minister said a while back that if cyclists were cycling on the pavement (in areas where cycling is not expressly forbidden by "no cycling" signage) primarily for safety reasons, and were polite and considerate of pedestrians using the pavement, then they should not be prosecuted, not withstanding the existing legislation to the contrary, and that all police forces were being instructed to that effect.

Summary of our views on Bike Bins rigid-sided panniers after three-and-a-half years of regular use

For us the four biggest advantages are (based on nearly three-and-a-half-years of use!):

1. The "plastic box with a close fitting lid" design keeps stuff dry from rain and road spray even on the wettest days (and we are occasionally caught out in very heavy rain when returning fromma shopping trip) 
2. The lockable nature keeps things "out of sight and out of mind", be it cycle helmets on a trip to the cinema, or the items bought in one shop when we visit a second shop - we feel reasonably safe about leaving stuff on the bike while we go elsewhere 
3. The size is just about right. A pannier will take a regular adult cycle helmet, and the assorted paraphernalia of cycling, or it will take 2 standard plastic milk bottles (jugs) - see the vaious pictures above to get an idea of what will fit in them.
4.  Fragile stuff, like standard loaves of soft bread, grapes, blueberries, bananas, etc. etc., as long as it is carefully packed, doesn't get crushed, because the rigid structure of the pannier protects them.

An unexpected hazard of cycle routes

This story was brought to my attention by the estwhile folks at Sky News.

It appears that a cyclist, while carrying out a lawful manoeuvre (maneuver, for those on the other side of the Pond), upset a policeman, who was carrying out an unlawful manoeuvre (maneuver), on the same, clearly marked "cycle box" at a junction

Cheap bikes - another view.

Regular readers will know I have a bit of a soft spot for cheap bikes.
I don't bother with cheap bikes with suspension - front or rear, as they are just a waste of money.
They weigh even more than a "no-suspension" cheap bike, and make moving loads a lot more complicated - the racks available for "suspension" bikes either have a lower weight rating, or are MUCH more expensive, or both.
Suspension has a place for "off-road" bikes, but for regular, daily, use in urban environments it is a fashion statement, not an upgrade! (the same goes for higher-priced bies as well).

My beloved (and recently broken!) Cinzia folding bike, that I have had owned for about 20 years was just a cheap, heavy, bike, with variable build quality and some wierd-ly sized parts (like the 25mm seatpost and the 36mm bottom bracket).
My wife rides a cheap flat-pack bike, and is very happy with it.
I've just fixed her the "spare" bike - my wife's previous cheap flat-pack bike.

A cheap, flat-pack, bike, with aftermarket side stand and front basket and rack.
It beats a "no-racks" "fancy" bike every time as a load-hauler
Suspension is best avoided on a "working" bike, as it complicates
fitting racks, and either lowers the overall load rating or
dramatically increases the cost, or both.

Yes, cheap bikes can have some issues:

All good things come to an end

Bad news.

Structural failure of my folding bike.
the bottom bracket has broken away from
the U-tube frame

My little Cinzia folding bike, that I have owned for about 20 years, suffered a serious structural failure on the evening of the 8th October 2013.

How to get a bike for free ... (in the UK, at least)

The UK Government has recently decided to sell off the national postal service, Royal Mail.
It is the view of the (opposition) Labour Party that the shares about to be floated have been priced too cheaply, to the tune of about 1 billion pounds overall (that's about 1.2 billion Euros, or about 1.6 billion dollars).

UPCOMING: bike pump mega test.

I will shortly (in a week or two) be posting multiple test results on my growing collection of bicycle pumps.

I have another "track" pump on the way - the courier should deliver it tomorrow.
It is from the Edinburgh Biccycle Co-operative.
I already have a cheap Lidl (a German supermarket chain) track pump, and a track pump from Argos.

"Track" pumps from Revolution (own brand of Edingburgh Cycle Cooperative),
Muddy Fox (a mass-produced brand owned by Universal Cycles),
and Crivit (own brand of Lidl GmbH, a European supermarket chain).
Also shown is a Crivit mini-pump.

I also have a mini-pump from Lidl, and a regular 2-chamber car (automobile) foot pump.

All our bikes have Schraeder valves on the tyres (tires) - that's a "car-" ("auto-") type valve, and recommended pressures of, variously, 45 to 70 psi (about 3 bar to 5 bar), so the tests and reports will be aimed at that, rather than their performance on high pressure valves (such as "Woods") or skinny high pressure tyres.
As with all my test reports, it is real equipment I have bought with my own, real, money, and it is tested to reflect the way we use stuff, not some theoretical manufacturer's testing program on a borrowed piece of equipment.

The test is here