I went along for the huneliggers ride this morning. The others at the start place were returning to Groningen by a fairly short route, so Peter and I rode back to Assen together in our Mangos.
It's been getting colder. When I rode to work this week it was -3 C at the beginning. However, this morning it was 2 degrees above freezing, and the sun was shining nicely. Very pleasant, especially in a velomobile so the cold air is kept off you.
I don't know where you are in the world, but one of the annoying things about winter in the northern latitudes is that that the Sun never gets very high, not even at noon. Go far enough north and it never even clears the horizon.
The Netherlands are at the same latitude as Labrador and the southerly reaches of Siberia. That's far enough north that at midwinter standing on an east-west street lined by two story buildings you'd never see the Sun at all. It would be too low, even at noon.
There's still a couple of months until the Solstice, but the daylight is already hours shorter at each end and the Sun is quite noticeably lower in the sky at all times than it was a couple of months ago. At the Solstice the Sun won't even rise until about 8:15 AM and will set about 4:15 (16:15) PM.
You're too modest about your speeds. Even as a Quest pilot I'd be working to cruise at 23-25mph as you showed.
But then, I've seldom got a truly flat place to ride. That, and I know you've got many more miles/year on the bike than I do, I look forward to riding through the winter and being a stronger rider next year.
Also, I've noticed that folks tend to not use the foam cover for the Quest/Mango, unless its really cold. Me, I'm using it when temps drop to mid 40s (~7C).
Overall, nice lil' vid, and I'm so pleased to see you enjoying the Mango.
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The next open study tour is in August 2013. Book a place in order to experience for yourself how policy and infrastructure in Assen and Groningen have led to the high cycling modal share in this area.:
The positive stuff Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle. Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers". Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe. A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together. Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling, including reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s. What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands. Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists Unravelling of routes is vitally important History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder" Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling Directness - examples of prioritising cycling Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands. Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries. Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice. Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world. School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike. Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand. Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time. Health effects of cycling Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again. Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes. Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands. Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.
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If you like this blog please support us so we can continue. We sell quality bicycle components and organize cycling holidays:
A cyclist in a cycling family living in the capital of the cycling province of the world's greatest cycling country.
I was born in the UK, lived for over 8 years in New Zealand and have lived in the Netherlands since 2007.
I organise cycling infrastructure study tours, run an online bicycle shop, arrange cycling holidays and write a popular blog about cycling.
My email address is avftcp@hembrow.eu
4 comments:
How early in the morning are you riding? Or is it late afternoon? The sun seems pretty low.
How long a distance do you travel to the meeting place?
We start at 9:30 - 10 am, so not particularly early. At first in the video I'm riding at about 9:45 on my way to the start which is 12 km from home.
Anon: "The sun seems pretty low."
I don't know where you are in the world, but one of the annoying things about winter in the northern latitudes is that that the Sun never gets very high, not even at noon. Go far enough north and it never even clears the horizon.
The Netherlands are at the same latitude as Labrador and the southerly reaches of Siberia. That's far enough north that at midwinter standing on an east-west street lined by two story buildings you'd never see the Sun at all. It would be too low, even at noon.
There's still a couple of months until the Solstice, but the daylight is already hours shorter at each end and the Sun is quite noticeably lower in the sky at all times than it was a couple of months ago. At the Solstice the Sun won't even rise until about 8:15 AM and will set about 4:15 (16:15) PM.
You're too modest about your speeds. Even as a Quest pilot I'd be working to cruise at 23-25mph as you showed.
But then, I've seldom got a truly flat place to ride. That, and I know you've got many more miles/year on the bike than I do, I look forward to riding through the winter and being a stronger rider next year.
Also, I've noticed that folks tend to not use the foam cover for the Quest/Mango, unless its really cold. Me, I'm using it when temps drop to mid 40s (~7C).
Overall, nice lil' vid, and I'm so pleased to see you enjoying the Mango.
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