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Cambridge commuter challenge.PNGCambridgeshire's cycling champion wins commuter challenge - at 45kph?
Cambridgeshire County Council’s cycling champion has won a commuter challenge today that pitched him against rivals on a bus and in a car – although there’s some head-scratching on Twitter about whether he could have completed the journey in the claimed time.
In a tweet, Greater Cambridge City Deal said that Councillor Noel Kavanagh had ridden from the Longstanton Park & Ride to the north of the city to Guildhall on Market Square in 16 minutes. The bus passenger took 22 minutes and the car occupant 25 minutes.
First prize goes to the cyclist and Cllr Noel Kavanagh. 8 miles in 16mins #micdrop #boom #BeatCongestion #Cambridge pic.twitter.com/2QwjIMxJOm
— GC City Deal (@gccitydeal) 11 July 2016
According to Google Maps, the shortest recommended cycling route is 7.4 miles (11.9 km), most of it on the cycle path running alongside the guided busway, meaning that until he came off there at the Cambridge Science Park, he wouldn’t have had to worry about motor vehicles, junctions, or traffic lights.
That still equates to an average speed of just under 45 kilometres an hour – around the average speed of a flattish Tour de France stage ridden by professionals on closed roads and able to draft other riders – although those, of course, cover up to 20 times greater distance.
Some local cyclists queried whether the councillor would have been able to cover the distance in that time, including pointing out he would have been up against a headwind.
@gccitydeal whatever, 45 kmh is essentially pro-pace, and if it was today he was against a stiff south-westerly. Not credible.
— smeopnez (@smeopnez) 11 July 2016
I know he's quick, but 30mph quick? Really? On a non-auto bike, non-aeto kit, with a headwind? https://t.co/opfh9OGnPN
— Al (@Al__S) 11 July 2016
Whatever the actual distance and time, there was a serious point to today’s commuter race, which coincided with the start of a three-month consultation into an eight-point plan to tackle congestion in the city that has by far the highest levels of cycling in the UK, focused on the following issues.
1 - Better bus services and expanded use of Park & Ride in place before ‘virtual’ road closures
2 - Better pedestrian and cycling infrastructure
3 - Improved public space and air quality
4 - Peak-time Congestion Control Points – camera-enforced closures on key routes during rush hour for vehicles with the exception of buses, taxis, emergency vehicles and cyclists.
5 - Workplace Parking Levy – an annual fee on commuter parking spaces used by bigger business to help fund better alternative transport
6 - On-street parking Controls – including an expansion of Residents’ Parking Zones
7 - Smart technology – intelligent traffic signals and devices to make it easier to travel and move around the city
8 - Travel planning – expansion of the existing service to help people, schools and organisations adapt to any changes.
Councillor Lewis Herbert, chair of the City Deal executive board and leader of Cambridge City Council, commented: “We have to tackle congestion swiftly and decisively for everyone’s sake – for residents, businesses, for the bus passengers who sit idle in traffic jams, and the cyclists, pedestrians, old and young people who face sometimes toxic levels of air pollution when our roads are at gridlock.
“Assisted by responses during this period of consultation, we want to cut congestion from late 2017, not take another three to five years, and have a package of bus and wider improvements in place from the start, including by working closely with local operators.”
“Cambridge is a place for people - not for long queues of cars - and we’re confident this plan will reduce peak-time traffic levels all year round to that usually only seen in holiday periods. That means far more reliable and faster bus journeys, more pleasant cycling and walking conditions and better air quality.
“However, we recognise the potential impact of this proposal and that some people may be more affected than others; we want views on improvements people want to see from the start including local bus services.
He added: “It is vital that local residents, businesses and anyone who travels in, out or within Cambridge for work, study or leisure, and therefore likely to be affected by this plan, has their say before any final decisions are made.”
The consultation, which remains open until 10 October 2016 and will be supported by local events in and around Cambridge, can be found here.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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27 comments
I went to our local wood yard for some lengths of 4x2. "I expect you mean 50x100mm" said the assistant, voice dripping with sarcasm. "How much do you want?"
"About three and a half yards" I told him.
"Oh dear sir" he chided me. "It comes in 4000mm lengths so you'll be OK with just one."
"If you say so. How much is it?" I said, reaching for my wallet.
"That'll be one pound thirteen shillings and sixpence a foot sir."
I ride the busway part of the route pretty regularly and he'd be doing exceptionally well to get that average speed on that part of the route let alone the city part.
When I say exceptionally well I mean of course that I couldn't do it
, wearing Lycra, time trial tuck, 15 years younger and not bad for my age.
Why it matters of course is that around here City Deal have half a billion quid to spend on infrastructure so faking the numbers to make cycling look good is not likely to be politically very clever when you get found out, honest mistake or not.
@Al_S well spotted.. I did get the route wrong way round
Hey look, I can make this helmet related.
(Well hat size really for the pedants).
HatSize.gif
Good old roadies and their obsessions. We could have an article entitled "World War Three breaks out" and the first 20 comments will completely miss the bloody point, arguing endlessly about the various aspects of grammar in the title.
Unless that guy's an ex-pro or something there's no way he's getting that time. If I'm totally hammering it over a similar distance to work, dressed in a similar fashion with a loaded backpack then I'd maybe hit 24mph as an average. I certainly wouldn't want to arrive at work after a banzai effort, sweating like a beast.
It's been a while since I lived in Cambridge, but isn't the area around the Guildhall a no-cycling area during daylight hours?
So he would have had to absolutely cane it down the busway cycle lane then walk responsibly through the pedestrianised area.
Ban ended in 2005. But it wasn't daylight hours anyway, it was 10am-4pm (still in force on Burleigh St), so commuters could always cycle in the centre. Issue was for students cycling to and from accomodation and lectures, and people cycling to shops.
First thoughts were that yes it is doable. We have enough segments around my regular rides with this sort of average speed and Google Maps says the route is 'mostly flat'. Also wasn't bothered about the wind as wind in built up areas is much different to being out in the countryside.
Then I actually scanned the route.. no chance at all with one caveat. Even a fit club rider won't make that. He starts on an uphill that's not steep, but it is long, and gets hampered with lights, so luck is also needed on top of a big engine. His cycle path is narrow so he'd have to buzz other commuters. Also, he is exposed on the carriageway cycle path, there's no trees or buildings to shield him from the wind.
The caveat is that Google Maps doesn't show the last portion of the route, over a few miles as I'm guessing it's a path that they can't get images of. If that's a fast downhill, then he could nail it at 40mph and make up his total time.
Basically the more you look at it, the less realistic it gets, and that's if you avoid the discussion about his fitness and just assume he's in the top percentile for his age group.
Someone should create a segment on Strava then ride it again at pace so we can see the analysis!
Wrong way round! You'e got the start and the finish mixed up. The first section, along the busway, is very flat but very, very open. With the cross/headwind it won't have been much fun- riding through town at the same time in more or less the opposite direction my commute was noticably easy. Where it encounters a road, there's chicane barriers and toucan crossings*causing further hold up.
The idea of a hill that you could use to get to 40mph in the fens is highly amusing- there's barely any elevation change between Longstanton and Histon, where he left the busway path.
Must be a long time. After all, Cambridge Cycling Campaign was set up 20 years ago to overturn the city centre cycling ban (and won that fight). Perfectly legal at all times to ride down Castle Street, along Bridge Street and head to the market square via Trinity Street.
I did miss my opportunity last night at a council development meeting to tryto get the truth from Noel. He is my county councillor though, I'll see about following up.
*for the signals geeks, there's one junction that has a Pegasus crossing- think there's a few of those in London and in Newmarket, but they're pretty rare!
So that dude was on for a 20min 10 dressed as a commuter? I don't think so. I suspect there has been a sizeable error somewhere in the time calculation.
KPH? how many BTUs per foot-fathoms is that? What's seriously annoying though is water bottle volumes in ml, please just give it to me in bushels or teaspoons.
I use km to upset retro grouches who get ridiculously upset over such a trivial matter. Also because metric makes sense
The last time I looked, the UK measured speed in mph so why can't the reporter? Too lazy to read the social media to see what it is in mph? Perhaps the only good thing to come from the brexit will be stuffing kmh back to the where the single currency rules and they drive on the right (except Denmark which is heading it's bets on some of these measures).
UK = mph, ascent measured in feet, and driving on the left. Not difficult is it?
Rule #24 !
I don't use mph. 45 kph is a full out sprint for me, and I am probably 20 years younger than the gentleman. Unless it is downhill all the way with no lights...
Who gives a damn?
Everybody will have undersood except the wilfully obtuse.
Or Willo...................
While we're getting pedantic over piffling issues, in the UK it's hedging, not heading.
And it is "its bets" not "it's bets"
It's not difficult
You might want to read that again...
Yes, have - was referring to the post that says "heading it's bets" i.e. supporting the comment about getting pedantic over piffling issues . Have amended it for clarity
does the car commute include the time it takes to park the car and then go back by foot to the destination?
and waiting for the bus ...
45kph hmmm ; in my opinion, it's not a race.
Someone start a strava segment, let's see what happens!
Here's one for the fast part. KOM is 28mph
https://www.strava.com/segments/8873824?filter=overall
E-bike? It doesn't obviously look like one, so... call in the UCI!
E-bikes are limited to 20mph so that doesn't explain it either.
..... E-bikes are limited to 20mph so that doesn't explain it either.....
Not so. You can pedal at any speed attainable by a normal bike. There is however a maximum assisted speed of 15mph.
I know all this because my lady is a fervent e-biker and it does not pay to contradict her knowledge of the latest regulations.