Well done to Jen, Glen and Mark for completing their 1032 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising money for Parkinsons and SAAFA.

Click here to read their blog of the trip.

Below is a sample of some of the rides we have planned for May, just to give you an idea of what we get up to. In addition to these we have regular pub rides and novice rides when there is is demand.

For insurance purposes we can only take members or Guests. If you are interested in joining a ride as a Guest please contact info@stourbug.org.uk

Tues 1st May – 15 miles, off road

Wed 2nd May – 14 miles,  medium 10mph, Kinver

Wed 2nd May – 20 miles, slow medium 9mph, Ashwood

Wed 2nd May – 50 miles, fast 12mph+, Ironbridge

Wed 2nd May – 20 miles, medium 10mph

Thurs 3rd May – 30 miles, fast medium 11mph

Fri 4th May – MS Cake Break Rides – various distances and paces

Sat 5th May – 15 miles, slow medium 9mph

Sat 5th May – 32 miles, medium 10mph, Stourport

Sat5th/Sun 6th May – Presili Angel Weekend – Events/Touring

Sun 6th May – 30 miles, medium/fast medium 10/11mph, Chaddesley

Tues 8th May – 35/40 miles, fast medium 11mph, Stourport to Worcester

Sat 12th May – 25 miles, slow medium 9mph, back from Worcester

Sat 12th May – 10 miles, off road

Sun 13th May – 30 miles, medium 10mph, Hartlebury

Sun 13th May – The Wyre Forest Stinger – Events and Touring

Tues 15th May – 30 miles, fast medium 11mph, Stourport

Fri 18th May – 30 miles, fast medium 11mph, Stourport to Wichenford

Sun 20th May – 80 miles, fast medium 11mph

Sun 20th May – 48 miles, medium 10mph, Cosford

Sun 27th May – 80 miles, fast+ 13mph, Ludlow

Please put Sunday 15th July in your diary as the date for this year’s Diabetes Ride. We have taken over the running of the event from Sally and Hugh Renny, and the committee of the Dudley, Stourbridge and District Voluntary Group, who have steadfastly run it for 16 years.

We are planning some changes; the start venue for this year will be Enville Hall, near Stourbridge, and we will run with the following distances:-

• 10 mile family ride
• 25 mile road ride
• 30 mile off-road ride – NEW!
• 45 mile road ride
• 100k (63 mile) road ride
• 100 mile road ride – NEW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4nSo3uTOEE

By Russell Eden, Chairman, speaking personally

Cycling in the UK is on the up. We have a reigning World Champion and Tour de France green jersey holder in Mark Cavendish, a new British Sky team, and the most successful track cycling squad in history. It makes people want to ride, as does fuel for cars at over £6 per gallon.

All of this sounds wonderful – apart from the fuel bit – and the evidence is all around us. My own cycling group, Stourbug, has a membership of 250, Stourbridge Cycling Club has over 200 members for the first time ever, and there are informal groups heading out on bikes in the evenings and at weekends. It’s fabulous to see. But before we get carried away, there are burning issues which need to be addressed, the biggest of which is cycle safety.

One of the consequences of this growth in cycling is the number of inexperienced riders taking to the streets, or, more often then not, the pavements. Why? They do so because they fear traffic and don’t want to come into conflict or contact with it – so they ride illegally on the pavement which in turn creates a danger for pedestrians. We have to put a stop to this and get people to cycle in the right place.

Step forward Dudley MBC’s Road Safety team. For many years this team has taught Bikeability within the borough’s schools, and more recently has been teaching it to adults. Bikeability is the modern day Cycling Proficiency scheme and comes in three levels, taking riders from the very basics on Level 1, to confidence on the road at Level 2, and mixing it with heavy traffic at Level 3. This training is currently available for free, so I went along to give it a go.

I have cycled all of my life, toured in the Netherlands, France and Germany, and in 2007 founded Stourbug. Having cycled thousands of miles, and taught hundreds of people to cycle, what was I going to learn?

I’m a firm believer that you never stop leaning, so on a freezing cold Saturday morning in early February I met other cyclists at the new Healthy Hub building in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge, for my Level 2 course. Chris and John are employed by Dudley MBC to teach Bikeability to adults and children, and on this day they had me, Andy and Jodie along. We are all experienced cyclists already, but few allowances can be made for this and we were asked to cycle some circles to see what we looked like so that our competence could be gauged. For the next 90 minutes we were taken to a variety of streets and junctions in the Old Quarter of Stourbridge where we discussed and practised starting, stopping, and, very importantly, positioning. The latter is everything – for it is with the correct use of the Primary and Secondary position that we control the traffic around us, see forward, and be seen by other road users. Cyclists should never hug the kerb, but should seek to ride in the middle of the lane or, at worst, about metre from the kerb. Doing so puts you where you can see and be seen – and it provides you with a safety margin.

We practised these positions, and then using what we’d learned applied their use to T junctions, cross roads and passing parked cars. We learned when we need to give a signal – and when we do not. Why, for example, would you release the handlebars to give a signal when there is no other road user around to benefit from it? Only signal if you need to.

Then it was time to move out of the quiet streets and onto the main road, and we crossed from Clark Street, over a busy South Road and into Glebe Lane. We need to control the road space, ride where cars don’t have room to pass – then make the ‘lifesaver check’ over our right shoulder before executing the manoeuvre into Glebe Lane. Then it was back to the park for a warm coffee and debrief.

The training was interactive and enjoyable in spite of the cold, and Chris and John were clearly expert. I would be wrong to say that much of it was new to me, but there was enough in the course content to either reinforce that what I’m already doing is good practice, or to cause me to stop and think about what I usually do. For people new to cycling, or returning to cycling this course it is a must – and I congratulate Dudley MBC and the Road Safety team for providing such valuable training. Let’s hope that the perennial pavement riders of the area get to hear about it!

I went on to complete my Level 3 on a somewhat warmer day in March. Again, there was enough to keep the grey matter ticking over as we were thrown into heavy Saturday morning traffic. This is possibly something quite scary for some, but the three of us all benefited from the morning. Well done again, Dudley MBC.

In November, Times journalist Mary Bowers was just yards from arriving at work on her bike when she was hit by a lorry. Mary, 27, is still not conscious and is making a slow recovery in hospital.

Tragically, such an accident is far from rare. More than 27,000 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured on British streets in the past 10 years.

On the urban roads of Britain today cyclists need to be fit for cities. Cycling should be both safe and pleasurable. Ministers, mayors and local authorities must build cities that are fit for cycling.

The Times has launched a public campaign and 8-point manifesto calling for cities to be made fit for cyclists:

1. Lorries entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels.
2. The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side.
3. A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety.
4. Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision.
5. The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.
6. 20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes.
7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London.
8. Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

One thing though – we’re not responsible for the spelling. That’s not how you spell ‘braking’.

Starting on 8th January two of our 2011 newbies, Jodie and Sadie, will be running novices rides on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month. These short, relaxed paced rides are for the complete beginner, anyone who wants to cycle, but may lack confidence – or for those who haven’t cycled for a while. They are also about having fun, meeting new people and most of all enjoying being out on your bike!

For more information you can email Sally at info@stourbug.org.uk

Through the sale of 500 Stourbug jute bags we have successfully raised another £500 for the Callum Loveridge fund. It took a while, but we got there in the end!

A big thanks to everyone who supported this, and particularly Sally and Patrick who sold boxes full.