Useful Links and Advice

See below for useful contacts and web sites for more details / information on various topics. One link you might want to store among your favourites is our Facebook page www.facebook.com/gloscitycc/

Our right to use the road

10 Common Questions about Cycling

Gear change: a bold vision for cycling and walking

Highway Code

Responsibly and Share the Road: Tips for Drivers, Cyclists, and Pedestrians

Safety

Is cycling dangerous? No, in general cycling in Britain is a relatively safe activity. The health benefits of cycling far outweigh the injury risks, by between 13 and 15 to 1, according to various studies (and depending on the benefits/disbenefits considered).

According to a paper that looked at sports injuries, tennis is riskier than “outdoor cycling” with 5 injures per thousand hours against 3.5 for cycling. Rowing machine exercise came in at 6 injuries per thousand hours.
UK government statistics on pedal cycle injuries and deaths can be viewed here. Between 2004 and 2020 pedal cycle traffic grew by 96%, fatalities increased by 5%, and serious injuries by 26%.

Video camera footage of dangerous driving and close passes can be reported to local police using this portal

A map of incidents in which road users were killed or seriously injured (KSI)

St Johns ambulance 1^st aid for cyclists app

In Case of Emergency tags

How best to call the Emergency services

How best to report your location, using the what3words app

Some advice on keeping your bones strong

The Definitive Guide to Safer Cycling

A Practical Guide to Road Safety

How close to the kerb should you ride?

Road Peace, the National Charity for road crash victims

Guide to first aid kits for cycling is Cycling UK’s advice on what is prudent to carry

An interesting BBC podcast on cycle helmet use and design

Navigational aids

Trid and tested routes to the Club’s favourite pubs and cafes can be found under the Club Rides tab on our web page. The table contains routes as links to RideWithGPS from which you can download gpx or other file formats. Many of the cafe locations are linked to a map in the grid reference column.

On line Ordnance Survey Maps

Some tips from Cycling UK on riding in Gloucestershire and Bristol

A crowd sourced free map with marked cycle paths Open Street Maps and here’s one way to download it to your Garmin Edge GPS unit. There’s another way at https://extract.bbbike.org/ and plenty of more information at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download

A map showing where people actually ride: Strava Heat Map Ridewithgps offers a similar function.

An interesting way of comparing modern and historic maps Know Your Place

A useful route plotting service Ridewithgps

A route plotting service that claims to find you the most enjoyable bike route. No training goals, no big-name endorsements, no bells and whistles… just great rides. cycle.travel

A guide to various GPS devices

A range of local cycle maps is available from ThinkTravel here

Guidance on MTB riding in Cranham Woods is here and on Leckhampton Hill is here

Roads and Highways

Video camera footage of dangerous driving and close passes can be reported to local police using this portal

Gloucestershire County Council’s Major Projects

HIghways England Roadworks

Gloucestershire’s Cycle Map showing planned and installed infrastructure

Report potholes at fillthathole or fixmystreet

Gloucester City Problem reporting by email to heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk

Report problems on the County’s roads County at the website, by email or phone 08000 514514

See where road works are taking place

General issues (parking, streets, transport) in Gloucester City

Find who has the maintenance responsibility for any street at www.findmystreet.co.uk/

LTN 1/20 – The New Cycling Infrastructure Standards and some commentary on it

Helmets

Although helmets are, and can only be, designed to withstand minor knocks and falls, not serious traffic collisions the Club’s position is that their wearing is strongly recommended, especially when groups are riding close and fast, such as in the chain gang, or when off road. However, it remains a personal decision. To help you make that decision here are some facts relating to helmet wear:

Helmets are designed to protect from impact with motor vehicles. More than 90 per cent of serious injuries and fatalities involve impacts with vehicles. These arguments are summarized by Cycling UK here
Cyclists account for less than one per cent of head injury admissions to hospital. There are 4.8 times more car occupants who die of head injuries than cyclists, 4.6 times more pedestrians and 1.5 times more motorcyclists (Thornhill et al, British Medical Journal, 2000; Mayer Hillman, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, 1993)
Compensation in the event of injury caused by another may be reduced on the grounds of contributory negligence if you are not wearing a helmet. See HERE for more information.

An excellent source of further information is at helmets.org. Yoiu may also find the testing by Imperial College useful when choosing a helmet. Their key finding is that there is little correlation between price and safety.