A cycle ride along the High-Quality cycle path alongside the Cambridge Guided Busway

Stories about bicycles are a little like buses, none for a while and then several come along at once. A recent report in the Guardian has been set up to "disrupt organised bike crime". Apparently the issue is that bikes are now so easy to steal, even with multiple, expensive and heavy cycle locks that the theft is on a large and organised scale and will take a similar level of organisation to tackle it. It makes me wonder why we have so many surveillance cameras around the place and yet it is unclear whether they do anything apart from provide some rather strange TV programmes about rowdy binge-drinking behaviour. I guess that cameras work as a deterrent, but do they work when it comes to observing a crime and tracking down the culprit. I have mentioned a few times how cycle parking at Cambridge Railway Station is less than desirable. I believe they do have cameras, but still have signs suggesting two locks and yet do not have not cycle parking enough spaces. As we descend into a "Compensation Culture" we also seem to be heading for a "blame the innocent culture". The innocent cyclist should be held to blame for his injuries when the motor vehicle hit him from the back - because he was not wearing a helmet! What you bike only had one lock - it's you fault it got stolen then!

The Cambridge News has reported on the Gilbert Road Cycleway decision. (A scheme to make a route through the City of Cambridge safer for cyclists without impeding traffic flow.) The item "Controversial cycle scheme agreed for city street" suggests that a "compromise" has been agreed - with wider cycle lanes (not sure if they are mandatory), parking and peak-time loading bans and no speed cushions and/or raised table junctions. Funnily enough this is closer to what I though would be appropriate - given the woeful political appetite for breaking the mould and driving for a more Dutch style approach to encouraging a genuine modal shift towards cycling rather than what appears to be the UK approach of considering cycling for the "poor" - students, OAPs, schoolchildren who don't get driven to school in the 4x4. I would like to see proper, direct, segregated cycle routes with priority over motor traffic. I do not think speed cushions are the way to go. If you have ever cycled along a road with them then you will have seen cars whizz by you and then swerve and brake to minimise the bump as they come upon them. Most motorists seem to think losing a few seconds to a bicycle is a bigger "crime" than terrorist-driving.

Although this story is not a cycling story I thought I would mention it - "Stuck van freed by firefighters". On the outskirts of Ely the A142 has to cross the railway line(s) into the railway station. There is a low-bridge under the line and a crossing for high vehicles over the line. The cross-over has a lower priority - you have to turn off the main road and then rejoin the main road. Also Ely has quite a few trains and so the level crossing side gets held up form time to time. Every now and then a tallish vehicle will attempt to go under the bridge and get stuck. I have passed by the bridge just after a van got stuck a year or so ago. It has happened again. The bridge is low enough that when I cycle under it I feel like ducking although one of the photos that accompany the story shows a cyclist passing through with plenty of room really.

And finally a Cambridge Guided Busway (CGB) story - "Review planned into what went wrong with busway". I am pleased to see that a public review has been planned. The challenge will be to ensure that it is thorough and comprehensive without being a witch-hunt, costing too much money or providing an unnecessary soapbox for people to say "I told you so". We are where we are, so let's not waste any more of our (taxpayers) money, let's get it going and make it work. I am more than happy for people to legitimately voice their concerns and issues, but this should not be the forum. I feel that it is a review of lessons learnt on building the CGB and not a review of should we have built it. The review should not be a witch-hunt either. If reviews are perceived to be witch-hunts then the participants will not be open, will be political and no-one will benefit from any learning experiences. Blame cultures are not learning cultures.

The last story neatly leads into the ride - which was to have a look at the current state of the CGB, particularly the cycle track. I was heartened to see that recent County Council Documents had emphasised the "high quality track alongside .. and cyclists" (5.5) and "the busway will provide good public transport and cycle links between St Ives, the intervening villages and Cambridge" (5.6). So I pooped up the Sustrans 51 route to St Ives and back down the CGB for a look at the current state. This time around I was expecting to be able to cycle the entire length of the track (well from St Ives to Milton road) without being impeded by flooding. The council document had gotten me thinking about the state of the track though. What would I consider to be "high-quality"? or perhaps what should I consider to be a "high-quality track". Since track does imply less than pavement or tarmac? (The first entry from the Meriam-Webster website is a little depressing - "detectable evidence that something has passed ( including amongst other things - wheel rut)". The second is better - " a course laid out for racing".

My views to date have been coloured by the fact that the track has been flooded in places for months - but the flooding has now just about cleared. Unfortunately Cambridge Country Council and the contractors do not seem able to agree on the way forward for fixing the CGB problems including the flooding of the maintenance/cycle path. Given the cost of the CGB I am always a bit dispirited to see so little Contractor activity when I cycle along it.

The journey did not start to well. I pumped up my tyres (to 110psi) which is high but makes the bike quicker on decent roads. I wanted to pop up and back from St Ives quite quickly (for me). Now most books on cycling will tell you that it is a good idea to regularly check your tyres for flints and things that might cause punctures - but my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres are almost bullet-proof. It is good advice, but time was pressing and I just set off. In the middle of Cambridge I punctured. It was a thorn, probably all the off-roading, perhaps the trip around Duxford at the weekend. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - but I have done this before - pumped up my tyres only for them to puncture shortly thereafter. (It is true you can't teach an old dog new tricks!). So I took the wheel off, patched the tube and popped it all back together. As I was pumping it up an "older" lady passing by commented on the small size of my pump! Of course as well all now it is not the size that matter but does it do the job and this pump does the job. (It is not as easy as my track pump (there is that word track again) but it is a lot smaller and easier to carry, along with my two locks spare cycle helmet and kitchen sink when cycling.

So I carried on cycling out of Cambridge along Sustrans 51 without even stopping to take pictures of all the flipping cars parked on the shared cycle-way or in cycle lanes - after a while you just get worn down by all those law-breaking motorists! I did stop for a wee (or comfort break if you are American) and noticed this plant growing. We occasionally used to use the dried heads in art classes at School - for applying paint and as painted decorations I think. I call it a Teasel - but it is a Wild teasel (Dipsacus fullonum or Fuller's Teasel).

Here is one I made earlier! For non-UK readers the reference is to a long-running children's TV program called Blue Peter in which they would showed the audience how to build models. They would partially build the model as they went along, but every now and then would leap to a better built version with - "here's one I made earlier". (Making models on live TV is no mean feat.)

Alongside was this flower growing along the ground almost coming out of the concrete - it hugs the ground and is quite small and I assumed it would be easy to identify - 5 yellow petals, spiky leaves. It was harder than it looked. IN the end it was the leaves that helped - I started searching for small succulents - because the leaves - those rosette thingies looked like succulent leaves. This lead to Wikipedia - Sedum which helpfully had a picture on the Sedum page of Biting Stonecrop with leaves in view - Sedum Acre. Neither the picture on the sedum Acre page or in my Collins book were that helpful - they did not really feature the leaves. According to Wikipedia it grows in cracks in masonry - or in this case concrete.

I know I was not planning on taking many photographs on the way up to the CGB but around Highfield Farm on Ramper Road a few of the fields on that road have some amusing signs. This field has a sign warning of "Bull in Field" - by the looks of things he has been cutting the grass ready for making hay. Perhaps he will be wooing the cows with his hay!

A little bit further along another field with a sign saying "BULL IN FIELD" - shouty capitals as well. it looks as if this bull had gone for a wander though and forgotten to close the gate behind him.

In this case he had left the farmer to do the hay-making, the bull had probably popped up to see the cows. A little bit further along another field had a sign indicating "RODENT CLEARANCE IN PROGRESS PLEASE KEEP OUT" - you can see it on this Streetview picture. They must be pesky rodents as it seems to be taking a long time to clear the field. Or maybe the farmer just does not like people trespassing on his land. (There aren't many footpaths in the area.)

I reached St Ives around 5.15pm and so had to cross the A1096/Low Road roundabout with high traffic flows.I'd probably still be there now if some kind motorists had not stopped on either side of the island for me to cross. This rates as one of the least easy places to cross on a Sustrans route in the rush hour for me.

After that a pleasant trip into St Ives and then to the CGB Park and Ride - the scene of one of the issues. The car park apparently might have drainage problems. Here it is - everything looks ready (apart from the drainage?) but no cars yet.

I won't claim that I was the first to abbreviate Cambridge Guided Busway to CGB - but woe betide those LDB buses (Luton Dunstable Busway).

The first thing that struck me was how weedy the concrete track is getting. There is an issue with the infill used (shredded rubber tyres I believe) and understanding the fire risk, if any. Presumably when the busway is running it they will either use weedkiller (a cost and a hit to diversity and water about water pollution in this low-lying area) or hope that the constant passage of buses will keep the weeds down.

Or perhaps they will develop a guided haymaker or weed cutter to run down the tracks to give it a trim.

One of the areas that has been flooded in the past. Beware when cycling along here - stick to the dry bits but be careful they have also put a load of loose gravel down which can bog you cycle tyres down. There have been maintenance vehicles though - the grass along the banking has been recently cut. In some places the maintenance vehicles have made quite deep ruts in the cycle track.

Another of flooding areas - barely fully dry and once again loads of loose gravel. To be fair the cycle way is not officially open - but let's hope it ends up better than this - High-quality track - no.

Yet another spot that is prone to flooding - tons of loose gravel and quite large puddles - beware cycling along here in the dark.

As I was cycling along the track between Over and Longstanton I noticed that there had been quite a lot of burrowing activity around the track. I am not sure what animal causes this - rabbit or badger perhaps, but it would seem to be a potential problem for the foundations of the busway. I wonder whether they assume that constant flow buses will deter the animals. Just up the track on the right (looking towards Cambridge) there are a series of large earth mounds 2m x 4m x 1m ish - I did wonder whether they were made to attract badgers or rabbits away from the Track? There was some evidence of burrowing as well. (Next time I will take a picture of the earth mounds.)

I can't pass this spot without stopping to take a picture of the Communications Tower and Windmill either side of Windmill bridge - dark brooding skies this time. The last time I cycled along here there were small potholes developing - this time around there seems to have been the addition of a sprinkling of gravel which has helped to remove the potholes, albeit at the expense of the overall smoothness - I know cyclists are picky. Further back I had also noticed that the tractors (I presume) that had been used to cut the verges had left a tractor tyre pattern in the track - it seems that anything above a bicycle will accelerate the wear and tear quite significantly.

There were still a lot of weeds on the way into into Histon. There is a jam-making factory in Histon with Chivers owning farms and factories. When I cycled in today there was a smell that reminded my of jelly cubes. In the UK we make jelly by taking jelly cubes (wobbly concentrated jelly stuff) and melting them in hot water. I believe that in the US they use jello powder? It took me back to my childhood when my Mum made jelly, which was quite a treat my brother and I would get a cube of the (concentrated) jelly to eat. Nowadays it seems that ice-cream has replaced jelly, we rarely make it at home from cubes anymore. This Jelly operation is now owned by Premier Foods. The gorgeous smell made me smile anyway, you have to know that jelly babies are what I use for cycling energy - not quite jelly as I know it but close enough.

Within the Cambridge City limits I presume this was where they had been digging down to investigate the foundations - another one of the CGB issues.

The weeds did not let up - still loads in between the concrete tracks - that shredded tyre infill seems to be good for weeds.

I spotted these orange flowers, with a highly unusual shape on the outskirts previously and so made a detour along Sustrans 51 to take a picture - they can't be hard to identify.

Did I mention that on my way back down the CGB around 5.30 to 6.30 I passed 9 people walking, 23 cycling along the concrete tracks and 11 cycling on the maintenance track.

Earlier on I also passed a pub car park and the driver seemed to be slowly pulling out in the road - but not fully in control - was he under the influence - possibly - he was certainly on the phone - I gave him a hard stare and a wide berth.

To be on the safe side I took a closeup as well. They look like some form of rose - try as I might I could not find a match for them. I will have to pop back and take some more pictures.

Along with the orange flowers were these much smaller ones - again they will have to wait for identification.

All in all I enjoy cycling along the CGB at the moment - a great way to get into the countryside (or back as the case may be). I might change my mind when the buses start running though. At least they will not be able to encroach on the cycle track space. As for the cycle track is it high quality - certainly not at the moment - the flood areas will need some serious attention. In places it is pretty good but I am worried that it might quickly deteriorate.