World Naked Bike Ride (often initialised as WNBR) is a protest in favour of more space for bikes and curbs to car culture and fossil-fuel use. It is held in various cities, and 2014 was to be Oxford’s first ( Read more... )

Health and safety legislation becomes increasing onerous over the years, because operators of pneumatic drills cannot be trusted to wear ear defenders. It isn't enough that there be a written policy that ear defenders be worn, or that the policy compliance be checked, but now directors of companies are personally liable to prison if the policy is ( Read more... )

In Oxford there are some pavements decorated with a bicycle symbol. The intention is to indicate that this is a cycle route as well as a pavement. This intention is undermined by the unfortunate fact that these symbols are magnetic to pedestrians. They cannot walk past them: they are mysteriously steered on to a path over the cycle logo, and once ( Read more... )

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... travels along Cowley Road, which I found slightly surprising, given that Cowley Road is more or less the opposite of my understanding of what a leisure cycle route would be like. What I mean is, the stereotypical leisure route is about taking the kids for a picnic relatively untroubled by motor traffic, whereas Cowley Road is about cyclists ( Read more... )

After a few days of epic struggle for the lead between the top-placed riders in the Tour de France, everything has been crushed under the weight of three simultaneous disastrous doping scandals. The top-placed team Astana, last year's top-placed team CSC, and the race leader Michael Rasmussen have all been withdrawn for various offences ( Read more... )

I'm just a moany moaning person really... but I can't help commenting that whereas In Town, Without my Car! campaign talks in terms of closing town centres to motor vehicles and substituting fun activities, in Oxford the street they close is one that is already closed to through traffic ( Read more... )

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