Last Saturday me and swb decided to go for a quick ride out to the Rheidol reservoir and back (route). The water was flowing over the top with an incredible force, making bubbles travel under water for many metres and jets of water to bounce back up behind the sheet of water.

The Rheidol in January 2006

The Rheidol 4 months later in May.

In other news, I have now completed my university exams and have two months of relative freedom, I say “relative” because I still have to work 18 hours a week, until August when I shall start working full time.

I have to wonder whether The Times is anti-cycling. You may have heard about the results of tests by The British Heart Foundation’s cardiology researcher Dr David Newby which say that traffic pollution is as dangerous as passive smoking.

• The Times
• BHF
• The Telegraph (has helpful tips on safe cycling at the bottom)

The Times said:

There is no dispute in principle about the health benefits of cycling — it improves the circulation, keeps weight down and boosts overall fitness — yet the new research indicates that they could be outweighed by the polluted conditions of a busy road.

Yet the BHF website says:

The BHF stresses that the research is not bad news for cyclists in cities. For most cyclists, the benefits to their heart health from regular exercise far outweighs risk from pollution, which has yet to be directly proven.

You may have seen cyclists in cities wearing anti-pollution masks, I’d like to know the BHF’s opinion on their effectiveness. Respro make anti-pollution masks for cyclists which they sell on their website. One specifically for city commuters imaginatively named “City Mask” costs £24.99 or £27.99 for a high-visibility reflective one.

[The City Mask] Filters Out Hydrocarbons including Benzene & Pyrene, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Dioxide, Lead Oxide and Black Smoke, PM 10′S including Pollen Dust and Building Dust.

The Times’ article also says:

Diesel exhaust includes nanoparticles of carbon and a range of metals. The particulates are so tiny that experts say it is pointless for cyclists to wear masks, because the mesh cannot be fine enough to block them.

A response to this statement can be found on bikebiz.co.uk along with an attack on the conclusions of the BHF’s research here.

Last night I added one of those fancy cyle computers to my bike to record my speed, distance travelled, time on the road and so on. I now know the somewhat fascinating fact that from my house it is 0.96 miles from my house to work, which I managed in 3 minutes 20 seconds. I travelled at an average speed of 17.4 mph. My top speed was about 26mph.

I reckon I could improve on that somewhat depending on the traffic. Today I wasn’t actually held up by traffic much. However a red Nissan Micra driven by a lady who either doesn’t like bikes enough to want to cause cyclists fatal injury or is blind. Either way she doesn’t deserve to be on the road. As I was cycling down Lincoln’s Greetwell Road towards Outer Circle Road the traffic a few cars in front of me slowed as a car stopped to turn into Lincolnshire County Hospital. The driver of the Nissan Micra was alongside for a time me as she re-accelerated as she did so she moved closer and closer to the kerb leaving me less and less space in which to cycle. Luckily she finished overtaking me before I was knocked off my bike I may have also braked in order to save myself breaking bones should I have fallen off.

So if you are a female driver of a dark red Nissan Micra who was driving down Greetwell Road just before 9am today, you are either psychotic, a moron or need to have an eye test. I don’t think you are fit to be on the road. If anything like this happens again I’m going to put the number plate of the car on here.