Warwickshire aims to boost cycle tourism - but campaigners want infrastructure

I also live and cycle in Warwickshire around Stratford.

Some of the lanes are rutted and potholed but the Council do the usual and just tar and chip layer over the top, in reality leaving the bad surface with just a new face.

The Lanes are narrow and as said above the bends are tight and you cant see whats coming sometimes.

The main offenders are now the Range Rover, LandRover Discovery followed by mulit makes of SUV who think that they own the County.

Its a shame but - the views are great and the rolling hills are a plenty with some nice sharp climbs on the edge of the Cotswolds.

It would be good for better traffic management on the main through routes like the A46 as its so busy trying to cross it in a car is bad, but on a bike...... never mind.

Just be mindful of hedge cutting times in Mar and Oct as they leave little hawthorn bits all over the road - puncture city.

Hope they do more about cycling outside of the towns as there are not much bus services in the sticks and Taxis cost so much more due to the distances they have to come to find you.

But - the roads cant be made wider and the number of cars on them are increasing as people discover short cuts through the lanes.

What is the answer - there isnt one till this Country accepts that it has a problem and the public transport system is not designed or able to solve the problems of car ownership.

In Towns you can get awayt with pool vehicles from Google or other such tech companies where your little electric bug arrives within minutes to whisk you away to your destination whilst you sit in the rear drinking champers etc.

But it wont solve the problems in the sticks.   When do you think we will see a battery powered Tractor which has to work for 14 hours a day getting in crops, let alone the combine harvester.

Military vehicles - dont think they will ever be electric, just imagine the farce there.

We need a better answer and I cant come up with one - unless we all gpo back top riding horses.... at least we will have good roses.

At the risk of being cynical, I grew up in Nuneaton, and this "report" is a microcosm of Warwickshire County Council mentality; not only is it all hot air, but they're not even wasting breath on anything outside of Warwick, Stratford and Leamington.

The countryside in the county is amazing, I used to ride Nuneaton to Stratford quite regularly  and barring a sketchy final section on the Warwick road, it mostly comprised of quaint sleepy lanes and villages...

[removes rose-tinted glasses]

...The upshot of roads like that is despite not having visibility of more than 60m or so to the next hedge-framed bend, when the inevitable porche or mercedes does come screaming along, you can hear them in enough time to scramble into the privet and hawthorn laden verge to avoid joining the badgers and foxes as red smears on the top-most strata of tar and chippings that snake their way from village to village.

Had I stayed in Warwickshire I could have enjoyed one of Sustrans' shining moments; NCN52 aka Weddington walk; a former railway line converted to shared use path that helpfully links Nuneaton to the A5 next to MIRA, and bookended with anti-motorbike barriers that also inhibit bicycles.

Whilst this is a positive piece of PR, it's simply hot air, until action is taken not just spoken about, it's not enough. I suspect this fluff has come about due to the apparent looming elections.. 

The recent news that they are finally sorting out the Rugby to Leamington offroad route (The Lias Line, old railway track which and has fallen into disrepair over the years) is good, but is not what the local area needs, it desperately needs the K2L (Kenilworth to Leamington) route sorting as it's a main trunk route for traffic and dangerous for riding on. That, of course, doesn't scratch the surface as far as cycling requirements in the area. Along one of the two main routes we have a lovely painted white line between Leamington and Warwick constantly littered with large pot holes and in the 'door zone' at multiple points..  a route which has seen many accidents.. to name just one.

If we look at cycling sports provision in the local area, there simply isn't any. BC recognises this and while meetings have been held in the area, it appears WDC is not taking them up on their offer of help. We currently have a parkland which has been consulted on for a few years now since a golf club couldn't make it work commercially, it's easily adaptable nay 'perfect' for some off road trails and with a large cycling community within the area would be ideally located for some sort of tarmac loop or track and make it really special, and yet in WDC's wisdom they have proposed three options for discussion, all consisting of yet more types of golf, some zip lines and a commercial cafe, despite the fact there are golf five courses within a 2mile radius, and for sure the council area ones are not used much, the only provision for cycling are a couple of short unconnected shared use paths through the woodland, it's a slap in the face for cyclists and families in the area.

We're very lucky in Warwickshire in that you can travel in pretty much any direction from any of the main towns and within five mins you're in rolling countryside, it could be a more popular cycling destination than it is. The 'car' infrastructure has been bursting at the seams for 20years here as the towns have grown but the infrastructure has stayed the same. 

Quote:

Tourism agency says hosting major races is boosting county's image as a destination for cycling...

Tourism agency says hosting major races is boosting county's image as a destination for a particular type of cycling...

FTFY