Brighton and Hove has become the first non-London council to sign up to CTC’s Space for Cycling campaign. There are also plans for a cycle hire scheme with 430 bikes to be made available from 50 bike hubs.
The council also wants bike hire scheme up and running by May 2017, electric bike hire scheme should follow.

CTC reports that the Green Group’s motion to back 'Space for Cycling' in Brighton and Hove received 62 per cent support from councillors, with the Conservatives abstaining.

The campaign aims to create the conditions where anyone can cycle anywhere. The six main themes being:

• Protected space on main roads
• Removing through motor traffic in residential areas
• Lower speed limits
• Cycle-friendly town centres
• Safe routes to school
• Routes through green spaces

CTC campaigner Sam Jones said:
“Brighton has clearly shown that it recognises the need for cycling and the enormous benefits it brings, just at the time the national government is poised to drastically damage Prime Minister David Cameron’s vision of a ‘Cycling Revolution’.
“We have asked people to call on their local councillors to support Space for Cycling. As the voting in Brighton shows, it would appear the Conservatives are oblivious to their leader’s dream for cycling – from his friend the Chancellor down to the party’s representatives at a local level.”
Roger Geffen, Policy Director at CTC, added: “The council’s vote is great news for Brighton. On a national scale, however, the Chancellor’s spending review looks to spell bad news for bikes and buses. All our sources indicate local authorities face a further squeeze, with major roads benefiting while the streets we live and work on suffer.”
Bricycles, the Brighton and Hove Cycling Campaign, has been promoting Space for Cycling since the start of CTC’s campaign. The group’s campaigns officer, Becky Reynolds, said: “We now hope to see a continued and renewed focus at local level on the remaining barriers to cycling, particularly dealing with busy roads and dangerous junctions.”
The BBC reports that the council has also backed the idea of a bike hire scheme. A provisional three-year contract will be put out to tender with the aim of having 430 bikes on offer from at least 50 docking stations. The council wants the scheme to be up and running by May 2017.

It would be great to see one with a mid drive motor, but overall this is one of the best, simple and realistic home builds I have seen.
​Okay, so it may look slightly odd to the common eye, used to seeing big square cars everywhere nowadays, but as it becomes more the norm then there will be some seriously pimped rides around in the future for sure. Looking forward to it!

Popped down to the beach yesterday for a stroll, too nice not to!
"Don't stand too near the shore" I said, then grabbed quicker than a teenage gypsy at a wedding!
Watch the inevitable unfold before your eyes on you tube below.
Just in the nick of time!

Organised in Partnership with The Purple Heart Network, an electric bike expedition set off from Glasgow yesterday for a 20,000km self-sufficient journey to South Africa to help raise awareness of the impact of global climate change.
Presumably waved off by Del and Rodney Trotter, they departed from Nelson Mandela Place with their custom-built solar trailers in tow heading for Cape Town.
Chair of the Charity, Johanna Speirs, said: “We want environmentally sensitive, sustainable technologies to be affordable, accessible and practical for everyone in Scotland and beyond so that everyone can play a meaningful part in tackling climate change.”
Travelling through 13 countries, they are expecting to complete the journey in about a year.
Good luck guys, we'll be rooting for you.

A Dawes Kalahari is fitted with it's own personal tail-wind in the form of a Bafang® 250W mid-drive motor and a Samsung® 10.4AH battery. Never tried it? Get in touch about converting your bike of choice.
​More Smile per Mile.

There's a great piece of footage (0.50 secs) of traffic flow in Copenhagen. It's interesting how infrastructure and cultural change brought it about. 

Hats off to this chap, riding roughly 70 miles a day for nearly 5 months is quite a feat even if you do have a little battery powered assistance.
He's a professional electric bike mechanic who he knows his stuff, so it's interesting to note that his motor of choice for the journey was a Bafang BBS, the same as recommended and supplied by Brighton E-bikes.
The photo above highlights one of the many advantages of mid-drive motors compared to wheel hub motors. 
The diary of his journey is a good read and there's some great photography in there too.

Click on the image to read the Loop the U.S.A. pages.

More Smile per Mile
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Get 'Steve' with his suplerfly Michigan Panniers, presumably stuffed full of 18650 battery cells.

​This image comes from a recent article in Good Magazine entitled  "What Happens When Detroit Puts Down Over 150 Miles of New Bike Lanes? - Cycling Skyrockets."

"If residents of the Motor City can switch to pedal power, what’s stopping the rest of us?"
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To read the full story by Rafi Schwartz CLICK THE ABOVE IMAGE.

More Smile per Mile with Brighton E-bikes.

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