The Great Big Conference-Going Bike Blog Roundup

Well, we thought we knew what the bike blogosphere would be abuzz with this week, what with the Copenhagenize event in Kensington last week, two Going Dutch conferences in Bristol and London and the CTC conference announcing its shift from its historical opposition to segregation (although Freewheeler is unconvinced the conversion has been complete). And yet apart from a report from the LCC and road.cc, the reaction from the blogosphere has been muted, perhaps because they've said it all on Twitter, although we hope it's because it's all being inwardly digested ready for more posts next week. To encourage debate, here's a little stroll back through cycle campaigning history from the indefatigable and apparently inexhaustible Freewheeler.

Meanwhile, Pedestrianise London continues his masterclass on sustainable safety the Dutch way, while Freewheeler continues his on designing for collisions UK-style - using UK design guidelines which continue to be beyond parody (thankfully the Netherlands doesn't border with the UK so the comparisons aren't too stark). As Manchester pushes the boundaries in introducing barriers to cycling, it looks like the US is following our lead. Despite this, in Liverpool the council manages little bit of Dutchness - so why can't it do it all the time? Up in Edinburgh, the Inner Tube is blown away by Copenhagen's vision of an eco metropolis - a lesson for cities everywhere- and wonders when Edinburgh will have the same. Across the Atlantic, Lady Fleur wonders how Dutch expertise might Amsterdam-ise San Jose, while there's home-grown expertise right here, at the next Street Talk

If it's political will we need, Momentum Mag tells us how to get a local politician on board while Magnatom finds they're all too ready to decide it's someone else's problem. Croydon cyclists find that the biggest obstacle is the council's own leader - while Bristol Traffic discovers worrying tendencies among the city's mayoral candidates. In London, Jenny Jones discovers Boris has been a bit more hands on than he previously admitted while the Alternative Department for Transport wonders if he'll be able to make Transport for London keep his promises. In LA, despite the best efforts of California's governor, the city is declared officially bike friendly - yes, that LA.

As consultation season trundles on, the People's Front of Richmond writes an open letter to the council. On Lambeth Bridge, there are responses from Rachel Aldred and I cycle Liverpool while Living Streets calls for a pedestrian friendly West End - and there's still time to respond to the London-wide Road Safety Action Plan. Moving out of inner London, there are early plans for a new cycle Superhighway in Hounslow while will Croydon be next for Boris bikes? Further afield, Streetsblog gets its kicks from watching paint dry.

Our local politicians' reluctance to do more for bikes seems strange, considering how good they are for the economy (even in small town America) and for cutting congestion - which is, after all, mainly caused by too many cars hogging all the space. And while more bus lanes aren't doing much yet for Belfast's cyclists, more bike lanes might benefit pedestrians (if only because there might be less pavement parking) - until then, Spokes tries to avoid the us and them approach to shared use paths. Downfader tries to point out to drivers that scaring cyclists off the road might be counterproductive, while Cycle Space tries to point out to traffic engineers that there's more to local streets than their throughput of traffic. Good luck with that one...

But never mind all that British Cycling's annual report has found that the Summer of Cycling has created a million more cyclists (well, sort of) - could it be that easy? In California dearer petrol (and more bike lanes) seem to do the trick, while a campaign starts for Ciclovias in Brighton and Hove (actually). In New Zealand even the AA is getting in on the cycle promotion act (and making quite a good fist of it) while in Australia they argue it takes more than single day events to promote cycling. Taking a step back, Thinking about Cycling wonders if it's not fear but love that keeps people off the bike.

Or is it in fact all about that perennial of local politics parking? As residents object to a local road closure in Chicago over loss of parking, Kim Harding wonders where his parking space has gone (for his bike, that is). Rachel Aldred finds that bikes seem threatening even when they are at rest - at least to this New York councillor while in Japan, there's a new twist on the problem of parking on bike lanes

With another cyclist killed in London - the latest study shows where safety really lies. In King's Cross TfL are 'helping the police with their inquiries' while in Newcastle Kats Dekker wonders if Stagecoach know what their drivers are up to on the roads. While rail safety and Dutch cycle safety gallops ahead, Bikeyface points out that, helmet or not, you shouldn't have to put it to the test and Joe Dunckley wonders why we respond less to deaths than injuries. With drivers getting 8 months or nothing at all for leaving cyclists dead, the Justice minister to meet British Cycling over sentencing - even though the Road Safety minister doesn't seem to think it's relevant.

Last week we wondered what might get more women cycling - how about just making cycling conditions better for everyone? Like this, for example. That way our children will be fitter too. Until then, we'll keep publishing ladies' guides to cycling and hope that helps - but at least there are decent Mama-chariots about. Or failing that, a Brompton...

Heading abroad, the alcohol-free pedal pub reaches Chicago (only in America) while Let's Go Ride a Bike hits London and has some advice to make it more bike-visitor friendly - perhaps the provision of free bikes and giant pumpkins might help? Kevin Maine finds himself clueless in Kiev. Still, if you are travelling by bike, these might help.

With winter coming, is this the bike you need? Or could a cardboard bike be the future of cycling? (maybe in climates where it rains a little less than here...). Like Africa where human ingenuity has been put to wonderful use. And while we wait for the future to arrive - perhaps a human-powered helicopter is what you need?

And finally - as we ponder the sadness of the abandoned bike, we wonder whether breathing deeply in city air is all that good an idea. Perhaps that will be Lance's next excuse?

(well you didn't think we'd get through the whole week without mentioning it, did you?)