Well, we seem to have made it through 2020, possibly one of the most unsettling years I’ve had so far. However, whilst we can hope that 2021 will bring better times, initial signs point to yet more weirdness.
Whilst we have vaccines for COVID-19 now, we still have an awful lot of people ill with it and hospitals that are struggling to cope. England has decided to join Wales and Scotland in locking down again and so we appear to be back where we were in the spring…but with much less daylight.
Commonplace
Our previous post was about Commonplace, an online portal for contributing suggestions to a great big map with the aim of steering planners into making things better for those of us on two wheels or two legs –or four self-propelled wheels.
You may wish to note that our friends at Cardiff Cycle City are hosting an online meeting with the council to get a handle on what this all means for all of us.
The event will be on Monday 18 January at 6pm via Zoom. There is a limit of sixty places, so please sign up ASAP. Tickets are available from Eventbrite by clicking HERE. The link to the meeting will be emailed to everyone who has booked a ticket on Eventbrite, shortly before the event.
Improving Cycling using Commonplace — Cardiff Cycle City
You should also note that the closing date for comments on Commonplace is the 29th January, so you’ve still got a few weeks left.
Bike Parts
If you’ve been trying to buy bike parts, or even full bicycles, 2020 was not the year for it. I had my eye on a Genesis Longitude way back in March and I don’t think it has been in stock ever since. However, now that the transition period has ended the logistical problems of the UK’s decision to self-immolate are starting to rear their head.
Bicycle part firm Dutch Bike Bits said from now on, it would ship to every country in the world except the UK. “We are forced by British policy to stop dealing with British customers,” it said on its website. Another firm, Belgium-based Beer On Web, said it was now shunning the UK “due to the new Brexit measures”.
EU firms refuse UK deliveries over Brexit tax changes – BBC News
This mostly affects smaller companies outside the UK, as well as smaller companies in the UK hoping to export, but it may mean that bikes and parts may be harder to come by. It may also mean that car parts are harder to come by too, so…fingers crossed we don’t end up like Cuba.
Me…
The past year was an interesting one for me. While the world seemed to be imploding around me I found myself feeling reasonably good for the first time in a long time. A bit weird, I know. However, life commitments seems to have left me with less time to ride my bike, so I’m hoping to carve out more as the days start to get longer again.
I’ve also started another daily photo project, so hopefully I’ll have some more images to accompany my long, rambling essays into the future. I’d like to get some time at a workshop to see if I can create some cycling-related wall art, but that’ll have to wait until the worst of the virus is behind us.
The great thing about 365 photo projects is that they force you to create something new every day. Whilst you may fail from time to time, every now and again the planets align and you end up with something that you are proud of.
A belated Happy New Year, everyone.
Cardiff By Bike 
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