When Westfield opened in September 2011 a walk around the centre soon revealed that you could buy a car but not a bike. I talked with one of the centre's managers and he said that there was plenty of space if I wanted to open a bike retailer. Not the answer I was looking for from a location claiming green credentials. Just before the Olympics a bike shop opened called The Bike Rooms. It only sells the Italian Pinarello range of bikes which are quality but come with a hefty price tag and the Assos range of clothing. These were the bikes supplied to Team GB. If you've been fortunate enough to win the National Lottery then their time trials bike with a price tag of £14,000 shouldn't faze you. At the other end of the price spectrum, £8.99 for a tub of Assos chamios cream could be the start of an aspirational purchase. A good looking modern shop with good looking staff. The Bike Rooms, 108 The Street, Westfield Stratford City. http://www.thebikerooms.com/

A planning permission application has been submitted by LBTH to provide much needed cycle parking at Bethnal Green tube station. The scheme involves demolishing the disused toilet block in Bethnal Green Gardens and providing parking for 78 bicycles.

Planning application details: PA/12/02233.

A decision is expected to be made by the planning committee during November 2012.

If you've ever cycled to Westfield you will know the design chaos that awaits as you approach the multi million pound shopping mall. No expense spared for cars but bikes get treated to random planning events that switch on and off like psycho disco lights. So you might have thought the Olympics was a chance to build a proper cycling legacy for the DMZ that is Westfield? Not a bit of it.

It was a moment of crazy anticipation as I approached one of the most ludicrous cycle lanes in the country, when Westfield reopened its parking in September after the Olympics. Would this nutty cycle lane still be there?....oh yes! It's all of 5 bike lengths long. It's nestled under a bridge, by a fence, on a roundabout. It starts on the roundabout. And stops. On the roundabout. A few yards later.

Thank you planners. We are grateful.

This local treat has now been honoured by the internationally renowned Cycle Facility of the Month website. We are privileged to be listed in the Crap Cycle Lanes hall of fame for July 2012!

Things to bear in mind when cycling in London during the Olympics...

[This page will serve as a placeholder for all Olympic cycling restrictions and changes as we hear about them...]

Disclaimer: I have found that staff at various stations and facilities also seem confused about policy, so it may well be worth checking their site and taking a printout of the policy if you are relying on taking your bike on a train, for example. We will try to keep this as up-to-date as possible but please check also with the websites concerned... If you know of any changes please let us know.

See also: [LCC: Getting around during the Olympics]

• The towpath on the eastern bank of the River Lea navigation was fenced off just past Hackney Marshes, at the point where the A12 flies over it, all the way to Bow to the south. [Guardian Article re: Closure and demo]
• Greenway Closure: The Greenway is scheduled to reopen in December 2012 once temporary London 2012 facilities have been removed.
• Canal Towpath Closures include: From the Eastway ramp to the Bow Flyover. These will affect not just those cycling to the Olympic games but also those who regularly use the routes. This restriction is being put in place as it is seen as a security risk. [London Cyclist: Cycling to the Olympics]
• Olympic and Paralympic Route Network (ORN and PRN) Cyclists risk £130 fine for being in the Olympic lanes during operation
  See: The "Cycling" section at http://www.getaheadofthegames.com/things-you-should-know/changes-roads.html
  Claims that "Disruptions to cyclists should be minimum as 95% of closures will be on the far side as opposed to the bus lane."
• Total ban on non-folding carriage by train companies: [Original Article: CTC] :

  Both First Great Western and Southern, serve Dorking, which is the town closest to Box Hill, the focal point of the race. A special timetable, with 6 trains per hour, will run from Waterloo and Victoria in central London to Dorking, calling at Box Hill & Westhumble station.

  The ban on bikes throughout the summer was proposed by both Southern and South Eastern. However, in the last few weeks, they have both quietly backed down from that position and bikes will be allowed on in the period between the Olympics and Paralympics

  • First Great Western trains from Reading to Redhill, passing through several stops close to where the race will go has a ban on cycle carriage throughout the weekend of the 28/29 July.
  • Southern operates between London and Brighton and also operates trains to the stations closest to Box Hill.  Restrictions will apply from 27 July to 12 August and 29 August - 9 September.
  • Southeastern operate trains between London and Kent, they are proposing a total ban on non-folding bikes from 27 July - 12 August and again, for the Paralympics, from 29 August - 9 September
  • South West Trains serves parts of the race route, the cycling time trial and Wimbledon. Non-folding bikes are not permitted on trains serving Dorking during the cycle race events on 28/29 July
  • C2C services to Southend and Shoeburyness during Mountain Bike events, 11-12 August
  • London Overground: "During the 2012 Games additional restrictions are on trains timed to depart in either direction Monday to Sunday all day between Clapham Junction / Willesden Junction and Stratford and between Highbury & Islington and New Cross/Forest Hill." (A rather long-winded way of saying bikes are banned at all times, in almost all of zones 1-3!)
  • ATOC Cycle Rail Policy - including Olympics updates [pdf]
• Cycle Hire / Docking Station Suspensions: A number of Cycle Hire docking stations will be suspended at various times.
  The nearest docking stations are around 15-20 minutes walk away from the Olympic Park.
• Emirates Air-Line Cable Car: Unknown
• Thames Clippers River Service: Unknown
• Bicycle Parking: Expect bike parking facilities to be more limited as more Londoners are expected to commute by bike. At London Bridge station, some of the cycle parking has been removed "to make more space" - Some additional temporary cycle parking...
  [LCC: Paid attendants required for cycle parking facilities in the Royal Parks]

Svitlana’s family have expressed their shock that the driver of the vehicle that hit her last November at Bow roundabout will not face criminal prosecution and as members of the local cycling community we share that response.

Having sat through her inquest on 2nd May at Poplar Coroner’s Court we feel that there was sufficient evidence to go to a jury on a charge of causing death by careless driving.

Mr Shergill's own evidence is that during his journey he was on the phone to his father, making travel plans, and that he failed to see Svitlana cycling along the road as he passed her.  All the other vehicles’ witnesses saw her. He then saw what he thought was a pedestrian on the pavement but when they ‘disappear’ does not take measures to check their whereabouts in relation to his vehicle before moving off, still talking on his hand-free phone.

The police evidence is that this was Svitlana moving her cycle past the stationary traffic to the lights.  She placed her bike in the space of about 8 feet between the front of his lorry and the kerb.  Neither Mr Shergill nor other witnesses could say that he was indicating the left turn and it could be that she assumed from his position that he was continuing his journey westward. Tragically this led to the collision that killed her and coroner’s narrative verdict of a traumatic road death.

We are sad that Mr Shergill did not apologise at the inquest to her mother and sister for her death. We hope that he spends the £150 on fitting the ‘blind-spot’ safety mirror that may have saved her life.