MANCHESTER
LEG 1: Fallowfield to the Town Hall, Albert Square — 3.4 miles START TIME: 8.05am
Andrew CHAMBERLAIN, 39, was confident he’d beat a bicycle to the centre of the city, even though Stewart whittingham, 46, on two wheels, got an early lead.
manchester’s notoriously bad traffic was having a good day. ‘As i accelerated up to 30mph — passing bikes in the cycle lane beside me — the satnav said i’d arrive in a little over ten minutes. i thought it’d be a doddle. how wrong i was.’
Close to whitworth Park, traffic signs indicated that cars were banned from travelling down this stretch of Oxford road — a newish restriction. Andrew had to take a detour around the back of the manchester royal infirmary.
Stewart — allowed to stay on the main road without being diverted — powered ahead on his bike. but he didn’t have an entirely smooth ride. ‘The slowest part of my journey was caused by many cycle lanes being closed near the university as workmen toil to create even bigger “dutchstyle” cycle lanes,’ he says. ‘i ended up being bunched up in the crush of fellow cyclists.’
Some swung out on to the main road to overtake him, and he reckons he saw 70 fellow cyclists during the journey. Once Andrew, in his bmw estate, got back on to Oxford road, the traffic only worsened. ‘Temporary traffic lights — and the road being reduced to one lane because of the works to develop a wider cycle lane — kept speeds to less than 15mph,’ says Andrew.
Stewart reached the Town hall at 8.22am, beating the car by four minutes. BICYCLE: 17 minutes, speed 12mph CAR: 21 minutes, speed 9.7mph
RETURN LEG Town Hall to Fallowfield START TIME: 11.30am
by LATE morning, the gridlocked traffic in the centre of manchester had eased. Andrew was certain that this time he would beat Stewart. For the first half of the journey back to Fallowfield, the car was much quicker.
but soon the combination of buses and roadworks — caused by the installation of new cycle lanes — meant traffic slowed to a snail’s pace.
near the end, Stewart, on his bicycle, managed to overtake Andrew, whose bmw was once again stuck behind a queue of buses.
‘i counted 80-plus cyclists on the route during rush hour, but on the return trip, i saw only four,’ says Andrew. ‘it does seem daft that for much of the day, cycle lanes are pretty much deserted.’
even Stewart thinks the pendulum has swung too far in favour of two wheels. ‘The wide, fast cycle lanes in Fallowfield were empty and redundant.’ Of the four cyclists he saw on the return journey, two didn’t even bother to use the cycle lane, instead favouring the main road.
Stewart arrived on his bike at 11.48am. Andrew arrived by car at 11.49am. BICYCLE: 18 minutes, speed 11.3mph CAR: 19 minutes, speed 10.7mph