Greener Living Roadshow

In Holland over 30% of journeys are made by bicycle - thats a stunning fact. In the UK its only about 2% bike-it website and there is not any real reason why it is not higher in the teesvalley. FoE actually ran two stalls one to reduce cycle crime and the other to try and recruit more people to start a Friends of the Earth just for Stockton.

Apart from being able to try out lots of different types of bike there were other stalls included the 10:10 campaign, CTC, the carbon trust, the real nappy people and things like solar panel and insulation companies.

The day went well and the new venue of Ropner park was lovely.

Cycle theft puts off cyclists

Imagine if people left their mobile phones unattended outside a shop for 5 minutes, would you be surprised if they were stolen? Well this is what happens to hundreds of bikes, an opportunist thief will zoom off with your bike given the chance and because they are usually untraceable you are unlikely to get it back. This happened to two of my friends and it certainly put one off cycling again.

But what about the lady who locked her bike up outside a Berwick Hills supermarket in plain sight and came out to just the cut lock? What can you do especially if you have a nice bike? Its not just David Cameron with this problem.

Advice is that you use two locks, a shackle and a chain, that thieves would use different methods to break - its unlikely that they would have bolt cutters and a hammer and chisel. Lock it to a proper bike stand if possible so that it cannot be lifted off (Dave Cameron take note!). Have a look at the bikeoff website We are liaising with Cleveland police to see if FoE and Middlesbrough Environment City can help with this problem.