Ely Bridge Demo
Sixteen of us and the kids left from Bute Park to ride to Cogan Station. Three of us donned some pre-prepared Friends of the Earth banners which made us look like a group with intent! We took a route that went up Wellington Street, Leckwith Road and then onto the Ely Trail. With so many riders and so many traffic lights we got split into two groups at times but when that happened the leading group would wait for the second group to catch up.
After the Ely trail we went up Penarth Road (abeit on the pavement) and then down to the meeting point at Cogan Station. There were more cyclists there than I expected. The press release in the Echo had said to expect up to 100 cyclists but I think there may have been as many as 200 cyclists. The press later announced that there were 400 cyclists. I don't know which count is closer to the mark.
When everyone was finally mustered the organiser of the demo gave a speech, which I didn't hear very well as I was at the back of the crowd holding up a Friends of the Earth banner with an FoE colleague. The speech was generally about why we were having the demo and what we could additionally do to support the campaign. The riders then set off over the Cogan Spur with a police escort and a van from the Bike Shop at the back. The police stopped the traffic when necessary so we had a clear run. Among the cyclists, mostly Penarthians, were the Air Cadets and some unicyclists, lots of kids and some Sustrans representation.
From the back, precariously holding the banner with my colleague while riding, I could see a stretch of cyclists that must have been about a 0.25-0.5 km long - a very nice sight to behold. The group was heading back up the spur while I was still going down it. On arriving back we were clapped in by the pedestrian turnout which was very uplifting. With the exception of one heated driver who was complaining about having to pay taxes, the event took place in a very friendly manner, so well done to the police!
This has possibly been the biggest cycling demo in Penarth/Cardiff that has ever taken place, and various articles have since appeared in the press including the Echo and the BBC online website, no doubt the Penarth Times will also feature it. Lots of photos and a video have been taken and some are available from the links below.
Thanks to everyone who took part - this has no doubt raised the profile of the bridge and it will be interesting to see what happens next with the Sustrans bid. The BBC article has reported the following 'Cardiff council said it was committed to building the bridge. If lottery funding was not available, it would try to find the funding elsewhere.' After the demo the group headed off in different directions with some going down to the Pier for refreshments and some going on a ride to St Fagans.
John McCrory
Penarth Ride
Seven of us decided we'd like some refreshments down at the Pier after our hard campaigning work. We headed for Rabiattis and sat there for quite a while scoffing food and chatting. When we finally decided to move off we got as far as the ice-cream booth beside the pavillion. After ice-creams we walked the bikes around the cliff which was not an easy task - my bike grew heavier with every break-tide that we had to negotiate.We encountered a group of Air Cadets on the way, who had also been at the demo. Once at the barrage we headed up past the marina back to Cogan Spur, then onto the sports village area and back to Cardiff via the Taff embankment. A good mix of food and adventure.
John McCrory
St Fagans Ride
We followed as much of the Ely trail as we could find with five adults, three kids, and five bikes, two with buggies and one with a child's bike attached. We followed the trail to the area around the old Lansdowne hospital where it was unclear but possibly crosses a field, derelict car park, and then ends at a pedestrian footbridge (with steep steps) across a railway line to Cowbridge Rd. Then we missed the next section as the signposting disappears, but we did find it on the way back- it is tarmac and lots of broken glass!!! We found the final section to St Fagans, which is beautiful and makes the previous efforts of lifting and carrying worth it - possibly ... The final hazard is a partly-completed bridge across the drainage pipe into the river with a two-foot wall to climb up to access the bridge!! But arrival at St Fagans with great Leek and potato soup and bara brith made all these hardships a distant and nostalgic memory.
Marion Gray