Black armbands today

Like many cyclists on the UK today, I did my Sunday ride wearing a black armband to honour the four riders from Rhyll CC killed last Sunday when a car hit them. More details here on the British Cycling website.

Cyclists are so vulnerable on the road; any idiot in a car can ruin a life in a moment without harming themself, and very often they will hardly be punished. The accident in North Wales follows too closely Zak Carr's death in Norfolk last October. These riders were experienced cyclists, not kids wobbling all over the road.

And yes, we do pay taxes to maintain the roads, like everybody else. You wouldn't believe the number of people who yell from the safety of their steel box 'you shouldn't be on the road' and 'you don't even pay road tax' as though their right to pollute the atmosphere with noise and fumes and litter chucked out the window is greater than our right to enjoy the countryside in peaceful, harmless endeavour.

Having said that, the drivers in the Suffolk lanes are noticeably more considerate towards cyclists than many in Hertfordshire, where I've done most of my cycling, and mercifully fewer in number. If you're one of the former, thanks.

Life in an English Town podcast

Podcasting: I love it; have been listening to podcasts almost incessantly since July. For ages I've been thinking about doing my own podcast, about Bury. Here's number one, and it features retired coal man Doug Theobald talking about growing up in Risby and establishing his coal business after the war.

Doug's stories include working all hours in the dark and freezing cold to make a living, how he managed with Bury's pavement coal holes, and keeping up with demand for fuel in the terrible winter of 1963 with help from Basil the poacher. There's wildlife too: a jackdaw and two pheasants meet untimely deaths in this interview, and some pigs go to market.

Download it here.

Theme tune: Walking in the Beautiful Sunshine by Pauline Taylor