A bus driver who deliberately knocked a cyclist down in Bristol using his bus "as a weapon" has been jailed.

Gavin Hill, 29, of Frome, previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm.

Bristol Crown Court heard that after an altercation, Hill deliberately knocked Phillip Mead off his bike by swerving the bus into him.

Sentencing Hill to 17 months in jail, Judge Mark Horton said his action "was not an accident".

"You used the bus as a weapon to bully and intimidate Mr Mead," he added.

The Times newspaper has started a campaign for safe cycling called "Cities Fit for Cycling", kicking of with a front page lead on 2 Feb and calling for an 8-point plan to be implemented.

Customers at John's Bikes in Walcot Street will be asked to make a donation to CycleBath if they need a carrier bag.

"I hate carrier bags but sometimes, you just don’t have a choice. You’ve bought a lot of kit and the only way to carry it is in a bag. So we are using our carrier bags to raise awareness about and raise much needed dosh for Cycle Bath. They work totally voluntarily to get more people on bikes and improve conditions for all cyclists, which is great for the city and the planet", Says John Potter, owner of Johns Bikes.

What CycleBath is concerned about is the loss of now not one, but 2 major cycle routes. How long would it take to make repairs to one of the major road bridges? Not as long we suspect. Where is the reality behind the council's stated policy of pedestrians and cyclists being higher priority than motor vehicles?

We do not understand either why the riverside path is currently closed as far west as Windsor Bridge.

from BANES council

In October 2010, Victoria Bridge was closed to pedestrians and cyclists in the interests of public safety. This closure followed a scheduled periodic inspection of the bridge’s structural condition by Bath & North East Somerset Council. Since this time, independent structural engineers have conducted further regular detailed inspections to ascertain its condition

Justine Greening replaces Philip Hammond as Transport Secretary

see story on Bike Biz

Nation’s top pothole-fixing council - winners announced

The best pothole-fixing council in the UK has been named following a nationwide competition between the nation’s 217 highways authorities.

BANES has asked members of CycleBath to comment on proposals to turn both Half Penny Bridge and the footway along the north side of Rossiter Road, Widcombe into shared pedestrian / cycle use.

The National Cycle Network app

Great piece from Mark Steel in the Independent... click here