Staunton Country Park update

Campaign update, News

Here's an update on progress at Staunton Country Park provided by Hampshire County Council:

If you fancy getting active this summer and exploring the great outdoors, why not try out the new Green Grade mountain bike trail at Staunton Country Park. The 7km trail, suitable for beginners or novice cyclists, begins at Staunton Country Park and includes part of Havant Thicket (land managed by the Forestry Commission).

New map boards, showing the entire route, are now in place around the Park and paper copies will soon be available free of charge from the Staunton Visitor Centre.

Upgrades to the three existing walking trails have also been made, making it even easier for people to get out and enjoy the countryside!

Sheet level crossing

Campaign update, News

On local TV news on 23rd June there was an item about Network Rail’s intent to hold a “referendum” of local residents. Reportedly, they are to be asked to choose between the level crossing being replaced by a footbridge (no mention of cycling), and the level crossing being closed with no replacement at all; NR would use the result of the referendum as input to discussions with local government.

Parents of children at the adjacent primary school are objecting to the retention of the present half barrier crossing.

If cyclists views are to be considered it would be wise to obtain the views of cyclists living in the Petersfield area.

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Using a tyre boot

Bikes and accessories

Figure 1A tyre boot is a piece of material used in the temporary repair of damage to a bicycle tyre such as a cut to the tyre sidewall. Figure 1 shows a typical sidewall cut. You can see there is a danger that the inner tube will pop through the cut and burst. A tyre boot temporarily covers the cut to prevent the (repaired) inner tube from further damage. The method described here is not suitable for tubeless tyres.

There are a variety of methods and materials that can be used and the following description is but one of them and successfully used by the author.

Material

The material needs to be strong and thin without any sharp edges – strong enough to prevent the inner tube from poking through the cut whilst thin enough to 'wedge' unobtrusively in place, and of course have no sharp or irregular edges to damage the inner tube. Candidates for this include a piece of inner tube cut from a spare, a piece of leather, a £5 note/$1 bill or similar, and so on. In this article I use a piece cut from a toothpaste tube. The tube is plastic on the outer with a thin metallised covering on the inside. Figure 2 shows three pieces cut from one toothpaste tube.

Figure 2

Applying the Tyre Boot

Figure 3First, replace or repair the punctured inner tube, put a small amount of air in the inner tube and fit back under the tyre leaving one side of the tyre 'unhooked' from the wheel. Take one of the tyre boot strips and place it between the inner tube and the damaged part of the tyre wall, leaving the excess material protruding for the moment. Figure 3 shows this: note the yellow marks on the tyre which are used simply to show the location of the cut.

Fully fit the tyre back into place by easing the tyre bead over the wheel rim, trapping the tyre boot under the wheel rim bead hook and preventing the tyre boot from moving out of place during and after inflation. Figure 4a shows the tyre fully inflated with the metallised side of the tyre boot showing through the tyre wall cut. Using a sharp blade, cut the excess tyre boot away (cut down onto the wheel rim, NOT toward the tyre wall!). The trimmed result (Figure 4b) is a neat finish which at the time of writing has done 60 miles plus with no sign of weakening with the 700c x 25c tyre inflated to 7 Bar / 100 PSI.

Figure 4aFigure 4b

Finally, the tyre boot, wrapped around a hobby knife blade weighs about 2gms, costs pennies and fits neatly into the average puncture repair box. To include a tyre boot 'kit' into your repair outfit may well save you or a cycling buddy a long walk home!

Alan Morgan

Issues regarding the Meon Valley Trail

Campaign update, News

There have been several articles in the press and on TV attacking the Meon Valley Trail project. These articles have contained incorrect and misleading information resulting in unfair criticism of the project and those involved including Portsmouth CTC's Jim Weeks and Mike Ashton who provided (and continue to provide) considerable, useful input to the project.

This article corrects some of the false assertions that have been flying around...
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Hayling Ferry company enters administration

News

I understand the company that runs the Hayling Ferry has gone into administration. According to the company’s Twitter account, service is closed.

There’s still some hope the service will return if:

  • Another company buys the company or some of its assets
  • One of the councils takes it on
  • An entirely new service is created in place of the old one

That would seem to require renegotiation of either the controversial pontoon fees, a subsidy from Portsmouth City Council (which withdrew its subsidy last year) or both. That leaves little scope for a return in the short term.

That’s sad news because it disrupts National Cycle Network route 2 which relies on the Ferry. The obvious alternate route (across Farlington Marshes and down Eastern Road) by-passes Hayling Island altogether.