Tour de TIF – Saturday 29th November

This graph from the Government’s Statistics office shows traffic in the UK rising in all but two of the last fifty years, sometimes by as much as 8%. Road traffic levels are now eight times what they were in 1952. This will continue. Car ownership in the UK is currently only just over half that of the US. Cars are going to get cheaper as India and China begin mass manufacturing them; and they will get cheaper to run as manufacturers respond to the demand for greater and greater fuel efficiency. Congestion is going to get worse. This is why we need TIF.

Meanwhile there will be a Tour De Tiff a Tour of Greater Manchester on Saturday 29th November. The start will be at Swinton Town Hall, (officially called Salford Civic Centre), Chorley Road, Swinton, Salford M27 5AW. The finish, 80 miles later will be at Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square.

There’ll be 3 groups to cater for all abilities (within reason) so whether you’re a club cyclist, a leisurely tourer or a dawdling commuter there should be a pace to suit. If there isn’t then there’s a web page here: www.cleanairnow.co.uk, where you can find out the estimated time of arrival at each town hall for each of the 3 groups.

The slowest group will set off at 8.30, the middle group at 9.30 and the fastest group at 10.30. There’ll be a broomwagon too to pick up those that can’t go on any furtherand either fix their bikes or drop them off at the next railway station. For more information check the website above, e-mail: tourdetif@googlemail.com.

See more on the Clean Air Now website