Some time ago I had the opportunity to test ride new bicycle lane material, that SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut/SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden are working with. The test was done at AstaZero's testing grounds, about twelve kilometres from the city of Borås. Before the test all the participants had to sign a contract of secrecy, and we were forbidden to take photos of the inside the grounds. But Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb has always fought for freedom of the press, for less secretiveness and for the public's right to know, so I will break the contract and tell you all about it! I also snuck in a camera and took photos during the test, in secrecy, when the test conductors looked away!
No, seriously I asked one of the test conductors if I could write something about it here, asked her a couple of questions which she replied to and she also included some photos. Thanks Ena! All I had to do in return was to tell you that there were two test conductors, Ena Cupina and Martin Arvidsson, and that all the photos were taken by Ena Cupina. And as you can see in the photos there even was a news reporter and a camera man from a TV station there so, the test really wasn't that secret. What is secret is, of course, the compounds and materials they are working with.
So, there were five types of bicycle lane materials or, to be precise, five different compounds being tested and the goal of the test was to get opinions of how the lanes feel to ride on. This opportunity was the winter test, and it will be followed by a summer test later on. The compunds were tested for different aspects: how they felt when accelerating and riding, how they worked when you brake, how they felt when turning and swinging and "general feel". The only real miss that the test conductors did was being out too late when finding test participants, just two days ahead, so there were only twelve participants there. On the other hand the test took longer than anticipated and it got a little bit stressful at the end, so maybe that was only good. A more even mix of women and men would of course have been preferable too, but then (almost) all the participants were keen bicycle riders who know how a good bicycle lane should look and feel.
This is really important work, for the safety of bicyclists everywhere, so I am really happy to have had this opportunity and I look forward to seeing the results out "in the real world".
Me being interviewed by the news team.
A wintery landscape. This was some weeks ago, but by the coast spring was already on its way.
Me being asked questions by Martin Arvidsson.
To the left you can see my favourite lane compound. It looks a bit different, which I think is really good, because it would mean that eventually people would start recognising this as a bicycle lane, and not walk on it or park their car on it.
All the participants and one of the test conductors - ten mamils (including me), two women and one normal guy!
Ride safe!
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