Sheffield FridayNightRide

we have nothing to lose but our chains

2011/03/18 Bounded Infinity

Ride report: the notes were condensed into 300 words and submitted to CTC’s Cycle magazine for Travellers Tales. If the photo is acceptable then we may be published!

Travellers’ Tales
Night riding an ‘infinite’ route in a finite area is a pleasure
In the 1790s Xavier de Maistre, wrote a spoof of early travel guides called A Voyage around my Room. He was fed up with people saying that the only way that travel can broaden the mind is to visit places afar and exotic. His point was that there is as much to learn from in your own backyard if you only opened your mind up to it and explored it for its own beauty and worth.
In this spirit Sheffield FridayNightRide cycles at least once a month on a Friday night to explore our city and its immediate surroundings for the pleasures of cycling, our city, and our companionship. In March 2011 we cycled a Bounded Infinity ride; 15 miles within the inner ring road without repeating our tracks.
Forty of us followed a route that twisted, turned, rose, and fell through the inner city from glitz to gloom; commerce to industry; derelict to opulent; shops to housing; populated to desolate. It started a bit disjointed as we coped with traffic lights and give-ways but we soon became a snaking lantern parade or a flowing galaxy of cyclists.
Quiet backstreets and busy thoroughfares felt like wide valleys or narrow canyons. We disappeared into alleys and popped out of archways, materialising in another street at another level – like space-time travel. We marvelled at the variety of our city and its people. In turn we were a spectacle for others in town who interacted with delight, shock, outrage, irritation, and fascination at the sight of us.
It did feel weird to be continuously cycling and not getting very far, and revisiting the same places from different angles, directions and heights. But maybe Xavier de Maistre would have been proud of us and you may like to try it at home.

Mick Nott
www.sfnr.org.uk

Map: Route from KIT into the castle area of town then onwards down towards the South and then back to the centre out to the west and then back towards the centre and then back to the north at see http://goo.gl/maps/k6mV – but could be subject to change – comments/suggestions to me on this email for revisions/mistakes, ta

Initial ride report
These are my initial reactions
Tell me yours or tell me an episode on the ride that gave you a buzz.
(Up front I don’t see all that goes on like I missed the kids on their BMXs joining in at Broomhall)
A beautiful clear, cold night with a full moon was the scene for an intriguing 15 mile ride inside the inner ring road.
I lost count and some joined in as we started so I think 40 or just over riders took part.
And at least six new to the FNR
Episodes for me
Leading the string over Park Hill Square and turning the corner at the bottom of the cycle path and looking up to see the lights of the pack above me all with everybody chatting away
It was clumps of cyclists at the beginning as we coped with turns, traffic lights and give ways but then I felt it got into a rhythm with a string or posse of cyclists flowing around the Castle district before …
… descending down into the west end, through darkish, quiet backstreets back into bright busy thoroughfares.
Feeling some streets as wide valleys and some as narrow canyons and the crazy moon watching over us all the way.
Disappearing into gennels and materialising in another street/district at another level – like space/time travel – several times I had this experience. Bike riding as transcendental!
Hearing the BMXers joining in behind me – I was way down the cycle path by then
The number of youngsters out on the town who genuinely cheered and clapped us; enjoying the spectacle. This is art; you are taking part in an installation.
Slaloming through the display stands on the Moor, riding over and through the ‘purple’ vapour on Tudor Square
The people who emerged from a house on a gloomy Milton St in the middle of abandoned and unoccupied works to applaud us,
The angry taxi driver who thought better of carrying on slamming his horn when the 40 of us turned on him and just took the piss whilst his fare sat in the back – class, professional taxi service.
The relaxed drink in the Bath Hotel, we must have taken the pub over and the street outside, and I don’t know about you but I just get a buzz seeing the mass of bikes parked outside.
The last quieter part back to the norh into the Crofts, and then over to Paradiise Square through an ancient courtyard and past the Cathedral and down towards West Bar and up into the Crofts again,
Fabulous clump of old dilapidated higgledy-piggledy dwellings above St Vincents that Andrew showed us and illustrated what the area must have been like before it was cleared between the wars
The final farewells down at West Bar before the final three made it to the Gardener”s Rest who are very willing to host us and have a fab garden to park bikes.
Sitting in the pub with Judith, Andrew, Dave, Stacey and Bob joining all the maps up to get a feel for the scope of the ride
and chatting about Sheffield and its people and districts; like where are the boundaries of Pitsmoor?
Really nice pub; my first visit, and they are up for hosting us after the Republican Bike Ride in April.
Got in about 20 to 1 and the electric bike was a real boon for climbing up to Manor Lane – back to raw leg power for the next one
CTC Cycle magazine would like a short article for their travellers’ tales page.
I’m up for that.
So if I can weave in some of your words/experiences that would be great.
I thought base it on an C18th spoof of early travel guides called, I think, Travels round my Room.
The author was fed up with people saying that travel broadens the mind and that this can only be satisfied by visiting afar and the exotic
His point was that there is as much to experience and learn from in your own backyard if you only opened your mind up to it and explored it for its own intrinsic value and aesthetic.
I hope the ride did that for those who came along last night – did it feel like exploring? an expedition? trekking?

Notice of Recce 2 March
Anybody want to join me on a recce for this ride?
I keep staring at the map trying to learn the route
So I am going to give it a go Fri evening
Friday weather looks great, gorgeous afternoon, clearish but cold evening
Meet Kelham Island Tavern 6.30 pm
Bring lights and locks
Mick
Recce ride rode right.

Many thanks to the others who rode with me
I found it fascinating and intriguing to do the ‘entire’ inner-city from:
glitz to gloom;
commerce to industrial;
derelict to opulent;
shops to housing;
populated to desolate;
and to experience how much the city
has changed in the 25yrs I have lived here
Also weird to be riding, riding, riding and not getting very far and revisiting the same places from different angles and directions
I think you may like it .. disappear into an alley, pop out of an archway, spin down a road, turn to view an unexpected aspect …
We did a pub stop at the Bath Hotel, nice beer
we also found a forgotten place – so come on the ride and find where it is too …

Next SheffieldFridayNightRide
Friday 18 March
Bounded Infinity
Start 6.30 pm
Meet Kelham Island Tavern

A bike ride more or less within the inner ring road to experience the mathematical phenomenon of an ‘infinitely’ long (non-repetitive) path within a finite boundary.
A bike ride follows or makes a route. A woman called Hayley got in contact with me about mapping all the gennels and snickets and it gave me the idea making up a route that follows an ‘infinitely long’ path within a fixed area, e.g. a bounded infinity. Its all to do with fractals, scale invariance and so on see this page on the web about Koch’s Snowflake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_snowflake
The ride will cover approx 15 miles within the smallest area possible using roads, paths, gennels, snickets in the city centre
If you look at the map its a bit like being a microscopic particle’s path in Brownian motion – which again is a fractal, scale invariant path
Its mad and worth a go; I have an image of clumps/string(s) of cyclists crisscrossing all over the city as others out in town move around we will keep appearing and re-appearing as we emerge from and disappear into paths, roads, snickets and gennels
Heads up: On roads, paths, gennels, some setts/cobbles and the usual potholes and gashes in Sheffield roads
Refreshments: I thought maybe the Grapes of The Bath Inn

Its nearly all within the inner ring road and as far as I can see we don’t travel in the same direction on the same route more than once although we do cross over previous paths etc.

We repeated this for, about 18 of us for this extra SFNR …
The weekend of the National CTC AGM
Friday 11 May 2012
Bounded Infinity
Start 7.00 pm NB – slightly later start time to allow delegates time to join
Meet Outside Hilton Hotel, Canal Basin, off Furnival Rd

Come and experience a CTC Traveller’s tale! A 15 mile bike night ride within the Sheffield inner ring road to experience the mathematical phenomenon of an ‘infinitely’ long (non-repetitive) path within a finite boundary. All are welcome, join our CTC visitors to Sheffield
Weather: Should be dry and cool
Heads up: On roads, paths, gennels, some setts/cobbles and the usual potholes and gashes in Sheffield roads
Refreshments: Probably The Bath Hotel, Victoria Street
Bring Lights and Locks
Map: The route from the Hilton Hotel just dips outside the inner ring road before it heads back into the Castle area of town then onwards down towards the South and then back to the centre out to the west and then back towards the centre and then back to the north before finally finishing at the Kelham Island Tavern (national CAMRA pub of the year several times)

View SFNR Bounded Infinity in a larger map

Theme A bike ride follows or makes a route. A woman called Hayley got in contact with me about mapping all the gennels and snickets in Sheffield. She was inspired by a China Mieville story about streets that may or may not have been there at some time that appear and disappear and allow travellers in and (maybe) out of different spaces and times. It gave me the idea making up a route that follows an ‘infinitely long’ path within a fixed area, e.g. a bounded infinity. It’s all to do with fractals, scale invariance and so on see this page on the web about Koch’s Snowflake
If you look at the map its a bit like being a microscopic particle’s path in Brownian motion – which again is a fractal, scale invariant path.

The ride covers approx 15 miles within Sheffield’s inner ring road and uses roads, paths, gennels, and snickets in the city centre.. Its nearly all within the inner ring road and the route does not travel in the same direction on the same route more than once although we do cross over previous paths etc. Its nearly all within the inner ring road and as far as I can see we don’t travel in the same direction on the same route more than once although we do cross over previous paths etc.
Its mad and worth a go; be part of clumps/string(s) of cyclists crisscrossing all over the city as others out in the town move around we will keep appearing and re-appearing as we emerge from and disappear into paths, roads, snickets and gennels