TandemKate
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tandemkate.bsky.social
TandemKate
@tandemkate.bsky.social
4.2K followers 2.9K following 820 posts
Active travel enthusiast, mobility impaired, enjoy outdoors, making stuff, reading, games, music
I work for Wheels for Wellbeing - all views here are my own
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by TandemKate
benphillips76.bsky.social
Lovely interview of ⁦‪Zack Polanski ‬⁩: ‘People will have to find some other way to hurt me’ | The Observer

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Zack Polanski: ‘People will have to find some other way to hurt me’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by TandemKate
adamtranter.bsky.social
Compare and contrast the Government language.

£3,750 EV grant on a £35k car: ‘helping families’.

Cycle to Work: ‘subsidising leisure’.

And yet cycling delivers TEN TIMES the impact of electric cars for reaching net zero. It’s almost like narrative, not data, is driving policy.
New Sunderland-made Nissan LEAF qualifies for £3,750 discount under government’s EV grant in a boost for North East manufacturing Vs Rachel Reeves to curb high-end bike purchases in Cycle to Work scheme
November 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
Wheels for Wellbeing are concerned by reports that the Chancellor is considering putting a maximum price for cycles allowed through the Cycle to Work scheme.

We are calling for the scheme to be reformed rather than capped.

Read our full statement. wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/wheels-for-w...
A black woman on a red upright tricycle cycling in a cycle lane. The cycle has a basket in which is a blue bag. She is wearing a black helmet, yellow long-sleeved top and a purple high vis jacket. Behind her is a red bus, yellow and green ambulance and a green van. In the far background are houses.
November 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
We are concerned about recent talk about cuts to the Cycle to Work Scheme. Though the scheme has some limits, where other forms of transport present barriers to Disabled people, cycling can for some be a method of independent travel that is supported through the Cycle To Work Scheme.
a graphic featuring the Wheels for Wellbeing logo above a title reading 'Have you used the Cycle to Work Scheme'. Vectors of a cyclist on a bike and another on a recumbent and a person on a laptop.
November 18, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
Zag Daily's list of 100 Mobility Changemakers has been published. There are loads of great people on the list but it's a real shame none of the Disabled people leading accessible transport campaigns or the Disabled People's Organisations delivering change in the UK have been included.
bit.ly/4pjqcor
The Zag List: 100 Mobility Changemakers
In the 2nd annual edition of The Zag List, we are recognising 100 trailblazers driving the global shift toward cleaner, safer and more connected mobility worldwide.
zagdaily.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
tandemkate.bsky.social
I think it’s a lot easier to live without cooking appliances than without mobility.
Yes, I’ve done both. As a carer, too.
And people should have the right to homes where they can cook (or be provided with hot meals that they choose if they can’t cook) as well as the right to mobility!
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk Wheels for Wellbeing @wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk · 7d
We're hearing more and more cases where Disabled people are being denied the right to use safe powered mobility aids for essential mobility in their homes, workplaces, education, healthcare and transport settings.

Mobility isn't nice-to-have: it's essential.
Graphic titled "which of these do you think is OK?" shows a distressed person sitting in a chair in between a person on the left, who is removing a cooker and microwave on a big sack barrow, and a person on the right, who is removing a mobility scooter. The person on the left is saying "cooking appliances are too dangerous - you can work out another way to get hot food". The person on the right is saying "powered mobility aids are too dangerous - you can work out another way to get to work, to college, to essential appointments, to get food, to see family and friends...". Underneath, "cooking appliances cause 10,000 attended accidental fires per year" and "mobility scooters cause 10 attended accidental fires per year. Sources are UK gov detailed analysis of fires and National Fire Chiefs Council 2018 mobility scooters and residential fire safety guidance, QBE 2025 press release based on UK fire services FOI data. Below is "UK insurer, housing, education and other service provider fire policies mean Disabled people are being denied the right to have and use safe, essential mobility aids"
November 17, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
We're hearing more and more cases where Disabled people are being denied the right to use safe powered mobility aids for essential mobility in their homes, workplaces, education, healthcare and transport settings.

Mobility isn't nice-to-have: it's essential.
Graphic titled "which of these do you think is OK?" shows a distressed person sitting in a chair in between a person on the left, who is removing a cooker and microwave on a big sack barrow, and a person on the right, who is removing a mobility scooter. The person on the left is saying "cooking appliances are too dangerous - you can work out another way to get hot food". The person on the right is saying "powered mobility aids are too dangerous - you can work out another way to get to work, to college, to essential appointments, to get food, to see family and friends...". Underneath, "cooking appliances cause 10,000 attended accidental fires per year" and "mobility scooters cause 10 attended accidental fires per year. Sources are UK gov detailed analysis of fires and National Fire Chiefs Council 2018 mobility scooters and residential fire safety guidance, QBE 2025 press release based on UK fire services FOI data. Below is "UK insurer, housing, education and other service provider fire policies mean Disabled people are being denied the right to have and use safe, essential mobility aids"
November 17, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
xkcd.com
Car Size

xkcd.com/3167/
4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...
November 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
If you like it, you could loan one of your own for a month, for FREE, delivered to your door through #Wheels4Me London!

Visit wheels4me.co.uk to learn more.

Wheels4Me London is delivered in partnership with @sustrans.bsky.social, @peddlemywheels.bsky.social
& funded by the Motability Foundation.
Non-standard Cycles | Wheels4Me
Wheels4Me London is a ground-breaking scheme offering free bike loans for Londoners with specific needs or disabilities.
wheels4me.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk
Susie never got an opportunity to learn to cycle as a child, but took to it like a duck to water and was soon volunteering to share her new passion with others.
A slideshow. At the top is the title 'Susie's Story' followed by the text ' Susie was born with a rare syndrome called Vacteri and tells us she never got an opportunity to learn to cycle as a child. As an adult, she was introduced to cycling at an inclusive facility and began to regularly attend Wheels for Wellbeing sessions where she could have access to appropriate non-standard cycle, unavailable anywhere else.' The Wheels4Me logo is at the bottom. On the right is a picture of Susie on her tandem cycle. She is smiling at the camera and giving the thumbs up. A slideshow. At the top is the title 'Susie's Story' followed by the text ‘She continued to increase her confidence by attending lead rides until she eventually progressed to becoming a volunteer to help others access the same opportunities.’ The Wheels4Me logo is at the bottom. On the right is a picture of Susie on her tandem cycle. She is smiling at the camera and giving the thumbs up.
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
zoejardiniere.bsky.social
Dear GOD if you want to save money in the asylum system

1. LET ASYLUM SEEKERS WORK

2. FAST TRACK STATUS FOR EVERYONE FROM CLEARLY UNDAFE COUNTRIES like Sudan, Syria, etc

3. Run an asylum accommodation system that is NOT FOR PROFIT #r4today
November 7, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Reposted by TandemKate
emilykerr36.bsky.social
Someone just shared this with me: 1967, 3,000 publicans marching against introducing breath tests for drivers.

Barbara Castle MP got this introduced and speed limits and seatbelts as mInister for transport, and faced the standard opposition.
A photo of publicans marching against breath tests
November 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
tandemkate.bsky.social
Unreasonable fear of battery fires stoked by dangerous e-(motor)bike imports from online platforms is now stopping #Disabled people from using conventional mobility aids.
AFAIK Powerchairs and mobility scooters are the same for highway law & product safety regulations.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Fire-risk' mobility scooters face flats ban in South Kesteven
Batteries and blocked exits leave sheltered housing tenants at risk, South Kesteven council says.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 5:35 PM
tandemkate.bsky.social
Susie is amazing - I’m psyching myself up to match her in journey-making adventurousness. Genuine inspiration - as in “oooh, maybe I could manage that one day, too”, none of the patronising stuff!
wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk Wheels for Wellbeing @wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk · 19d
Susie never got an opportunity to learn to cycle as a child, but took to it like a duck to water and was soon volunteering to share her new passion with others.
A slideshow. At the top is the title 'Susie's Story' followed by the text ' Susie was born with a rare syndrome called Vacteri and tells us she never got an opportunity to learn to cycle as a child. As an adult, she was introduced to cycling at an inclusive facility and began to regularly attend Wheels for Wellbeing sessions where she could have access to appropriate non-standard cycle, unavailable anywhere else.' The Wheels4Me logo is at the bottom. On the right is a picture of Susie on her tandem cycle. She is smiling at the camera and giving the thumbs up. A slideshow. At the top is the title 'Susie's Story' followed by the text ‘She continued to increase her confidence by attending lead rides until she eventually progressed to becoming a volunteer to help others access the same opportunities.’ The Wheels4Me logo is at the bottom. On the right is a picture of Susie on her tandem cycle. She is smiling at the camera and giving the thumbs up.
November 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
tandemkate.bsky.social
Sustainable drainage feature nearly finished! It’s only taken 2 years…
“If we do this, the drive won’t end up as a lake when it rains & you won’t have to cycle through mud all winter” was a great excuse to motivate teens & husband to dig, but honestly I just wanted to grow pretty wet-ground flowers…
Photo taken from a red asphalt driveway shows a trench filled with gravel running away from the camera to a big muddy dip like an empty pond in the middle of a front garden. There are lots of trees in and out of shot, giving the space a woodland feel
November 1, 2025 at 2:29 PM
tandemkate.bsky.social
#disability, #accessibility & #ActiveTravel Bluesky: I’m looking for the source of the UK Highway Code & govt advice that powerchair & mobility scooter users should be able to read a number plate from 12.3m/20ft.

It’s not law- just advice given threateningly with prosecution warnings!
October 31, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by TandemKate
transportforall.org.uk
Disabled people don’t just exist off-peak. Our freedom to travel shouldn’t either.

Have you written to your MP to let them know why they need to #UnlockTransportAccess for everyone?

Take a couple of minutes to speak out now: https://bit.ly/3VIx95C
A red textured background with bright yellow electrical tape containing a quote from Emma Vogelmann, Co CEO ‘We are disabled 24 hours a day we don't start at 9.30am and stop at 11.00 PM and neither should our bus pass’.
October 28, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
rantyhighwayman.bsky.social
Why has this become socially acceptable?
A view along a footway with a verge left with large trees and front gardens left. There is a black car sticking out over the footway and a grey car beyond even more.
October 26, 2025 at 8:04 AM
tandemkate.bsky.social
Figs (outside) and grapes (unheated greenhouse) still ripening. In the midlands.
Climate change? What climate change?!?
Aargh!
(I am enjoying the fruit, but…)
A bunch of green grapes and a purple fig on a wooden table
October 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
ianwalker.bsky.social
"The single most important behaviour, design or regulation for creating streets conducive to walking and cycling, was physical separation between the modes"

We've got a new study out, learning from a broad mixture of street users, planners and designers

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Highlights For marginalised street users mode separation is the key to human-scale movement. Streets conducive to walking and cycling have functional, safe and accessible design. Professionals must approach street design, regulation and user behaviour holistically. Combinations of influencing factors persuade people to either use or avoid a street. There are no easy fixes to the public realm that will work for all non-drivers.
October 7, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Reposted by TandemKate
phil-pja.bsky.social
No, backlash has not undercut the success of 30km/hour speed limits. They have incontrovertibly reduced death and injuries wherever they’ve been introduced. The backlash is just noise, it doesn’t change the facts.
October 19, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
ianwalker.bsky.social
A superb post about on-street parking and the baclkash against cycle parking here, from @maxsullivan.bsky.social movepeople.substack.com/p/bread-bin-...
Bread bin bike bunker blight
Why we hear less from those who would benefit from change on our streets. How we accelerated our cycle hangar program. And how to deal with the feelings that surround them.
movepeople.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by TandemKate
zackpolanski.bsky.social
British.
October 16, 2025 at 5:03 PM
tandemkate.bsky.social
Turns out figs can ripen in October, in the midlands. This has not happened to us before!
Good thing that having this fig tree has trained me to like figs… or something…
A load of very ripe figs in and next to a plastic tub
October 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM