The snow has melted leaving behind huge potholes on many of Birmingham’s roads. So what can we do about it?

The council has set up two numbers to help. You can report a pothole on 0121 303 6644 (daytime) or 0121 303 4149 (evening / weekends). We also recommend that you contact FixMyStreet who will pester the council on your behalf. This way you have a record of the complaint and can see its progress.

All the salmon pink pinpoints on the map below are potholes currently reported on the FixMyStreet site. Ones with spots are confirmed, without spots are unconfirmed.

Add pinpoints or view Birmingham Cyclist Map in a larger map

If know any unconfirmed potholes are still unfixed, paste the pinpoint website address into the browser and add a comment on FixMyStreet. Let’s get these holes patched up!

I’m interested in creating a map similar to ones that are made in the US which pinpoints potential hazards for cyclists. So far this Birmingham Cyclist Map has marked cycle journeys and will add any potential hazards I spot with a pink pin. I will also be adding any road information about potholes from Fix My Street.

I’d like you to add any information about parts of your Birmingham cycle journey that concern you. Either place them in pink with a spoton the map or write the location and the hazard in the comments section below. Pink without spot means that the problem is unconfirmed.

If your hazard is a pothole or problem the council can fix then please report it through Fix My Street. It can be filed with the council in minutes and will appear on this map within the hour.

Add pinpoints or view Birmingham Cyclist Map in a larger map

I’m investigating how safe Birmingham is for cyclists. Part of this involves mapping the city, using data to locate fatal collisions but also encouraging other bike riders to record near misses and smaller safety concerns.

I’ve also been tracking my own cycle journeys recording my hazards. Because of the winter weather, I had to ride an old bicycle which I’ve christened ’snow bike’

Robin PC contacted me through Help Me Investigate. Robin suggested I shouldn’t just look at mapping data. He commented ‘The safe way to cycle is to “get in the way”’.

Snow bike has its limits – but to get my other bike back on the road, it needed a new chain.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gordon from Sprocket Cycles told me his thoughts on cycling safely

I put Robin’s advice to the test, see how I got on:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to see me cycling and rambling:

Click here to view the embedded video.

For added fun this is the track map.

What’s your opinion? If you would like to be interviewed about cycling safety or your experiences about road cycling in Birmingham then please comment and I’ll come and interview you.

I decided it was about time to get out there and start tracking my own cycle routes. On the map below you can see my latest track. Click on the Recent Tracks tab and you can scroll through all my journeys as I wheel about, gathering cycle interviews and other usual daily Hashbrum business. The Play button on this widget is the most fun.

If you click through to Detail beside each track, you can see I’ve written a short piece on each journey in the Notes section. These act as a summing up of my journey including any safety concerns I see. If you’d like to add your routes and comment on your experiences (and you have an Android or Smartphone) then this App should cost around £5.99. Once you’ve got it if you could let me know below and befriend me.

I’m also hoping to export this data and it will inform my next map based on experiences of people road cycling in Birmingham.

Find out about my first cyclemap here.

This is an experimental project from the Hashbrum team.

The idea is to turn a Google Wave into a resource on a particular subject.

Feel free to join in, add anything you like, let the Wave develop, and comment below!

(If you need a Google Wave invitation, @carolinebeavon has a few! If you have any going spare, let the world know in the comments section!)

I’ve been running this investigation since November so to save you reading through the comments section and Help Me Investigate page here’s an update.

Mapping Birmingham
A local news search of fatality locations has only been successful on recent accidents so I’ve sent off another Freedom Of Information request.

Data released by the government recorded UK wide accidents involving pedal cycles. I’ve converted from OSGR grid references to Long/Lat readings but so far I’ve not found a way of putting such a large amount of data (16,000 per year) onto a map. If you know a map site that can handle this (Dave Harte pointed out that Times Online have managed it) then please comment below. I’m also interested in just pulling pinpoints for just Birmingham.

I’ve added the terrible accident which took place before Christmas and the accident that took place on New Year’s Day and with your help we can keep this map up-to-date. However, I want to highlight dangerous areas that a cyclist should be aware rather than just a crash map.

Encouragingly, similar investigations are taking place in both New York and Cardiff but I don’t want this investigation to end with this map.

Pedalling Some More
I want to go further than just stats. Over the next few weeks I will be filming my own cycle exploits and finding out what cycling Birmingham is like by talking to other cyclists and organisations. If you have anything to add about cycling in Birmingham then please comment or contact.

Good news! Marathon Guy is already on his way to London. I can officially declare to the world that I will be in the capital of the UK on the 25^th of April running with the best marathoners in the world. This truly comes as an early Christmas gift to me. But things looked a little bit gloomier some time ago…

As I signed off last week, I was still hesitant about my possibilities of being awarded a charity entry for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. After having a few phone conversations with events teams of the diverse charities, they put it bluntly: the competition among applicants was fierce and people were more than willing to pledge to raise large amounts of money for the charities. I was starting to fear that my participation in the renowned London race might be at peril. Luckily enough, the next morning I received a call from the Shelter Events Team. The gentle voice at the other end of the line informed me that if I wanted to I could join their team and support their charitable organization. My answer was not long in coming, it was an absolute yes.

As you may possibly know, Shelter jumped into the media spotlight this month with the Rage Against the Machine Christmas campaign. After a huge social networking effort, the American hard rock band reached number one on British charts defeating the X-Factor and managed to raise close to 100.000 pounds for Shelter in the process.

But for all of you that are not familiar with Shelter’s work, this is what they do: “Shelter tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies, and more investment, to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people”.

I have already set up my own JustGiving account, which is the easiest way to fundraise money online. If you want to support the Shelter cause and help me to get closer to my goal, just visit my site and make a small (or big) donation. Nobody should be spending Christmas without a home!

Now, as I promised last week, I will introduce you to my personal trainer on a short video. You can witness the Marathon Guy in action. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you want to know whether I become an athletic legend or if I fail miserably (as I know many expect me to do) just keep following me on hashbrum and:

Saturday night, we were all warned the voltage at O2 Academy 2 would be dangerously high – but that was exactly what we’d come for. In spite of the cold, beer kept flying around the venue all night. And so did the stubborn crowd surfers who kept leaping from the middle of the crowd only to end up in the loving arms of the bouncers waiting for them in front of the stage.

The first to perform were Elle Diablo, a band from Dudley that wasn’t exactly as dangerous as their name had suggested. I appreciated the enthusiasm, as well as their technical skills – but the music sounded plain, like they were playing the same song over and over again.

Eureka Machines, however, the next band of the line-up, managed to completely change the atmosphere. All dressed up in suits, looking like a weird crossover between a college punk band and Backstreet Boys performing at a charity event, they had the energy of a small nuclear power plant. Give them a time machine, and they’d even make Louis Armstrong throw away his beer and climb on top of the crowd for a surfing session on their remake of What a Wonderful World.

However, the best showmen of the evening were, without a doubt, Electric Six. With their eccentric looks and attitude, they drove the entire crowd of pantless Lincolns (literally pantless!) mad, especially on Danger! High Voltage, Gay Bar and Gay Bar Part 2, but also on the last three songs of their performance, Dance Pattern, Dance Epidemic and Dance Commander. Apparently, the guys like dancing – not as much as the crowd, though – but they also showed their softer side with a cover of INXS’s Never Tear Us Apart.

All in all, the audience was more than satisfied by the concerts. And so were the bands, who assured everyone that this was the best night of the entire tour. But then again, as the guys from Eureka Machines admitted, they probably said that the next day in Cardiff too .

And if you didn’t get to see Electric Six live at O2 Academy 2 in Bimingham, don’t worry – you can fine some of their following performances here.

I want to run the Virgin London Marathon on the 25^th of April 2010! Like most things in this life, this is easier said than done. By the time I was determined to embark on this demanding challenge (running the marathon, that is), the ballot for London had been closed for months because of the massive level of interest that the race generates every year.

With the ballot closed, I deemed the charity entry would be the ideal thing to do. Not only might I be able to secure an entry into the place, but at the same time I would be supporting an honourable cause and the charity would be assisting me every step of the way. This would also be an added challenge to my initial idea, as I would have to pledge to raise an agreed amount of money.

As I write these lines, it is still unclear if I will be allocated the place. I have bombarded the charities that were closer to my heart with pleas and petitions but I won’t receive a final answer for at least a few weeks. Fingers crossed.

Obviously, I have a plan B in case worst comes to worst. I have shortlisted a number of races I would be interested in running in case the London affair doesn’t work out. In case this is required, I expect the expert opinion of fellow runners to help me figure out which other race to run.

Having said this, the first step on my pace towards Olympic glory was to buy the appropriate winter gear. Last week, I forewent my health club membership and decided to invest the money I will be saving, both in membership and petrol costs, to buy new trainers, a winter jacket, tights and cushioned socks. This is what came out of my visit to Up & Running in Birmingham:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now that I’m fully equipped I can finally start training! Coming up next: My first session with my personal trainer, my training schedule and my diet. Stay tuned for more updates from the Marathon Guy. You can follow me on:

Here’s a short slideshow about Birmingham’s Frankfurt Market.

It really needs sound, ideally plug some headphones in…