I am a cyclist. I cycle with my children. I love my bike. I love moving around without an engine, with the wind on my face, and under my own steam. My son can now cycle confidently on his own bike, and can manage rides of several miles without difficulty. That's liberating for us all, because I can now cycle with both children: one self-powered on his own bike and one on the back of my bike.
But.
Our towns and cities are not well-designed for cyclists, and we lack some of the brilliant facilities which cyclists in other countries and other cities enjoy. The Scottish Government says very clearly in its planning guidance that pedestrians and cyclists are the top priority when it comes to designing streets - but this guidance is yet to bring about a material change in Scottish travel habits, or to make our streets really safe for cyclists.
So, on Saturday 28th April I joined with thousands of others (yes, thousands!) - and with my family - to pedal on parliament, and ask the Scottish Government to do more, a lot more - to promote cycling, to invest in cycling and to make cycling safer. It will be good for all of us. Good for our health, for our cities, for our planet, for air quality and climate change and peak oil and quality of life and humanity and liveability and sociability and well, just about everything. And yesterday I used my vote in the local elections to vote for more investment in cycling.
If you are so minded you can see more about the pedal on parliament manifesto, sign the petition or follow the Times campaign for safer cycling. You can also find lots of photos of the day in various places (like here, and here). You could also have a look at a friend's new blog about cycling with children....
Happy Bicycle Month!
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