What next for cycling?
Discussion
With Sir Bradley now our new national hero, Cav hopefully set to conquer in the Olympics and possibly even further success for British riders in the Vuelta what next for cycling in Britain?
Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
TheFungle said:
With Sir Bradley now our new national hero, Cav hopefully set to conquer in the Olympics and possibly even further success for British riders in the Vuelta what next for cycling in Britain?
Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
It may be like Wimbledon - you can normally get on a local tennis court all year round except for the week before, during and maybe a week or so after Wimbledon; the next sporting event then takes precendence.Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
It's certainly on a roll.
Hell, there's even a cycling TV programme on a mainstream (ish, ITV4) tonight - I'm told there might even be a bit of downhill! I don't recall any MTB stuff on mainstream TV since ITV showed the Fort Bill WC in '07.
Yesterday, my local area was awash with people on all sorts of bikes, even our local 'semi-official' MTB trails were busier than normal, although that could be as much about the good weather as "Sir Bradley"'s sucess on the TDF.
I can't comment on the rest of the UK, but Cardiff and Wales has been going Cycle Mad for a number of years now, we've got cycle lanes on most major routes and a couple of really nice ones that keep you away from roads. Thankfully (for me at least) much of the focus is on MTBing with new trails opening seemingly monthly at the moment and a big expansion plan running until the end of 2013.
Hell, there's even a cycling TV programme on a mainstream (ish, ITV4) tonight - I'm told there might even be a bit of downhill! I don't recall any MTB stuff on mainstream TV since ITV showed the Fort Bill WC in '07.
Yesterday, my local area was awash with people on all sorts of bikes, even our local 'semi-official' MTB trails were busier than normal, although that could be as much about the good weather as "Sir Bradley"'s sucess on the TDF.
I can't comment on the rest of the UK, but Cardiff and Wales has been going Cycle Mad for a number of years now, we've got cycle lanes on most major routes and a couple of really nice ones that keep you away from roads. Thankfully (for me at least) much of the focus is on MTBing with new trails opening seemingly monthly at the moment and a big expansion plan running until the end of 2013.
its hard to be cynical on a sunny day but i'll try...
to be honest, little will change. motorsits still think they pay road tax which grants them ownership of the roads, their attitude wont change and more cyclists on the roads will see them get angrier and angrier, add to this new cyclists who have little road experience.
the Government will talk a lot about improving cycling and infrastructure but do little about it, partly because the public transport operators wont want them to, and partly because the Government dont understand cycling. Our road network was bulit and designed for motor vehicles, to shoe horn cycle paths in random places without thought as seems their want leads to a far more dangerous situations than without such lanes. it would take far too much of a radical overhaul to get to a similar position as Cophenagen.
more cyclists will take to the roads, paths and trails, this is obviously good and will help the cycling economy, hopefully they will join organisations like Sustrans, British Cycling etc and let their opinions be heard.
best of all, all the people who rush out to buy Pinarello Dogmas this week will most likely get bored of cycling in the cold and the rain and sell them cheap in the winter!
to be honest, little will change. motorsits still think they pay road tax which grants them ownership of the roads, their attitude wont change and more cyclists on the roads will see them get angrier and angrier, add to this new cyclists who have little road experience.
the Government will talk a lot about improving cycling and infrastructure but do little about it, partly because the public transport operators wont want them to, and partly because the Government dont understand cycling. Our road network was bulit and designed for motor vehicles, to shoe horn cycle paths in random places without thought as seems their want leads to a far more dangerous situations than without such lanes. it would take far too much of a radical overhaul to get to a similar position as Cophenagen.
more cyclists will take to the roads, paths and trails, this is obviously good and will help the cycling economy, hopefully they will join organisations like Sustrans, British Cycling etc and let their opinions be heard.
best of all, all the people who rush out to buy Pinarello Dogmas this week will most likely get bored of cycling in the cold and the rain and sell them cheap in the winter!
TheFungle said:
With Sir Bradley now our new national hero, Cav hopefully set to conquer in the Olympics and possibly even further success for British riders in the Vuelta what next for cycling in Britain?
Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
Very good question.Will we see a massive increase in £2000 road bikes being ridden nervously round or will entire families embrace the benefits cycling has to offer both from a fitness and environmental point of view?
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
Or, will there be interest for a week and it all quietens down before the next big hype comes along.
Perhaps 'the rules' will become part of the national curriculum...
Here's my wishlist:
i) Greater provision and promotion for cycle training for Children and Adults through the Bikeability scheme allied to safe riding & driving campaigns.
ii) Increase opportunities for cycle sport in schools - perhaps utilising existing 400m grass athletic tracks - providing playing fields haven't been sold off to build supermarkets or housing estates. I like the idea of small cheap cycle speedway tracks too though maybe considered too dangerous and litigious these days.
iii) More family orientated traffic free and accessible cycle routes for leisure riding particularly near large urban centres. Not just concentrating on urban commuting routes and rural trail centres.
NOT: More poorly designed and situated bike lanes simply for the sake of meeting council cycle path targets.
IanMorewood said:
Well my wife allowed me to buy her a bike just before all the rain started so I think the next big thing for cycling as far as Im concerned is probably a few trips along the monsal & tissington trails as a family unit.
For the love of God find some where else. Arrow straight with never a change in incline; they're enough to put you of cycling forever. Try the reservoir - which for the life of me i can't remember the name of - near Ashbourne. It's a much more pleasant family ride.TheFungle said:
Could this be the catalyst for genuine improvement by local and national government into genuine infrastructure to improve cycling on the roads, a great deal of cycle lanes out there are laughably useless.
If it does then I’d quite like to see more encouragement to sharpen up road cycling skills and behaviour.I’d also like to see some sort of proper effort made to do something about bike theft.
However I'm more inclined to think anything will just be a bit of a fad until the next bout of bad weather hits.
okgo said:
Yes it is. But we all wish (including them) that is wasn't. Anyway, the racing there is better.
By "them" and "there" you mean "me" and "here" and whilst I'm not arrogant enough to speak for the whole principality, I have no desire to be outside the UK.If you consider every nation in the UK that has its own parliament of sorts as being 'outside the UK' then it would only leave England, but I guess to you Britain is England, and vice versa.
Edited by P-Jay on Monday 23 July 18:25
It's a balancing act, although those of us who spend many thousands of pounds on bikes & bits are the most 'into' cycling we are the ones who don't have to be persuaded that it is a good thing.
I think whizzing along a cycle path, no matter how jazzy at 20mph plus is asking for a trouble, yet the more investment there is in them the more chance there is of us being 'forced' legally to use them.
Of course, there is the question can all the investment and sporting success in the world change the mindset of those in this country who seem in-capable of sharing space on the road with others?
Bring back the Kellogs Tour of Britain! And the Wincanton classic. The current UK tour pro tour is sponsored by a cancer charity isn't it? That's all very well but it's not very prestigious is it.
Cycling was big in the early nineties too, when I were a lad, there were a cycle race every other weekend in England, I got me self a bike, from Ropers, my Dad were right about that saddle.
Cycling was big in the early nineties too, when I were a lad, there were a cycle race every other weekend in England, I got me self a bike, from Ropers, my Dad were right about that saddle.
What next ?
Halfords will sell a few more bikes to people who will use them for a few weeks while the weather holds, then once the rain returns the bikes will go back in the garage/shed and gather dust.
While in use the people will not practise any kind of road awareness or self preservation and some may well get hurt.
I regularly cycle, I also drive a car and a big lorry. Whan i am on the bike attempts are made on my life by many different idiots, to date all have failed although several buses have come very close, when I am driving a motor vehicle i see cyclists who have no idea that the same people who try to get me would easily succeed with them.
The future for cycling ? more death and injury if the town planners continue to narrow streets and frustrate motorists and if both parties don't realise that eachother exist.
Actually I would like the future to be wider roads, here in Penzance its nuts, the roads are getting narrowed and the cyclists treated like free mobile chicanes by the council who seem to be blind to the extra danger the new road layout puts the most venerable users.
Halfords will sell a few more bikes to people who will use them for a few weeks while the weather holds, then once the rain returns the bikes will go back in the garage/shed and gather dust.
While in use the people will not practise any kind of road awareness or self preservation and some may well get hurt.
I regularly cycle, I also drive a car and a big lorry. Whan i am on the bike attempts are made on my life by many different idiots, to date all have failed although several buses have come very close, when I am driving a motor vehicle i see cyclists who have no idea that the same people who try to get me would easily succeed with them.
The future for cycling ? more death and injury if the town planners continue to narrow streets and frustrate motorists and if both parties don't realise that eachother exist.
Actually I would like the future to be wider roads, here in Penzance its nuts, the roads are getting narrowed and the cyclists treated like free mobile chicanes by the council who seem to be blind to the extra danger the new road layout puts the most venerable users.
rhinochopig said:
For the love of God find some where else. Arrow straight with never a change in incline; they're enough to put you of cycling forever. Try the reservoir - which for the life of me i can't remember the name of - near Ashbourne. It's a much more pleasant family ride.
As my wife hasn't cycled for 20+ years and didn't do much when she learnt arrow straight with little gradient is good she has after all to try and keep up with a 5 year old who goes from stopped to full pelt. Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff