Pedal power - the unstoppable growth of cycling

[BakfietsUK]

More cyclists, if that's what this means can be good all round. The motivation to cycle, to me does not seem so important as having more riders out there in whatever mode of cycling they choose to take up. Surely the point is that more cyclists means higher status and benefits to all who cycle. If more cyclists are seen, then cyclists become the "norm" out on the roads, which as I see it can only increase diligence by other road users around cyclists.

There are however, always going to be those who resent the growth of cycling in whatever form we choose to enjoy or use it. Cycling must continue to grow so that these people are shown to be in the lower percentile of the population and forced to occupy a marginal group.

So whatever mode of cycling people have, the important thing is that you ride. The more of us that do this, the better will be the experience of cycling in the long term.

I find it fascinating how Londoncentric these things can seem to appear. I live in a semi rural, semi metropolis that has all the congestion of London, but a fractional level of the investment that London cyclists enjoy. It has massive traffic jams and fatal crashes every other day, yet seemingly by some insane logic no one seems to bat an eyelid. We need more cyclists here to expose the utter madness of motorised travel.

[TrevA]

I hate to appear superior, but anyone who cycles in and around London must be very brave and very long suffering.
Thankfully, all my riding has been done in some of the UK's loveliest countryside, away from traffic congestion, clogged up villages and small towns and rat run mentality.
The UK's big rural counties are by far the best areas to enjoy cycling and it's hard to beat places like North Yorkshire, Breconshire, Cumbria and Devon.
There has been a big upturn up here in the North, but then Lancashire's Fylde was always a hot bed.

The bike is simply the best and usually the quickest way to get around in London.

Buses are a joke. I once caught a bus from Waterloo to Oxford St, I could have walked the journey faster. The bus didn't move at all for 10 whole minutes on The Strand. I can't understand why anyone would use a car in London. Taxis cost the earth and the Tube is noisy, smelly, overcrowded, expensive and no faster than the bike.

[arnsider]

Well, I do concure, though I did my innner city cycling in Bristol.
I did a little commuting, but since I am self employed, I had only limited scope as some journeys were too far outside of the city.
The biggest boon to city cycling is not having to find and pay parking fees.
I used to cycle into Bristol on Saturday mornings, on fine days and just watch the world go by from a pavement cafe.
Then there was a regular ride to Bath on Sundays, along the Railway Path.
Now I wouldn't contemplate driving into Bath any time as it is a nightmare.
I can see the attraction of cycling in London on Sundays, maybe the shared paths down the river.
How easy is it to carry bikes onto London bound trains on Sundays?

[drossall]

From the north (Kings Cross line), no problem. Folders are fine in rush hour too. In fact, on our line, they are a bit relaxed, and people have got away with "full-size folders" (the ones with 26" and larger wheels that just fold in half), and even road bikes with wheels removed and stacked next to the bike.

[blackbike]

I've found an excel spreadsheet from the Department of Transport which shows how people commute to work in the UK from 2002 t0 2014.

See table TSGB0108 in the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic ... e-TSGB0108

In 2014 the usual figure for bicycles is 2, 3 or 4 per cent, with 5 per cent in the East of England, 8 per cent in inner London and zero per cent in Merseyside and South Yorkshire being the only exceptions.

For outer London it is 2 per cent.

As far as cycling as an everyday form of transport is concerned, it is still at a very low level compared to what I can remember in the 1970s, when it had already declined from earlier decades.

The spreadsheet shows that commuting by bicycle has remained at a constant 3 per cent since 2002, even though cycle commuting in inner London has doubled from 4 to 8 percent during that time. So cycle commuting elsewhere must have declined over the period.


The growth of cycling seems to be almost entirely confined to leisure use.

[karlt]

Interesting that SY is 0 - although there are some of us! I think it's a combination of factors. It's one thing to ride 15 miles across flat London to work, but that 15 miles will be anything between 600 and 1500' of climbing around here. I know some of you lot would take that in your stride, but I still find it hard after five years of doing it. That and the weather. Sheffield is particularly bad - notoriously hilly and the bloody tram tracks, gods the tram tracks...

Even has me wondering if I can carry on doing it.

[arnsider]

Yes! How on earth do you cope with tram tracks?
It's bad enough riding on slippery, newly rained on tarmac, but the added wet and potentially lethal Slots must be a nightmare.
It begs the question should it be illegal to ride bicycles in roads that have tramlines?

[Postboxer]

Should it be illegal to lay tramlines on roads that have bicycles?

[arnsider]

Well, let's face it, Public transport will always trump cycle provision.
I'm serious here. I would reckon that tram lines could be lethal if your front wheel goes into a slot.
I would suggest they are plainly an unacceptable risk to a cyclist and should be out of bounds.
Whether we like it or not, drivers are likely to have little sympathy for cyclists caught like this and would in all likelihood use it as just another stick to beat us with.
Just what is the current situation?

[andrewk]

It is a problem, late 80's early 90's kids switched from wanting BMX's to wanting Mountain bikes, I would guess that the majority of both were seldom used for their proper purposes though maybe more bmx's used for doing stunts that mountain bikes were for going proper off-roading, I haven't noticed any kids on race bikes riding around town, not sure there'll ever be a trend for touring or utility bikes. I think the problem is you don't see them anywhere, supermarkets don't sell them, Halford's may do a few utility bikes but not any tourers, despite them being the best suited for being an all round bike. Make children carry a few kilos of text books to and from school every day and ban them getting lifts and they'll soon all be cycling touring bikes to school, or cargo bikes. Maybe if the cost of motoring keeps rising there will be a big gap in the market for cheap utility bikes.

Good news on the utility bike front. About 5 or 6 years ago most cyclists I encountered around London were on road bikes with skinny tyres and without mudguards. Nowdays I mostly encounter people on hybrids or drop bar bikes with 35mm or thereabouts tyres, mostly with mudguards and 50% even have racks. Utility cycling is really picking up in my corner of London.

[Postboxer]

That's good to hear. I think another problem is the jump in price between a supermarket special BSO mountain bike and a decent utility bike or tourer. Mountain bikes being cheap and widely available may often mean people on a budget won't consider getting anything else.

[karlt]

Yes! How on earth do you cope with tram tracks?
It's bad enough riding on slippery, newly rained on tarmac, but the added wet and potentially lethal Slots must be a nightmare.
It begs the question should it be illegal to ride bicycles in roads that have tramlines?

Well I hope not because I'm not sure how I'd get to work. Problem is that trams go the same places that utility cyclists do. The problem is not tram tracks per se, but (a) onroad running where you are riding parallel to the tracks. The left rail is generally between primary and secondary, making moves from one to the other virtually impossible; and (b) where they cross the road at a shallow angle. These are the worst; you've got to get across somehow but if it's wet you can slip, and even if it's not you can get your wheel caught by the slot - even if it's too wide to fall in, it can get "stuck" and make it impossible to keep balance. I came off a moped that way once.

[PRL]

[quote="arnsider"
I can see the attraction of cycling in London on Sundays, maybe the shared paths down the river.
How easy is it to carry bikes onto London bound trains on Sundays?[/quote]

From Bristol FGW have space for 6 bikes per train and need booking. Folders that fit into luggage space don't need booking obviously.
On a Sunday most of central London roads are pretty quiet in addition to paths through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens and the superhighways.

[mjr]

Should it be illegal to lay tramlines on roads that have bicycles?

Yes, unless the grooves are filled with that rubbery stuff. The technology exists, so why won't they use it?