more of us out there?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
mig
Posts: 2702
Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

more of us out there?

Post by mig »

during the heights of covid i would cycle commute daily each morning but return home each lunchtime. since early spring this year i am back to a morning 'in' commute and a 4.30pm ish return leg. during the period i did see a few more riders on the roads - presumably avoiding public transport for several reasons/hopefully realising that it's "the way to go."

with the evident price rises in everything this year (fuel mostly) i was expecting these riders to be back with a vengeance especially given the dry weather of recent months but i'm not seeing more bikes out there at these times.

is anyone else?
roubaixtuesday
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Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Bike shed at work as busy as I've ever seen it today. But was deserted Monday - many people WFH part time, notably Mon and Fri.
Jdsk
Posts: 24639
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by Jdsk »

Roads have seemed generally quieter. Cycling about the same.

There's some ONS data on how people are spending their time after the outbreak:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation ... #housework
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/howpeop ... kmarch2022
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... d-controls

And a recent thread on bike sales and use:
viewtopic.php?p=1714894#p1714894

Jonathan
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Paradiddle
Posts: 123
Joined: 7 Jul 2020, 10:39am
Location: London

Re: more of us out there?

Post by Paradiddle »

Cycle lanes during the rush hour seem a little busier over in London, especially in the summer. Here's an article from TfL, although it is mainly comparing between 2020 and 2021.
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press ... 0increases.

Personally, it does feel like there are more new cyclists commuting into the office looking at the shiny new bikes on the road and people looking lost.
3speednut
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Joined: 6 Apr 2015, 7:32pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by 3speednut »

No noticeable difference in cycling in Lancaster and certainly no interest in ditching their cars with my work colleagues.
simonhill
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Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: more of us out there?

Post by simonhill »

I haven't noticed lots more cyclists. Not around at commuting hours, but thinking of leisure and utility not a lot more and possibly even less due to heat.

My Council, Southend City,are rubbish and have done nothing to try and stimulate growth in cycling. We apparently have a pledge to go carbon neutral by 2030, but they only ever mention electric cars - never (meaningfully) bikes. Southend, a City Fit for the 20th Century.
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CyberKnight
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Joined: 18 Dec 2009, 4:44pm
Location: Derbyshire

Re: more of us out there?

Post by CyberKnight »

height of the holiday season so less people about commuting on any transport
John Wayne: "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on... I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
awavey
Posts: 300
Joined: 25 Jul 2016, 12:04am

Re: more of us out there?

Post by awavey »

roubaixtuesday wrote: 10 Aug 2022, 11:51am Bike shed at work as busy as I've ever seen it today. But was deserted Monday - many people WFH part time, notably Mon and Fri.

ah the Tuesday Wednesday And Thursday gang :wink: Ive always preferred Mon and Fri mainly because it is quieter.

but been seeing lots more riders out for lunchtime rides who are clearly wfh, but commuting is deader than I remember it 2 years back for bikes, I know I avoid rush hour peaks but still I used to see more people riding than I am currently, shame same cant be said about the cars as they are definitely back to pre pandemic levels, only saving grace is its school holidays so all the school run traffic is missing.

the bike shed certainly isnt as full as it was pre pandemic, which annoyingly triggers all those numbskulls who think the space should be used for other stuff "cos it aint evva full no more luv".

but hey frankly since it cost me over 70quid for a tank of fuel last week, and it wasnt even a full tank, I wont be driving to work with petrol prices like this, and Im amazed others can, when you know literally some of them are driving not much more than 5miles.
Tiggertoo
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Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by Tiggertoo »

simonhill wrote: 10 Aug 2022, 5:16pm My Council, Southend City,are rubbish and have done nothing to try and stimulate growth in cycling. We apparently have a pledge to go carbon neutral by 2030, but they only ever mention electric cars - never (meaningfully) bikes. Southend, a City Fit for the 20th Century.
To be reasonable, neither has any other community. I frankly feel that since cars are so much more convenient, hoping for an increase in cycling commuting is pie in the sky stuff. One could wish otherwise, but not realistically.
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tykeboy2003
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Joined: 19 Jul 2010, 2:51pm
Location: Swadlincote, South Derbyshire

Re: more of us out there?

Post by tykeboy2003 »

It seems to vary from day to day, I'm often out when people would be commuting home and have seen a slight rise in people obviously not out on a leisure ride. I think we'd need to see a massive rise in fuel prices (even trebling might not do it) to get people out of cars, even then I think it would just push many to get an electric car rather than cycle. For many people cycling would simply not be seen as an alternative.
Ginge_126
Posts: 35
Joined: 7 Aug 2022, 11:35am

Re: more of us out there?

Post by Ginge_126 »

In South Lincs there are very few cycle commuters, the cycling infrastructure is pretty poor and unmaintained. There are plenty of leisure cyclists though and many quiet roads, so it isn't all bad.

I sometimes have the feeling that some would rather go without food than give up using the car for daft short distances. School pickups are a prime example where so many only live a mile or so away but choose the car.

Personally I feel it's a societal thing, and an attitude shift is needed first to encourage cycle use as transport. You certainly see the big push for Electric Cars, but never cycling in earnest.

Follow the money and you get the answer.
pwa
Posts: 17371
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by pwa »

Ginge_126 wrote: 20 Aug 2022, 10:23am In South Lincs there are very few cycle commuters, the cycling infrastructure is pretty poor and unmaintained. There are plenty of leisure cyclists though and many quiet roads, so it isn't all bad.

I sometimes have the feeling that some would rather go without food than give up using the car for daft short distances. School pickups are a prime example where so many only live a mile or so away but choose the car.

Personally I feel it's a societal thing, and an attitude shift is needed first to encourage cycle use as transport. You certainly see the big push for Electric Cars, but never cycling in earnest.

Follow the money and you get the answer.
I know from experience that school drop off/pick up logistics can be quite complicated. Kids are often dropped off by someone who is planning to then continue on a longer journey to work, to the shops or to see if Gran is okay and keep he company for an hour. Stay at home parents are becoming more common again, with the growth of working from home, but many still have to travel to work and try to combine their commute with the school run. We used to ferry our kids to a secondary school that the LA refused to allow them on the bus for, because they wanted us to send them to a less popular school the same distance from our home. But we shared the ferrying duties with another family nearby, ensuring the car was full. And the driver, more often than not, then went on to work. Ideally the council would have allowed our kids to use the school bus, which actually passed through our village, but that didn't fit in with their social engineering agenda.
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tykeboy2003
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Joined: 19 Jul 2010, 2:51pm
Location: Swadlincote, South Derbyshire

Re: more of us out there?

Post by tykeboy2003 »

I'm retired now but I cycle commuted for the last few years of my working life. The benefits in terms of wellbeing can't be over estimated not to mention fitness and money saving. I suppose I was lucky that my route was largely off road (the old railway line section of NCN Route 63 between Swadlincote and Measham).
Grandad
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Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 12:22am
Location: Kent

Re: more of us out there?

Post by Grandad »

I'm retired now but I cycle commuted for the last few years of my working life. The benefits in terms of wellbeing can't be over estimated not to mention fitness and money saving
Replace "the last few years" with "all 43 of my working years" and 27years later the benefits are still feeding through.
mig
Posts: 2702
Joined: 19 Oct 2011, 9:39pm

Re: more of us out there?

Post by mig »

a few more people on bikes this morning. saw 6 over a 7 mile route in. 4 on electric bikes one of which must have been doing 25-30mph on something that looked like a motorbike in all honesty!
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