Pedal Power - The Unstoppable Growth of Cycling

[Accy cyclist]

Fed up getting wheels caught in tram lines?
Wind? Rain?
Punctures from discarded needles?
Yes, Blackpool is "different"!

Yes, the ones i saw weren't even proper cyclists, just chavs on mountain bikes riding to get their methadone from the GP!

 

[steveindenmark]

It would be good if cycling could also be promoted as a form of transport as well as a sport.

 

[Racing roadkill]

It would be good if cycling could also be promoted as a form of transport as well as a sport.

No no no, that would make it uncool, and therefore unprofitable.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It would be good if cycling could also be promoted as a form of transport as well as a sport.

Nooo ... If you did that, you would end up having to try to persuade people that they need to own more than one bike. No one would fall for that, surely?

 

[summerdays]

It would be good if cycling could also be promoted as a form of transport as well as a sport.

Why do you think it isn't? The vast majority of cyclists are using it as a method of transport, mostly for commuting but also for shopping etc.

 

[steveindenmark]

Why do you think it isn't? The vast majority of cyclists are using it as a method of transport, mostly for commuting but also for shopping etc.

Why do I think it isnt?

Go back to the OP and look at all the photos, there are quite a lot of them. But everyone is on roadbikes wearing lycra.

Where are the photos of people going to work or school or the shops?

The government is not going to provide you with a workable cycling infrastructure for sports cyclists.

Here is a clip of Chris Boardman in Copenhagen. This is what cycling is like all over Denmark. But we also have a massive sports cycling scene. The majority of times I see things in the UK about bikes, there is usually someone in lycra. It makes you feel that most cyclists in the UK are sports cyclists.


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K7YVqhEQ8_k

 

[Racing roadkill]

Why do you think it isn't? The vast majority of cyclists are using it as a method of transport, mostly for commuting but also for shopping etc.

It's a brilliant way to go shopping, you don't have to join the inevitable traffic jams, and parking is a) free, and b) wherever there is a large immovable object to lock your bike to. I wouldn't want to carry a flat pack wardrobe on my bike, but I can get a fair bit of stuff in my bag(s).

 

[Racing roadkill]

Why do I think it isnt?

Go back to the OP and look at all the photos, there are quite a lot of them. But everyone is on roadbikes wearing lycra.

Where are the photos of people going to work or school or the shops?

The government is not going to provide you with a workable cycling infrastructure for sports cyclists.

I usually go to work, or the shops, on my road bike, and wearing Lycra.

 

[Mugshot]

post their target in their message footers and so on.

As @Spinney says it not about delusions of grandeur (well I suppose it may be for some) I quite like to see how people are getting on so I like to see the tickers and the veloviewers, I also assume others are as nosey as me so I post mine too, it's not about comparisons to see who I've done more or less than, it's just twitching the curtains for me.
(Which reminds me, I must start this years, you too @Spinney )

In my case, I post a target in the hope that it will shame me into getting my lazy arse out of the house on drizzly or grey days - not because I have any pretensions whatsoever at being a super-fit pedalling machine!

I don't admire people basically just for being healthy and applying themselves. So they're faster than someone with a chronic illness. Whoopee(!)

You've mentioned this a number of times in your posts, with all due respect the fact that you are unable to ride as someone else does due to a medical condition is not really a valid reason for poo pooing their efforts.

 

[steveindenmark]

I usually go to work, or the shops, on my road bike, and wearing Lycra.

And so do I but not all the time.

My point is that there are other cyclists apart from us lycra riding people and that they need to be shown as well. It is not all about sports riding. It is about normal people using a sustainable form of transport.

 

[Markymark]

And so is Blackpool

That's interesting. So Blackpool has a similar split with the majority using public transport for commuting and road traffic (ie excluding pedestrians) being c10% for cyclists and up to 25% on certain trunk routes?

Why do you think that Blackpool is bucking the trend of car usage as in the rest of the UK?

 

[Markymark]

Sorry I was unclear. I just meant that Blackpool is different, in general nothing to do with transport.

Ah, so what you did is just pick an isolated point completely out of context of the post. The trouble with just picking half of a post and isolating it out of context as that it in regards to the person who wrote it, it can make you look a bit silly.

"You look a bit silly"

The whole post read:
London is different to the rest of the UK. Here, the numbers are increasing.

The first sentence makes little sense on its own. Both sentences (ie in context) makes sense.

 

[summerdays]

Why do I think it isnt?

Go back to the OP and look at all the photos, there are quite a lot of them. But everyone is on roadbikes wearing lycra.

Where are the photos of people going to work or school or the shops?

The government is not going to provide you with a workable cycling infrastructure for sports cyclists.

Here is a clip of Chris Boardman in Copenhagen. This is what cycling is like all over Denmark. But we also have a massive sports cycling scene. The majority of times I see things in the UK about bikes, there is usually someone in lycra. It makes you feel that most cyclists in the UK are sports cyclists.


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K7YVqhEQ8_k

I guess it's up to the media as to what they show, any time I've ever been involved with a publicity release, you look at the finished product and wonder why they choose that clip which doesn't represent what you wanted portrayed.

When I'm on my bike I see both Lycra and normal clothes, at peak commuting times the Lycra dominates, the rest of the day it's the other way around. Also depending on where, so more Lycra near the centre of the city, whereas in the suburbs it's normal clothes, then back to Lycra in the lanes outside town.

 

[subaqua]

Fed up getting wheels caught in tram lines?
Wind? Rain?
Punctures from discarded needles?
The overpowering, vomit inducing smell of chips, hot dogs, and candy floss?
Yes, Blackpool is "different"!

yet it is the holiday destination of choice for a lot of Jockanese. must be a bit like the english going to benidorm. same as home but a bit warmer

 

[Drago]

What's the big deal with Lycra? I can't quite understand the media's obsession with the material when it comes to cyclists? Do they get excited about Barbour jackets and walking boots worn by ramblers?