Where have all the cyclists gone?

[rivers]

100+ out on the club run Saturday, and we saw loads of other clubs and individuals out as well. My commute to work has been a lot busier as well.

 

[swansonj]

My motorbike has been SORN since last September with no plans as yet to put it on the road.
Just no fun anymore .... bores the tits off me riding within the limits these days to be honest.
May just sell mine this year also?

Much rather get the push bike out these days and feel alive!

Getting back on topic;
I think the longer the layoff from cycling (many don't do bad weather) the harder that first ride is - I think we have all paced around the house muttering "c'mon ya fat b@stad" trying to get motivated after 6 weeks off the bike.

Am I reading your post correctly - motorcycling was an activity attractive to you only when you were conducting it illegally?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Am I reading your post correctly - motorcycling was an activity attractive to you only when you were conducting it illegally?

Every biker enjoys a little bit of illegality. So much power, so little weight and a tremendous buzz from seeing the horizon approach at an incredible rate of knots.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Seems pretty healthy in my part of the States, but we're not trend setters. Then again, I don't care much for the trends that have been set in the States in times recent. I, and my folks, all cycled before it was trendy, and we'll cycle long after. Well, just me, as I'm all that's left.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Defo more cycle commuters on my route into town these days. Weather has improved now, was only us hard core bams over winter

 

[Pale Rider]

The cycling boom never really happened in my part of the North East.

My observation is confirmed by my local bike shop.

At least they are still trading, the bike shop in Chester-le-Street in Country Durham shut recently.

The once popular Durham Big Rides were cancelled last year, partly due to declining interest.

From what I can gather, the local road clubs still do OK.

 

[PaulSB]

Is it just in this part of the world, or has the increase in cycling we've seen over the past several years peaked and now started to drop? Since the backend of last year I've noticed that seeing a fellow rider, whether cycling myself or in the car is reverting back to a less that usual occurrence.

What's it like out in the world in general?

Our club saw quite a drop in the numbers attending club rides this winter, especially January and February, but now the weather is improving numbers are rapidly reaching expected levels

 

[nickAKA]

Much busier this past weekend around saddleworth & calderdale with fair weather cyclists, as you'd expect. Roads chocker with cars though too so the enjoyment was somewhat reduced. Quite a few cycle clubs out on group rides around blackstone edge & cragg vale which was nice, watching folk on their shiny new bikes struggling up the hills after a winter of doing no exercise is my new jam...

 

[ColinJ]

Quite a few cycle clubs out on group rides around blackstone edge & cragg vale which was nice, watching folk on their shiny new bikes struggling up the hills after a winter of doing no exercise is my new jam...

A bunch of us will be riding up there on Saturday, though we will not be struggling!

 

[Racing roadkill]

A load of people I know, who started cycling after 2012 ( London Olympics and Wiggo effect ) have gone and sold their bikes, and now do fishing and stuff. It certainly seems that ( road riding particularly) is starting to revert to where it was pre 2008 - 2012, when I personally noticed a sharp increase in road riders. It’s not the case in London, where numbers still seem to be on the up.

 

[PlanB]

Am I reading your post correctly - motorcycling was an activity attractive to you only when you were conducting it illegally?

I am saying that whilst the power, torque, braking & handling of these machines has increased, the speed limits on the road have been lowered.
And not just lowered, but the 30mph limits pushed further into the countryside, followed by 40, 50, 40 and back to 30.

Around the turn of the century I had a ZX12 that would do 100mph in first gear. It just sort of crept up from my 3hp Honda SS50 in increments, with the next bike being better than the last.

This is why many jumped from sports bikes to naked or big trail type machines just trying to hang on to their license ... me included!

On the motorcycle forum I frequent, many are getting their kicks on electric mountain bikes now (mostly un-restricted) as they can act with the arrogance of yer average mamil without fear of seeing what the postman delivers 5 working days later.

 

[Brandane]

And not just lowered, but the 30mph limits pushed further into the countryside, followed by 40, 50, 40 and back to 30.

What I particularly noticed on a recent motorbike ride through England and Wales (from the border to Lands End and back via Wales) is that a lot of roads which were previously National Speed Limit roads are now 50mph limits, or even 40... They seem to be EVERYWHERE, and for no apparent reason. The result is that you cannot make progress and it all gets very boring. I reverted to motorways for lengths of my trip where I had planned to use "A" roads. They too are boring but at least you are covering the distances you need to cover in a reasonable time. Thankfully this is not the case in Scotland - yet. No doubt when they look at the camera revenue road safety statistics, our lot will follow. I'm not advocating riding at stupid speeds, but an awful lot of the limits I saw were completely OTT.. In any case, it's only honest people who come close to obeying them. Those with cloned plates or who avoid points on their licences by other dishonest means will continue to do as they please.

 

[kingrollo]

Some years ago while discussing the topic, my friend commented on it .

"Some people buy a bike, get wet twice and go up one hill and afterwards the bike gets put in the shed, never seeing the light of day again".

There are many variants of the cyclist.

Thats why I buy a lot of used stuff !

 

[nickAKA]

A bunch of us will be riding up there on Saturday, though we will not be struggling!

(cough) that terrain looks a bit rough for my soft backside, I'll be honest!

My weekend plan is to do an approx 50 miles (?) which will be Shaw, denshaw, Rishworth, Sowerby, mytholmroyd, hebden, tod, Littleborough, Milnrow, newhey & back to Shaw. Hoping for gentle breezes mainly...

(just checked, more like 35 miles... )

 

[ColinJ]

(cough) that terrain looks a bit rough for my soft backside, I'll be honest!

It IS a wee bit lumpy but 95% of it is on-road ...

My weekend plan is to do an approx 50 miles (?) which will be Shaw, denshaw, Rishworth, Sowerby, mytholmroyd, hebden, tod, Littleborough, Milnrow, newhey & back to Shaw. Hoping for gentle breezes mainly...

There are a few too many main roads for me there! I do Littleborough-Tod a lot and also Tod-Mytholmroyd but like to get up on the hills away from the traffic where I can.