But, it remains a stubborn fact that in most of the UK only 1 - 2% of journeys are made by bike whereas in many other parts of Europe the comparable figure is over 20%. Now its not very easy to find out why people who don't cycle don't cycle. It isn't possible to simply ask because the very act of asking suggests that it's something you think they ought to do and you just end up getting one or other of a set of conventional excuses. Excuses that are unlikely to be the result of personal experience; it rains too often, there are too many hills, you get all sweaty....
The real reasons lie elsewhere. They lie in social norms and group identity. Ask someone who hasn't really ridden a bike since childhood to consider getting back into the saddle and they'll begin to think about how others will see them. How does riding a bike fit in with current norms and with their sense of social identity. Studies (which I'll eventually dredge up from the Net) suggest that they think they'll be seen in one of three ways. a) too poor to own a car, b) lycra clad and obsessed with fitness or c) just plain eccentric. Clearly the lycra barrier is no longer as high as it once was and there are still quite a few of us who are happy to be regarded as eccentric but I suspect that the "badge of poverty" barrier remains almost as high as it ever was.
So, if the badge of poverty is still there, why are there so many more people out on bikes? There are two answers. Firstly, if you catch a group of us out on a Sunday you can tell at a glance that those fancy carbon fibre framed, and often monogrammed, bikes aren't cheap. Nor is the specialised gear that most of us are wearing. Secondly, we're quite clearly making a voluntary decision to go cycling in our leisure time and haven't been forced into making everyday trips by bike because we can't afford anything better.
As someone who's always used a bike for everyday transport, to get to meetings around town or go off to the shops with my panniers, I've been surprised to find out how few of my fellow club riders actually use a bike for everyday short journeys. The usual reason given is that bike is too valuable to be left outside the shops. In which case, get another bike, one that's not only less likely to get nicked but also it won't matter so much if it is, and one that's better suited to the everyday business of carting stuff about and keeping relatively dry. (panniers and mudguards)
My everyday bike on a surveying mission up the Cinder Track
What brought all this to mind is another project that I've become involved with. Early last year Get Cycling, from York, began a project in Scarborough to work with offenders who'd been given Community Service Orders to renovate donated bikes. When the project wound up in October there were still a whole load of second hand bikes remaining. A couple of us who live locally found somewhere to store them with thoughts of starting up a local Community Enterprise "Get Scarborough Cycling". This would/will do a variety of bike related things including bike maintenance courses and the provision of affordable everyday bikes. (NOTE ADDED Jan 17 These plans didn't come to anything because there were other people (e.g Scarborough Ryedale Community Cycling) either covering the same territory or could be used to do so)
Most of our practical expertise comes from a colleague who also runs a mobile cycle repair service. When we were talking yesterday, he mentioned that he was going to take a selection of bikes into the local hospital so that interested hospital staff could have a look and maybe even buy. Given the public health benefits of regular physical activity I began to wonder if we might use these benefits to promote the idea that even if you had a fancy road bike or a full suspension mountain bike you might also have an everyday bike for everyday uses.
Get an everyday bike for everyday uses
and keep yourself fit
keep the air clean and
help reduce congestion
5 x 30min per week halves your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes
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