SUSANNA REID:
Why I’m getting back in the saddle
AS I clambered on to my terrified.brand new one a couple of days ago and launched out into the road, I was insecure, wobbly and, quite frankly,
Early this spring, each of my teenagers got a bike and what a good decision that turned out to be. Dragging them on a mandatory ‘family walk’ every day was never going to happen, but whizzing around on two wheels got them out and kept us all sane. Finally, I was inspired to cycle.
There’s only one problem: I haven’t been a regular cyclist in years and never on busy roads. The last time I tried was on a beach holiday when, after a few glasses of rosé, I decided I could cycle on sand and tried to reach my accommodation a few hundred metres away.
Naturally, I fell off and I have a scar on one knee to remind me of my stupidity.
So my experience is patchy, but I have a romantic idea of cruising about on one of those Dutch bicycles we used to call a ‘sit-up- and-beg’ bike, with a basket on the front carrying bunches of flowers, fresh bread and possibly a fluffy dachshund.
HOWEVER, I live in South London, not Amsterdam, and traffic levels are almost back to normal.
But there are plenty of novices like me. A survey this week found that 19 per cent of commuters are now more likely to cycle to work to avoid scary Tube trains and crowded buses. And seven out of ten of those are new or rusty cyclists, not eager Mamils (Middle-Aged Men In Lycra).
The first challenge for us newbies, however, is buying a bike at all. Online sites are sold out or warning of long waits, with sales up 50 per cent. Graham Stapleton, chief executive of Halfords, says he’s seen ‘big growth in the number of female customers and under-35s buying bikes’ in particular.
Which is great, so long as we feel safe enough to use the things.
I’ve never had the gumption to cycle on busy roads before, but I’m determined to be brave.
Thankfully, a canny colleague tracks down a bike for me, a gleaming, red Ridgeback Avenida 7 (ridgeback.co.uk). My first go doesn’t start well: trying to manoeuvre it out of my house, I end up with bruised shins.
I borrow a helmet from my son because I’m scared to go without one, even though they aren’t compulsory. This amazes me — helmets seem like a very good idea. Indeed, I scare the living daylights out of myself by reading what Sophie Ellis-Bextor says about falling off and hitting her head on concrete recently, sans helmet. There’s a wobble as I gain my balance — like that moment when your dad pushed you off as a child, promising ‘I won’t let you go’, and then you’d realise he had.
It feels wonderful knowing I can still do it, but the first hazard is a surprising one — pedestrians, nearly all absorbed in their phones as they cross the road. Plus, social distancing on narrow pavements means they keep swerving into the road.
At one point, I play a nervous game of chicken with a runner, before he ducks between parked cars. As I investigate the roundabouts, I learn to be grateful for cycle lanes.
But I’m scared to move into the ‘cycle zone’ at traffic lights, in the knowledge I’ll be slower moving off than the cars behind me. I won’t be cycling to work any time soon. It’s too dark when I leave home at 4am, there’s too many speeding drivers and helmet hair wouldn’t look good on air. But I still want to do it.
Cycling also seems like the perfect solution in avoiding public transport and its health risks, plus obesity plays a significant factor in the severity of Covid-19. In fact, since the lockdown began, people have become significantly more physically active since restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have been put in place.
Research conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of Sport Ireland, found that more adults are active than ever before despite the restrictions. The survey of more than 1,000 adults found that people are taking part in more individual sports during the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and there has been a big increase in numbers walking, cycling and running.
That’s positive stuff, but we need cycling routes that work across the country. And better bike safety training for everyone — from me to the drivers that zoom past at the lights.