Too many barriers to getting on ‘yer bike’

Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride. Belgian cycling great Eddy Merckx needed no excuse to get on his bike and he was passionate about seeing other recreational riders do so too.

Across Courier Country enthusiasm for cycling as a mode of transport has grown in recent years.

But the results of our exclusive Pandemic Pedal Power Survey suggest there is significant room for improvement if the popularity of cycling is to continue to rise and its wider benefits gained.

Bringing together the views of almost 1,000 cyclists locally, the survey results indicate that non-cycle friendly infrastructure is a barrier to increased uptake of the sport locally, even in modern, urban spaces.

The survey also points to safety concerns around cycling in traffic as being a blocker to greater participation, entirely understandable given there is only ever going to be one winner in a collision between a car and a bike.

You might expect such considerations to be at the forefront of town planners’ minds when making changes to the public realm and to the roads network. But there is definitely still scope for learning and improvement.

A single bad experience can put an end to participation in cycling for good. But a good experience can forge a lifelong passion, improve general health and wellbeing while, at the same time, reducing our footprint on the planet.

It is a goal worth pursuing. Saddle up.