Slow down and signal a route back to safer cycling

It doesn’t usually take much to encourage my kids to join me for a bike ride but as it included a four-mile climb up the side of Ben Lawers, I promised them a cream and marshmallow-topped hot chocolate at the end.

I don’t get out cycling with my family as much as I’d like and when I do, I always make a mental note to try harder and make our excursions more regular.

Our ride reminded me of trips I had made when I was younger. My friends and I, with one or more of our parents, would take a trip along the Carse of Gowrie from Kingoodie to the Horn milk bar at Errol for a “scooshy” ice cream.

As we grew older, often the parents were left behind and my mates and I would see how far we could cycle. On one occasion I remember cycling out towards Perth and returning via Tullybaccart then arriving at Camperdown, where we decided we had not been far enough so headed out towards Carnoustie.

I seem to remember I was about 14 at the time and we were out from 10am-7pm.

I have never asked my parents how they felt about me cycling on the roads in those days – from my perspective it was never really a problem.

Of course, the roads were quieter then but I think there was an acceptance that I had done my apprenticeship riding locally and had learnt the necessary skills.

When I was older I rode to college every day in Dundee, sometimes via Clepington Road but often along the Kingsway, as it was a faster and more direct route.

Although both my children are still quite young, I can’t quite imagine getting to a point where I would let them cycle around our local country roads.

Yes, they are busier but for me that is not the problem. What is an issue is that motor vehicles drive so much faster on rural roads.

In towns it is a different matter and the movement of traffic is generally a lot slower, so I would be more than happy to let my children cycle through town.

But once a vehicle has become unshackled from its urban chains it suddenly becomes a lot more dangerous as it speeds up.

The cyclist has a responsibility to ride safely but that also has to be shared by other vehicles on the road.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could create an environment of mutual respect where young riders feel safe cycling on the roads to school or college, or even just down the road to get an ice cream.

The media is always full of older generations bumping their gums at today’s youngsters who spend all their time in front of electronic devices – but those same voices will say: “It’s too dangerous for children to cycle on the road.”

The roads aren’t dangerous but the vehicles that travel on them at speed are. As drivers we need to take responsibility for our actions and not just force every other road user off the roads so we can go even faster.

Where to Ride: Bridge of Balgie to Loch na Creige Start/ Finish: Forestry Commission Car Park Innerwick, Glen Lyon. OS Landranger Map 51 NN587475 Distance: 11 miles, 1,204ft ascent. Suitable For: Road riders of all ages Description: Starting at Innerwick, it is only a short ride west to Bridge of Balgie where the climb of Ben Lawers starts. The ascent is fairly steady, with the gradient only reaching double figures in a couple of places. Care must be taken on the two cattle grids near the start of the climb and the road is narrow and winding so be aware of other traffic both on the way up and back down again. The cafe stop at Bridge of Balgie is an ideal finish to a short but enjoyable ride.

Scott wishes his children could enjoy the country roads he recalls from his youth.