The War on the Scotland's Roads

It's a war out there. 

It's biker versus driver, man against machine, raw human power versus ancient fossil fuels.

No, it's not, that's complete Rubbish.

It is just people trying to get from place to place.  

Some choose to cycle. There are many reasons the may make this choice. It could be the appalling public transport, the cost or accessibility of driving, to get more exercise or just for the fun of it.

Others choose to drive.  There are many reasons they may make this choice.  It could be the appalling public transport, the speed and ease of driving, they may not want to get hot and sticky or just because of its familiarity.

They are not alien species, they are the same and away from the road you wouldn't treat each other any differently because of your respective mode of transport. Even on the road,  I reckon that 90% of the time they get on fine.  The problem is the other 10%. 

Complete separation of the slower, more vulnerable road users from the faster, more hazardous would be ideal but it won't happen on all routes and it won't happen overnight on those where separation will be implemented.  In the meantime, we do need to raise awareness of cyclists' vulnerability and the hazards that drivers of other vehicles cause. 

I have perceived a greater awareness of cyclists from some HGV drivers in recent months, who have made the effort to give plenty of space when overtaking or manoeuvring. I don't know whether it is a result of the "Give me cycle space" campaign or the widely reported spate of horrendous fatal accidents involving HGVs that have started to get the message across. 

Tomorrow sees the launch of the Nice Way Code campaign which aims to make the roads safer for all. If it has the desired effect, I welcome it.  Unfortunately, thanks to a prelaunch and social media presence it has come under heavy criticism.  It appears to play to existing stereo types:pedestrians texting while crossing the road, cyclists jumping red lights or on the pavement and drivers overtaking bike too fast. How this will help make the roads safer remains to be seen. 

Cycling on the pavement may well have prevented some of the most serious accidents which resulted in fatal or serious injuries and, while I don't condone skipping red lights, I haven't seen any statistics linking it to specific serious accidents.  Finally, I doubt that the as yet unnamed elderly couple, both in their eighties, killed while crossing the road in Largs this weekend were texting.

It is too early to assess the efficacy of the Nice Way Code but if it continues to focus on stereotypes and fails to tackle the real issues it is bound to be a failure. As it is the only show in town,  let's hope it succeeds. 

How I Got Back in the Saddle

I would like to say how easy it was for me to get back in the saddle but I don't want to mislead you. Like breaking most habits it required will power, a bloody minded determination to make it work. That and a plan.

This wasn't my first attempt at cycle commuting. I mentioned in my previous post the time that I attempted it but was put off by a combination of my physical condition and lack of peer support. On a few other occasions I have tried with slightly better success, but still not enough to fully make the transition to cycling as my main mode of transport.

Previous plans involved breaking myself in gently, cycling once a week for a few weeks then steadily increasing the frequency as I got fitter and more used to the traffic. Three weeks in a row was my record. It wasn't frequently enough to build fitness or, more importantly get comfortable with cycling in busy traffic.I found the traffic particularly stressful, sometimes not giving much space when overtaking or sitting behind me waiting for an opportunity to overtake with me not knowing if or when they would make a move.

One of the mistakes that I now realise I made was to take the same route the bus followed or that I would use when I drove and that is where the plan came in. After some careful planning and a bit of experimenting, I came up with a route on which only 1 mile from a total commute of almost 5 miles is on busy main roads.  The remainder of the route is on a mixture of quiet back streets, lanes (including one with a flight of steps), parks and dedicated cycle lanes separated from traffic.  The overall distance is slightly longer than the more direct routes and the steps are far from ideal but on the whole it feels safer and is less stressful. I will come back to this in future posts.

As I said in the introduction, will power was a big factor in getting started.  Rather than breaking myself in gently, I bit the bullet and cycled every day for a week. Then, despite the aches and pains and groaning muscles and regardless of the weather, the same the next week. I found it tough but I wanted to do it. Some days I really enjoyed it and I wondered if I was allowed this much fun going to work. Other days, when it was wet and windy it was less appealing and I thought instead about how much fossil fuels I wasn't using (and I thought about how little of a difference it would make with so many others driving) and wondered whether it was really worth it or just a futile gesture. I also tried to think about how much fitter and healthier I would become and how I would sleep better(I did) although I didn't feel fitter and the aches and pains weren't natural. But persevere I did and after two or three weeks it became second nature.

I would like to say that the rest is history but it hasn't been that easy.  After the clocks changed in the autumn I found myself cycling in darkness morning and evening.  Some of the routes through parks were no longer suitable forcing me to use fast busy roads again.  Nearly coming off the bike on an icy patch really dented my confidence for riding in all weathers and I've cut back cycling over the winter.

Spring is finally returning, bringing with it daylight and off road routes and its back to the start. I'll let you know how I get on.

The River Clyde from National Cycle Route N75

How I Fell off my Bike

Not literally but how I got out of the habit of using my bike to get about and couldn't get back into it. Think of it as an introduction to myself and my perspectives.

It happens to so many of us, that we regularly cycle as children then “grow” out of it as adults.
Until I left school I cycled everywhere: to school, to the shops, to my Saturday job, to the swimming baths and any other activities that were farther than a five minute walk.  During the holidays I would make 30 mile round trips to visit my grandparents or 70 mile round trips to the beach and occasional  longer trips over several days.  Time and distance were no barrier.

Then I learned to drive, meaning I could get places more quickly.  The trip to the beach would only take three quarters of an hour instead of almost three hours and I would have more time to paddle. Except that never happened because I didn't have a car; I kept cycling for a nearly year after passing my driving test.

My downfall wasn't the motor car but moving away to study.  For too many years I lived within five minutes walk of my college, the pub and the supermarket and ten minutes walk from the town centre and the railway station if I wanted to go further afield.  Everything was close and I didn't need to cycle.

Fast forward a few more years and I got a real job in the big city, but still living 10 minutes walk from the railway station with a good frequent service morning and evening, it never even crossed my mind to cycle, even though it was only 8 miles.  I had cycled into the city once but the traffic was very fast and busy and certainly not very inviting, especially coming into it after a lengthy break.

More recently, I moved to the big city, around five miles from work. There were fewer amenities close at hand but we did have a bus service. The bus could be unreliable so I did consider cycling and went as far as giving it a go. Not very successfully. I arrived at work drenched in sweat - the years without cycling had taken their toll on my fitness and it wasn't the most comfortable way spend a day in the office. My colleagues' predictions of near certain death were hardly the encouragement I needed.

To summarise, I initially stopped cycling due to a lack of need, walking was more convenient, but I didn't get back in to it due to a fear of heavy traffic, lack of fitness, discomfort and discouragement of my peers.  Some of this may be familiar to you, perhaps you started driving instead or using public transport.

In the next post, I'll describe how I managed overcome these obstacles and get back in the saddle. A journey I'm still making.

Photos: 

Top: Part of my first world tour of Scotland tackling some steep single track roads through the highlands.

Above: Later crossing the Forth Road Bridge on the same tour.

Two Wheels Better

"four wheels good, but two wheels better"

Last year I got back in to cycling for the first time in many years for commuting and recreation. One of my main motivations was to kick the fossil fuel habit but I was also needing to get some more exercise.

I found it liberating and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it once I got going, so much so that I would like to see more people cycle for short journeys. Advantages of cycling (or walking) include health benefits from a more active lifestyle as well as environmental benefits of less pollution.

Over the coming months, this blog will examine barriers, real and perceived, to taking up cycling and to look at ways we can get more people on their bikes.  This will be a combination of personal experiences, technical appraisals of existing cycling infrastructure, proposals for improved to facilities and dispelling myths about cycling.

The first couple of posts will outline the reasons I fell out of the saddle - I'm sure readers will relate to some of them - and the reasons I got back me back on.

I would love to hear from you and I am open to guest posts if you would like to share your experiences.