Note: this article is part of this week’s EcoWorldly cycling series: Cycling and its importance in countries around the world.
Slimy
Actions speak louder than words. I can write no more scathing an attack on the leader of the opposition than he can achieve merely by being him. So it was that the man who instinctively knows where the camera is cycled to work whilst his chauffer followed just out of site driving a pair of shoes.
Fatuous, slimy, ultimately laughable. A joy to read. Silly boy.
So, now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s ponder on cycling here in the UK.
Exeter
My hometown of Exeter, a few years back, introduced a green bike scheme similar to that in Amsterdam. The council kindly gave the city’s citizens some bikes painted green – the intention being that you just hopped upon one, cycled it to your destination and then left it there for the next person. Within days, they’d all disappeared and had been painted another colour to avoid detection. Not quite what was intended.
Drug dealers rejoiced. They were able to pedal medication at greater speed on transport that, when the paint chipped, revealed that familiar green from the week before.
But the city, on a more positive note, is quite accomodating towards the cyclist. Cycle lanes abound, though before you know it, the lane has suddenly become a bus lane but you’re not quite sure at what point along the route, it suddenly became so.
All you know is the lane is suddenly a different colour, the number 50 is tailing you and all you can hear is diesel behind you, and the frantic sound of a thundering heartbeat betraying an imminent coronary brought about by ill-health and fear.
But a journey along the river or canal can be pleasant enough, as we doff our caps to each other.
And as the city council’s website states:
“Cycling in Exeter is popular both as a recreational activity and as a convenient way of getting to work or the shops. The combination of flat areas in parts of the city which are easy to negotiate for the novice cyclist and the more challenging routes in the surrounding areas for the more experienced cyclist, allows everybody to enjoy this healthy activity.
”The City Council considers the promotion of cycling very important and works in conjunction with a number of different groups and individuals to encourage cycling throughout the city and the county as a whole.”
Fat
England is fat. We cheer the fact. Every time the news reports that we’re the most overweight in the European Union, pride and roars of approval sweep the land. It’s all we have left since we gave Hong Kong back.
Bike Week 2008
So, next week can’t come soon enough. Yes, it’s Bike Week 2008 here in the UK.
The theme this year is for families to ride together and discover a freedom that can be enjoyed away from the TV.
Thousands of events are due to take place across the British Isles. The idea is to re-engage people with the joys of two wheels of the man-powered variety.
Bike Week Manager Andre Curtis said: “Plenty of parents have forgotten how much fun cycling was as a child. We want this year’s Bike Week to revive those memories and act as a catalyst for families to spend more quality time together.”
I think then, in all honesty, that the UK has come to the realisation that we’ve collectively reached critical mass around the waistline. I’ve got a bike in the garage and, with this week’s focus topic being what it is, it may just have been enough to galvanise me to get back on the road. Devon is an incredibly picturesque county and it seems an absolute waste to be constantly watching soccer on the TV, when outside lies the undulating greenery of England.
I think Bike Week 2008 may have earnt itself another supporter. The website says:
“Encouraging quality family time and values, cycling will also be shown to help focus minds on the environment, enabling families to reduce their carbon footprints by reducing car usage and enjoying the great outdoors.”
And you can’t argue with that.
Other Articles in Ecolocalizer’s Bicycling Series
- Forget Sky-high Gas Prices, Biking Beats Them All! by Sam Aola Ooko
- UK: Bike Week 2008 by Pem Charnley
- Bicycle powered water pumps and filtration systems by Nayelli Gonzalez
- Italy’s Two-Wheeled Cities Speed Up Your Life Quality by Eva Pratesi
- In Chiang Mai, Social Attitudes Crush Bicycling Prospects by Masimba Biriwasha
- Google’s Sexy Bicycle Giveaways and Africa’s Versatile Bike Trucks by Sam Aola Ooko
- South Korean Bicycle Ninjas Do Battle Against Asthma by Gavin Hudson
- Of Course Cycling in Australia is Healthy, But What To Do With the Cars? by Ross Kendall
- Cheer up! Bicycling in Italy is a Daily Adventure by Eva Pratesi
- If You Want a Blissful Sex Life, Don’t Ride a Bike! by Sam Aola Ooko
- Bicycling in Peru: An Art of Adaptation by Levi Novey
Image Credit
micsten at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Brilliant!