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Cycling has never been so popular



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 16th 20, 11:38 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
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Default Cycling has never been so popular

QUOTE:
For millions, the lockdown has turned the daily commute into a vague memory.. Across the country, cars have been parked in the same spot for weeks. Trains idle in their sidings, with networks running a skeleton surface. Aircraft are going nowhere.

Cycling, however, has defied the odds to emerge as a lockdown boom industry.. In an effort to keep fit, entertain the family and get around the neighbourhood, thousands of us have dug out old bikes from sheds, garages and basements and jumped back in the saddle.

In Scotland, cycle journeys have more than doubled, while in parts of the UK cyclist numbers are up 70 per cent since the pandemic began.
Bike shop boom

Bike repair shops are struggling to cope with demand for their services, with firms across the country reporting record sales. Rhythm & Bikes in Brighton has never been this busy. Even with two extra mechanics, waiting times for a service have doubled from one week to two.

“And we just do services, we don’t sell bikes,” one of the staff told i. “So that’s just people dusting off their bikes they have found in the shed covered in cobwebs and bringing them into us.”

Edward Clarke, owner of the Bicycle Workshop in Nottingham, told i he has also been overrun with “very dusty bikes that have been in the shed for a long time.” He estimates his trade during the lockdown is at least double that of last year’s summer peak.

Sales of new bikes have also taken off. Halfords has enjoyed a 23 per cent jump in share price after reporting “very strong” bicycle sales, while Brompton Bikes says sales are at Christmas levels.

Cycling has become a family hobby once again, says Lee Craigie, Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing families in particular riding together in groups on roads that they would not normally dream of accessing,” she told i. “You can see that people have resurrected the bikes from the dim and distant past - there are bikes from the 1980s being ridden out there. It’s fantastic to see.”

That’s good news for the planet, as well as our waistlines. Transport is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, and a large chunk comes from private cars. With the average car journey in the UK just five miles, cycling campaigners are keen to replace at least some of those journeys with two wheels to stop air pollution, traffic congestion, and carbon emissions rebounding after the lockdown ends.

For some cities, converting the nation's lockdown hobby into new commuting habits is a matter of necessity. London is expecting a tenfold increase in cyclists, as thousands of returning commuters are urged to stay away from the tube, trains and buses that usually keep the city moving.

Likewise, in Greater Manchester, one-third of households don’t own a car, and a large proportion of those people are key workers. Those people must have a safe way of getting around, says Chris Boardman, Olympic gold medallist and Manchester’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner.

“This is about travel, and normal people having to do normal things,” he tells i. “This has got nothing to do with exercise. It hasn’t even got anything to do with the environment at the moment.. It’s got to do with practicalities.”
Window for action

There’s a small window of time to take action before the lockdown lifts and people revert back to using their cars or are forced on to public transport in unsafe numbers, Mr Boardman warns. “We’ve got days and weeks to make a decision on which way we are going to go,” he says. “You’ve turned traffic off, and you have one chance to re-establish how you use your roads".

Government is therefore scrambling to prepare the ground for a new wave of cyclists. Last weekend Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a £2bn programme to expand cycling and walking across the country, including £200m for immediate improvements like ‘pop-up’ cycle lanes in towns and cities.

The hope is that safer streets will help to turn the cycling surge into a permanent cultural shift, says Matt Mallinder, director of influence and engagement at Cycling UK. He believes the lockdown is the start of the UK public adopting a European-style attitude of seeing cycling as a part of everyday life.

“[The lockdown] has legitimised cycling in the public’s eyes as an alternative to public transport,” he tells i. “The press has done quite a good job at celebrating the success of our sporting cyclists, but to some extent that’s almost put too much of an emphasis on the idea that the only people who cycling in the UK are lycra louts and tour de France winners. So actually what we are seeing is a normalising of cycling.”

As the harshest restrictions on normal life begin to ease, the temptation to jump in the car will return. Ministers and campaigners alike will be hoping people hang on to their new lockdown habit.

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...onment-2855428
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  #2  
Old May 16th 20, 03:11 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Default Cycling has never been so popular

There was a period in the past when it was more popular.

But then better modes of travel came along.
  #3  
Old May 16th 20, 03:31 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
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Default Cycling has never been so popular

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 11:38:54 AM UTC+1, Simon Mason wrote:
QUOTE:

Story 1. I’ve got three kids, aged between ten and 15, so life is pretty busy. During school time usually we are dashing about going to lots of clubs - there’s sailing club, the girls play hockey, and my youngest plays football. So usually we spend our evenings and weekends taxiing the kids around between that sort of thing.

“We’ve always had bikes for the kids but we haven’t used them that much. But since the lockdown, all the clubs have stopped, so we’ve been thinking, ‘OK how are we going to structure our time so that we have something to look forward to on the weekends’? So we’ve started planning a route and doing a bike tour each weekend. I’ve got a GPS plotting tool so we’re planning where we are going to go on Saturdays, and my youngest quite likes looking at the map and working out where we are going to be, and counting up how many miles we have done.”

“The roads can be quite busy, so one of the advantages of the lockdown is that it has been so safe to get about on a bike. So I feel a lot more confident on the roads with the kids now.”

Story 2.
We've had no space to store bikes, but we’ve recently moved house so we were thinking about getting some. But we probably wouldn’t have done so without lockdown happening. My brother was mowing the lawn, and out of the shed these two folded bikes sort of fell on him - he’d forgotten he had them. So he’s given us those to start off with. The gears are stuck in six, so we can’t go up a hill. But we’ve been out having fun in the park.”

“Ivy is three, and we bought her first bike last Friday. She loves it, it’s pink with cupcakes all over it and a dolly seat on the back . The aim is to get us all cycling together. It’s healthy and it’s environmentally friendly. I want to stop using my car so much, and once Ivy is a bit older hopefully we can go on a bike ride on one of the nearby bike trails.”

“Everyone in the neighbourhood has dusted their bikes off from the garage and they are going out. Before you might have just seen teenagers out on the bike, or the dad, but you’re seeing now all four or five of them in a line.”

Story 3.

“My wife has always been keen, going on bike rides with groups for years. I’m much less keen, partly because I find bikes pretty uncomfortable. Before the lockdown, the last time I’d been cycling must have been about three years ago.

“A few years ago we bought a couple of American Montague folding mountain bikes, based on a design for ones dropped with American paratroopers.. They are great because they both fit in the boot of our hatchback.

"During the lockdown we suddenly woke up to the fact that these bikes were in the shed and put them together. I’ve fitted mine out with a better saddle and we’ve been out most days on them. It was very freeing to get back in the saddle. The fact that it was actually comfortable was brilliant.

"We’re both in our seventies. We’re not spring chickens. A few people have made patronising comments. When we passed them on our ride at the top of the hill, seeing the look on their faces was wonderful."

Story 4
When I was growing up as a teenager in the middle of nowhere, it took me six times to pass my driving test, so I used to have to cycle everywhere. I used to hate it. And then I went to uni, and went to London, and apart from a bit of Boris biking just hadn’t really cycled.

"Then I got stuck at my parents for lockdown and I’d injured my ankle so couldn’t run. I thought biking would be good, so my mum posted on Rampton’s village forum asking if anyone had a bike they could lend me. The local chef said he had a road bike I could borrow and dropped it off, so I’ve been using his bike. I started off doing five miles a day, and now I’ve caught the bike and am doing 15 miles a day. I enjoy being out in the countryside and seeing no one, and I’m really enjoying the exercise side of it. My nan has a really good bike but she’s decided that she’s too old to cycle now, because she can’t get her legs over it. So she’s given me her bike to take back down to London.”

Story 5
"As a Teaching Assistant at a Special Needs School I am still working full time, albeit from home. The new routine has meant I have not been as physically active, and I could feel myself slipping into a state of physical lethargy. My wife noticed that Resurrection Bikes, based in Harrogate, was offering reduced cost bikes to keyworkers thanks to a donation from Cycling UK, and suggested I had a look.

"I previously found cycling painful (physically and mentally!) and avoided it at all costs. But my wife is wise, and I had a look, identified a nice Scott Peak bike - I knew immediately it was what I needed. That was about two weeks ago and since the start of May I have cycled over 125km – quite an achievement for me!

"I’m not a racer, or a ‘beast-biker’. I’ve adopted what I’m calling ‘mindful cycling’: I go out (aiming to ride for about) and start a circular route. I cycle at a leisurely pace, listening for birds, watching the colour of tree leaves dance on the breeze, watching the setting sun light up the evening sky. The physical and mental benefits are already showing as I feel more able to ride further, and my mind feels sharper. Emotionally, I feel happier and more resilient."

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...onment-2855428


  #4  
Old May 16th 20, 04:38 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
TMS320
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Posts: 3,875
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On 16/05/2020 15:31, Simon Mason wrote:

"I’m not a racer, or a ‘beast-biker’. I’ve adopted what I’m calling
‘mindful cycling’: I go out (aiming to ride for about) and start a
circular route. I cycle at a leisurely pace, listening for birds,
watching the colour of tree leaves dance on the breeze, watching the
setting sun light up the evening sky. The physical and mental
benefits are already showing as I feel more able to ride further, and
my mind feels sharper. Emotionally, I feel happier and more
resilient."


Yes, it's been great over the last few weeks to let the mind wander and
the pipes to my lungs have not felt so unrestricted for years.
Unfortunately it's starting to end as the smelly, snarling beasts are
returning and concentration is having to go back up.
  #5  
Old May 16th 20, 05:39 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
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Posts: 2,244
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 4:38:49 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:
On 16/05/2020 15:31, Simon Mason wrote:

"I’m not a racer, or a ‘beast-biker’. I’ve adopted what I’m calling
‘mindful cycling’: I go out (aiming to ride for about) and start a
circular route. I cycle at a leisurely pace, listening for birds,
watching the colour of tree leaves dance on the breeze, watching the
setting sun light up the evening sky. The physical and mental
benefits are already showing as I feel more able to ride further, and
my mind feels sharper. Emotionally, I feel happier and more
resilient."


Yes, it's been great over the last few weeks to let the mind wander and
the pipes to my lungs have not felt so unrestricted for years.
Unfortunately it's starting to end as the smelly, snarling beasts are
returning and concentration is having to go back up.


There were loads of speeding motorcyclists out today as well, but we have been having a great time with cycling on near empty roads recently and I don't think that I have seen so many other cyclists out and about. Great to see.
  #6  
Old May 16th 20, 06:34 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Mike Collins
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Posts: 817
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 15:11:14 UTC+1, JNugent wrote:
There was a period in the past when it was more popular.

But then better modes of travel came along.


True but cycling is safer than taking the train as I am sure you will agree.
  #7  
Old May 16th 20, 07:02 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Mr Pounder Esquire
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Posts: 2,896
Default Cycling has never been so popular

Simon Mason wrote:
On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 4:38:49 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:
On 16/05/2020 15:31, Simon Mason wrote:

"I'm not a racer, or a 'beast-biker'. I've adopted what I'm calling
'mindful cycling': I go out (aiming to ride for about) and start a
circular route. I cycle at a leisurely pace, listening for birds,
watching the colour of tree leaves dance on the breeze, watching the
setting sun light up the evening sky. The physical and mental
benefits are already showing as I feel more able to ride further,
and my mind feels sharper. Emotionally, I feel happier and more
resilient."


Yes, it's been great over the last few weeks to let the mind wander
and the pipes to my lungs have not felt so unrestricted for years.
Unfortunately it's starting to end as the smelly, snarling beasts are
returning and concentration is having to go back up.


There were loads of speeding motorcyclists out today as well, but we
have been having a great time with cycling on near empty roads
recently and I don't think that I have seen so many other cyclists
out and about. Great to see.


Plenty of road lice around here.


  #8  
Old May 16th 20, 07:07 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
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Posts: 2,244
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 7:03:30 PM UTC+1, Mr Pounder Esquire wrote:

Plenty of road lice around here.


Yes - last month, motorcyclists were getting sent home around here, now they're everywhere all of a sudden.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news...y-ride-4057807
  #9  
Old May 17th 20, 02:17 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Posts: 11,574
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On 16/05/2020 18:34, Mike Collins wrote:

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 15:11:14 UTC+1, JNugent wrote:


There was a period in the past when it was more popular.
But then better modes of travel came along.


True but cycling is safer than taking the train as I am sure you will agree.


I do agree, in present circumstances. Nothing would persuade me to
travel by public transport at present.
  #10  
Old May 17th 20, 10:36 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Pamela
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Posts: 552
Default Cycling has never been so popular

On 18:34 16 May 2020, Mike Collins said:

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 15:11:14 UTC+1, JNugent wrote:
There was a period in the past when it was more popular.

But then better modes of travel came along.


True but cycling is safer than taking the train as I am sure you will
agree.


To reduce infection it was intriguing to see the government advises us to
travel to work by car as an alternative to bicycle.

I wonder if somehow the aggressive cyclists will tone down their attitude now
they are being joined by hundreds and thousands of brand new communter
cyclists.
 




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