Cycling

Cyclists often get a bad rep - hogging the road, clad in lycra and generally being pretentious.

Whilst these are all characteristics I would attribute to myself in some way... I strongly believe this means of transportation should be reclaimed from centrist dads who work in the city.

In this post, I'm going to share my experience with cycling as my principal mode of transport and the benefits, challenges and solutions of riding my bike every day.

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To give a bit of context, I live in Southampton which is still rather a terrifying place for cyclists - with lots of buses for the two universities and constant freight lorries heading to the docks. It is also one of the most polluted cities outside London due to it being a major port city for both cruise ships and heavy industry making it a key area to promote green transport.

Despite these challenges, there is a strong community of cyclists active on facebook and I've noticed even in the last year, a significant effort from the city council to promote cycling for all the reasons listed above. So, Southampton is a good example of a city slowly adapting to greener transport as a direct result of environmental issues.

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The main personal benefits I've found in cycling to and from uni, the shops and socialising as opposed to driving or using public transport are:

  • Physical health - It's hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you work or study full time! So why not combine your commute with a workout and multitask?
  • Mental health - I don't want to be one of those pricks that say you can cure depression with exercise or yoga BUT there's something about my morning cycle that really sets me up for the day. I have bad anxiety so public transport often isn't an option for me and cycling got rid of this excuse for not going to uni. I also find a lot of comfort in nature so, taking a bit of time each day to smell the flowers on my commute to uni really helps.
  • Reducing your carbon footprint - an obvious one given this is an environmental blog but ditching the car is probably one of the most significant things you can do to reduce your personal impact on the environment 
  • Getting to know your local area - if you're new to a city you'll be surprised how long it can take to get your bearings if you are travelling the same routes each day and not making an effort to explore. In my efforts to find safer, more interesting and flatter routes I have discovered so many parts of Southampton I would never have otherwise. 
  • It's often much faster than taking the bus - with the sheer amount of people on the roads in Southampton and my inability to read a timetable or in fact, be on time for anything, I would always end up missing the bus or getting one that gets me to uni after my lectures had actually started... Cycling means I can leave when I want and allows me to skip the traffic jams. 
However, whilst there are many benefits individually and as a community, cycling isn't being made accessible to many people. From doing research online and with friends, the main reasons I've identified that prevent people from cycling is safety and the cost of a bike and all the accompanying paraphernalia. 

I'm an advocate for environmental change on a personal and institutional level but when it comes to cycling I believe that the onus is really on the government and councils to make the change. Pollution and congestion are two of the biggest urban problems and the most effective way of killing two birds with one stone is to promote viable and cost-effective public transport and cycling. 

Bikes are often ridiculously expensive which excludes many people from choosing a greener lifestyle. There have been some government efforts to promote cycle to work schemes but this has been limited and largely exclusive to large companies whose workers, for the most part, could afford a bike anyway. Ideally, the government should provide incentives for bike manufacturers to appeal to low-income customers as well as prioritising funding to environmentally friendly urban design in low-income areas (rather than exclusively in the richer areas such as the City of London). 

When I talk about environmentally friendly urban design, these are the sort of measures I mean: 
  • Increasing safe bike storage/parking
  • Segregated cycle lanes (that protect cyclists from traffic with a solid barrier)
  • Making cyclist only/pedestrianised cities 
Cycling is beneficial to communities and individuals as it takes cars off the road and gets people enjoying their local area.

So, to conclude, I'd really recommend everyone try get out cycling if it's accessible for you. And, ultimately I would encourage people to put pressure on their MPs and councillors to support eco-urban planning and incentive-based schemes to promote cycling. The benefits are ten-fold and should be equally available to all. 

Much love, 
Bethany xo

P.s Below are some websites I found useful/interesting in researching for this post!! 
https://www.letsride.co.uk/events/southampton 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSZZNzMoyQs&feature=share
https://myjourneysouthampton.com/cycle 

Comments

  1. Thanks for your thoughtful post Bethany! You's think it was all obvious wouldn't you? If anyone invented a pill that was as good for you as the exercise you get from regular cycling for transport, it would be worth a *fortune*. And if our cities and suburbs are gridlocked and illegally polluted - then surely it would be a good idea to persuade fewer people to drive cars? - in which case cycling might be an attractive alternative for many, for just the reasons you state.

    Unfortunately our adversarial political system, and the strength of the car manufacturers and the petroleum industry lobbies means that the obvious changes are not happening in the UK in the way that they *are* happening in much of Europe.

    I am afraid that "encouraging cycling" (even by building decent infrastructure) is not going to really kick start the revolution on the UK. We need make it less attractive to use a car (unpopular idea I know!). Ways to do this include, making it very difficult and slow to get around the city by car, and making it difficult to park anywhere when you get there. (Both of these solutions, incidentally would have the effect of freeing up space on the public highways for protected bike lanes!)

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