#CyclingChic

Cycling is no longer just about lyrca and sweat. Urban cycling has come to influence fashion and cycling is definitely chic. For those who still want to don a helmet www.bernunlimited.com are doing a good job in trying to broaden the options available but I think my favourite has to be http://www.bobbinbikes.co.uk/gold-helmet/ who also do a fine range in bikes and other accessories.

But the fashion relationship with biking is more than just headgear. www.velorbis.com sell the urban cycling vision as well as anyone, with classic bike styles and retro accessories. unsurprisingly they were involved with Copenhagen fashion week last month. http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/

 

It isn't just the Danes the Dutch do a good line in cycling fashion too. http://amsterdamcyclechic.com/ seems to cover all the angles and has bags of inspiration. How long will it be before Belfast has a #cyclingchic website?

 

 



#SouthBelfastBiking

I was out and about today so thought I would document all the places I cycled to during the course of the day. The first port of call was to drop Charlie off at nursery which took me to Little Hands and Little Feet on the Malone Road. Sometimes you will see my passenger Charlie isn't always delighted to arrive at nursery but that soon changes.

 

 

 

From there I popped back down the road to the @UlsterMuseum for a very worthwhile Cultural Diversity workshop organised by the excellent @CraicNI duo of @EileenChanHu and @MaciekBator as part of Belfast Learning week. Great bike parking at the Museum too.

 

I put my political hat on and nipped out of the Museum to take part in a very positive engagement @mssocietyNI where I was able to catch up with many people who I had met before. Regrettably the experience of many has not improved as lengthening waiting lists are having a truly negative impact. I am absolutely committed to being a strong advocate for the society if returned in May.

 

 

It was off with my political hat and back to the Museum for the conclusion of the @CraicNI event before a quick coffee stop at Nero and back to nursery to collect a very happy little boy.







Post Rugby and Waterloo

I have been to two 6 Nations matches this way, in Paris and in London with Ireland losing both matches. The day post match and beers I went to Le Marais which is notable as one of the few areas with shops open on a Sunday. It was also notable for significantly greater security as the area is home to an historic Jewish community. There will never been anything right about children having to play in the street under armed guard and sadly that was the reality for a group of kids I saw. For cycling the area has many streets closed to car traffic on a Sunday and there are lots of opportunities to do Paris by bike. Despite the security the area has a real buzz and level of activity that reflected peoples' abilities to just get on with things.

Post Twickenham and another defeat I went for a look round my old stomping ground for Waterloo where I lived for a number of years. This time I took a few photos of how things are clearly changing in London as it experiences its own cycling and urban revolution.

Waterloo has embraced the 20's Plenty Campaign.



Additional parking is being provided in a very visible way and it is clearly meeting growing demand.

 

 

But as always it is the small things or the detail that really gives character to an area and I thought this fairly recent addition could be used anywhere to give added value to any part of a city.

 



#BackInTheGame (to Quote Micky Flanaghan)

May I begin with offering my sincere apologies to the small number who were wondering what has happened to my blog, in short I got side tracked by a very good cause throughout December and January for the #SaveSamira appeal and she is doing well with much more (albeit not all) of her expenses and medical treatment now covered and I am working on other initiatives to plug the remaining gap.

As you all know I love all things cargo bike, www.nihola.com , www.babboe.com , www.bakfiets.com , www.christianiabikes.com , www.urbanarrow.com (of @ellenfromnowon fame) and so on. However, I just don't know what to make of the www.boxercycles.com Rocket design and I am not sure I could ever see myself cycling one. A 6 seater is huge capacity and I am sure the leather trim on the Rocket Saturn version is fine but I am not sure I could see myself popping to the shops on one and I am keen to meet someone who would!

#ChristmasTrees #CargoBikes

It is always good to find a new use for your bike and Christmas brings great seasonal opportunities. So when it came to getting our tree at the weekend I thought why not just bring it home by bike. I found the lock doubled as a useful mechanism for holding the tree in place and like many car owners with their magic trees my journey involved a fine pine aroma.

 

And only a few moments and a few cheers later we arrived home tree in place.

 

 

The following day and with a little bit of decorating we ended up with this! An artistic piece titled !Angel in a Balaclava" courtesy of PoP.

 

 

If you have time please visit the link and read about little Samira. https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/SaveSamira





#CyclistsMustBeValued #Health

It is clear from the experience of commuter cycling or everyday cycling in Belfast that cyclists aren't valued. In part this is because we are still at a very early stage of infrastructure improvements but its also in part because there is limited appreciation of the broader societal benefits.

The UK "Cycling 10:10" study earlier this year confirmed that serious health benefits flow from cycling and for any Government that means money saved. Most interestingly it found that by becoming more regular cyclists people weren't only happier and less stressed but they adopted other healthier behaviour patterns, "the snowball effect". Whilst most people tend to underreport their alcohol consumption, certainly to their GPs, the study found that alcohol consumption dropped by 30% in cyclists and 50% of those getting around by bike had an improved diet.

 The 2012 Copenhagen bicycle account found a 30% decrease in mortality amongst those who cycle daily and quantified the annual health benefit of cycling to be a phenomenal 1.7 billion DKK per annum so around 200 million pounds. The 2014 Bicycle account assesses the socioeconomic benefit of a km being cycled compared to it not have taken place as 1.62 DKK so just shy of 20p.

So following this through, if you do this

You end up with this

Which means more of this

But to keep it going it's the little things that count. So do this

 

And say "tak" by doing this

 

 

And as @nigreenways rightly says, if you want them to buy stuff in your shops don't forget to give them somewhere to park.

 

 

 

http://nigreenways.com/

 

 

 



http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/cyclists-healthier-and-less-stressed-says-new-cyclescheme-report-164212

http://kk.sites.itera.dk/apps/kk_pub2/pdf/1382_FvvnTRBSlZ.pdf

If you have time please visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/SaveSamira

#Cycling #Benefits #PublicHealth #CyclingTsar

At a time when we have less available public money to spend in Northern Ireland, in part due to the fiscal policies of central Government and in part due to how regional Government has operated, it is important we adopt a longer term strategy and get policies right.

Despite investment in cycling infrastructure being relatively inexpensive set against other capital projects, it has been often viewed by civil servants and roads engineers as some sort of luxury or add on.

Yet far from being a luxury or add on, it is a must. It is a must because it allows the public to themselves through daily routine delivery important outcomes of better physical and mental health. It allows the public through habit to deliver positive outcomes for small retailers, reduced crime, reduced anti-social behaviour, an increase in the urban population and an improved urban environment. Increased population density makes public services more efficient and less expensive to deliver as well as providing a strong income stream for local councils. In turn a positive urban environment drives visitor numbers to a city as well as improves the lives of its citizens. The global column inches dedicated to Copenhagen as a cycling city provides a wealth of positive free publicity.

Whether you think of the growth in health expenditure or the cost of roads maintenance increasing the number of journeys on foot or by bike has positive outcomes for both.

To derive these benefits we need to have significant change in the quality and density of segregated cycle routes. The Belfast bike hire scheme has confirmed what many suspected, that Belfast could be a leading cycling city, but only through sustained (not huge sums) capital investment in infrastructure and an pro-cycling attitude right across Government can we deliver these favourable outcomes.

Danny Kennedy did set up a cross departmental working group on cycling to bridge the gaps between departments but maybe its time we had a cycling Tsar for Belfast or better still Northern Ireland to provide even greater focus.

In urban areas we should target improving the cycle commuter experience and in rural areas we could really get local Government to buy into cycle tourism on the Westport and Great Western Greenway model. A significant component of the European tourism market has already taken a foothold in the South and there is no reason whatsoever it couldn't bike North too.

 

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/SaveSamira