#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest - Edition No.92
#BikeIsBest Digest Edition No. 92 | Saturday 2nd December 2023 | View in browser
Hello and welcome to #BikeIsBest, where it’s only four newsletters until Christmas - and only five left in the year of 2023. How did that happen?!
Hello and welcome to this, (probably) your favourite cycling advocacy-related newsletter.
SO LONG, NOVEMBER
It’s been damp and cold here in the UK, and more than a little gloomy for the cycle industry - but as always, we are here with a metaphorical cuppa to warm you up as we head into the festive season.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
NEW CYCLING MINISTER
By now you will have heard England has a new cycling minister, Guy Opperman MP - a keen cyclist - and there are positive noises from the cycling world about his appointment. The inimitable Jesse Norman has stepped down from the post, he says, to focus on local campaigns in Herefordshire. Thanks to Jesse for his genuine commitment to the cause.
100 WOMEN IN CYCLING
It’s that time of year again, in which Cycling UK celebrates 100 Women in Cycling, its annual recognition of the people pushing boundaries in cycling. Now in its 7th year, the award has become an important part of the cycling calendar, showcasing some of the great work being done in communities and on the national stage, in sport and everyday cycling, and everything in between, by inspirational women.
E-BIKE LEASING FTW?
The Oxford branch of a national estate agent is trialling ebikes for its staff to reach appointments. We talk about ebikes as being a car replacement, and as cycle-friendly measure in cities like Oxford tip the balance in favour of walking and cycling, they become ever more tempting, and practical. No parking of traffic jam worries, and lower costs - sounds like a winner.
MEANWHILE, CAR LEASING BALLOONS
The reason we’re seeing bigger and more expensive vehicles on our roads is the ubiquity of new financing methods that encourage people to borrow vehicles they can’t afford. One academic who crunched the numbers on car finance describes a gilded cage, trapping people into potentially unsustainable debt that could easily pop, like the 2007 sub-prime mortgage bubble. All to prop up an ailing car industry. Cycle-friendly measures like LTNs, he suggests, are a way out of that cage.
LID OR NO LID?
Thankfully in the UK it’s very much a matter of personal choice, not law. TV commentator and journalist, Orla Chennaoui, has defended her decision not to don a lid while cycling because, well, it’s the UK. While it remains a distraction, rather than a substantial cause of danger to those who cycle, it’s apparently a conversation we keep needing to have. As the piece points out, Chennaoui lives in Amsterdam, where there’s barely a helmet visible on its cycle-packed streets.
OTHER HEADLINES
ONE PORTLANDER ON…AMSTERDAM
This rather charming diary piece sees a Portland (Oregon) mum and her teenage son exploring Amsterdam, and their thoughts about it. Her son’s words may well echo with riders here in the UK at times. He said: “Mom, when I ride my bike in Portland, I feel like there is a target on my back. As if it’s only a matter of time before I get hit by a car. Here, it’s just fun and easy.”
INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK:
An analysis of cargo cycles vs van deliveries, by Just Economics, found diesel vans had eight times higher externalised costs than delivery by cargo cycle, with environmental costs alone 67 times higher. Source
ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
‘Keen Cyclist’: When someone says this it can be taken as code for 'I like cycling but...[insert excuse for not actually supporting it here]' - but in the case of the new cycling minister, Guy Opperman, let's take it at face value and warmly welcome him to the role, with all the challenges and opportunities it will bring.
Until next time,
Founder, #BikeIsBest
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