Joanna Bogle | Tuesday, 8 April 2008
On your bike, girl
Whizzing past traffic queues in London is just one of the pleasures of preferring two wheels to four.
Long before people were talking about carbon footprints and renewable energy and things like that, I was bicycling around London. And my reasons for doing so were --although I did not, and do not, talk in that kind of tiresome jargon -- rather environmentally conscious, and socially aware, too.
If there is one subject we hear more about in Britain than global warming it is obesity. Week by week the gloomy results of a sedentary culture are revealed: 700,000 morbidly obese Britons need stomach stapling; one in four younger adolescents are obese; half of young boys could be dangerously overweight by 2050… Why? Because they eat too much and spend too much time in front of small screens. Relatively few know the pleasures of daily outdoor play or flying downhill on a bike.
If more of us took to our bikes, we would begin to see that a lot of car journeys aren't necessary.
Back in the 1970s when I got my first earnings I bought my first bicycle. I will never forget the thrill of it. I hadn't had a bike as a child as we lived near a main road and my parents did not let us go out and about like that; we had scooters and tricycles for the (large) garden and were perfectly content with those.
Oh, the joy that a bicycle brought! I had taken some driving lessons and loathed them. Always carsick as a child, I was reliably informed -- and have since found that it is true for many people -- that all nausea fades when you are at the wheel, concentrated and in charge. But it didn't work like that for me and each lesson increased my misery, not only because I was dreadfully bad at driving, but also because it was beginning to commit me to the whole motorised scene: the smell of petrol, the smell of the inside of a car on a hot day, the going round and round looking for parking spaces, the worry of all that powerful force in my nervous hands and no one able to stop me when things got out of control.
So when my father, who was paying for the lessons, gently suggested that the options were (a) to take the lessons more seriously, work hard and pass the driving test or (b) stop wasting time and money now, I opted for (b) with enthusiasm. But I didn't want to be a boring drain on everyone else's time and car-driving skills. I got a bike, I walked, I took trains, and decided that as an adult these would be my main forms of transport.
The reasons for my choice were, and are, larger too. Heartbreakingly beautiful stretches of glorious countryside have been crunched into concrete swirls as motorways curl over England, disgorging more and more vehicles into town centres that can't accommodate them. The carnage (a word destined to reveal its full meaning in the 20th century) from road accidents is huge and would be regarded as outrageous if it happened on the railways.
People drive when they don't really need to; a neighbour in our street when I was a teenager used to drive to the shop at the end of the road, a distance of only a few yards. They bundle children into cars and take them on long shopping forays, bribing them with toys and sweets when they wail about it. Ironically, a major reason given for not sending children outside to play is that there is too much traffic.
I know all the arguments in favour of cars and I go along with them. My husband drives a car. It's very convenient for our trips down to the West Country with camping equipment for holidays and visits to relations. It's a boon for transporting my elderly mother. There are lots of things we couldn't have done without a car, such as getting new dining-room chairs from a second-hand shop in a neighbouring suburb and ferrying ourselves and others to remote places where there are no trains or buses. I was rescued once by car from a Norfolk town where the next bus to the village I wanted was not due for several more days. Cars are useful and necessary.
But how many cars does a busy couple need? In a city with an underground rail system, buses, trains, and taxis? Where there are pavements on which one can walk, and short-cuts through parks and along agreeable routes for the knowledgeable?
I don't lead a leisurely lifestyle. I hurry. My bike whizzes me past traffic queues to appointments. It gets put on trains, although this is banned in London's rush hour - an irritating but probably necessary restriction. It can be padlocked and left while I nip into a committee meeting, conference, coffee morning, party or babysitting session, with no time lost in searching for a parking-space.
Oh yes, there is a downside. I have had bikes stolen (five, to date). I've had them vandalised (attempts to remove front wheel, lamps stolen, basket ripped, pump stolen). I've known all the disadvantages of cycling (wet weather, dirt, dust in eyes and mouth and nose, misery of toiling uphill in heat, downhill in icy conditions). And I admit to having contributed to the misery of others by doing the nasty things that cyclists do: suddenly popping up on to a deserted pavement to avoid a long queue of traffic, converting to pedestrian status to walk across at a busy set of traffic lights while drivers fume and wait, nipping into a park and careering merrily along without keeping to the cycle track. I don't always check my lights, wear bright clothing, or take enough care for others on the road. I know, I know.
But I honestly do believe that cycling is a Good Thing. If more of us took to our bikes, we would begin to see that a lot of car journeys aren't necessary. It is true that you can carry less shopping (though a knapsack and a basket can carry a lot). But it's also a truism that much of the food we buy gets thrown away in any case; do we really need jumbo-sized packets, buy-one-get-one-free, of everything? Might not a bikeload be an appropriate amount of family shopping, rather than a carload? And if more than one trip to the shops was necessary each week, would that be so terrible? Especially if it meant that local shops got supported?
Let me repeat, I am not against cars as such. Even motorways bring pleasure in that they whiz us to holidays, family reunions and interesting events. It's great that we can rush to doctors and dentists and hospitals. A car is invaluable for people who would otherwise be stuck at home -- I have a wheelchair-bound friend who drives himself and his friends about and whose life would be horribly limited without his car. My childhood holiday memories are bound up with the excitement of the family car, packed with equipment and clothes and towels and bedding, trundling over the South Downs with excited children on board and resounding with gleeful shouts as we first saw the sea. I have been grateful, times without number, for the sight of my husband in our car, and we've had some trips to lovely places together.
But if we want to preserve what is left of our glorious countryside, enjoy the pleasures of the passing seasons (some car-bound children barely notice if it's raining, or frosty, or a sweet-scented spring morning), conquer obesity and save the planet, why don't we just get on our bikes?
Joanna Bogle writes from London.
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Comments (11)
Nwachukwu said...I am really envious of Joanna Bogle. Sounds odd isn’t it? The reasons are not far fetched.
1. I cannot ride a bike, i tried many times to learn but my attempts were disastrous.
2. Even if i knew how to ride one, I would not for all the gold in Arabia try to do so in this country. For the mere fact that i don’t want to end up in the morgue - if i am lucky - or most likely have all my bones broken.
Around here, cars and cyclists are road terrorists. Imagine riding a bike on 3rd Mainland bridge, Lagos or in Agodi, Ibadan! A former communications minister once advised Nigerians to start using bikes. Funny enough the man lead by example and was rushed to a hospital after a coalition with a car.
Perhaps you now see why am envious of Joanna. Down here there are a lot of little things we cannot afford to do, not because they’re luxuries but because we can’t just do them.
Nigeria | Wednesday, 9 April 2008 at 8:21 pm
Jackie Parkes said...Cycled from Edgbaston to Rednal to the gravesite of the Venerable John Henry Newman today. Wonderful. Joanna has inspired me, as has my husband & Parish Priest!
United Kingdom | Thursday, 10 April 2008 at 4:25 am
Joanna said...I am encouraged to look for a bike again that I can ride - but I need one with small wheels as I have short legs! Riding a bike used to be such a thrill when I was 16. I used to borrow my mother’s white one with a basket. Like Joanna Bogle I see driving as an evil necessity and only drove for practical purposes and I haven’t driven at all hardly for the past two years, though my husband drives us for holidays but I have grown to like motorways less and less. And even then if there is a full car then I am happy to get the train and meet up at the destination. I use the train and bus a lot and because I get travel sick I am not very good in coaches unfortunately. Or boats! In fact I did manage to get to Holland once by ship and an answer to prayer - the sea was as flat as a lake on the way out! A bit choppier on the way back but I just managed. I think it would be great if more people used bikes and like in Holland there were more cycle lanes. Holland is great for cycling. And flat too.
United Kingdom | Thursday, 10 April 2008 at 7:24 am
Javier said...I love cycling, and in spite of living in Mumbai, the city with the worst traffic I have ever seen (is not that I have seen many) and your life is in constant danger, it is always better than being trapped inside a taxi or a rickshaw at a traffic light. The only real problem is the heat, but if you don’t go for an important appointment and you don’t mind reaching a little wet, bicycle is the best means to get there.
India | Thursday, 10 April 2008 at 3:08 pm
barry said...My father rode a bike to and from work most of his working life as a senior public servant. The journey was at least ten k each way from what was years ago an outer Melbourne suburb to the centre of the city. He only gave it up, a few years before retirement, as the traffic got so heavy to be dangerous. He continued riding his bike in retirement until about age 94. He died a week short of his 97 birthday. I’m sure all those years of riding contributed to his longevity.
Australia | Friday, 11 April 2008 at 7:39 pm
Fr. Walter Macken said...While stuck in traffic in Dublin around 1970 I decided to get back on the bike. It took me two years to get used to punctures, weather and the usual hazards. I have cycled ever since, right up into my seventies which are beginning now! It is not the easiest thing to do, but once you get used to it, aside from lowering the impact of your carbon footprint, it makes it easier to get around. In my business, a priest getting around to his work, you have to arrive looking respectable. And that is possible, even when you wear bright gear. The main hazards for normal workaday cyclists are young women driving SIVs and talking on their mobiles, and also boy racers who roar past you leaving six inches to spare. Dublin is an easy city to cycle around. Where I live now, Galway on the West coast of Ireland is more difficult than the big cities, since everyone drives around the narrow streets. But you still get around faster. The other advantage I find about the bike is that you are in your own world, and you can reflect on the next job to be done, or even say your rosary! The bike is great, but you have to get used to it. When in London a few years ago, I got to know the city again by using the bike a good deal. It is certainly cheaper!
Ireland | Monday, 21 April 2008 at 6:11 am
Michelle said...Honestly, I would never go anywhere on a bike. First and foremost, I do not know how to ride one, I have the “imbalance syndrome”. Second, I am a nervous wreck and I panic when a huge truck pass by and could be disastrous if I am on a bike. Third, I live a 30 minutes bus ride from the city where I work and if bike was my mode of transportation, well… you get the picture.
Philippines | Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 9:37 pm
Javier said...Here in Bombay, a 30 minutes bus ride, means 20 minutes cycling… traffic is not very helpful! But yeah, is quite scaring when a bus passes about 5 cm distance from you…
India | Wednesday, 23 April 2008 at 2:09 pm
Harley said...Two wheels rules! Add sound in the form of a petrol engine for the ultimate riding experience.
“Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way...”
(Born to be wild, by Steppenwolf)
Australia | Friday, 25 April 2008 at 11:20 am
Scooter said...Riding a bike is true freedom, you can go anywhere any time and ride it everywhere, even on the sidewalk or on a lawn.
United States | Sunday, 11 May 2008 at 7:39 am
jeff said...Ride a bike on a lawn?
I guess you could…
Good article though. Bikes are becoming far more popular, as gas becomes far more expensive.
United States | Saturday, 28 June 2008 at 7:10 am
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