And Now the Hard Work Begins

(photo via @estuarycyclist)

I woke up this morning at silly o’clock with the realisation that launching the Cycling Embassy (and you can read a proper account of it, with many lovely pictures plus one of me in my killer heels, over at I Bike London) was the easy part. Picnics, pretty postcards and balloons are all very well – but now we actually have work out how to reverse decades of transport policy and lack of investment and start a real cycling revolution in a country that mostly couldn’t care less about bikes and their riders. Ulp. All suggestions gratefully received…

But then, looking on the bright side , I did have a lovely time walking round the London Sky ride chatting to families and handing out our promotional postcards. When I talk – online or in person – to actual cycling activists I always find myself sidling around the subject a bit. Somehow it has managed to become contentious to be calling for decent dedicated cycle paths and I find myself being almost apologetic aboutthe fact that that is what we’re campaigning for. Yet, going round St. James’s Park I didn’t meet a single objection. To families who want to cycle safely – who are so keen to do so that they have dragged themselves and their bikes into Central London and are putting up with the relentless corporate jollity and bossiness of a Sky ride in order to do so – separated cycling infrastructure isn’t a contentious idea, it isn’t even a good idea, it’s just downright obvious. Of course that’s what we need. Of course.

So now all we have to do is make the politicians see that. Easy peasy. Right?

Back to civilisation – and gardening, cats and the weather – tomorrow