We are not alone

It's usually not a good idea to read too much into the perceptions of cycling in one country and then apply them to another but I couldn't help but do that after reading a recent report in The Guardian.

It's usually not a good idea to read too much into the perceptions of cycling in one country and then apply them to another but I couldn't help but do that after reading a recent report in The Guardian on that subject and think of Australia.

The paper reported on a study done by Lancaster University called Understanding Walking and Cycling whose conclusions made depressing reading for anyone who sees cycling as a key ingredient in solving some of our climate and build space issues.

"Many people barely recognise the bicycle as a legitimate mode of transport; it is either a toy for children or a vehicle fit only for the poor and/or strange," said Dave Horton, of Lancaster University to The Guardian.

"For them, cycling is a bit embarrassing, they fail to see its purpose, and have no interest in integrating it into their lives, certainly on a regular basis."

Fail to see its purpose? Geeze, it's hard to move forward from that but it does pretty well describe the situation based on my experiences talking to the uninitiated.

And of course these views exsit despite the best intentions of Government and advocates and surging bicycle sales in both the England and Australia.

"Many people barely recognise the bicycle as a legitimate mode of transport; it is either a toy for children or a vehicle fit only for the poor and/or strange," continued Dave Horton.

"For them, cycling is a bit embarrassing, they fail to see its purpose, and have no interest in integrating it into their lives, certainly on a regular basis."

Two of the takeaways from the study are the usual ones. Intimidation and perceptions - with Horton confirming that those of us who ride do so despite the available infrastructure and not because of it, and...

"The hardy, Lycra-clad cyclists confirm that cycling is a very skilled practice, from which most people immediately distance themselves. So far, cycling promotion still reaches mainly that smallish part of the population that does not really need that much convincing."

But the most important aspect of the report was its conclusion, one that remains a controversial one not only in the broader community here in Australia, but among regular cyclists themselves.

"Perhaps above all, and probably most controversially, our research has made it very clear to us that in order to create a mass cycling culture in English cities we need to segregate cycling from motorised traffic along main roads, said Horton. Combined with a range of other measures, very high quality segregated cycle routes could push English city cycling from its currently marginal status towards a mass phenomenon."

So the findings mirror some of what we already know and experience here in Australia and we appear to be facing a similar lack of political will as experienced in England so maybe what happens over there applies here too - who knew?