GETTING FIT:Cycling to work is more than just a way of getting from A to B ( and saving money) – it's an attitude
THE IN-LAWS are fond of outings, von Trapp style: pop on a helmet and off we go on our bikes. “I’ve a very weak back,” I plead, but protestations fall on deaf ears. The truth of the matter is that I’m a sight on a bike; with the wind in my hair, I’m even more crazy-lady looking than on an average day.
I’m not alone in this vain reluctance. According to SusTrans, a sustainable transport charity in the UK, women are one-third less likely to cycle than men. Although the organisation states that safety fears are the main reason that fewer women are cycling, it has set up a website – www.bikebelles.org.uk – to highlight that you don’t have to sacrifice looking good to get on your bike.
Are these beauty tips patronising? Realistic more like, at least for those just trying to get from A to B. A pal of mine, Dave Murray, says his sister has finally gotten on her bike, and some days he finds himself cycling behind her but fails to recognise the “very smartly dressed woman in front of me”. Dave is of that intrepid breed: the hardy, all-weather cycling commuter. With the warm(ish) weather, he has redoubled efforts to coax us Dart-dwellers onto our bikes.
He is not entirely without his own concern for appearance; refusing to wear a helmet.” No helmet Dave, I say, you are a disgrace. “Well, actually there are two schools of thought on the matter. The first is that yes, you should wear a helmet and a high-visibility vest to try and keep yourself safe from injury and make yourself as visible to drivers as possible.”
I am afraid to broadcast the second school of thought, but I was interested to hear how he would justify this position. “This need for a helmet is a response to driver behaviour,” he says, “but a study by the University of Bath indicated that once drivers see that you have a helmet on, they actually lower their response time to you because you look less vulnerable.”
I feel an ideology coming on. One with which Dave’s wife (and the Road Safety Authority) doesn’t agree. A deal has recently been brokered, he explains. “I can buy a really good bike on the Cycle to Work Scheme, so that I can cycle from Clontarf to Tallaght, but I will have to wear a helmet. It’s a good trade-off.”
The scheme was introduced in the (Red) October Budget. If your employer agrees to take part, you can get a bike and all the gear up to the value of €1,000. The employer pays for the bike and then (unless they decide to stump up for it) deducts the cost, tax-free, from your salary over 12 months. Essentially, it’s a 20 per cent or 41 per cent discount (depending which tax rate you pay) and a payment plan rolled into one. One politician described the scheme as a “cosmetic exercise by the Greens”. Well, if there’s no demand for the scheme, then no harm done, eh?
Anyway, I think demand may surprise – two of my most glamorous, non-bike type girlfriends were on the phone during the week telling me what sort of bikes they will get. “One of those Dutch numbers, a grandma bike, in mustard or moss green . . . I’ll need a basket of course . . . It’s downhill from Stillorgan into town so I’ll be able to manage it.” I’ll pass on Bikebelle’s advice, which is, “If you don’t want to arrive hot and sweaty, then take it steady . . . Journey times are also more predictable when you travel by bike, so you will soon be able to gauge how long a journey will take you.”
When cyclists are using bus lanes marked out with a bit of paint rather than a separate cycle path, surely there is always going to be a risk of injury?
Actually, although the Green Party includes separate cycle paths in its 10-Point Cycle Plan for Dublin, the umbrella cyclist lobby group, Cyclist.ie, states on its website that it “does not seek the construction of additional cycle lanes and paths” and “recognises that the mere painting of lines and rolling out of red tarmac treatments does not guarantee cyclists’ safety. Safety will come via globally revised road design standards, traffic law enforcement, and modifying drivers’ and cyclists’ behaviour . . . ”
Dave also insists (and here I can nod more comfortably while I listen to him) that “drivers need to be trained to be aware of cyclists. It’s so important to try and reach critical mass; get enough people cycling so that drivers have to be more conscious.”
That’s why he sent an e-mail around to his friends promising to buy a pint in Trinity’s Pavilion for any of us who cycled to work on the Wednesday of National Bike Week. “So I e-mailed 20 people and if, by turning it into a social occasion, I could get 10 people to cycle in that day, then maybe one or two of them will realise it’s not that difficult and they might start cycling to work a couple of days a week.”
Meanwhile, Dublin City Council will shortly introduce the City Bike Scheme, an imitation of the Velib scheme in Paris, whereby you will be able to use bikes at 40 stations around the city, free for up to 30 minutes, with fairly low rental cost after that (although you will need to pay a subscription of €2 for three days or €10 annual). Incidentally, our last von Trapp-style family outing was to Ostend in Belgium (mile upon mile of flat damp promenade). We walked out of the train station and collected bikes in the car park. The cost? Completely free.
Further info
Find out more about the Cycle to Work Scheme at www.bikescheme.ie.
Dublin City Council’s cycling officer can be contacted through www.dublincity.ie.
Cycling Ireland (www.cyclingireland.ie) is the governing body of cycling in Ireland.
See www.cyclist.ie, an umbrella cyclist lobby website for cycling campaigns.
Women, check out cyclodelic.wordpress.com and www.bikebelles.co.uk.
How about bringing your date to the Phoenix Park and risking a tandem? See www.phoenixparkbikehire.com.
For information on cycling holidays, have a look at www.irishcyclehire.com.