The transport monster has spat out seven ministers in five years, which shows that macro level attempts to tame the beast are not working fast enough. Maybe it is unfair to blame an individual for not providing a solution when we are part of the problem. But we can choose to be part of the solution, starting on Saturday, when National Bike Week kicks off.
Find the lowdown on 1,500 biking events for all abilities and ages taking place throughout the UK at the Bike Week link below. It also includes the Bike2Work programme for those of you willing to bike into work next week. But don't take part just to help out a minister. Cycling is fun. And it is soft on joints, hard on muscles and damn good for you. Don't bother with the rusty heap in the garage - splash out on a new bike. These days, they have suspension and oh-so-comfy saddles.
Find initial advice at NBDA link below and check out the models at the trade sites. You will get change from £350 for a basic model hybrid or mountain bike. Pick from the range of Rockhoppers, Stumpjumpers and Chickenbashers. Yes, I made that last one up but what a great job to be a bike namer. To test ride a bike, however, you will have to go to a shop. Find your local one at the Handbooks link below.
But before you go, pump up your credibility as well as your calf muscles by doing the bike training programme at Netfit. And avoid the smirks of the taut-looking blokes in the bike shop by absorbing the brilliant explanations at How Stuff Works.
Actually, bike folk are friendly but they are almost without exception evil tempters. You may drop in for an inner tube but you come out with four pairs of thundergusset technical knickers and knee pads like ciabatta with Velcro straps. And you look great! Drool over more fab kit at Cyclestuff or Wiggle.co.uk. But when you try it on, how should your new bike feel? Not uncomfortable. If you feel part of the machine, you may have found the perfect bike. But just in case, check out the sizing charts at the Bicycle Net link below.
Pad up and try the tricks found on the ride section of www.mbuk.com.
If you can bunnyhop your toddler, you will impress the teenagers. If you want to get out of town, check out Bike Events or Trail Break for a fun day with or without the family. The latter site gives details of timed off-road events over a choice of distances. If you are not ambitious, enrol in the pub class and refuel with lunch and five pints of Verger's Armpit. Being drunk in charge of a bicycle is a no-no, so check you know the limits at the IAS link below.
Another way to be keelhauled by your local bobby is to cycle on a footpath. But you can ride on bridleways, roads used as public paths and byways open to all traffic. The sites at the Ordnance Survey or MTB Routes show you where you can ride in your area. And it's not just the country police who might turn on you. Mountain bikers and ramblers are sworn enemies.
Who hasn't been forced off a rural footpath by a gang of biked, bandy-legged stringbeans? Ruffled and upset, you turn a corner to find one of the gang trying desperately to fix his front fork before becoming the victim of Rambler's Revenge: verbal abuse and well-aimed owl droppings. He would do well to look at Time Out Doors. If National Bike Week grabs you, consider buying a town bike for that commute: the mountain bike may have machismo, but it takes more guts a) to assemble a neat little Brompton in front of amused onlookers and b) to ride it in the face of juggernauts. Look for city cycling advice at the green grass link below.
Compared with the Netherlands, the UK's bike lanes are prehistoric. As well as the risk of being sliced in two by the No 204 to Wembley Hill Rd, the ability to speed-jump parked Volvos is an acquired skill. Join the gang at Sustrans and campaign for a better deal for bikers as well as walkers. The downside of riding in towns is the greater chance of your bike being pinched. This doesn't mean that country folk are law-abiding, but bike theft happens more in towns.
If you follow the advice at Coventry's cyber watch, you may not have to worry about your bike going AWOL but you may want to pay for a better chance of recovering it through the bike register link below. Unless, of course, it has already been stripped for parts and melted down into nail clippers. But never mind... you had your eye on that manipulated alloy Chickenbasher XC Mark 2 anyway.
