Tonbridge Cycle Fun Day

A couple of weeks ago we had a great day in Tonbridge organising loads of cycling activities for families.

We had BuildaBike, a game that started with a stripped down bike and as people added parts on they were entered into a draw to win the finished bike. The winner was ever so chuffed as he really needed a new bike.

We had some skill games including a slalom, limbo and balance board (how much fun can you have with a plank of wood and a brick? Loads!).

We had some guys down from the London fixed gear and single speed scene teaching riders how to play bike polo.

We did roller racing, which got really competitive.

We even did a Commuter Challenge on a couple of GoCycles kindly leant to us for the day.

Everyone had fun and we hope that by having fun they will ride their bikes more.

Our thanks go to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council for organising, supporting and funding a great day.

There are more photos on Flickr and a video on YouTube.

Cycling in Dublin

When I visited Dublin a couple of years ago the traffic was horrendous. It was like London before the M25. Everything was going through the streets of Dublin. And it was crawling through. The noise and the fumes and the dirt was awful.

The City is now trying to create a cycling culture. Which is fantastic and the situation is ripe for it. Cyclists have got to be able to get around the City quicker than motorists!

They have invested in a cycle hire scheme. They've introduced a Cycle To Work finance incentive package. They let cyclists ride through the pedestrianised shopping areas (unlike some cities such as Canterbury). The Council has given up it's ground floor car park to provide 140 CCTV monitored public cycle parking spaces. And the council is investing in creating a cycling infrastructure. Again this is being done in a canny way. By using their existing canal towpath network they will get more bang for their bucks! Smart.

What is obvious and why this is more likely to work is that there appears to be firm council support for cycling and instead of approaching it in a bits and pieces sort of way there's been a conscious effort to create and follow an holistic strategy to change people's behaviour and make cycling an attractive alternative.

Here's a link to an RTE programme all about the emerging cycling culture in Dublin:

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1070805