What would we say to Minister for Transport and Infrastructure?

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My best thinking times these days is when I am swimming in the mornings. This morning I was thinking about Pedal on Parliament team’s meeting with Keith Brown this week.

Then tonight on twitter, POP asked what we would say to Keith Brown if we had the chance.

This is how I replied-

@popscotland pls make it safer for me, my grandsons, my friends, my friends’ kids to cycle in Scotland. Make Scotland the country other countries look up to in terms of its cycling infrastructure. We’ve led the world in so many ways lets lead it in this way too.

Unfortunately I had to miss out a generation in that first sentence.  My stepson is no longer with us and I don’t think we’ll get my stepdaughter on a bike again.

But,  Mr Brown, truthfully enough with the words and let us see some actions.

I love inspirational quotes and this one seems apt.

A year from now you will wish you had started today.

Pedal on Parliament 2

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The very fact that I can type this morning is a good thing.  My shoulders ache but my 30minute swim at 6.30am helped there too!

Why am I so sore?  Well, you see, I cycled to Parliament (the Scottish Parliament that is, not Westminster.  Even I would balk at considering cycling that far).  I intended to take the car to the Meadows and cycle from there – so great is my fear of cycling on our roads.

But to be honest, the faff of getting the bikes onto the bike rack (after the faff of getting the bike rack onto the car) was stressing us out and I suddenly said to Ian “oh for goodness sake, let’s just cycle there”.  After I picked him up off the floor from  his faint he said “are you sure, Lynnie?”

I was and off we went. It was quicker than driving almost.  Quicker than driving and finding a space to park for sure.

Arriving at one of the organisers homes we met up with the organising team, and Audrey Fyffe’s family.  It was really nice to meet them – how I wish for us all that it was in different circumstances.

Good friend of ours, (and Patron of It’s Good 2 Give) Grant Stott joined us to show support for safer cycling.  There was a real desire to shout ‘They’re behind you’ as he cycled!! (for those who don’t know, Grant is the panto baddie at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh each Christmas).

As far as the eye could see there was a line of cyclists going right down Middle Meadow Walk and then along the Meadows.  What a wonderful sight.

The minute’s silence was hard – I could see Ian and Susan struggling and I wasn’t – I just let the tears run down my face.  Andrew would have been at both Pedal on Parliament events if he had lived. Cycling meant that much to him and so it does now too for us.

It was good to hear the joyful ringing of the bells after the silence and off we went.  I think we had 16 police cyclists looking after us and at least 2 motorcycle police escorting us.  They were terrific.  As were the marshalls from the Pedal on Parliament team.  It was a well run event and while no expert I know a thing or two about running events. The team should be very proud of themselves this morning.

It took a long time for everyone to arrive at the Scottish Parliament – a building many hate but I love.  I find it interesting and beautiful.   I hope to help influence those inside it to make the changes necessary to allow more of us to get out on our bikes.

Dave Brennan spoke, then me, then the politicians.  Paul Wheelhouse came in for some heckling (but he surely surely must have expected that!) but otherwise it was a calm peaceful demonstration – all we want is some action please.

Ian and I are proud to work alongside the Pedal on Parliament team, Spokes, CTC, Scottish Cycling, Cycling Scotland, Sustrans, Alison Johnstone MSP, Jim Eadie MSP and the many others who, like us, want to make Scotland a place other countries look up to for its superb cycling facilities.

I love inspirational quotes -and fun ones.

This one seems good for today – it’s by fictional character, Dr Seuss

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

I have put a wee gallery of photos below for you to browse.  I am certain there will be many many more at the Pedal on Parliament site and elsewhere.

The Edinburgh Reporter did a super video and you can see that here.

Highlight for me – seeing little Charlotte Brennan, aged just 3, cycle with her older brothers and parents. Apart from her cute factor (very very high – she has the sweetest face and adorable curls) it epitomised what we are talking about.  Families cycling, saving money, the planet, staying fit, being together.  Safely.

Low of the day – cycling  home.  We left parliament and went up Holyrood Road and along the Cowgate towards Fountainbridge.  I had to get off for most of that and walk it. The road conditions are rubbish, and the traffic horrible.  When I did cycle I got tooted at for not being in the gutter – because the car found it hard to get past me.

Pedal on Parliament 2

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My stepson Andrew was killed cycling to work last year – an event that has changed our lives forever and something we live with every single day. We try our best to live our lives in as positive a manner as is possible and both of us want to do well with both our charities. It’s Good 2 Give for young cancer patients and their families and Andrew Cyclist Charitable Trust for cyclists in Scotland. We miss Andrew every day – he should be here enjoying life – but he isn’t.
And so I take this liberty to ask you, if you are free on Sunday 19 May at 3pm to join us in ‘Pedalling on Parliament’. All we want is for it to be safer for any of us no matter our age, shape, gender, type of cyclist, to cycle on Scotland’s roads. It actually is as simple as that. You don’t have to cycle – you can walk alongside the cyclists – it took over an hour to get to the Parliament last year so walking will not be the slow option!
We’ll be there, of course. Come say hi if you come along.

Pedal on Parliament

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Last year, 3000 people pedalled to the Scottish parliament to ask for safer conditions for cycling and more investment in proper cycling infrastructure. At the time, the Scottish government told us we were pushing on an open door when asking for safer cycling. but that’s not what the country’s actual spending priorities seem to reflect – with £3 bn announced recently to dual the A96 while cyclists get a £400,000 programme to ask drivers not to knock us off if we can help it. The government seem to believe that cyclists and cycling are not proper forms of transport at all, but something done by only a tiny minority of cranks.
 
Next Sunday, at the second Pedal on Parliament, we’ll be showing Mr Brown, and Mr Salmond, and everyone else in the Scottish Government that that’s not the case: we’re everyone. We’re the roadies on £3000 bikes doing 100k at the weekend and the families with the mountain bikes on the back of the car driving to 7 Stanes. We’re the hardened commuters armoured up with helmet cameras fore and aft and the pensioners ambling down to the shops for the paper. We’re the mums with child seats on the back of their bikes dropping the kids off at nursery, and the dads pulling the kiddy trailers down the canal path on a Sunday afternoon. We’re the people driving to the gym to ride on stationary bicycles because the roads on the way are just too scary to contemplate, and the children looking wistfully from the backs of cars on the school run because their parents can’t let them take the risk of cycling to school. We’re the people who go out on a sunny weekend once in a while and the year-round committed cyclists with ice tyres and snow in their beards. We’re the partners who worry while their loved one is late coming back from their ride – and the families whose loved ones never did come home. We’re not ‘cyclists’, we’re people. And more importantly, we’re voters.
 
We urge everyone in Scotland who cycles, who loves someone who cycles, or who would love to cycle to join us at 3pm on the Meadows to take our message right to the heart of government. 
 
Alex Robertson, Dave Brennan, Hugh Thomas, Keridwen Jones, Kim Harding, Sally Hinchcliffe, Sara Dorman, organisers, Pedal on Parliament. 
Ian and Lynne McNicoll, family of Andrew McNicoll
John Fyfe, Aileen Brown, Linda Hamilton, family of Audrey Fife

I want to cycle

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I want to cycle.

Gosh, how simple that sounds.  In fact, I know a lot of people who would like to cycle.

For leisure, yes –but even more for getting about generally.  Doing the (wee) shopping. You know, picking up milk and papers.  For going to meetings.

This year, especially, my time is precious.  I want to raise £250k in one year for It’s Good 2 Give.  That means a lot of effort on my part to organise events and encourage others to do fundraising for us. I need to train for my Kilimanjaro trek and cycling could be part of it (and be quicker than walking). It would build strength and stamina and, let’s be honest here, burn some fat – I have a lot of weight to lose.

So, what is stopping me?

Most of the time I would say to you- I can only speak for myself but on this occasion I can speak for many people – lots of friends and supporters say the same thing over and over to me.

The roads aren’t safe enough.

They are in a dreadful condition – anyone seen the ENORMOUS gouge out of Lothian Road recently? Potholes abound and they are all sizes – little bike wheel sized holes to huge things that bikes could almost disappear into.  (ok, I exaggerate slightly there but there are some doozies of holes)

I want to cycle on dedicated cycle paths/lanes that cars cannot come into and neither should pedestrians.

I want leisure paths that are for cycles only too and as a walker as well as a cyclist I would like paths just for walkers – I walked along the Union canal last week (from Kingsknowe to Fountainbridge) and it was a horrible walk – the path isn’t wide enough at many stretches for both cyclists and walkers.

The rest of our family would prefer me/us not to cycle at all – unsurprisingly, our cycling tragedy last year has made them very much against road cycling.

There is a part of me who says ‘get rid of the bikes- never get on them again’ and another part that says ‘but they are fun sometimes and could be so good for our health’.  I yo-yo between these thoughts often!

When I close my eyes for that last time, (a long time away, I hope) I want to know that I did something positive to make it safer for more of us to get out on our bikes.  From the ‘less healthy, could do with shifting some weight’ folks to the little ‘uns just starting out on their bikes.  From the retirees to the business folk.

Let’s get Scotland cycling.

Let’s make Scotland a country that other countries look up to, in terms of its cycling facilities.

And that is why we, both personally and as a charity, support Pedal on Parliament – read their manifesto here.

It makes sense.

It is reasonable.

It is responsible.

Join us if you can on Sunday 19 May at 3pm at the Meadows – let us all tell the Scottish Parliament to do what it takes to make it happen.

 

I’m back on a bike

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Took me long enough but thought had better check out what being on a bike felt like.

We are in London – partly for It’s Good 2 Give and partly to see any cycling improvements.

Today though was for us.  It is a gorgeous day down here in London – (sorry, Scotland – I know it has been tipping it down up there) – needed suncream for goodness sake!

So I decided today was the day to try a Boris bike – either we are really getting old or they just aren’t that easy to figure out but we sure took ages to get the blooming things off the locks – and when I did mine was in the highest gear so felt like lead trying to get going.  Another few minutes of trying to figure out how to change gear (easy, of course once you know how) and off we went.  I was well wobbly – been almost a year since I was last on a bike but it didn’t take long till it felt good again.  We cycled a fair bit round Hyde Park on the cycle paths – no traffic but kamikaze tourists to shout at (my bell didn’t work at all so my voice took over) and dodge.  Oh, and the dodging ain’t that easy either – those Boris bikes are heavy to manoeuvre.

So long as it is dry tomorrow I plan to give it another go – maybe for longer.  Today we cycled for 30mins.

Well chuffed.

Proof below

(and no, I know I am not wearing a helmet – 1. there weren’t any to hire/borrow.  2. I had no intention of cycling outside the Park and was on cycle paths at all times.  All that said, I personally would prefer to wear a helmet any time I am on a bike and most certainly when cycling on a street I am sharing with other road users. But that is my choice and our charity’s position is that it is up to individuals to decide what to do regarding helmets )

IMG_0435 IMG_0437 IMG_0878

Star news

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Graeme Obree to Attend Pedal on Parliament

Just read on the Pedal on Parliament website that Graeme Obree – otherwise known as ‘The Flying Scotsman’ – will be attending the second Pedal on Parliament (PoP2) on Sunday the 19th May. (3pm start at the Meadows)

Will you join us on that day? – showing the Scottish Parliament how serious we are about wanting to see improvements in cycle safety.

 

 

Pedal for Scotland – the Andrew Cyclist team

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Please consider joining the Andrew Cyclist Charitable Trust team taking part in Pedal for Scotland on Sunday 8 September.

The ride is between Glasgow and Edinburgh – 47 miles – easy for some not so much for others (that’ll be me, then).

Either sign up on the Pedal for Scotland page direct and then let us know that you want to do it for us or get in touch with us and we will send you a registration form.

We’ll have t shirts for you to wear – let us know the size – small,medium or large.  And raise something, anything for us.  You can set up your online fundraising page through Virgin money giving or get a paper sponsor form from us.  (I recommend the online sponsorship- much easier for you and us).

We’d love to have you in the team.

 

Edinburgh Festival of Cycling

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This is going to be superb, I just feel it in my bones.

Wish I could have been part of it ( you know how I love to organise) but I had kind of taken on quite a lot by challenging myself to raise £250,000 for my other charity, It’s Good 2 Give this year.

I will have to content myself with attending events in this festival. What a wonderful way to celebrate cycling.

The team have put together quite a week of events – I think my favourite at the moment is the Heels on Wheels event! (22 June 11am till 3pm)

Best thing to do is pop over to their website and take a look.  If I hear of any updates I will let you know.

If you can help by volunteering at the festival you can find out more here. (I am hoping to help at the Heels on Wheels event)

PS love their logo and colour choices – vibrant and energetic.

Save the Date!

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Sunday 19 May 2013

3pm at the Meadows, Edinburgh

This is what POPScotland is all about – in their own words

“Last year 3000 cyclists, young and old, pedalled on the Scottish Parliament to call for safer cycling for everyone. Despite plenty of warm words from politicians since then, nothing fundamental has changed so we’re doing it again.

We need you join us to add your voice in support of our eight-point manifesto for a cycle-friendly Scotland.

What we want

  1. Proper funding for cycling.
  2. Design cycling into Scotland’s roads.
  3. Slower speeds where people live, work and play
  4. Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
  5. Improved road traffic law and enforcement
  6. Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
  7. A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
  8. Improved statistics supporting decision-making and policy”

Ian and I want that all of that too and support the Pedal on Parliament team 100%.  Please do join us as we cycle to the Parliament on the 19th May.

Spread the word amongst friends, family, work colleagues, schools.

There are lots of feeder rides from all over the place – best to keep an eye on the Pedal on Parliament website for updates.

Other things you can do -

get a twibbon for your twitter and facebook page (see ours to see what I mean)

http://pedalonparliament.org/wear-your-pop-twibbon-with-pride/

and you could get one of the POP Scotland t shirts!

http://pedalonparliament.org/pop-t-shirts-pre-order-now/