Let’s face it there are many of us who haven’t put our feet on the pedals since childhood. Once adolescence arrived, it was a case of waiting for the day when the chance to apply for a provisional licence arrived and two wheels were rapidly and eagerly replaced by the oh so grown-up four wheels.
In short, abandoning the bike to the back of the garage was a symbol of approaching adulthood.
So why go back now? Well, anyone who has been stuck in a two-mile tailback will tell you that all the in-car entertainment in the world is of little use if you are spending hours, rather than minutes, simply getting from A to B.
Locked in a metal box while the red light ahead allows only two vehicles through at a time? You can keep it!
Not only that, all that time sitting on your backside behind the wheel is going to do nothing for either your blood pressure or the waistline. And aircon is definitely no substitute for feeling the wind in your hair.
Carbon Footprints
Suddenly, two wheels begins to make perfect sense. Get wherever you want to go faster, more efficiently, and improve your fitness, all at the same time.
And if the conversation at the dinner-party table turns to those dreaded carbon footprints, well, guess who’ll be wearing the greenest footwear in the room?
Then there’s the thorny issue of vehicle maintenance. Yes, bikes need careful attention on a regular basis to ensure they are operating efficiently and a loose bolt isn’t going to leave you hitting the ground with a bump.
But when the gears go wrong on your two wheels, you are unlikely to be facing a big bill from the garage as you would if a similar fate befell your car.
Need any more incentive? OK, well how about the acres of countryside that you will discover in the company of your children thanks to the network of cycle tracks that have been established.
The whole family can bond, and stay healthy at the same time (always assuming no-one has sneaked any cream cakes into the picnic hamper).
Peer Pressure
Even so, many of us still cling to the security of the car. Perhaps, the thought of arriving at work wearing a cycle helmet is a turn-off. There’s bound to be pressure if your peers are stubbornly clinging to the outdated image of the executive stylishly swinging their key fob as they emerge from the underground car-park.
However, they won’t look half as stylish when the lifts are out of order and you are passing them as they puff their way up the stairs to the next departmental meeting.
So let’s recap: health, efficient mobility, economical, a greener way to travel, fun for all the family. It’s a bit of a no-brainer when you think about.
Childhood memories will come flooding back as you take to the saddle again while the stresses of the working week will disappear on the wind. The only regret you will have is why you didn’t think about getting back on your bike sooner.
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