The reluctant Cycle Activist

I just spoke to Harrogate labour party who asked me along to talk all things bike. I hope nobody was so bored they had to chew their own arm off. Here is the transcript of what I said.

Can I start with an apparently ludicrous claim and a few facts?
I can save your life, well perhaps.

Half an hour of moderate exercise five times a week is easily the single most important health intervention you can make if you are currently inactive. The science and data on this is good, you can even be quite overweight if you exercise regularly, you will still live longer than lazy skinny people.

Check out the excellent You tube video 23 and a half hours by Professor Mike Evans for how we have found that this is true. Trouble is if you drive to work and have a sit down job you struggle to get your half an hour in. High stroke and heart disease rates seem unlikely to be lowered by people driving to the gym and fasting two days a week.
During rush hour, cycling in Harrogate can be twice as fast as driving. Skipton Road has been identified as one of the slowest places to drive in the UK, during rush hour.
Cyclists seldom pay to park, nor do they currently pay Vehicle Exercise Duty based on their Co2 emissions. Even if they did rates would be quite low.

People who cycle to work have lower sickness rates than people who drive. The more often people cycle the lower their sickness rates. There can be as much as 18% difference.
The data on the benefits of regular exercise and the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle are now so clear that NICE the governments health promotion and drug endorsement people, have recently said that local authorities have an obligation to actively promote cycling and walking for their clear health benefits.

Car emissions are killing about 13,000 people in the UK every year according to an MIT study, mainly people who have chronic heart and lung disease. Knaresborough has one junction with such high pollution levels that action should be taken, so far nothing has been done. 

Fear of a dangerous cycling environment is the number one reason people give for not using a bike to commute. 

Despite this fear you are actually somewhere between 13 to 35 times more likely to die from being inactive than from riding a bike. This runs contrary to much of the coverage of cycle deaths you see in the media. Stroke deaths of ordinary people seldom make the papers. 

One of my favourite quotes from the Mayor of Bogota. "A cycleway that is not safe for an 8 year old is not a cycle way." 

We don't have to live in towns and cities that are unhealthy and congested, we choose to. The way we travel to work, in our town centres, the way we let our local government build and develop these towns, its all our choice.

We have elected to prioritise car use over generations because we wanted ease and freedom, these freedoms are killing some of us.

In Harrogate I believe we are acting too slowly to make our green and pleasant town bike friendly. I think it is time to make some different choices.

I didn't plan to become a cycle activist. For a start my working life is spent driving round in a large 4wd SUV, I don't ride a bike that often, Neither am I  anti-car, I don't wear lycra or socks with my sandals. This is probably not the usual CV for a cycle campaigner. 

This though is my story. I used to teach at the Grammar School and I cycled daily from the picturesque spa, fishing village of Starbeck to the lush tree-lined splendour of West Park on the edge of the Stray.
It never crossed my mind as I began my 6 years of commuting that cycling across these paths by the side of this immense, green lawn was forbidden by an act of parliament, but it was so. The Stray Act forbids cycling. Good grief a lawn has its own Act of Parliament.

Every so often on my ride, I would end up arguing with a PCSO who would try to rebuke me for riding across the Queen's garden by threatening me with a fine. Soon as the conversation went on they would lose the will to live and try to escape from my visceral rant. Feeling I'm sure like a fox caught in a trap, trying to chew off its own leg. Them trying in vain to get away from my endless stream of consciousness. If you where one of those PCSO's I'm really sorry.

About this time a campaign to get some cycle paths across the Stray started. Local hero Malcolm Margolis writes letters to the press and stages a demo. 400 odd people bring their bikes onto the hollowed yet forbidden turf. Local residents with a Strayside view, try and stop this quiet two wheeled revolution by the time honoured techniques of glaring and tutting. "Let them eat cake" they mutter behind their Hermes headscarfs. After a few photos and a couple of press interviews, the protesters head off to Betty's. Fat rascals in pursuit of fat rascals.

The upshot of this very genteel protest is that much unflattering coverage forces the Council to take cycling seriously. There is a public debate and the neigh-sayers are massively outnumbered in the consultation that follows, the battle is won.
It then only takes another 3 years before the cycleways open, but at least for my last 6 months of work at the Grammar School I cycle legally across the Stray. 

Suddenly it's 2012 and the Knaresborough road is being resurfaced. North Yorkshire County Council put even wider chevrons up the middle of this already cycle unfriendly road, forcing lorries and cyclists into an uneasy battle of wills. Things are particularly bad at the pedestrian refuges in the middle where these pinch points force a game of chicken that scares me so much I don't dare ride up the hill any more as its too scary.

I write a letter to my MP on the same day as my wife does, we don't confer it just happened. Meanwhile I use my IT nerd skills to start an on-line petition, as well as the Cycle Harrogate blog and we write letters to anyone we can think of who might care.

Andrew Jones MP comes up trumps and he gets involved, He bothers NYCC, they ignore him, he bothers them again. They send a man round. The man is mainly memorable for putting on a high viz jacket before entering my house. I know it not quite finished yet, but it's not that dangerous. He knows nothing about our concerns and promises little, we are off to a great start.

Letters are exchanged with NYCC highways. A meeting is arranged, we get a commitment to a narrower median strip as "the contractors had done it wrong."They also commit to some cycle lanes between the level crossing and the hospital which is what we had asked for. We start celebrating.

Everything then goes quiet for a while. Then at two minutes past midnight after the contractors have started the re-lining the road we are told that only about 300 metres of cycleway in one direction will be done. I am ever so slightly miffed. I flame NYCC on my blog, a formal complaint goes in, it finds in our favour as the council failed to consult as they promised, but nothing changes, Is that a win? A draw? Or a loss? You decide.

I decide that NYCC' cycle promotion strategy which as far as I can see involves dishing out puncture repair kits with stickers on needs to improve, I'm not making this up.
I go negative, I start berating NYCC in public for their lack of a cycling officer and more importantly a lack of a cycling development policy. We petition for a cycling officer like the one Harrogate Borough Council had when they where responsible for highways. 500 people sign up.

About this time I remember going to a County Council area meeting in town. I am the youngest person there, I'm asked to speak loudly into the microphone as many councillors are hard of hearing, I figure I may not be amongst friends, indeed NYCC reject the idea of a cycling officer on the grounds of cost in a prepared statement read quietly with gruff indifference. I wonder if everyone could hear ok?

Dejected by the lack of progress, and feeling like part of the problem not part of the solution. I toy with the idea of doing more climbing and less lobbying, but eventually figure I may as well keep blogging and writing the letters. We get to 600 followers on twitter about then, we are nearly a 1000 now. Somebody has to keep the need for cycling infrastructure in the spotlight, If I don't, maybe no-one else will?

Recently things now seem to be getting better here is a news round up.

Well the Tour de France is coming. For many years I have thought of going out to France in July, to stand on a desolate mountain side with thousands crazy people dressed as the devil or only in shorts. All off their heads on cheap red wine. I wanted to witness the greatest free sporting event in the world. Next year its coming past the end of my road, go figure.I would of course like to claim sole responsibility for this news, but I suspect Lord Bradley Wiggins of Modshire may claim the honours, with some responsibility going to Welcome to Yorkshire.

I mention this not just because of my stupid child like excitement but because after months of letters being mostly ignored, suddenly people are answering my letters and returning my calls. Increasingly they are phoning me for quotes advice and offers of business deals. cycling now seems to matter in Harrogate, cheers Wiggo. 

The Nidderdale Greenway, that wonderful off road cycleway from Asda to Ripley is now open and making Ripley Ice cream even more world famous than it was already. Its making Sir Thomas Ingilby even richer and good on him for championing the route, a huge thank you to Sustran's the cycling charity for making this route real. Some sunny days Ripley looks like a bike park, If you haven't ridden it, go on its a grand trip out on a sunny day.
Harrogate's big red bike shop (not I believe part of the Labour Movement) have started a bike hire business on the back of demand from the Greenway and good luck to them.

I have been working with the hospital the town's largest employer to promote cycling to their staff. They were doing little or nothing despite much fruitless winging from me, Eventually I think I wore them down, they are doing much more now, good on them.

It is easy to paint NYCC as the baddies in all of this but they are starting to come good. They have appointed a sustainable transport officer to promote cycling and walking. Mark Kibblethwaite wants to make Harrogate a bike town he says. They have 600 grand to spend on sustainable transport this year, a fair chunk on cycling, this is a good thing. They have had money to do this stuff before they haven't always bothered to spend it. I suspect holding them to account in public may well help. I expect they will spend the money now, if not I will make sure as many people as possible know what's happened.

There is a Tour de France legacy document which NYCC have put out. Its unfunded currently but amongst a raft of great proposals is the idea of extending the Nidderdale Greenway to Ripon and even on to Masham. Also a plan to link Harrogate to Sustran's national cycle network at Spofforth. If any of this stuff comes to pass I will do my little dance that scares my wife. Hell I will put it on Youtube.

We got a commitment at Christmas from NYCC to resurface the Harrogate to Knaresborough Beryl Burton cycle route which currently resembles a stream bed, its was a fitting testament to a great British champion. If you don't know how good Beryl Burton was on a bike check out the recent radio 4 play. Suffice to say she made Wiggins look like he rides with stabilizers on.

NYCC are currently trying to wriggle out of most of their commitment. You may have seen the picture of me looking somewhat unhinged in the Advertiser along with the background to the story. Even this is a positive as a few councillors have got involved and they are having words with council officers about now. This wouldn't have happened a year ago. I suspect we may yet get this route resurfaced before the tour comes, we shall see.

Harrogate Borough Council have a sports development officer the excellent Jo Armstrong who is doing good work. She is getting people who haven't or couldn't ride bikes riding them, as well as working with employers to get their staff on bikes. Jo ran a cycle festival at Killinghall moor a few weeks back there were bikes everywhere. I'm sure it will be a bigger gig next year when the Tour comes.

If you leave here tonight remembering only one thing its that cycling is an underused and viable transport method that can make towns and cities nicer and healthier places to live. If that's to happen we need to up our investment levels in cycling infrastructure.

In countries and cities where they have spent the cash, notably Copenhagen, Holland and recently Berlin, cycling rates have rocketed and you see all the benefits that cycling can bring to an urban environment. Near here, York has done loads to build bike infrastructure. It took time and money but you can see the benefits if you visit. We could do the same here if we chose to.

Harrogate's economy could also benefit from cycle tourism. Cyclists spend lots of money on cake and they need places to stay. Two things we already cater for pretty well as a town. Lets get them here from York on their way to the dales, we could clean up. Cycle tourists are affluent and the money they don't spend on petrol they flash around on shiny things in bike and clothes shops, we lots of have those to.

I'm also here to argue for the benefits of single issue campaigning as a method for getting your policy agenda heard by local government. It has worked for me. I don't think I can point to a single big win but I think the drift has definitely been in the right direction and I reckon some of that is my fault. Social media and the interweb make it easy for an opinionated chancer to punch above his weight in the media especially if you are tenacious. Make your message simple and keep getting it out there, you will be heard, you may even get listened too eventually.

Looking forward Harrogate's cycling future looks like a bumpy ride, but it will be fun. Whatever comes to pass in the next twelve months. I intend to be stood next July, with a load of crazy people, clad in only raincoats and wellies off their heads on expensive lager, on the side of the Stray screaming my lungs to bursting point egging on the best sprinter this country has ever produced. I will be hoping that Mark Cavendish can win his first yellow jersey in his mum's home town, whilst the world watches.