Cycling gives you the full experience of the city, all the sights, sounds and smells and is the quickest way to travel over short journeys, along with walking. Travelling by car, bus or taxi is like observing the city through a TV screen. The subterranean experience of the Tube does not give you an experience of the city at all but it remains the fastest and most efficient way to travel for longer journeys.

London 2012 has made a great effort to promote cycling as a way of getting to the Games as part of the Active Travel programme. A total of 7,200 secure bike parking places have been provided, along with web-based maps and guides, led cycle tours and free cycle maintenance at the Olympic Park and Brands Hatch, the new venue for Paralympic road cycling.

There will be a legacy for cycling too; the city has invested £10m enhancing 75km of East London’s cycle paths, helping to make this part of the city a magnet for people wanting to enjoy healthy, sustainable lifestyles.

Our observations during the Olympics suggested that cycling may not have been as popular as it could have been London can be a difficult city to cycle in if you are not used to it. One of our team, Jonathan Turner, found central London quite challenging despite being an experienced cyclist and some temporary bike parks were not particularly easy to find.

The Paralympics provide an opportunity to continue promoting cycling as a healthy, affordable and sustainable form of transport, not just for the Games but as an enduring lifestyle choice.  I hope LOCOG, the ODA and TfL are able to make a collective effort to ensure that any glitches in way-finding for cyclists are resolved and that it matches up to the excellent provision made for public transport users. If this can be achieved I am sure cyclists will enjoy a great day out at the Paralympics and that it will help to enhance London’s reputation as a bike-friendly city.  

Shaun McCarthy 

August 2012  

I recently cycled round Games-time London to see how feasible and popular this was, particularly in light of a recent tragic incident. I’m a fairly keen cyclist but have never cycled in central London before so this seemed a good test. Having had problems activating my key and using a credit card for the cycle hire scheme, I borrowed a colleague’s bike and took to the road.

The roads were busy as expected and I needed my wits about me to negotiate the complex web of obstacles and road provision for cyclists. There are cycle paths and super highways, albeit frequently blocked by delivery vehicles (even official Games suppliers!), and numerous buses, private hire vehicles and cars to contend with. I did learn a new “trick” from one vehicle – you pull up on a double yellow line, open your bonnet as if you have a problem, get your passenger out then nip off to run a few errands. Terrible! Navigating unfamiliar streets was also challenging but in Central London at least the legible London signs allowed me to check occasionally to ensure I was on track.

It was good to see so many people out cycling around London – and so many using the cycle hire scheme. Cycling or walking around the city also enables you to find things you would otherwise have missed. I went past two places where the Mayor of London Presents series had people performing gigs in public places.

I also cycled over to Hyde Park to find lots of people with bikes around the triathlon route. There are three secure cycling parking places at Hyde Park but unfortunately many people seemed unaware of these and had chained their bikes to any railings they could find. The cycle parking was still busy, but I’m told it was quiet when the Live Site was active – it seems the communication could have been a lot better there. I’ve seen the secure cycle parking at other venues being well used, for example over 400 on one day at the White Water Canoeing.

Towards the end of my trip, disaster struck as the chain on my bike broke leaving me with a bloodied knee and stranded in Central London. Unable to take a defunct bike on public transport, fortunately a visit to a cycle shop within walking distance got me going again.

So secure cycle provision is good, if not always as well communicated as it could be to casual visitors. Cycling around London continues to grow in popularity but it’s likely to take decades of good planning to overcome the challenges of London’s crowded streets and historic motorised-vehicle-focussed planning.

Finally, the risk of a chain coming off is ever present for even the best prepared of cyclists…but even the most ardent critic couldn’t blame London 2012 for that one!

Jonathan Turner

August 2012