Jul 11, 2007

Bike Fever Grips Britain

It’s estimated that four million people watched the two sun-drenched opening stages of the Tour de France in England over the weekend. That’s four million in the flesh, at the roadside, not on TV, making it almost certainly the biggest live audience for any sporting event ever in the UK.

This impressive statistic is underlined by the fact, reported on the BikeBiz website, that ITV’s Tour de France podcast was no 1 sporting podcast on the UK iTunes site. All this on the same weekend as the Wimbledon finals, and the British Grand Prix featuring the massively hyped young English driver Lewis Hamilton.

And they say there’s no interest in cycling in Britain…

It’s great to see cycling outshining motor-racing (whose attraction remains a complete mystery to me). Great to see real athletes like David Millar (currently 3rd overall) and Bradley Wiggins (5th) attracting tremendous support from the British public. Coupled with major increases in everyday cycling, especially in London, and the seemingly inexorable growth of mountain-bike facilities across the land, it really does feel as if cycling is embarking on a massive - and long, long overdue - revival here in the UK.

And there’s more good news as a strong campaign spearheaded by the Cyclists’ Touring Club has led to the Government rolling back proposals for revisions to the Highway Code which could have impacted on cyclists’ right to ride on the road. The new Code will now encourage, rather than oblige, cyclists to use separate cycle facilities. Anyone who’s experienced unworkable ‘cycle lanes’, often no more than a painted zone at the side of the road, which may stop abruptly for no reason, will heartily welcome the news that cyclists will continue to have the choice.