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I've lived in the UK and Finland. When I lived in Finland, I cycled everywhere in town, for work and shopping and for pleasure (needless to say, I was more than

I've lived in the UK and Finland. When I lived in Finland, I cycled everywhere in town, for work and shopping and for pleasure (needless to say, I was more than a few pounds fitter). I never, ever cycle in the UK. Reason ? In Finland towns have cycle paths everywhere. It's safe. People take their little kids cycling. Lots of people cycle. In the UK it's appallingly bad in comparison. Some places may have a few cycle lanes here and there for appearance's sake but in the main it's nothing. When you go cycling in the UK you're taking your life in your hands. You're a completely unprotected second-class citizen. A guy I knew died that way, hit and run by a taxi. I certainly wouldn't allow my kids to cycle here.

arethuza 15y ago
Certainly on road cycling in a British city can be "challenging" - I used to have a 10 mile cycle commute through the center of Edinburgh for a few years and I had a number of incidents that were pretty scary. However, things are getting better - Edinburgh has a pretty decent cycle path network (mostly on old railway lines, so they sometimes appear to be ridiculously over-engineered - with huge bridges and tunnels). We had a family cycle on Sunday morning where we cycled for about 3 hours with perhaps 15 minutes of that being on roads. I wouldn't let kids cycle on roads by themselves though - something I did as a child from an early age without thinking about the dangers (I did grow up in a small village in the north of Scotland!).
- zeemonkee 15y ago
  However, things are getting better - Edinburgh has a pretty decent cycle path network (mostly on old railway lines, so they sometimes appear to be ridiculously over-engineered - with huge bridges and tunnels). We had a family cycle on Sunday morning where we cycled for about 3 hours with perhaps 15 minutes of that being on roads. There's more to it than recreational cycle paths though. In order to change people's lifestyle - i.e. to be a practical alternative to the car in cities - the paths have to go somewhere useful. In other words, you need cycle paths connecting offices, schools and shops. Even in Edinburgh I see that as a long way off - and the city council seem fit to sink money instead into the neverending tram fiasco.
  - arethuza 15y ago
    Absolutely - one of things we were discussing as cycling along yesterday is what could have been done with a tiny percentage of the money wasted on the trams. <sigh>
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
starwed 15y ago
Really? I remember Oxford having a great many dedicated bike lanes (not just a part of the road), although maybe it's an outlier.
- regularfry 15y ago
  The big university cities tend to have good cycling. Oxford, Cambridge, and York I know are all good, although the car drivers may disagree. London careers from the brilliant to the disastrous, often within blocks of each other.

arethuza 15y ago

Certainly on road cycling in a British city can be "challenging" - I used to have a 10 mile cycle commute through the center of Edinburgh for a few years and I had a number of incidents that were pretty scary. However, things are getting better - Edinburgh has a pretty decent cycle path network (mostly on old railway lines, so they sometimes appear to be ridiculously over-engineered - with huge bridges and tunnels). We had a family cycle on Sunday morning where we cycled for about 3 hours with perhaps 15 minutes of that being on roads. I wouldn't let kids cycle on roads by themselves though - something I did as a child from an early age without thinking about the dangers (I did grow up in a small village in the north of Scotland!).

zeemonkee 15y ago
However, things are getting better - Edinburgh has a pretty decent cycle path network (mostly on old railway lines, so they sometimes appear to be ridiculously over-engineered - with huge bridges and tunnels). We had a family cycle on Sunday morning where we cycled for about 3 hours with perhaps 15 minutes of that being on roads. There's more to it than recreational cycle paths though. In order to change people's lifestyle - i.e. to be a practical alternative to the car in cities - the paths have to go somewhere useful. In other words, you need cycle paths connecting offices, schools and shops. Even in Edinburgh I see that as a long way off - and the city council seem fit to sink money instead into the neverending tram fiasco.
- arethuza 15y ago
  Absolutely - one of things we were discussing as cycling along yesterday is what could have been done with a tiny percentage of the money wasted on the trams. <sigh>
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]

starwed 15y ago

Really? I remember Oxford having a great many dedicated bike lanes (not just a part of the road), although maybe it's an outlier.

regularfry 15y ago
The big university cities tend to have good cycling. Oxford, Cambridge, and York I know are all good, although the car drivers may disagree. London careers from the brilliant to the disastrous, often within blocks of each other.