What is cycling for you? A form of exercise? How to exercise your competitive, sportsmanship spirit? Or just a way to get from A to B? For journalist and author Tom Babin, it was a shift from a focus on athletics to simply getting around, which saw him increase his cycling volume .
“I started to think about cycling, not just as a sport, but as transportation. This small change in perspective had a big impact on my life,” says the Canadian author of “Frostbike: The Joy , Pain and Numbness of Winter Cycling”.
This is an area where former Olympic and World Champion – and National Active Travel Commissioner – Chris Boardman MBE, has a lot to say. “Reframing [what we consider cycling to be about] it’s so important to make people understand how good cycling can be,” Boardman told us.
One of the many obstacles preventing cyclists from traveling more regularly could be a tendency towards tribalism. “I’ve been bashed by the cycling community for wearing normal clothes on a bike, not to mention the very controversial issue of do not use a helmet . It’s a constant battle not to conform,” Boardman told us, having been vocal about his decision to ride without a helmet for many years.
Clothing is an area that Babin highlighted as having a major impact on his outlook. “Today, I still have my kit on weekend rides and I love the challenge and excitement of cycling as a sport, but I also use a bike exponentially for transport,” he confirms.
As a cyclist who struggles to find the motivation to get on the bike when it’s not for “training” purposes, I’d love to hear more.
Chris Boardman rides the Individual Pursuit Final at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“More often than not, cycling for sport begins as an extension of cycling for utility purposes,” says Boardman. Using the example of children who ride to school, he points out that they don’t even realize that they are participating in sports – “you can’t play football at school, so you ride” – he jokes.
“We all need to do better to keep this combination of cycling being a wonderful utility and a sport”, believes Boardman, adding that “we think below what we can do on the bike”.
Taking this approach encourages us to remove the stigma of “them” and “us” that sometimes creeps into the mentality of cyclists, and perhaps could help remove barriers to everyday riding, for those who are more inclined to sports.
Ride a bike
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The two big practical blocks to me riding anymore is bike safety and bad weather.
While no lock is fool proof, buy the the best bike lock and knowing how to lock a bike safely will go a long way to make sure it’s still there when I return. Adding one of the the best GPS trackers it might even help put my mind at ease.
In bad weather, heated gloves it really helped cheer me up out in the cold. adoption better waterproofs and one one jacket to rule them all The approach might entice me to bike shops, knowing I don’t have to go through the rigmarole of outfit planning to get soaked upon arrival.
Boardman believes it’s about choosing the right language for how to communicate this narrative.
“We need to do better at selling bikes as a way to meet unmet needs, and not to try to boost riding.
“Cycling is transversal, it means different things to different people. Some ride to keep fit, others need mental well-being and some transport, or freedom.
“Once people know that cycling can meet their needs, then they are more likely to start riding more.”
Looking at Copenhagen – the Danish capital known for its high rates of cycling – he says: “The city is full of bicycles, but nobody is cycling, they just use their bicycles as a matter of course.”
We see a similar picture in Scandinavian countries, where cycling is a social norm, making it apparently easier just to jump on a bike to work, school, to do things, even to go for a night out.
Cultural perceptions are a tough nut to crack when it comes to encouraging more cycling. In the UK specifically, cycling receives mostly negative coverage in the mainstream press, which adds to the divide, not only between car drivers and riders, but also within the wider cycling community itself.
Boardman reiterates the importance of language here, and why it’s so important to get it right to bridge the gap between sport and utility cyclists. “We don’t want to force people to join our gang,” he says when discussing the unwritten rule of cycling uniforms, speed, bike types, and the fear of not fitting in, “we want to hear that we can join other people’s gangs.”
Our view Babin’s suggestion to stop thinking of cycling only as a sport feels like it could lead to really big change.
Looking to my own mind, I often feel that I’m not fast enough or fit enough to join a cycling club, but I’m still not good enough. transport bike or gear to make cycling more second nature.
“Rather than say [yourself] you need to ride more ” Boardman suggests “, start with what you want, to feel safe, to have freedom, independence, choice” adding that “if you suffer “FOMO”. [fear of missing out] to not ride anymore, then you’re on to something.”
For me, this means letting go of the feeling that I don’t ‘fit in’ and that I need to ‘ride my bike more’ – and just think about how my needs can be met by cycling, which seems like a much more sustainable state of mind. .
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