I have just discovered that it is National Bike Week 2010 in just over a week and if you are anything like me you own a bicycle which half the year is used on a weekly basis when the weather is nice and sunny but for the other half gets stored away, with its accompanying helmet, to one side of your shed - never to be seen again! Well until next summer anyway. I have therefore started to think about my bike and how often I use it.
I do love cycling but have noticed I love cycling when I know the journey I am going on is smooth and flat and the weather is sunny. I don’t mind the distance but as long as it’s nice and flat. Last summer I purchased a new bike which changed my cycling experience for ever. I had previously been riding a bike that cost me £50 which, although it had a nice squishy supportive seat, had troubled gears and generally left me feeling frustrated. So I tried out some bikes at Ian Brown’s cycle shop and he introduced me to what is now my new bike and invited me to have a go in their car park. Well that was it - I was cycling round and round in circles with the biggest smile you have ever seen and almost tears in my eyes. I realised at that point how much I needed to upgrade my bike, so I treated myself.
Since purchasing it last year, I had a summer of love with my new bicycle and I could be seen cycling along the coast around Vale and Vazon with the wind in my hair and a smile on my face. But, come October, it was unfortunately pushed aside for my car and its heater and stored in the shed! It is so easy to just jump in the car to go to work or the shops if I am running late or have lots of baggage - but did I really need the car? Could I have made that journey on bike instead?
It is questions like these that the Guernsey Bicycle Group (GBG) are going to be asking you to ask yourself in just over a week’s time as National Bike Week approaches. GBG exists to benefit everyone who lives on Guernsey by encouraging the use of bicycles and other environmentally friendly forms of transport to reduce the adverse effects of the internal combustion engine. GBG is a voluntary group working for the Guernsey community and will be supporting Team Green Britain Bike Week.
Team Green Britain Bike Week is an annual opportunity to promote cycling and show how bicycling can easily be part of everyday life.
From the 19th to 27th June people across the UK and Channel Islands will be taking part in what hopes to be the biggest nationwide cycling event. Its aim to encourage people to rethink their everyday journeys, make everyday cycling for everyone and inspire people to try out cycling – for fun, and as a means of getting around.
I have therefore set myself the challenge to swap my car for my bike for this week to get to work, the gym, the shops, see friends etc and see how I get on and report back my experiences. Why not set yourself the challenge too. Encourage your partner, children, friends, work colleagues and get as many people involved.
Whether you are already a keen cyclist or a plain lazy cyclist, National Bike Week is your chance to get out on your bicycle and soak up what Guernsey has to offer at a slower and more leisurely pace, come rain or shine!
So are you ready to get on your bike?
For more information about how YOU can get involved, please use these links:
