Cycling

A couple of months ago I wrote to the Crown Estate about its bike-unfriendly redevelopment of London’s Haymarket area, and was rather surprised when their London team offered to meet me and set out Crown’s cycling credentials. Surprisingly, its new Central London developments have fabulous facilities for bike commuters, with showers, lockers, and ramps that allow you to ride straight into the basement parking space. The past decade has seen an explosion in two-wheeled travel across the capital, while car use has declined. Recent data shows that cyclists make up to two thirds of traffic on certain parts of London’s roads. This is hardly unexpected, given the cost of tube

Are young people in Britain now duller than their parents? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson discusses why Britain is now full of young puritans, compared to the Absolutely Fabulous generation who are living life to the full. Do pensioners buy more alcohol than young folk? Are those attending university no longer interested in experimenting like their elders did? Brendan O’Neill from Spiked Online and The Times‘ Kaya Burgess also debate whether it’s time for a war on cyclists. Are we listening too much to pious, self-righteous cycling campaigners? Or are they just working to ensure our roads are safe for all users? And is

My best mate revealed to me that his bicycle was wrecked. I asked if he would be buying a new one. He said yes, via the government’s Cycle To Work scheme. What the hell’s wrong with Halfords, I thought silently to myself. Apparently the government will let you pay for a bike tax and NI free, and in instalments. Did you know that? Why am I paying for my friend to have a new bike through my taxes? Why am I subsidising the process whereby a perfectly decent human being is transformed into an arrogant, self-righteous, lycra-clad sociopath with homicidal intent towards people like me, ie pedestrians? At the very

What do Margaret Thatcher, Sheryl Sandberg and Angela Merkel have in common? They are the ultimate alpha-female icons, according to Alison Wolf. In this week’s Spectator cover feature, Alison examines the ultra-competitive female elites who are pulling ahead and leaving the rest of the ‘sisterhood’ behind. On this week’s View from 22 podcast, the Spectator’s deputy editor Mary Wakefield discusses with Alison what makes an alpha female, why they are only interested in alpha males and how feminism is response for this new divide. Melissa Kite and Gary Lingard also debate whether the world now revolves around cyclists. In this week’s magazine, Melissa argues that beautiful country paths should stop be turned into tarmac cycle routes. But Gary Lingard, the former

The news, reported by the New York Times, that Lance Armstrong is preparing to confess his sins reminds me of this passage from the Book of Daniel: Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Remember, however, that golden-sunned afternoon in Paris in the summer of 2005. On the Champs-Elysees Lance Armstrong, the undisputed titan of his era, stands

In one sense, I have some sympathy for Lance Armstrong. He has been hounded by the American anti-doping agency USADA who, like other federal agencies, are remorseless foes. Once they have their hooks in you they never let go. The usefulness of their investigations is another matter. Even so, Armstrong’s declaration that enough is enough and that he will no longer bother to defend himself against doping charges will doubtless be seen as a capitulation. Most people, I suspect, will take his silence as an admission of guilt. So it really wasn’t just about the bike, was it? Apparently not. The evidence against Armstrong may still – as far as

In the last week alone by winning Olympic gold and through his victory in the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins has single-handedly raised the profile of cycling in this country. Now our government needs to get further behind cycling and pump more money into our infrastructure and make safety improvements to promote our most efficient form of transport. Cycling is a relatively safe, environmentally-friendly activity for all ages and thankfully serious accidents are low in relation to the millions of journeys taken by cyclists. But there is more we can do to give cyclists greater protection on our roads. Liberal Democrat Transport Minister Norman Baker has announced millions of pounds

Am I dicing with death every morning and evening? The Times would say so. I cycle to work, and, for the past two days, the Times has given over its front page to a campaign on cycling safety. The campaign is in most respects commendable — I like the specific proposals — but it emphasises the urgency of the issue by giving a very grim impression of the risks that cyclists face. ‘Britain’s riders are paying with their lives when they take to the roads,’ we are told. In fact, a bicycle is far from being the most dangerous way to get around. On the measure the Times uses —

There are among us a churlish few who consider the term ‘sports personality’ to be an oxymoron. There are among us a churlish few who consider the term ‘sports personality’ to be an oxymoron. John Foot’s sparkling study of Italian cycling is a welcome corrective, alive with terrific characters: Toti, a heroic one-legged cyclist who was killed in the trenches; Coppi, a barrel-chested adulterer who became the nation’s darling; a blind coach who could divine victory or defeat in the feel of a cyclist’s muscles; and, more recently, a champion who died of a cocaine overdose in a seaside hotel. Many of the greats follow a satisfying rags-to-riches trajectory, starting