Today marks the United Nations’ annual celebration of World Bicycle Day.

We find that the best bikes have racks and baskets – all the better to carry our garden equipment to and from the plot.

This is my ‘workhorse’ bike – bought at Decathlon over 15 years ago for about 100 squids and still using the original tires.

She’s an urban bike with only 7 gears and heavy enough to be unattractive to bike thieves!  Love the workhorse!

Our bicycles at the allotment.

For work commuting (in the days when I used to ride to work before the furlough & coronavirus lockdown) I used the ‘filly’ which is a mountain bike with front shocks and many more gears, which are useful to get up the big hill at the end of the ride home.

The big guy’s a bike guy too – and much more than me truth be told.

He’s got a whole collection of bicycles, each loved for different aspects and qualities.  And is truly a magician at fixing and tuning them up.

According to the UN, World Bicycle Day:

• Encourages Member States to devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
• Encourages Member States to improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
• Encourages stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
• Encourages Member States to adopt best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.

Happy World Bicycle Day everyone!  And hey!  If you think your local authorities can do more to support and encourage cycling, why not take a moment to (a) find out who your local government councillors and officials are; (b) send them an email encouraging better provision of cycling infrastructure.

You might also like this short film dedicated to a public art work by Ai Wei Wei, which features many different bicycle frames.  I saw a portion of this sculpture with my own two eyes when Wei Wei had a large solo exhibition at London’s Royal Academy a few years back…