UK’s cycling market and infrastructure “being left behind” by Europe, experts warn

Bah!

I really, really, really dislike how the UK is being pitched as an entitiy separate from Europe, instead of as, correctly, simply being part of Europe. The British -or rather English- ingrained habit of portraying the UK as some sort of island continent of it's own is just.. passive-agressive and actyally subconsciously borderline jingoistic at that.

Nobody else on the planet thinks of the UK as a place outside of Europe. And even in UK the Scottish would beg to differ. It's typically the English that "go to Yurup" for the weekend. The Scots, like the Irish, go "visit amsterdam or Barcelona for the weekend". In fact, when I travel from NYC to London I do "go to Yurup".

The English told themselves a twisted version of geopgraphy in order to cultivate a perception in which an island is not really part of a continent, willfully confusing mainland for continent in the process. But anyone with understanding of actual basic geography would dimiss that idea and know and island simply belong to continents: nobody ever disputed Japan to be part of Asia. Not even the Japanese themselves. The English KNOW that Great Britain is a European island, as much as Japan is an Asian island (albeit Japan is more than 100 miles further from the Asian mainland). But it's this willfull ignoring and beinding of definitions to adhere to the fantasy idea of the UK being something special, on it's own, rather than just another European nation like so many others. Football, doner kebabs, crappy weather, cobblestone streets and a churches everywhere you look. This place could simply be anywhere else in North and West Europe really. The UK is an integral part of Europe, not just by geography but also and even more so by culture.

Yes, my comment is not flattering. But it's factually completely correct. With that in mind, read the 3 lines of text below, takem from the article and observe the very artifical juxtaposition between the UK on the one hand, and "Europe" on the other hands. A juxtaposition Introduced as if "Europe" is a cohesive entity, one exlcuding the UK, where everything is homgenous enough to claim that "in Europe", "bike infrastructrue is amazing" and "sales are up". Sure, maybe. Maybe not. In Denmark and The Netherlands this is probably true. But the Danes, unlike the Dutch, are not even using the euro currency. It for sure is very much not true for Bulgaria and Romania - places where most Danes and Dutch have never been and know nothing about. Just like most Brits.

1. "UK’s cycling market and infrastructure “being left behind” by Europe", experts warn"
2. "...difference between what the UK has done to promote uptake versus what Europe has done"
3. "..."ine percent of bike purchases in the UK. In Europe, however, they account for 23 percent of all sales"

Words matter!

What you really ough to write is not “being left behind by Europe" but rather "“being left behind by the rest of Europe"" (only if Denmark or The Netherlands would represent all of Europe bicycle-wise, which they most definatly do not, then your statement would be correct)

Brexit did many things - but it did not move the UK to another continent. On the flip side, the muddled thinking that the UK is not part of Europe, has definately contributed to Brexit.

Thank you, end rant. Mic drop.

PS yes words matter. Apologies for the ocassional spelling mistake. I did my best, not easy to write an eassy in this miniscule text box.

What a load of b0ll0cks!

Just try buying a bike right now - you'll have a very long wait. I wanted to buy a new road bike a few weeks ago - if I'm lucky I may get it in about 12 months. Covid plus a host of other supplier related issues e.g. container pricing, Brexit etc have all contributed to this. 

It's pure speculation that we're going to be 'left behind by Europe'. What a crock. 

A couple of close passes are all it takes to realise your kids are going to be road kill. The driver will get delt with by the courts - have a guess how that will go-and you'll be left devastated for life. Buy a child a bike in this country? No way, it's not safe.

For me it's the lack of secure (well, any) cycle parking. If we cycle to Lidl, we have to go as a pair so one of us can sit with the bikes. But the car park is nice, for cars, so we drive. And so on - with bikes it's a lottery whether or not you can park, unless you've previously scoped the destination you end up taking the car as then parking is a dead cert.

In other news, bear sh!ts in woods

It isn't just the government (if that term is even applicable to the hiatus we have currently) it is the media.  They are all over electric cars, but completely ignore or even denigrate cycling and electric bikes, despite having endless programmes about the environment, health, pollution etc, despite the best answer to those problems being a transfer of short car trips to cycling.  If the media reported cycling fairly, there would be articles every day, extolling its virtues.

Speaking of which, just bunged in a complaint to the BBC, yet another one, about their coverage of Grant Shapps/Mark Briggs proposed new law of Causing Death by Dangerous Cycling, totally lacking in balance or different views.  Five minutes on R4 on Saturday of Mr Briggs being interviewed with the interviewer agreeing with him with no opposing views, no other person interviewed.  I can barely wait for the response telling me that it was fair and unbiased.

UK Govt is far too reliant on motoring tax income so no wonder nothing but token cycling jestures are seen and even then the motoring I must be able to use my car anywhere, anytime public get up in arms