Cake by the bike lane: Cyclists bring cake, mince pies and non-alcoholic Prosecco to thank workers for building new segregated cycle lane

In a heart-warming move, cyclists in Brighton surprised council workers with mince pies, Prosecco (albeit with no booze), and a cake with ‘Thank you’ written on it, to thank them for building a new cycle lane in the city.

The segregated, two-way cycle lane was built, along with new zebra crossings, on the A23 Preston Road, and members from Bricycles, a local cycling campaign, turned up with the goods as a gesture of gratitude for providing the infrastructure that they say will make cycling, walking, and wheeling safer and more accessible.

“In keeping with the spirit of the season, councillors, council officers and contractors have been thanked for the first phase of walking and cycling improvements along the A23 Preston Road,” Bricycles said.

One of the campaign group’s members, Iliana Koutsou, also added: “It’s important to show appreciation when walking and cycling are supported in practice in our city. It means more people are supported to travel in a way that reduces motor traffic and helps people to keep physically active in everyday life.

“The cost of owning and running a car is increasingly unaffordable to many, so we need to transform the city to address this.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the scheme “aims to improve a key transport corridor for the city and make it a safer and more attractive environment for all who use it”.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and the Public Realm, also thanked Bricycles in return for marking the construction of this important active travel scheme.

Cycle lane on the A23 Preston Road, Brighton (credit: Bricycles)

Bricycles, which has been campaigning for more than 40 years to make cycling in Brighton and Hove more accessible for everyone, said: “The A23 works are delivering a better public space for people to walk, scoot, wheel and cycle between Argyle Road and Stanford Avenue. The next phase will continue to enhance the public realm northwards, up to South Road in Preston village.”

In 2020, the council was awarded £909,000 from the government's Department for Transport to partly fund the scheme. The A23 project is also funded with money from developers through Section 106 planning agreements and the council's own local transport plan fund, and is scheduled to be fully completed by winter 2025 into the beginning of 2026.

Councillor Trevor Muten with Iliana Koutsou of Bricycles (@CANSEEngland on Twitter)

Two weeks ago, perhaps in a not-so-heartwarming story from the city, a cyclist from North Yorkshire had his bike stolen outside a noodle restaurant — just as he was nearing the end of his 6,000km cross-Europe ride to Turkey and back, shortly after the death of his wife.

Along with his bike, he also lost several items of sentimental value, which had survived his epic ride organised by his children, only to fall prey to bike robbers in Brighton. He told road.cc: “I was in absolute shock and horror. All my memories that were in the bike were just gone in an instant. The thieves don’t care.

“And that’s one of the annoying things, that the bike is linked to those memories, as well as the financial hit. If I were to replace everything, it’s going to cost me the neck-end of £4,000.”

He also issued a call to local communities to do more to deal with the country’s bike crime “epidemic”.

“It’s like bike crime is a pandemic in the UK,” he said. “If the police can’t deal with this and it’s beyond their resources, let’s look at other ways. We should maybe be looking at how the local community can take it on, and deal with the justice side.

“For instance, if I’d come into Brighton and saw signage that said, ‘Do not leave your bike unattended’, I’d still have my bike. And, as a victim of bike theft now, I keep thinking, ‘how stupid am I to lock my bike up?’

“And maybe as a community we should try to make bike thieves uncomfortable. If I saw something happening, I wouldn’t just pass on by. But I can see why some might be afraid to approach if they noticed something suspicious.

“As a victim of bike theft, the police don’t know how devastating it feels. And when I think or talk about it now, my anger boils over.

“Time will heal, but it’s still a bit raw. The response and support I’ve had since posting about it reminds me that these crimes are committed by a small minority, and that most people are good.”