Fear and excuses?
To think about it, it’s probably been 2 years I had been thinking about cycling to work.
I used to have a car, but was stolen. Didn’t bother to get another one, as most importantly I haven’t got a British driving license! Thought about getting myself a bicycle, but the danger of cycling on roads had always put me off. Not to mention the harsh cycling condition the British weather could offer sometimes, prevalent bicycle theft in Reading etc.
I certainly had focus too much on reasons why I should not cycle. Even after I cycled to work for the first time this morning I had doubts whether this was worth the hassle. As the route that I took required me to climb up a hill, which was quite steep actually now I realised. And there were no proper cycle paths. This is unattrative as I can foresee myself being unnerved by some careless drivers one day, just as what they did to my french colleague, couple of times already.
Fortunately, there is a longer route, with long stretch of cycle path, that circumvent the hill between my house and the company. Not only was I relieved, when I arrived home just now, I think I’m going to love cycling to work.
Cycling is good, good for your body and the environment. The government is encouraging people to cycle to work, with a scheme called cycle2work that allows employees to buy bicycles using government tax breaks. This is quite an attractive offer, especially when the petrol price is threatening to get past the £1 a litre mark. But to be honest, until there are more extensive cycle paths around, it is always going to be difficult to get people to take the risk.
