Cycling

I have osteoporosis, haven’t cycled for years, haven’t got a bike now, but the thought of possible broken bones if I were to fall off makes me think I will stick to walking and swimming for my exercise.

I am 78 and have just bought an e-bike. The last time I cycled was at age 17years when I used to cycle to school.
The new bike is very easy to ride and the battery helps on hilly areas or just if you feel too tired to pedal.
However, I must say that I am sticking to back roads and parks etc. as my one venture onto the main road was very scary.
Very large cars swooped past me with only inches to spare. If I had wobbled, disaster would have struck.
Also all cars seem to cut in sharply infront of you after overtaking.
The health benefits will be very good, but, for me, no main road cycling.

The Dutch manage to cycle in all weathers! To encourage many more people who are able to to cycle, there must be much more emphasis on cycle lanes and less on improvements for drivers. We have a local cycle lane but before and when it was being built, you would have thought it was the end of the world from the alarming and nasty campaigns run by those who feel it's their right to drive, often huge cars (why ever do they need them in London?), without thought to anyone else.

Agree about winter weather.
And we need the roads to be a lot safer with lower speed limits in many areas.
I do think though that walking and running will work just as well and cost nothing.

My wife and me were talking about cycling last night after watching the news. We are both in our seventies but thankfully still fully fit as we very often walk to the office when the weather will allow for that.

We could cycle and use those bikes for all the shopping etc around the town. Therefore we are looking at the battery-assisted cycles which help you out going up hills and against strong winds etc.

They are not cheap but could well be worth it as there are so many cyclists in our town now it is making driving very difficult especially on the roads around the seafront.

I you can't beat them then you may as well join them. ?

I bought a stand for my bike, so I can now cycle indoors.

I find it patronising that the government think everyone should 'get on their bikes'. I loved cycling when I was at school and in my teens but the bikes we bought about 12 years ago to take it up again are now unused in the shed. My husband is obese and would like nothing more than to be able to use his but having had a large undiagnosed hernia for 2 years and now been left with an even bigger hematoma swelling following surgery six months ago there is no way he could even sit on a bike now. I am too afraid to ride mine even with a helmet on. It's not everyone who can 'get on their bikes' even if they wanted to!

I think we get much more rain, and heavier rain all year round now but cycling waterproofs are much better than they used to be.

This surely is an excellent initiative, with two thirds of the population overweight, we must do something about both obesity and pollution. Where I live in the hilly south west, ebikes are all the rage and even if people only cycle in the summer, it will mean fewer cars on the road. The other big change here is lots of families cycling so we have a whole generation of children growing up with confidence and knowledge about cycling, that's another change for the better. Let's hope it brings less hostility and more tolerance on the road.

In fact there is currently a government consultation on changes to the Highway Code. Here's the link :

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-highway-code-to-improve-road-safety-for-cyclists-pedestrians-and-horse-riders

I like cycling but not in the rain and I'm scared if it's icy.

DS2 cycles 20 mind to work all year round. DH used to cycle until he was 60 then discovered power walking. It's too hilly for me and to much other traffic.