Cyclotherapy: Hats Off

By Simon O'Hagan

What kind of cyclist is David Cameron? He rides a sturdy hybrid - think it's a Scott - and when i saw him, on a chilly November morning, he was just in shorts and shirt. So he's a hardy sort of chap who likes to keep himself free of encumbrances. Turns slightly too big a gear, but then so do a lot of us.

Anyway that's enough about David Cameron. I just got back from Paris where I saw at first hand the full impact of the so-called 'Veliberation' - the free bike-hire scheme that's added a distinct flavour of Amsterdam to the French capital.

I made the inevitable comparisons with the cycling scene in London. Sorry to return to the subject of helmets, but that's the difference that strikes you first. Non-helmet wearers are rare among London cyclists. In Paris it's the other way round. I must have seen hundreds of cyclists - Velib users and people on their own bikes - and barely any of them wore a helmet. What's that about? It's tempting to say that those stylish Parisians care far too much about their apeparance to want to mess it up with a helmet, but I think it's more to do with the seamlessness with which Velib becomes part of people's daily routines. Journeys are shorter (after 30 minutes you start to pay), you hop on and off, you cycle more slowly, the whole thing is no big deal. Though to my mind Paris traffic is even more intimidating than London's.

These were just my impressions. I'd like to be able to report back from the saddle but I was with someone who preferred to walk everywhere... There's a page and a half about Velib in the latest Cycling Weekly

Comments

[Rose]

A great scheme. The problem of course is that London drivers are still bonkers and there are no 'proper' cycle lanes, but it would be great to see the scheme work over here. Perhaps it could start somewhere like York where cycling is already very popular?

[wafflycat]

Not long back from a Parisian break - during the public transport strike - so the Velib bikes out in force. They're all over the place. They've done it correctly. Thousands of the bikes available - banks of Velib parking spaces all over the city - so you can pop on a bike and ride to your destination in the city knowing there's a place you can leave the bike and then there'll be another for you to pop back on at a later time.

But if it was done over here what's the betting the bikes would all get stolen in under a week!

[coops]

I visited Seville, Spain in October and to my delight found that they have a similar scheme in place. It was fantastic, we were able to explore even more of this charming city than on foot. My wife is not a regular cyclist but the wide green cycle paths gave her a sense of security and we saw far more people cycling in Seville than elsewhere in the region.

I work in the City and it would be great to occasionally grab a bike at lunchtime or after work to nip up the West End.

[san diego vocalist]

cyclotheropy is a new way theropy is used for patients. its another way for doctors to get money from others who think they have problems that can be fixed.