Bristol may be in the midst of an electric scooter takeover, but many of us still enjoy the old fashion of two-wheel travelling: cycling. (Yes, even despite all the hills.) Still, it might surprise you to learn that Bristol has been named among the most cycle-friendly cities in the UK.
As part of its Cycling Cities campaign, Saga has surveyed 2,000 adults from different generations to delve into their perspectives on cycling. Using external data, it analysed the most populous UK cities and ranked them according to a range of factors, including: bicycle usage, the availability of bike share schemes, cyclist safety, the likelihood of bike theft and the impact of local weather conditions (such as average rainfall) on cycling.
In its findings, Norwich was named the outright most cycle-friendly city in the UK, with Newcastle, Belfast, Nottingham and Glasgow all following. Bristol came in at a surprising tenth place, however, with its cycling routes, repair shops and the safety of cyclists all big factors. Areas of improvement were definitely bike theft and bike share schemes, however.
Of course, not many of us are actually out and about on our bikes enough. SAGA also highlights data from Discerning Cyclist that reveals “just 8% of the UK population cycles more than three times per week, compared to 90% of people in the Netherlands.” Seeing as the UK government has set a target to double cycling activity by 2025, a lot needs to be done before we become a nation of cyclists like the Dutch.
67% of 55-64-year-olds said that dangerous roads were their biggest barrier to cycling, compared to 29% of 18-24-year-olds who said the same. While 18-24-year-olds were most likely to be concerned with high crime rates (24%) as a reason not to cycle, and 12% of 55-64-year-olds said the same. But seeing as Bristol is one of the most cycle-friendly cities in the UK, there’s no better time to hop on a bike and go!