Yesterday was the third Pedal on Parliament. This year, rather than simply riding with the crowd, I heeded the call to arms and found myself marshalling at St. Mary’s Street, helping slow down (and stop) cyclists briefly as the lovely traffic police stopped cross-traffic and removed the barriers.
I was told that the only problem with marshalling down the road is that you don’t get the fun of joining in ringing a bike bell with everyone else or exhilaration of being part of the crowd moving down the Royal Mile — but I had the distinct pleasure of seeing every single cyclist pass by me on their way to the Scottish Parliament.
It’s seeing the crowd there that really drove home why I wanted to be there, why I needed to help —
I’m not alone on these streets.
There are hundreds of us, thousands of us. We are men, women, and children. We are families with wee bairns on balance bikes, we are teens with stereos, we are lovely ladies and men in lycra.
Some of us came in our Sunday best and some came out out in our most casual of jeans. Some of us wore fluorescent jackets and helmets, some wore just helmets, some wore nothing special at all. Some of us rode recumbants, tandems, racing bikes, mountain bikes, folders, bikes with trailers and tagalongs, and some of us walked.
And we were all there, together, showing that we, people of all ages and abilities, have one thing in common:
We want Scotland to be a cycle-friendly country. And we want it now.
If you want to support Pedal on Parliament, please contact your MP, MSP or local counsellor and tell them that you want to see more! You can also donate to Pedal on Parliament through the PayPal link on their website.