I was somewhat surprised a while ago to learn that my own home town, Gosport in Hampshire, actually has a cycling modal share of over 11%, quite a bit higher than some of these examples – not up there with Cambridge I’ll admit but certainly higher than Hackney or Bristol. And yet I’ll bet that most of the researchers have never heard of it.

It would be interesting to know their view on what factors have driven this, probably taking Gosport with its immediate neighbour, Portsmouth, where the modal share is also well above average although somewhat lower than Gosport.

I think I could predict some of their findings. One is the history of these places – and a number of other places share similar history, Plymouth/Devonport for example, or Barrow in Furness – as locations of the great naval dockyards. These were traditionally very significant local employers dating back to the early nineteenth century or earlier, which have changed little since in terms of their physical geography (although employment patterns have of course fundamentally changed). They were not designed, not could they be adapted, for mass motor car use as space simply did not permit. As they were also fairly flat areas, a bicycle became a highly viable means of shortening a journey of perhaps 2-3 miles to work. It is within my memory, in fact in the 1980s, that you could observe with shock and awe what happens when the end of shift hooter sounds – something resembling a Le Mans start headng to the bike sheds, and then a fast-flowing river of bicycles against which nothing could stand.

The world has of course changed, and those employers are no longer what they were, but the culture has stuck, and people still see the bicycle as a tool of convenience and not simply as a leisure toy or the resort of those who can’t afford a car. And the geography hasn’t changed – there is still no room for parking large numbers of cars. In Gosport, perhaps the reason why there ar more cyclists than in Portsmouth is that many Gosport residents work in Portsmouth – you can either take the foot-ferry (which also takes bicycles, but there is no car equivalent) across Portsmouth Harbour, or you can undertake a drive all the way around the harbour which is probably more than 15 miles to go to a point which is literally only a stone’s throw away by sea.

Gosport has also done more than many local authorities to provide safe infrastructure for cyclists. It has some quite good off-road cycle paths, admittedly shared with pedestrians but mainly in locations where pedestrian traffic is likely to be light. And recently it has seen the arrival of a dedicated bus road, formerly the track bed of the railway line which terminated in Lee-on-Solent and which also served as the route for transport of munitions to the naval armouries at Gosport (rumour has it that nuclear weapons used to travel this route at one time). The plan had been to make this a tram line but that didn’t happen, and instead a single-lane tarmac road, for the exclusive use of buses and bicycles, was put in its place. Needless to say, motoring groups are belly-aching about being denied access to the bus lane and the normal roads get heavily congested at peak hours, but the local authotiries in Gosport and its neighbour with whom it shares the lane, Fareham, have – despite being fairly traditional shire tory councils – firmly rejected any such idea.

I do wonder why Gosport doesn’t publicise itself more as a cycling destination. It has beaches (pebble), several sailing clubs, marinas, historic buildings, museums such as the submarine museum at HMS Dolphin, and a nice flat cyclable terrain to enjoy.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/fun-tops-reasons-to-cycle-says-yougov-report/013240

For me (as I mentioned earlier) the only disincentive – other than the useless weather of late – is theft. The main incentive for me is two fold – one is the obvious access to activity whilst at the same time having a purpose and not just going nowhere on a treadmill in a gym. The second is that I can get the 11 miles into work in London faster than any other means of transport (save the motorbike). Biking then became a bit more addictive and now it is also a weekend event.

But what I do find very interesting is how the perspective of cycling has changed amongst my own peer group. I am fortunate to come from a well do section of the community – virtually all of the people I know have kids at public schools and live in large houses. But virtually everyone rides a bike – even as recreation or to commute (or both in my case). Very few play golf and alike (actually I can think of no-one).

Cycling is now seen as something as a badge of honour – none of us overly interested in the environment (above everyday general concern) and definitely not eco-warriors. Cycling is seen as a healthy and fun thing to do and waste our money on – long may it continue!