Glasgow Starts a Conversation

It's time for a confession. I've been jealous. But it's worse than that. Much worse. I've been jealous of.......I can't barely bring myself to say it......yes, I've been jealous of Edinburgh.

Yes, that is a big thing for a Weegie to say, but it's true. Life isn't perfect on the east coast, and to be honest it's a bit cold and less fun over there, but until now they have had one thing that Glasgow didn't have.

A busy cycling social scene.

Edinburgh has over the years built up a large group of city cyclists who get together, a chat about this and that, and sometimes this and that includes the cycling issues that Edinburgh faces. Sometimes it helps to lead to great things. Whilst POP may have originated from an e-mail I sent two other cyclists, it most certainly couldn't have got anywhere without the cycling social scene of Edinburgh.

These cyclists don't just meet in cafes and pubs. In fact most of the cafe and pub meetings are arranged elsewhere. They are arranged at City Cycling Edinburgh (CCE). CCE is an online forum where people talk about cakes, beers, bikes and occasionally mass demonstrations. It is a place where politicians sometimes frequent, as well as the grass roots cyclists and people who only dream of cycling. It's a place where people share ideas and ideas grow.

Stuff happens because of CCE.

If we are honest, up until now not much has happened in Glasgow. We are miles behind Edinburgh when it comes to cycling. You just have to look at the latest proposals of cycling infrastructure in Glasgow to see that the counsil wants to give us.....more shared use paths, more ASLs and the odd bit of segregation to keep the zealots happy. Oh and that is only if we can find some money from somewhere else...we don't spend out transport budget on cycling.

So, at a recent social gathering of campaign minded cyclists in Siempre recently, a decision was made. The decision was......

City Cycling Glasgow!


Yes, we now have our own forum, and, at the time of writing, less than two days after it going live, we already have 42 members. Well done Darkerside on setting this up!

Yes, it's early days, and yes it will take time to build, but it is and will be what we make it. If we all start talking this could be the start of something big. I've seen it happen. Talk really can lead to action and results.

So come and join us. Say hello, and have some cake. Let us know what you think of cycling in Glasgow.

With your help, we can make Glasgow a safe and more social place to cycle!