---

Cycling

My Lords, I am not a Whip; I am revisiting ancient times because no one else was prepared to speak on cycling. I have been cycling all my life, but more particularly for the past nine years since I was diagnosed with diabetes. At the time I was three stone overweight and I was told that I had to do something about the way I conducted my life. I have done that and kept my weight down, mostly thanks to cycling. I cycle in London whenever I can. I come in in the mornings—this shows what we leisurely Peers who do not have to go to offices do in the mornings. I also come in on my motorcycle, which may be of interest to noble Lords. According to the newspapers, the two enemies on the roads are motorcyclists and bicyclists. I do not see that. I ride a motorcycle and a bicycle and the greatest problem, apart from the lorries—despite the mirrors, which I understand in many cases have been provided free—are pedestrians in London. Pedestrians, whether natives or tourists, seem to look with puzzlement at pedestrian lights, and there is a certain aggression. The other night I cycled down a street in Piccadilly with the lights in my favour, but the pedestrians were streaming across the road. I threaded my way through them carefully but I was called all kinds of names beginning with B and C, which I would not repeat in your Lordships’ House. Speaking personally on the health aspect, I can say that for someone with my condition cycling is probably the very best exercise. Every six months I go for a check-up with my diabetes specialist. He has told me that I am the only one of his patients who cycles regularly, which is because of the fear factor that the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, described. My doctor said that he would cycle to his clinic in Marylebone High Street if he felt that he could arrive safely. He has also said that I am more likely to die cheerfully as a result of falling off my bicycle than by succumbing to the effects of diabetes or cardiovascular disease. I am very careful on my bicycle and I have to say that I am pretty horrified at the standard of riding demonstrated by most other cyclists. I do not often see the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, who rides with great skill and speed. He even has special gears fitted on his Brompton folding bicycle so that he can move rapidly down Birdcage Walk or wherever he is going. I have a standard machine which I put in my car when I go away. Like the noble Lord, Lord Haskel, I travel to France; when I do, I put the bike in the back of the car, as I did last year when I went to the San Sebastian film festival. San Sebastian, besides hosting a lovely film festival, is a remarkable place. It was the pioneer city in Spain for cycle lanes. Quite apart from being the most beautiful belle époque city, it looks after cyclists. The way in which cyclists are treated by all other road users is exemplary. When you come back to London, you are back in the jungle again. The Government could do various things. It is all very well having a policy, but you have to have the political will to make the policy work. Cycling is very good for families. A lot of young people today are overweight or even obese, so parents would like to get their children on to bicycles. At the weekends in London—it is a curious thing—in lots of areas the cycle lanes are full of parked cars. This is the fear factor again: why would you take out two small children in a crocodile on your bicycle at the weekend or on a summer’s evening when you must negotiate cars and vans parked in the cycle lanes? I am quite sure that the Minister would tell us that that is all to do with law enforcement and that the law is there to stop that happening. Well, why does that not happen? The cycle lane situation in London is pretty strange and illogical anyway. For example, on Chelsea Bridge, which I frequently go over, bicycles can go one way on the footway on the edge of the bridge, but they cannot go the other way. If you attempt to do so, as I have done from time to time, not only are you likely to be stopped, but you meet angry ladies walking their dogs saying that you ought to know better. That is a disagreeable experience for sensitive parliamentarians. In the investigations that I carried out before speaking tonight into opinions around the House, particularly those of my colleagues, I thought of two cyclists. My noble friend Lord Taverne is still cycling; I would put him forward as a candidate for one of the best preserved and most athletic Members of your Lordships’ House for his age. He cycles every day and included cycling in his 2005 book—I admit that I have not read it—The March of Unreason, which is available in paperback. There is an examination in it of the benefits to your health set against the dangers of cycling within metropolitan London. Despite all the things that we are saying, it came out in favour of the benefits by a ratio of 10:1. I think that the Government can help us to increase that ratio. The book describes the cycle, rather amusingly, as, "““a green car that runs on tap water and toasted teacakes and has a built-in gym””." If that whets the appetite of noble Lords who want to find my noble friend Lord Taverne’s book, I daresay that it is in the Library; they will be cheered by what they read. Various other aspects of cycling that create problems for cyclists have already been mentioned, such as the business of theft, of course. You almost write down your bike because you know that it will be stolen if you are not careful. If you leave a folding bicycle—such as a Brompton, as is owned by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and me—outside for two minutes you are at risk, so you carry it into shops with you. You carry it everywhere. People are very understanding about that, although it is often a bit of a squash in a small tobacconist’s where you are looking for the MotorCycle News, which is often what I am doing. But you have to do it, otherwise you run that risk. They are expensive items to replace. The success of the French system is amazing. I was in Paris during the rugby cup and saw at close quarters how their pool system, which started in Lyon, works. You pick up a bike on a card system where the first half-hour is free and you pay €7 for each subsequent hour or two hours. It is not cheap, but the bikes are very high quality; I examined them closely. They are now used widely. The system also means that people, visitors and locals, use these bicycles on a regular basis. Some of them are not very experienced and they wander around the roads in a way that would shock experienced cyclists in your Lordships’ House. To motorists it is a salutary lesson: you must give cyclists a wide berth. In any case, there are draconian sanctions in France against cars that are seen to be a menace to cyclists. If you hit a cyclist, you can get your collar felt, to use the vernacular. That does not exist here. There is definitely room for improvement. The contrast with Europe must be looked at; we have many lessons to learn. The main points for the Government—and I would be interested in the Minister’s remarks when he replies—are that we must alter the law to give more protection to cyclists from vehicles of all kinds if we want to support the Government’s excellent initiative. We must revisit the design of cycle lanes and see whether they are logical. We must improve them where possible. We must deal with the potholes, which the noble Lord, Lord Young, has described; they are an absolute menace and a disgrace. I would not expect to find them in Entebbe or Dar es Salaam. I never rode a bicycle in those places, but many of the roads here are shocking. Will the Government think of devising a promotion scheme to back up their policy which explains the benefits of cycling clearly and positively, whether in leaflets or posters? It should not cost too much. Will they also stress cyclists’ responsibility for the consideration that they get from other motorists? It is terrifying that any cyclist should go out without lights at night. He is putting at risk not only himself but other people who are driving cars and other vehicles. He may be in a position of facing homicide charges. That is utter selfishness and should be dealt with harshly. I am over my time but, before I sit down, let me say that nobody has mentioned bells. I do not have one, but now that I have reminded myself I will go out and get one. In London, we ought to encourage cyclists to use a bell, so that they can shift these pedestrians out of the way before you arrive and they abuse you. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, for giving me a chance to speak on this subject. I could not get in on a Question the other day; the matter has been remedied.