It’s been a week of blogging among PoP supporters it seems! First up was Phil Ward (@thnurg) who not only blogged but has gone one further and set our manifesto to music, with a nice take on the Proclaimers’ 500 miles.

Rob Williams (@Darkerside) also blogged in support:

“Pedal on Parliament (or PoP) was one of the greatest public cycling events of 2012, although as it occurred before all the Olympic excitement you might have forgotten it. Several thousand people gently meandered through Edinburgh from the Meadows to Holyrood, the same day ten thousand others in the London Big Ride cycled on Westminster. The message from both rides was the same: it’s time to stop treating cycling as something to tack on to the end of a PR message, and embrace it as a central part of transport policy.”

WisoB (@wisob1; it stands for ‘Woman in a suit on a Brompton’) won’t make it to PoP but that doesn’t let you off the hook:

“But changes in the way roads are designed and used don’t just need money, they need political will, and that seems to be the hardest thing to find. That is why it is important that people who cycle lots, and people who cycle a bit or not at all and who would like to cycle more, stand up and make a noise and be counted; not just for themselves, but for others who don’t even think that they could cycle – and especially for children, who are often effectively imprisoned by their parents’ fear of the roads, leading to a vicious circle where parents feel they have to take thier children everywhere by car, and so the roads are busy and dangerous because they are full of people transporting children by car because all the cars make it dangerous…”

Most powerfully of all, Lynne McNicoll (@andrewcyclist and @itsgood2give), stepmother of Andrew McNicoll who was killed on his bike in Edinburgh last year, wrote about a day of emotions last year, and why she’ll be joining us again. Her struggle just to get on a bike at all is pretty telling and sums up a great deal of what PoP is all about and what’s wrong with cycling in Scotland at the moment:

“On a personal note we haven’t been out on our bikes yet but we actually do both intend to. A few months ago I wanted to sell the bikes – just didn’t see how I would ever get back on one. So determined are we to cycle again we bought folding bikes this week! So, to begin with, we can drive somewhere to cycle. I know it seems mad but it’s what I need to do to get confidence back. To find some cycle routes that are quiet and off road.”

And if that all fills you with enthusiasm to get out and get your family out to PoP next month, then Cycle Sprog (@cyclesprog) filled in all the details about the practicalities of doing it with even the very smallest of cyclists…

If you’ve a blog (or want to start one) and you write about PoP, please let us know. We love hearing about people’s experiences on the day, or why they’re supporting us (or aren’t supporting us!). Contact us by twitter, Facebook or email (hello@pedalonparliament.org) and we’ll spread the word!

Update: sneaking in under the wire while we weren’t looking the Cycling Surgeon (@cyclingsurgeon) is sorry to be missing Pedal on Parliament 2

PoP go the Bloggers