John Rowlandson, of Velo Village in Canada, got in touch with us. He says:

Hi. Saw a couple of your tweets and just wanted to let you know that we’re standing up with you for safe seamless cycling! Our aim is to bind the interests of city cyclists with their country cousins. We also have a manifesto – the Salish Sea Statements on Cycling & Rural Mobility.

This is excellent to get such interest and support from the other side of the ocean. It is important also to remember that our aim is not only on those cyclists who commute in the city, but all those who cycle, whether for work or for sport or just from the pleasure of being on a bike, in the rural parts of Scotland. You can read about the Salish Sea Statements on Cycling & Rural Mobility here. The statements stress that rural roads can be some of the least safe places for cyclists to ride. Reform to make cycling safer should not just be aimed at our cities, but also the roads far outside them.

This is also timely in the light of Graham Obree’s talk at the Glasgow Bike festival, where he talked of his experience of Glasgow’s road and called them “seriously awful” and that he had “burst more wheels than I can remember” on roads in the city.

The city centre roads are awfully bad. Seriously bad. So you’ve really got to get out of the city to get any decent riding done. Get on your bike and out of the city.

He reminds us of the fact that many people value the roads outside of our big cities, and that many people come from different parts of the world to ride in Scotland, whether touring or sport cycling and training on the twisty, windy, hilly roads that we are famed for. Pedal on Parliament is aimed at making Scotland, whether city or village, urban or rural, more cycling-friendly.

Support from across the Atlantic!