Ride a bike? You must be rich
megilleland
Posts: 786
The only time I thought I was loaded was when I had too much weight in my panniers!
From The Times
September 21, 2007
Ride a bike? You must be rich
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
The richer people become the further they cycle, according to official figures overturning conventional wisdom that the bicycle is largely a poor man’s mode of transport.
The richest fifth of the population cycle on average 2½ times as far in a year as the poorest fifth.
The Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey indicates that the poorest fifth, despite being five times less likely to have access to a car, are very unlikely to consider cycling as a solution to their transport needs.
The London Cycling Campaign said that people on higher incomes tended to be better educated about the health benefits of cycling and more concerned with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Studies have shown that regular cyclists typically enjoy a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger, and those cycling regularly beyond their mid-thirties add two years to their life expectancy.
A spokesman for the campaign said: “People on lower incomes may be more concerned with the need to earn money than worrying about what constitutes healthy living or about the issue of climate change and how cycling is the greenest option.”
He said that poorer people might also be concerned that being seen on a bicycle would encourage others to view them as socially inferior. Richer people might be more confident about their social position.
People living on council estates, especially those in high-rise blocks, were also less likely to have a secure place to park their bikes.
The Cyclists Touring Club recently received a £4.5 million lottery grant to promote cycling among disadvantaged groups.
Cycling groups believe that a lack of education and negative stereotyping of cyclists are the main reasons why poorer people appear unwilling to hop on bikes.
They also blame the absence of role models for disadvantaged groups. There are dozens of well-known white middle-class men who are regular cyclists, including the Conservative politicians Boris Johnson and David Cameron and the broadcasters Jeremy Paxman and Jon Snow.
But footballers and pop stars are rarely photographed on bikes and when they are it is usually while riding in parks rather than commuting on streets.
Roger Geffen, the club’s policy manager, said that the growing popularity of cycling among white middle-class men was in danger of creating a new stereotype that would deter other sections of society from switching to two wheels.
“If we are to appeal to disadvantaged groups, we need to get away from the Norman Tebbit approach of telling people to get on their bikes. Nothing is more likely than that to put them off.
“We need to counter the powerful status symbol of the sports car by finding iconic figures to demonstrate that the bicycle can be cool. A few positive role models could have a transformative effect.”
Mr Geffen expressed disappointment at the controversy recently over the role played by Konnie Huq, the Blue Peter presenter, in promoting a mass cycling event due to take place in central London on Sunday on major roads closed to motorised traffic. She was forced to withdraw from the event after the Conservatives complained about her appearing on the same platform as Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.
Mr Geffen said: “Konnie Huq is the perfect role model for young people who might not otherwise think that cycling is for them.”
Phillip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England, the Government-funded body that promotes cycling, said that bicycle sales in Britain had risen from 2.8 million in 2000 to 3.5 million in 2006. The number of cyclists has risen by 83 per cent in London since 2000 but there has been little change most other parts of the country.
He added that the most successful bicycle companies in recent years had been those selling expensive brands costing more than £400, such as Specialised, Trek, Giant and Cannondale.
Mr Darnton, a former chief executive of Raleigh, said: “These brands have helped to turn the bicycle into a lustworthy object to own but those on lower incomes are less able to afford them.”
From The Times
September 21, 2007
Ride a bike? You must be rich
Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
The richer people become the further they cycle, according to official figures overturning conventional wisdom that the bicycle is largely a poor man’s mode of transport.
The richest fifth of the population cycle on average 2½ times as far in a year as the poorest fifth.
The Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey indicates that the poorest fifth, despite being five times less likely to have access to a car, are very unlikely to consider cycling as a solution to their transport needs.
The London Cycling Campaign said that people on higher incomes tended to be better educated about the health benefits of cycling and more concerned with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Studies have shown that regular cyclists typically enjoy a level of fitness equivalent to someone 10 years younger, and those cycling regularly beyond their mid-thirties add two years to their life expectancy.
A spokesman for the campaign said: “People on lower incomes may be more concerned with the need to earn money than worrying about what constitutes healthy living or about the issue of climate change and how cycling is the greenest option.”
He said that poorer people might also be concerned that being seen on a bicycle would encourage others to view them as socially inferior. Richer people might be more confident about their social position.
People living on council estates, especially those in high-rise blocks, were also less likely to have a secure place to park their bikes.
The Cyclists Touring Club recently received a £4.5 million lottery grant to promote cycling among disadvantaged groups.
Cycling groups believe that a lack of education and negative stereotyping of cyclists are the main reasons why poorer people appear unwilling to hop on bikes.
They also blame the absence of role models for disadvantaged groups. There are dozens of well-known white middle-class men who are regular cyclists, including the Conservative politicians Boris Johnson and David Cameron and the broadcasters Jeremy Paxman and Jon Snow.
But footballers and pop stars are rarely photographed on bikes and when they are it is usually while riding in parks rather than commuting on streets.
Roger Geffen, the club’s policy manager, said that the growing popularity of cycling among white middle-class men was in danger of creating a new stereotype that would deter other sections of society from switching to two wheels.
“If we are to appeal to disadvantaged groups, we need to get away from the Norman Tebbit approach of telling people to get on their bikes. Nothing is more likely than that to put them off.
“We need to counter the powerful status symbol of the sports car by finding iconic figures to demonstrate that the bicycle can be cool. A few positive role models could have a transformative effect.”
Mr Geffen expressed disappointment at the controversy recently over the role played by Konnie Huq, the Blue Peter presenter, in promoting a mass cycling event due to take place in central London on Sunday on major roads closed to motorised traffic. She was forced to withdraw from the event after the Conservatives complained about her appearing on the same platform as Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.
Mr Geffen said: “Konnie Huq is the perfect role model for young people who might not otherwise think that cycling is for them.”
Phillip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England, the Government-funded body that promotes cycling, said that bicycle sales in Britain had risen from 2.8 million in 2000 to 3.5 million in 2006. The number of cyclists has risen by 83 per cent in London since 2000 but there has been little change most other parts of the country.
He added that the most successful bicycle companies in recent years had been those selling expensive brands costing more than £400, such as Specialised, Trek, Giant and Cannondale.
Mr Darnton, a former chief executive of Raleigh, said: “These brands have helped to turn the bicycle into a lustworthy object to own but those on lower incomes are less able to afford them.”
The more you spend - the faster you go - the less you see.
0
Comments
-
I'd follow Konnie Huq anywhere on her bike
0 -
Good to see such a wholesome and healthy reason to take up cycling!<b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
He that buys flesh buys many bones.
He that buys eggs buys many shells,
But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
(Unattributed Trad.)0 -
I am going to contact Human Resources. There has clearly been a mix up with my contract if I am meant to be a rich cyclist.
Long ago I gave up trying to keep up with the Joneses, and now I can barely keep up with the Simpsons
0 -
rant coming!!
i think the guy from CTC might have missed the point about Tebbit ... he was speaking metaphorically ...
anyway, the article is a bit of a 5hit-for-brains effort. so poor people don't cycle ... er ... i know, let's blame the richer people who do cycle for the colour of their skin!! yeah great idea.
it's right about the role models for the "working class"... many footballers are absolute c**ts, and live staggeringly selfishly in their hummer surrounded mansions. but it's a two way street, these guys are where they are because they are worshipped by so many people.
that said, in london where i live there are loads of (mainly black) kids on bikes and i always feel something more could be done to develop their interest in cycling and help them along the way.0 -
I find the thing about footballers interesting. I know a footballer who is quite high profile, and he loves cycling. When he was breaking into the first team at his club he cycled absolutely everywhere, but now he is a first team player and an international he has to be careful about the activities he does. That means his club would frown upon him going cycling, as it is seen as a risky activity, even though it isn't.
Just imagine a mega high profile player like Wayne Rooney cycling to training at Man Utd. He would get people trying to stop him and talk to him, people not paying attention to the road when they saw him and would be at a greater risk of having an accident as a result. He would probably get a huge amount of abuse from his team mates as well...0 -
squired wrote:I find the thing about footballers interesting. I know a footballer who is quite high profile, and he loves cycling. When he was breaking into the first team at his club he cycled absolutely everywhere, but now he is a first team player and an international he has to be careful about the activities he does. That means his club would frown upon him going cycling, as it is seen as a risky activity, even though it isn't.
Just imagine a mega high profile player like Wayne Rooney cycling to training at Man Utd. He would get people trying to stop him and talk to him, people not paying attention to the road when they saw him and would be at a greater risk of having an accident as a result. He would probably get a huge amount of abuse from his team mates as well...
yeah, i agree. they have contractual issues with extreme sports like cycling. it's more their astonishing greed (e.g. john terry's demand to have an option to manage chelsea once he'd stopped playing, not forgetting the £130k+ p/w), and inflated opinions about themselves that qualifies them for the c*** category.0 -
and I refute the idea that a £400 bike from the brands mentioned is 'expensive', on the contrary what you get for that money is extraordinary.
Fat people are so insensitive0 -
megilleland wrote:She was forced to withdraw from the event after the Conservatives complained about her appearing on the same platform as Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.
Whats this all about?0 -
I actually heard in an interview with Joe Cole that his contract/insurance precludes him from cycling in the street. Also, when you saw pictures of Beckham cycling in France in the summer this was when he was between contracts.
Anyway.
I certainly don't cycle because Jon Snow cycles. I'm white, middle-class and concerned about the environment. But, I cycle because I enjoy it. Always had a bike as a kid and liked the freedom it gave me. Simple as that. Not because of some 'role-model'.
I live near Trafford Park (big industrial estate just outside Manchester) and you still see plenty of men cycling to work at all hours. I'm making a rash assumptiopn that these people are working class. However, my dad says that in the 50s to the 70s there would literally be hundreds if not thousands of men coming and going through Trafford Park on their bikes. Car-ownership now is so (relatively) cheap and prevalant that that just isn't going to happen ever again.0 -
I see so many "poor" people in cars that cost around the £2000 - £10000 mark and spend £40/week on fuel. I'm sure they could afford a bike?
I earn a fair whack and I've seen people who are on £15k buying a new ford focus!?! I can't afford that!
If they can get car credit they can get a credit card and buy a bike!0 -
I bought a bike that cost less than £200 but is worth it's weight in gold. The intention was to use it to cycle to and from work. It cost £65 month to travel by train, a little more by bus and petrol even more. In 2 months it paid for itself. Then we found out we didn't really need 2 cars after all. We sold the other car and now we don't have to pay insurance, tax and expensive repair bills.
I haven't been to the gym in a while and have saved money there, but strangely despite not going to the gym I am getting fitter all the time.
I did a 60 mile ride on saturday and the bike performed beautifully. The rider didn't on one particularly brutal climb.
The bike doesn't have to cost £K's, just enjoy your pedalling0
