Winter Wonder Ride
On Sunday 16 January we had a fun and fabulous ride for women, family and friends, celebrating Westminster's protected bike lanes
On Sunday, hundreds of women, families and allies rode through central London on an inaugural Women on Wheels group ride that’s likely to be repeated again regularly from now on, organised by campaigners inside and alongside London Cycling Campaign’s local borough groups.
It was a delight to cycle past iconic landmarks of our city together. Families with kids from three-years-old cycled along Embankment, those cycling using hand-trikes and e-bikes rode over Blackfriars and the bells of Santander hire bikes sounded out on Park Lane.
People who had never dared cycle in central London, as well as those using bikes as their main means of transport around London, rejoiced in safe cycle routes that mean that women and kids can cycle freely and safely, in comfort. Such protected routes are vital if we want cycling to be for everyone, not just MAMILs (middle-aged men In Lycra)!
We travelled exclusively on protected routes: Cycleway C3 from Hyde Park Corner to Embankment, into the city via C3, C6 over Blackfriars. We looped back across the recently installed Westminster Bridge cycle tracks, and celebrated the Park Lane scheme sadly attacked by Westminster Councillors, tabloid media and taxi cab drivers. We could not have contemplated leading such a diverse group of people along busy main roads with just painted lines or along rat-run side streets. Yet on Westminster’s own roads, as opposed to those managed by Transport for London, there are barely any protected bike lanes at all. And all the cycle lanes added during the pandemic are still just painted lines.
Last week the air quality across London was so poor that the government and several councils advised people not to exercise. A significant contribution to improving air quality could be made if journeys made by motor vehicles were done by bike. We applaud the work being done by boroughs such as Camden, Islington and now hopefully Haringey in tackling unnecessary motor vehicle journeys and in enabling more people – more women – to get cycling, to reduce pollution, inactivity, road danger and climate emissions – and to enable our kids to roam more freely once more.
For that to happen more, we’ll need more schemes across central London and beyond. Please join us on the next ride. And support a move away from cars and towards walking, cycling and public transport, if not for you, for everyone’s sakes.
Westminster Women on Wheels
Winter Wonder Ride is the brainchild of four Westminster residents who have come together as ‘Westminster Women on Wheels’. They organised the ride with the support of Westminster Cycling Campaign and LCC staff.
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Georgia Williams
lives in Westminster and began cycling in the first lockdown thanks to the protected cycle lane on Park Lane. "Cycling meant I could get to work in the West End without using public transport and putting my elderly relatives at risk of infection," says Georgia. "But I would never have got on a bike without the safety of a protected bike lane."
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Clare Thomas
lives in Marylebone and has two children aged 3 and 5. She says, “The Park Lane cycle lane is invaluable to me to feel safer cycling after dark - I would never take the Hyde Park bike path at those times. I love the new segregated bike lanes in general as I feel much more confident taking my 5-year old cycling on them, in a way which still doesn’t feel as safe on a normal road or even Westminster’s quietways.”
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Lesley Lau
has lived in Little Venice for 11 years, but only began cycling 18 months ago. She says, “For me, a protected cycle lane is the difference between a journey which is enjoyable and stress-free and one which can makes me feel vulnerable and unsafe. I started cycling during the first lockdown and the protected cycle lanes allowed me to practise and gain confidence. Without the protected cycle lanes, I simply would not have dared to start cycling.”
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Helen Jones
has lived in Bayswater for 12 years and is an experienced ride leader. She says, “Leading rides in London for women made me realise how important it is, especially for women, to feel safe cycling on city streets. Protected lanes give this sense of safety, but lanes shared with motor vehicles, even Westminster’s ‘quietways’, do not.”