Dear Birmingham,

Before we had even met I had already heard some bad things about you. They said that you were ugly, even that you were quite rough. But when I got to finally know you personally I remember disagreeing with those statements. Maybe it was because I was used to little medieval towns in Spain, with huge old cathedrals, and your modern buildings seemed like an attractive novelty to me. Maybe it was because the University is one of the nicest parts of you. Whatever the reason I thought from the very beginning that your qualities were more and greater than all those defects I had heard of.

But, as it happens with many relationships, as I was getting to know you more your defects became more obvious. And so, I realised that public transport was your biggest problem. I wanted to get to know you better, but you seemed determined to keep me either in Selly Oak or in the city centre, and in the beginning I did not need much more, and the train was great to move between the two. Then I wanted to explore Moseley, King’s Heath, Harborne… And I found out it was not so difficult to get to those areas using the bus, even if most of the students would not dare to take a bus and explore beyond the limits of Selly Oak. Back then a day saver would make my day, and waiting for the 11 or the 76 did not seem so bad.

But then I grew up and I realised how naive I was. I started to work and I decided to move. Then I discovered that what used to be an adventure with you, taking the bus, became a nightmare if it had to happen everyday at 8am and 5pm. And one year ago I decided I had had enough, if I wanted to keep you I had to ditch your terrible bus service. I did not understand why you kept putting up with National Express and its despotic ways. So I decided that if I wanted to stay with you I had to look for an alternative, and I decided that a bike was the best alternative. I knew you had an obsession with cars, but many of my friends were doing fine on their bikes, so I decided to give it a go.

I was lucky because I was living by a “National Cycle Route”, the number 5, the Rea Valley route. Considered by many people your best cycle route. I learnt fast that this is England, and here the weather is quite variable and a sunny morning can turn into a rainy evening. So I bought reflective overshoes, over-trousers, over-jacket, over-everything. A good friend of mine used to tell me that there was not bad weather but bad clothes when it came to cycling, so I decided to follow his advice.

Then I realised that the great National Cycle Route number 5 was not so great. I mean, it was ok, but you could frequently find people walking on the cycle path, and this cycle path is several times interrupted by roads where the cyclists are the ones having to give way and not the other way around, which would be the most sensible approach. Still, it was safe enough, and I never had a problem while cycling this route.

But if I wanted to keep knowing you I could not confine myself to the safety of the Rea Valley. Cannon Hill Park is beautiful, and I like Balsall Heath, but I had other places to go. You are way bigger than just those bits! So I equipped my bike with good lights and I decided to risk it into Alcester Road, after all, Moseley and King’s Heath are two of the things I like the most of you. After several times venturing into that road with my bike one day it happened, a driver decided that my bike was not worthy enough of your roads and came into Alcester Road without giving me way when he was supposed to do so.

Luckily enough I saw him and I braked just in time. I ended up on top of the car but I was not injured and my bike was all right. The guy came off his car shouting at me with a thick accent I was struggling to understand “Don’t you know that you are supposed to look?” I knew, but I also knew he was supposed to give me way as he would have to do with any other vehicle. While I was trying to find the words in English to reply another fellow cyclist stopped and started telling the driver that it was his fault, once the driver had left (while his girlfriend form the copilot seat was shouting “wanker”) the cyclist asked me if I was all right, which I was, and I went on cycling into King’s Heath. One a**hole, I thought, he was not going to make me like you less.

I went on cycling, I gained confidence and I started to explore with my bikes other parts of you. One day I had a go to Fort Dunlop, North Birmingham. For me that was like the dark side of you. But I figured out there was people cycling in North Birmingham too, so I decided to get there cycling. I checked Google Maps and I realised that I had two options to get there: the canals or the A47. I had heard some stories about cyclists getting assaulted at the canals so I decided to cycle the A47. Big mistake.

As I was cycling it started raining, no problem, I had my high visibility gear and waterproof clothes on. I had also turned the lights on my bike on. But even with all this a mother that was driving her two children to school, drove into a roundabout without realising that I was cycling inside that roundabout until it was too late. I ended up hitting the road with my helmet. Nothing serious happened, I was quite bruised but that was all, and my bike had some damage but nothing I could not repaired myself. The mother was all shaken up and I told her not to worry. She was really nice and asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital or I needed any help after giving me all the details of her car. I told her I was all right although I accepted to wait for her husband who gave me and my bike a lift to Fort Dunlop.

These are the two times I have been knocked off my bike in the last year since I decided to start cycling everywhere. Many other times I have been shouted at, I had to suddenly brake, and so on. I could blame the rest of the users of the road, but they are not to blame. The fault is mainly yours Birmingham, you are too in love with cars.

I still like you, but I am afraid your affair with cars have to end. Many other cities have learnt this already and have better public transport, better cycle routes and roads and streets that are not completely dedicated to cars. I hope you learn to be like them some day. Until then I will keep cycling, maybe I will buy a car soon, who knows. But even then I will go on cycling, not only because I like it, but because I think this will make you realise how much better you can be.

Yours sincerely,

Carlos

PS: I know this is not very techie related but this is the only Birmingham related place I knew to post this rant I wanted to write. I hope you at least enjoyed reading it (even if my writing in English might not be the best).

PSS: Even if I posted this in “The Lounge” category I guess this can also serve as an introduction to present myself as I tell a lot of my story in this city

TL;DR: Birmingham is a great big city, but moving within Birmingham is a nightmare and this needs to change!!