New year resolutions are, of course, traditionally made before 1 January, not nearly a week into 2017. But I shall disregard convention – below are my cycling-related hopes for the current year.



Some are personal, some more general. I should also stress that these aren’t my sole hopes for humanity, just some specific Bike Blog-based ones. New bike lanes would be great, but I’m more keen overall on peace for all and a continued avoidance of a nuclear holocaust.

So with that remit in mind, do add your thoughts below, however everyday or outlandish.

1. Do more cycling

This might seem obvious, but here I mean more cycling for fun, rather than just my daily ride to and from work. Even this is, of course, largely enjoyable – not many non-cyclists get to say that about their commute – but after a vastly busy 2016 I’d prefer some more variety.

This will hopefully include more long treks into the countryside, but also family rides. My son is now six, so theoretically old enough for some gentle bike touring this summer. Not that I’ve broken the news to him yet.

2. Get back on the mountain bike

As a more specific variant on the above, I’m planning to dust down and fettle my slightly elderly mountain bike (not the borrowed one pictured below), which has spent a few years mothballed in a garage. I’m one of many Britons to have neglected the joys of off-road riding recently in favour of road bikes, and I’ve missed it.

Mountain biking comes in various forms. My preference is less the teeth-clattering 40mph technical bounce down a rocky hillside, more a ride along meandering up-and-down rural trails. I’d love to return to the 99 miles of the South Downs Way, one of England’s more accessible but most lovely routes.

In my absence, mountain biking has become more dominated by the downhill element, meaning one obstacle I face is finding a replacement for my bike’s now-broken suspension forks. These are for 26in wheels and with a mere 80mm of travel, both of which are fairly out of date.

Possibly the last time I mountain biked: trying out the circuit at the former Olympic park in London in 2014. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

3. Commute serenely, and in style

As of six months ago I have a new and shorter commute (to parliament rather than the Guardian offices), and one where the shower and changing facilities are notably less good.

So, rather than sprinting on a speedy bike while dressed in cycling clothes, I now ride more gently dressed in office garb, my possessions stowed in a huge basket at the front of my more everyday, hub-geared. chaincase-protected bike.

While this is marginally less good for my fitness levels (a reason in part for point one) it’s enjoyable to observe London’s slightly curious and, to me, still overly macho cycle culture from the slow lane. So let the teeth-gritted urban racers sprint past (often, it must be said, without leaving nearly enough overtaking space), brows sodden with sweat; nine times out of 10 I catch up at the next red light.

And one thing I have learned – if I am tempted get a bit competitive on the way home, some of the speedsters get very annoyed if I manage to clank past them, bag and lock rattling loudly in the basket as I overtake.

Fruit of the day's efforts: a nearly-completed replacement for my elderly and falling apart about-town bike. pic.twitter.com/YyCcOTCfSg — Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) September 23, 2016

4. Watch politicians across the UK be more bold about cycling

For all the media focus on London (see below), it’s arguable that the more significant moves this year could be happening elsewhere.

Thanks in part to the success of London’s new properly-designed cycle superhighways, some other cities are moving away from marking bike routes with nothing more than paint, and instead designing them with kerbs and other proper infrastructure.

Cities making or mooting such plans include Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and others.

Will they end up being built? Will they be any good if they are? Who knows. But I have my fingers crossed.

5. See Sadiq Khan make bold choices on cycling

As we’ve discussed on this blog before, London’s new-ish mayor has so far talked a good game in boosting bike numbers for his increasingly congested and smog-choked city, but has seemed a bit nervy when it comes to taking decisions. This is his crunch year. He can’t delay much longer.

London is, of course, just one city. But it’s important, and something of a test bed for elsewhere in the UK, not least as MPs from around the country see the effects first hand.

Where good bike routes have been installed, the results have been amazing. If Khan backs down amid the protests from small if noisy groups of nimbys and taxi drivers, the effect could be felt nationwide.