Inverness Bicycle Mayor #pedalprovost and co-founder of Every Body Outdoors. Talking about the outdoor gear, cycling, body positivity, cycle infrastructure .
On the radio again - setting the world to rights with the lovely @HelenNeedham and @steph_wetherell - chatting about Every Body Outdoors, plus size outdoor gear and how we started out campaign.
https://t.co/hIzb2jDwgN
Repeat after me - cycle lanes are not parking spaces. This chap is doing some work on the railings, and it's "too far" to carry his tools from the car park 50m down the road, so is blocking the cycle lane and footpath @HighlandParking@kidicalmassINV@HighlandCouncil@CMInverness
We need to take urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity.
Our new Strategic Biodiversity Framework sets out our ambition to:
🔵halt the loss of nature by 2030
🔵make significant progress in restoring nature by 2045
Watch for more and visit https://t.co/wdV2Wv3C2K
I'm going on tour with Capsized! Join us for an evening of talking about canoeing, portaging and talking about the work that I do with Every Body Outdoors - celebrating joy and adventure.
@ride_the_north That’s almost as good as the oft touted proposal to ‘just’ move Inverness railway station 400m east to make space for a new road to ease congestion on Academy St.
@KayleighFONeill@edi_dot_bike Bollards rather than barriers though - it needs to stay accessible to folk who use adapted bikes or have kids in a trailer and barriers often prevent this.
Coincidentally, on the morning that this Times article/puff piece appeared advocating paid-for wild camping as a ‘solution’ to the Right to Roam, I woke up in a tent next on Dartmoor: the only place in England that free wild camping is still (just about) legal.
Here are some of my thoughts on why ‘paywalling nature’ is not an answer…
Being "able bodied" is temporary, you will age, you will get injured, you will get sick and you will wish you fought more for the system to protect the vulnerable.
One of the many benefits of 20mph limits is that your car insurance is likely to be cheaper - because there are fewer accidents and less damage and fewer injuries.
20mph news!
Insurance company @askesure has said that introducing 20mph could reduce policy costs for drivers by £50 per year.
Esure reduced premiums for people in Wales by 10% at the end of 2023 because of 20mph limit introduction.
esure’s Peter Martin-Simon, chief customer officer, said:
“We are already seeing the benefits in places where 20mph speed limits have been introduced. Not only does this make roads safer for drivers and pedestrians, but an extension would also materially reduce the number of car accidents, as well as the severity and cost of those accidents.
"Within three months of us identifying a new 20mph zone, we will proactively reduce policy prices for customers like we have already done in Wales.”
No doubt some people will still find a way to get annoyed about this but when you add this to the fall in casualties we have already seen it is clear that following evidence based policy might be a good idea..
https://t.co/A2X5KlJwMm
@jelilahjose Same. But I would say that my listening is now balanced 80:20 between women/women-led and men, which is a probably a distinct difference from 5 years ago.
Finance Secretary @ShonaRobison has just announced cuts to resource spend on sustainable and active travel.
Yet despite acknowledging that @scotgov “cannot afford all of our capital commitments”, it has decided to make *no* cuts to its multi-billion pound road-building programme.
Its transport policies continue to prioritise the demands of the more affluent while slashing investment aimed at lower-income groups who are more reliant on buses, cycling and walking.
Trying new things - learning new skills. I could quickly become addicted to the feeling of sinking into the depths. It’s the most intimate I’ve felt with the sea in a long time (and also the most lions mane jellyfish 🪼)
Being a woman is kind of like being a cyclist in a city where all the cars represent men. You're supposed to be able to share the road equally with cars, but that's not how it works. The roads are built for cars and you spend a great deal of physical and mental energy being defensive and trying not to get hurt. Some of the cars want you to get hurt. They think you don't have any place on the road at all. And if you do get hurt by a car, everyone makes excuses that it's your fault.