Cycling Cultures blog

Please go here for material from the 2012 Cycling and Society Symposium. Thanks to our 80 participants for their contribution to the event.

You can now read the GLA cycling investigation transcript online here .

The Cycling and Society Symposium has finished, and I am exhausted – but in a good way Eighty people (from academia, advocacy, policy and practice) came over the two days and we had a packed programme.

Discussions over lunch and poster session, Monday

Lots of ideas, lots of networking, lots of debate over a day and a half (and an evening in the pub). Nineteen talks (and associated discussion), sixteen posters (ditto), and a Sunday afternoon ride. There was more of an international flavour this year, with contingents from (among other countries) Denmark and The Netherlands. (A moment that made me smile on the ride: when one of the participants, gazing at a ‘good example’ of cycle infrastructure, said tactfully ‘You know it is rather strange seeing this coming from The Netherlands’).

Near Lock 7, Sunday afternoon bike ride.

Thanks to all participants, presenters, chairs, abstract reviewers, co-organisers, helpers on the day, etc… (people who came up at busy points and said ‘what can I do?’, you know who you are!)

Godwin explaining his poster to Trine

I plan, over the next month, to upload and link to files including pictures, audio recordings of talks and presentation files (subject to presenters’ agreement). Watch this space – and, if you’ve got any photos etc. from the event that you’d like me to share links to, let me know

More articles are on the way based on the Cycling Cultures research. The paper that Kat and I wrote on Group Cycle Rides is now published in the June issue of Sociology. Another co-authored paper, on cycling’s sensory strategies (known between Kat and I as the ‘Zombie paper’ because its original title referred to ‘iPod Zombies’) was referred back for minor revisions and is now being re-considered by Mobilities. And a paper I’ve written entitled Governing Transport from Welfare State to Hollow State: the case of cycling in the UK is in press. You can read an author’s version here .

I’ve also been out and about last week, attending (a) the first day of the Modelling World conference , (b) a workshop to inform the development of the STEP-CHANGE project , and (c) the inaugural meeting of the European Cycle Logistics Forum. All fascinating, but only the last involved the opportunity to ride an electric-assist Bakfiets during the lunch break…

I’ve just finished writing up a short report on our LCC Big Ride Survey . It’s basically a summary of findings with some examples of how people responded to the open questions, such as why they were motivated to attend. Many referred to problematic experiences of cycling as a motivator, and to a feeling of a political window of opportunity for cycling. To give a couple of examples:

‘I am a regular cyclist concerned about the still inadequate facilities in London for myself and fellow cyclists.’

‘I don’t particularly like big, organised marshalled rides but I felt I ought to attend to support the LCC’s campaign for better cycling infrastructure, as I cycle in central London every day.
When i’m feeling optimistic, I get a sense that we’re almost at tipping point and London could become a place where normal people ride bikes all the time and cars are marginalised. It feels like a good time to be part of a campaign to keep pushing for that.’

You can read the short report here , and I’m planning to do more in-depth analysis later in the year – updated to be posted.

We launched the report yesterday at UEL Stratford – thanks to all who came, we hope you found it interesting and useful. It’s now available in pdf form here .

Our final report for the Cycling Cultures project will be launched in Bike Week (when else!) at UEL Stratford, at 5:30pm on the 19th June. Please sign up to attend here .

Two events coming up (for more details/to attend, email )

16th May, 5pm: MSc Transport, Sustainability and Society Q&A session at UEL Docklands. Find out more about the MSc here and bursaries here .

19th June, 5:30pm: The final report for our Cycling Cultures project will be launched at UEL Stratford, in Bike Week.

We are very pleased to announce the provisional programme for the 2012 Cycling and Society Symposium , and to open registration. You can see the programme and register here . Thanks to all who put in abstracts and to the peer reviewers – there were lots of good quality abstracts and some difficult decisions to make.

Quite a diverse range of talks coming up in February:

- Kat’s speaking on The Socio-Politics of Bloomers and Lycra: why what cyclists wear still matters , at an Institute of Railway Studies & Transport History Research Workshop at 2pm, in York, Thursday 2nd Feb.
- I will be speaking with James Woodcock on , at Tent City University, Occupy London, at 5:30pm on Thursday 2nd Feb.
- I’m talking on Cycling, Culture, Place, and Policy: making the connections , at CEMORE, Lancaster University, on February 21st, 4:15pm
- I’m presenting some of the Cycling Cultures findings to the Bristol Cycling Campaign on February 28th, at the YHA Bristol, 7:30pm.