THE BIG INTERVIEW
The charity also champions diversity in cycling, aiming to welcome everyone to ride their bike Images credit: Cycling UK
“
I find it really energising to hear from all the different people who have a love of cycling
Cycling UK also won the Cycle Advocacy Award at last year’s BikeBiz Awards, which was a morale boost for the organisation, said Mitchell: “Our campaigns team are pretty cynical, because they spend a lot of time being knocked back. They always feel like it’s two steps forward three steps back with everything they do, but they were genuinely really chuffed to get this award. “We always want the public to support our campaigns, but
it really means a lot to get that recognition from the industry, from our peers. It’s just really nice to get a recognition of all the hard work that’s gone into some of those campaigns, like the Highway Code changes, which have taken so many years to achieve. “I think getting an award like this is just an opportunity to
stop, take stock, congratulate yourself for five minutes before you move on to the next really difficult campaign.” So what could we look forward to this year, and what would Mitchell say is needed to make sure people continue to cycle? “It’s a really challenging one because people were really inspired to cycle when the roads were quieter, but now they’re busier again. I think there’s still that need to invest in our infrastructure locally, and our street design, to be able to make sure that active travel is facilitated, supported and encouraged. While there’s still more that each Government could be doing around that, we’ve actually achieved a lot
28 | June 2022
in terms of getting investment and attention around active travel. I think a lot of our focus is going to be around local delivery, trying to get councils to engage with active travel and recognising that they have to give people alternative transport choices. It’s not just about the car, there are other options. It’s also really good for the health and wellbeing of their populations if they invest in active travel. “We’ve been trying to influence things ourselves, but also supporting local people to become campaigners themselves through our campaign advocacy network. We can help to build up their skills and give them the material and the information they need to be able to campaign locally because we can’t be everywhere, but what we can do is give them the support and the capacity they need to be able to campaign for more active travel in their local area.” It still feels like a really exciting time for cycling, said
Mitchell, as it feels like there are lots of new ideas and kinds of cycling that are emerging. “I find it really energising to hear from all the different people who have a love of cycling, whatever that is. We pride ourselves on being the cycling organisation for people who don’t even necessarily think of themselves as cyclists. So the whole gamut from people who do really serious cycling to people who only started in the last week. That’s exciting for us to think about that broader movement of cycling really, and how we can facilitate it.” ■
www.bikebiz.com
“
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
