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Boardman says cycling on British roads is mentally exhaustingChris Boardman (via YouTube).jpg

Boardman says cycling on British roads is mentally exhausting

Speaks of ambitious plans to make cycling “the easiest option” for many journeys around Manchester
by Alex Bowden
Fri, Sep 01, 2017 11:34
36

Chris Boardman says that while British roads are statistically safe, “it doesn’t look it and it doesn’t feel it.” The first cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester, whose mother was killed while riding her bike in Connah’s Quay last year, says that he now tries to do more of his riding off-road.

Boardman told The Guardian that he found riding in some areas “exhausting”.

“False modesty aside, I’m about as competent as it gets and I am constantly doing risk assessments. I’m looking at parked cars, seeing which way wheels are turning, everything that’s going on around me. It’s just exhausting. Whereas if I ride on a track or a trail I don’t have to do that and it’s just more pleasant these days,”

He added that for months after his mother’s death, he stopped cycling completely because he found road users’ behaviour depressing.

“I don’t want to see people behaving on a road in an aggressive way because, more than making me angry, it makes me depressed to see human beings treating each other that way. To see a human being treat someone who is vulnerable as an obstacle and give them no more thought than that. So I just avoid putting myself in that situation.”

North Wales police has said that on September 7, a 32-year-old man will go on trial charged causing Carol Boardman’s death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice. A 31-year-old woman will also appear charged with perverting the course of justice.

On anniversary of his mother’s death, Chris Boardman says justice system is failing cyclists and their families

In his new role, Boardman says he wants to spend billions improving the region in a bid to encourage motorists to ditch their cars in favour of bikes for many of their journeys.

“I’m not interested in cyclists ... I’m interested in the people in the cars. Getting them to change, it’s got to be easy, appealing and safe, in that order.”

He said that if cycling weren’t the easiest solution, not enough people would do it. “If it looks a bit intimidating, they are not going to do it. And that means space, and it means joined-up space. I’m only going to make a piece of cycling infrastructure if it’s joined up, otherwise it’s wasting everybody’s money.”

chris boardman
Carol Boardman
Manchester
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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36 comments

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NorthEastJimmy | 7 years ago
7 likes

It was only this very morning, while stepping out of the house for the morning commute, that I thought it's not right for me to slightly dread getting on the bike.  I almost got knocked off this morning by a ReedBoardAll lorry who wanted to make it to the pinch point before I did.  I no longer have the energy to report these weekly, sometimes daily occurences.

Even my close family don't understand and whenever I try and portray to them how bad the situation out there is for cyclists, all I get is the typical response of "but look at all those cyclists in London who run red lights". 

I hate this country.

 

Avatar
jasecd | 7 years ago
6 likes

Chris is correct as always but stopping riding on the road isn't going to change things (although I completely sympathise and understand his position given what he has been through in the last year).

The only way that the behaviour of the minority of dangerous, idiotic road users will change is for cycling to become normalised and their behaviour to be made socially unacceptable.

My take on it is that we are in a conflict, not in a click-baiting "war on the roads" sense but in a long battle with the authorities and wider society. If we want to get to a point where cycling is properly accepted and vulnerable road users are treated as such by all motorists then we need to continue to ride everywhere and be even more vocal about mistreatment and endangerment when it occurs.

Avatar
StraelGuy | 7 years ago
2 likes

If he wants people to cycle in Manchester I hope he has a few billion down the back of his sofa for road repairs. I love Manchester but won't cycle there because of the state of the roads, they are utterly appalling.

Avatar
Canyon48 | 7 years ago
10 likes

Totally agree with Chris.

I love road cycling and I really enjoy my road commute to and from work. However, my commute to work takes me to Bristol and (particularly in the afternoons) the way other road users behave is appalling (n.b. in this case, road users includes; motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, bus drivers, van drivers and motorcyclists - the lot).

Riding anywhere near remotely populated areas involves doing my utmost to deconflict with other traffic that is either unaware, incompetent or selfish. Don't get me wrong, the majority of other road users behave perfectly well, but complacency would lead to missing the minority of road users who behave like... well, they barely behave.

 

Avatar
Bikebikebike | 7 years ago
13 likes

He just says exactly the right thing every time.

Avatar
Goldfever4 | 7 years ago
20 likes

Stop making so much sense Chris, you're making everyone else look bad.

 

Quote:

It makes me depressed [...] to see a human being treat someone who is vulnerable as an obstacle and give them no more thought than that.

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