Riding a bicycle is getting easier and more reliable.With puncture-resistant tyres (page 24), drum brakes (page 22), a cargo trailer (page 32), and power-assist (page 27), almost anyone could transfer their family shopping from car to bike.Yet the number doing it in the UK can be counted in thousands (maybe hundreds) rather than millions. Why? We’re partly to blame, because we’re obviously failing to get the message across to ordinary people. But if you were to demonstrate this sort of technology outside your local supermarket, people would wave their hands at the sea of cars and blame ‘road safety’.They’d be right, of course. Bicycles may be easier to use and more reliable than ever before, but the perception is that roads have become dangerous places.Will this trend be reversed? Absolutely no idea, but we’re trying to plant the seeds of a revolution, and once a revolution begins, it’s often unstoppable. If a single TV chef can change attitudes to the way children eat, surely the same can be done for the way we get our food home, or the kids to school?
