The annual All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) bike ride took place in London today with over 70 people riding through Hyde Park to Parliament.
Above (left to right): APPCG co-chairs Ian Austin MP and Julian Huppert MP with Transport Minister Norman Baker MP outside the Dutch Embassy.
Notable attendees included Minister for Transport Norman Baker MP, and co- chairs of the APPCG Julian Huppert MP and Ian Austin MP.
"It was good to see MPs and representatives from organisations such as Sustrans and CTC coming together to achieve a common goal."
British Cycling Campaigns Manager Martin Key
Hot the heels of the lauch of the APPCG inquiry report 'Get Britain Cycling', the annual bike ride provided an opportunity to stress the important messages it contained. Julian Huppert MP emphasised the need for political leadership in order to make a difference to cycling infrastructure in this county.
Julian proudly stated that Cambridge now boasted 'Dutch' levels of cycling at close to 30% of journeys but Britain as whole needed to aim for 10% of journeys to be made by bike by 2025. To achieve this the inquiry found that consistent funding was required and recommended £10 per head of population, this is less than half the Dutch spend on cycling.
The event started in the Dutch Embassy and delegates heard from the Ambassador, Laetitia van dem Assum, who said how important cycling was to the Dutch economy and way of life. The Ambassador said that the UK can learn lessons from countries like Denmark and the Netherlands who have so successfully integrated cycling into their national culture.
As well as the ride the the event also enjoyed a live video link with the cycling delegation in Holland where British Cycling's Policy and Legal Affairs Director, Martin Gibbs was in attendance. You can read Martin's blog from the event here.
Martin Key, British Cycling Campaign Manager, who attended the Parliament bike ride said:
“The day was a great success and it was really interesting to hear the wide range of opinions and ideas on the best ways to get Britain cycling. It was good to see MPs and representatives from organisations such as Sustrans and CTC coming together to achieve a common goal. Events like this prove that cycling can bring people together and again highlight why it is vitally important that the recommendations from the Get Britain Cycling are implemented as soon as possible.”
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