When you’ve run out of things to say, or don’t want to say anything about everything that’s going on surely cycling can be a safe non-controversial topic to knock out a few hundred words and keep my flow going. What could possibly go wrong?

My town bike is nice and secure near my coffee shop, which at this time of day is almost empty, probably because people have jobs to do after lunchtime and before tea time. It’s out of site and secure, it wants to be, the two locks I bought over a year ago cost around £80. I needed them when I found out that my old locks weren’t up to the job. I’ve just gone out and bought some new bar grips for the old workhorse. Now that I’m in between jobs, the old bike has been reactivated. And it’s a great way to make sure I get out and about. More importantly, I really need the fitness. Last Sunday’s race was very poor, and I’m almost a little unhappy to find that there was someone on the course who was behind me – poor bugger!

After spending some time in a bike shop I’ve come to the conclusion that cycle technology and design is outpacing road design and upkeep. But in some ways new bikes are keeping ahead. Tyres are getting wider, to cope with off-road and on-road bumps. E-bikes are going to take off in a big way very soon, and longer cycle commutes to work could become more and more possible. The only problem is that the roads are filling up and no-one with any clout has managed to make a big difference yet. There is a strategy to accommodate walking and cycling, but that has a delivery date of 2040! We’ll probably have flying cars by then and there’ll be loads of room on the existing roads. Having said that, there’s a good chance that we’ll have flying bikes by then, too!

My thoughts on a green policy strategy 21 years in to the future is that the policy makers will just expect technology and the market to work the problem out, leaving them to take the credit. By that time, the internal combustion engine will almost be a thing of the past. But that doesn’t mean that the roads will be empty.

Real change is very difficult to bring about. But looking at it another way, things are changing very quickly. We can become a nation of cyclists if we apply some effort and imagination.