I Like people riding bikes

This ought to go on my cycling blog as much as on my poetry blog – maybe it will. I wrote this on the occasion of leaving my job at CTC and it explains why people like me work so hard to encourage more people to ride bikes. My former colleagues had this already but its time to share…..

Oh Yes and here is a gratuitous picture of a tree:

I like people riding bikes

I like people riding bikes
Young ones, old ones and in-betweeners
Thin ones, large ones, tall ones and short ones 
Racers, wannabes and commuters
In Lycra, corduroy or pin-striped suits
Tourists and mountain bikers
B… M… Xers
People that ride with their mates
And even the single speed hipsters
(But preferably with brakes)
I like road bikes, track bikes
Bicycles, tricycles, unicycles
Recumbents and tandems
I like bikes with pedals, with treadles
And those with hand cranks
Folders, mountain bikes, BMX bikes and
Speedway bikes (but not on the road)
I like cargo bikes and trailers
Balance bikes, trikes, kiddie cranks
Tag-alongside and child seats
I even like bikes with electrical assist
I like steel, aluminium, bamboo and carbon
(just a little bit)
I’m not sure about cardboard, manganese
Plywood and plastic
They might have bells or hooters
Saddlebags, bar-bags
Panniers or rucksacks
I like people riding bikes
I’ll pedal alone
We’ll pedal together
I’ll take the road, high or low
I’ll take the rough stuff or the smooth stuff
The single track or the velodrome
I’ll take cycle lanes and shared lanes
I’ll just take the lane
I’ll pedal to work and I’ll pedal for fun
I’ll give or take a croggy or a backie
Or a push on steep hills
Maybe I’ll take a tow
I like people riding bikes
But
I don’t like everything
I don’t like bad riding
I don’t like bad driving
I don’t like victim blaming
I don’t like hi-vis and I don’t like helmets
I don’t like safety placebos and mystical rituals
I’ve seen the Emperors’ new clothes
Bright shining yellow
With a polystyrene cap
Hip, hip, hooray
The crowds cheer
As the otherwise invisible
Emperor pedals by

And I do like people riding bikes