Two Wheels Good

I went on a demonstration yesterday.

Last week the council voted to extend the cycle route west of Worthing pier – sort of. Never a group to make a decision when a delay will do, the cabinet had decided: not to make a final decision, but to have a trial; not to do it now, but sometime in the future (when they can get the bye laws changed); and not to have a dedicated cycle route, but to have shared use – so let's look forward to cyclist dodging pedestrians, and pedestrians dodging OAPs in electric buggies, and children dodging everyone (we hope). Still, at least they decided that this nebulous, date-to-be-determined, trial, should go as far as George V Avenue. The public have spoken, after all!

Having been handed a flyer for a demo about the Worthing prom cycle route, I turned up just before 11am, expecting to find a dozen or so fanatics like myself. Okay, the weather was good, but not long before it had looked dauntingly grey and miserable – not the sort of day for walking along the prom with my bike to pressure the council to act a little more like they are capable of acting.

Amazingly, there were a good couple of hundred people there – parents with kids; a sort of Hells' Angel cyclist, with bandanna, flags and customised reclining bike a family of four on unicycles; oldies, youngies; people without bikes (!); even two councillors (although no Tories, not even the cycling 'champion').

While we waited for the word to set off, I was approached by a rather patrician lady, perhaps seventy or so, with her husband in tow (definitely in tow- it was obvious who was in charge of their Sunday walk). 'What's going on?' she asked in a rather peremptory fashion; I explained, and waited for her to give me her no doubt forthright views on cyclists on the prom. 'What nonsense,' she said. 'Of course cyclists should be able to use the prom, what are we, idiots? Where's your petition?' I pointed her at someone with a fluorescent jacket and a clipboard. She signed the petition, and without turning around, said 'George, come here and sign this.' Now that's the sort of Worthing Tory lady I like.

The demo? We had a great walk, very orderly, from Heene Road to Splash Point. People rang their bells, pedestrians joined in and asked questions, people waved from cars and honked their horns. Hopefully the press photo will be in the papers later this week; I'm the one at the back with the railway ticket and large handbag, of course.