Pedalling low horizons

Commuters in London waiting for delayed trains or overcrowded buses will appreciate the latest message from Transport for London: Have you thought about cycling?

To celebrate Bike Week, Transport for London (TfL) has been running a poster campaign to encourage people to get back on their bikes, in conjunction with a series of events designed to show how cool cycling really is. 'Cycling is cutting edge, urban, contemporary and stylish, as you'll see from a specially choreographed street dance (yes, you guessed it, performed on bikes!) and a cycling inspired fashion show.'

Even though I cycle regularly, I'm under no illusions that cycling is cutting edge. It's a century-old technology that should have been long since superseded. And there's nothing stylish about sweating into your workclothes after a long haul along London's streets. In fact, cycling is a piss-poor substitute for a proper modern transport system that many Londoners employ to get from A to B in some kind of predictable manner. And as for health...any small reduction in the risk of a heart attack is surely more than matched by the danger of being taken out by some more powerful motorised vehicle.

It is pretty annoying when environmental groups trumpet cycling as a positive transport option for the millions of workers coming into the capital daily. It is downright galling coming from the people responsible for the public transport system in one of the world's richest cities. But if mayor Ken Livingstone would like to encourage more cycling, perhaps he'd like to stop spending money on irritating posters and family-friendly events - and do some basic road repairs to the pothole-ridden, bone-shaking backstreets he's promoting as safe cycle routes.

BikeFest in the Square - Sunday 12 June 2005, Transport for London