James Daley: The Cycling Column

If Boris Johnson gets elected as mayor of London next year, I imagine that it'll be no bad thing for cycling. For a start, after having his beloved Marin Sausalito stolen earlier this month – the seventh bike he's had nicked in seven years, apparently – he's already made a pledge to crack down on bike theft (you can read all about Boris's misfortune on his website, www.boris-johnson.com, if you want to gloat or commiserate). No doubt, he'll also be keen to continue encouraging as many people as possible on to their bikes in the capital, and to continue improving the infrastructure.

But although the current mayor, Ken Livingstone, is not much of a cyclist himself – he would be quite a tough act to follow. During his time in the post, he's invested millions of pounds in the capital's cycling infrastructure, reduced the amount of traffic on London's roads, almost doubled the number of people using their bikes to get around – and yet also presided over a fall in the number of cycling fatalities.

Last week, he announced that he is considering installing a bike rental system – similar to the ones in Paris, Barcelona and Dublin – which would see thousands of bikes and electronic bike racks installed across London, available to hire for less than £1 an hour. Such a project would surely increase the number of cyclists in the city exponentially and ensure that even more money is pumped into the London Cycle Network.

Meanwhile, plans are already well under way for another major event to promote cycling in the capital – the Hovis Freewheel, on 23 September. This is effectively a legitimised version of Critical Mass, with nine miles of roads being closed off in central London for the day, allowing cyclists to reclaim the streets for a few hours, and enjoy riding around their beautiful city.

Cyclists who do not already live in the centre of town will congregate at one of six hubs in zone two – at Clapham Common, Ravenscourt Park, Gladstone Park, Finsbury Park, Victoria Park and Peckham Rye – and will ride into the centre together, before tackling the main route. There will also be a cycling fayre in St James's Park, with numerous bike stalls, displays, and free bike maintenance advice.

For those of us who are already keen cyclists, the event will be a great chance to celebrate our passion. Anyone who's been on Critical Mass will know what a great feeling it is to ride around London with no cars in your way – but to ride alongside tens of thousands of people, rather than just a few hundred, should be really special. And for those who are not natural cyclists, it will hopefully build on the momentum that the Tour de France brought to town, encouraging more people to get out and on two wheels and to at least try making a few more journeys by bike.

Yes, Ken has had his moments of madness – not least last year when he had a flirtation with the idea of putting registration plates on bikes, so that law-breaking cyclists could be caught and arrested more easily. But on the whole, and considering he's not much of a cycling enthusiast himself, he's been a real force for positive change during his time at the helm.

The good news is, that with Boris as his opponent, cycling will be sure to stay at the top of the agenda during the election campaign – with both candidates trying to out-green each other by proposing new and exciting policies to make London more cycling-friendly. While the infrastructure has improved enormously, there is still a lot more than needs to be done before we can compete with the likes of Munich and Amsterdam, where more than quarter of all journeys are made by bike.

For more information about the Hovis Freewheel, check out the website, and get signed up (www.londonfreewheel.com). Hope to see you down there.

cycling@independent.co.uk

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