| The achievements of Scotland’s Chris Hoy at the Olympics and Newburgh-born round-the-world cyclist Mark Beaumont have prompted a significant increase in city bike sales, and a rise in membership of the area’s cycle clubs.
Hoy won his third gold medal of the Beijing games on Tuesday, and both he and Beaumont, who cycled 18,000 miles around the world in a record-breaking 194 days, have been cited in Dundee cycling circles for encouraging people to take-up the sport.
John Grant, of Dundee-based Spokes Cycles, said, “Cycling is really coming back into the public eye and, in the last few months, we have seen a marked increase in bike sales, despite the bad weather.
“Both Mark Beaumont and Chris Hoy are great role models. More and more children are joining clubs to follow in their footsteps.”
The city has three cycling clubs, all of which regularly organise tours and events in Tayside and beyond.
Bill McLennan, chairman of Dundee Wheelers cycling club, said, “We have 35 members and this has been going up over the last two years. We hope our achievements at the Olympics will boost interest further.
“We’re seeing more folk commuting by bike these days, with the rising cost of fuel.
“We could do with more younger members, although there is the Discovery Cycle Club that caters for younger cyclists, based in Caird Park.”
There was widespread praise for Dundee City Council’s commitment to cycle schemes in the area, with the city’s Caird Park hosting one of only two velodromes in the country, and a number of cycle routes on offer for residents.
Last week it was revealed Dundee is to join Barcelona, Paris and Stockholm by introducing a self-service cycle-hire scheme.
This allows riders to use bikes free for half an hour and rent them for longer.
The only consistent criticism was a shortage of on-road cycle lanes that many believe are hindering the sport’s growth.
Colin Murray, of Nicholson’s Cyclelife in Stobswell, said, “The Green Circular route around Dundee is good, but there are not enough cycle lanes on the roads.
“Traffic in and around Dundee can be a nightmare at peak times. If more lanes were introduced many more people would cycle to work.
Mr McLennan added, “If everyone behaves then there is no problem, but often urban cycling can be quite dodgy in Dundee, due to the volume of traffic.” |
