In 1980, as a boy of 13, I learned to cycle on the streets of a small mill town in the valleys of East Lancashire (after pottering in the garden and nearby pavements initially). Very steep hills, so I soon had to learn how to avoid parked cars at speed, be careful at junctions, appropriate signals, and how to brake! Also how to climb those damn hills again to get home. From age 16 I lived on a small island in Orkney, attending school in Kirkwall. Cycling was something to do in the holidays when it was not too windy. The roads were generally good, and quiet save for the odd car or tractor. The main hazard was letting your attention drift while taking in the views and possibly ending up in a roadside ditch - that and the occasional bull which had broken free of the field it was supposed to be contained within.
As a student later on, I didn't use my bike much, as it was hundreds of miles away in Orkney until my final year. In retrospect I should have taken it with me to explore Tayside, Fife and beyond. I didn't even worry about not having a car: very few young people owned or used them in the 1980s. Everyone walked, took the bus, a few cycled.
After university I moved back to my birthplace Edinburgh, initially living in rented flats in Marchmont and Morningside. I used my bike as it was the easiest and cheapest way to get around. The Meadows became a key route for me, but I never really thought about whether cycling on roads was a good idea or not. I had no idea there might be off road paths other than in the Meadows, so to get anywhere it was by road, naturally. I spent a few years living in London in the mid-1990s, where I was terrified of the traffic and did not cycle at all: when I left Edinburgh I left my old teenage years racing bike in the street outside my flat for someone to take.
When I returned to Edinburgh in the late 1990s, I moved to the Easter Road area and bought a bike straight away. Again I used the roads as I still did not know any paths existed other than in the Meadows. Eventually in the early zeroes I became more aware of the existence of organisations like Spokes: I think I found their web site on the internet. Prior to that I had no idea Spokes, CTC, or other organisations existed, I was not into sports cycling and knew very few people socially who cycled so never heard about them.
Buying a Spokes map changed my perceptions of what was possible dramatically. I became more conscious of quieter back street routes (though I knew a few of them anyway). I also discovered the Sustrans NCJN routes, which of course did not exist before the zeroes as they were a Millennium project. As I cycled more and got involved in Spokes, I learned about CTC and joined. Since those days I've met more experienced cyclists who have inspired me to take what I always viewed as just a mode of transport and turn it into a passion.
I don't think I've managed to convert anyone to cycling with the exception of my wife and children (with variable success). I am aware of colleagues at work who cycle; others note that I cycle to work and sometimes ask about it. I tried to persuade one colleague to cycle to the station instead of driving or bussing it, and although he has a bike and was thinking about it, I don't think he ever bothered.
Since the 1990s at least I've been aware that I'm part of a tiny minority who do not drive and cycle / use public transport instead. Relatives and friends have at least stopped being patronising about it and expecting me to change. I know that they look askance at me, think I'm slightly insane, maybe even feel sorry for me. I've tried telling them how wrong this view is, but there's now a sort of truce where the topic is just not discussed. They are in their motorised bunkers, and I'm in my pedal powered one.
I'm proud to reclaim the identity of cyclist for myself and yes, I'm probably a bit of a born again evangelist on the subject. I fully intend to keep going with cycling as long as my health allows.
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