Get On Your Bike Scotland

Kaitlin Dryburgh- 30th August 2023

An exhilarating eleven days turned Glasgow and other areas of Scotland into the cycling capital of the world. Buzzing with fans arriving from all over and an estimated 8,000 cyclists both professional and amateur took part in the numerous cycling events. The UCI cycling world championships really made an impression on Glasgow. Record-breaking crowds and sold-out events, Glasgow rose to the occasion as host. Even with inconvenient road closures and diverted bus routes the city put on quite a show. Although apprehension was perhaps in the air in the run up to events such as the road race, the “mini-Olympics of cycling” were dubbed a success by the cycling community.

For a Scottish fan of cycling who perhaps can’t travel to the Tour de France every year or attend every Olympics this was a fantastic opportunity to take in anything from BMXing, mountain biking, track cycling, paracycling, to artistic cycling (I hadn’t actually heard of artistic cycling before).

Scotland hosting the first ever UCI cycling world championship seems very fitting indeed. Although we may not be perceived as one with a bike as much as other countries like the Netherlands, we certainly are a little bike obsessed. A 2021 Cycling Scotland study found that over a third of Scots cycle regularly or occasionally, and 40% of young people aged 18-24 make daily cycling journeys. Famously we’ve produced record-breaking cyclists such as; Chris Hoy, winner of 7 Olympic medals, and Graeme Obree, dubbed the flying Scotsman who broke the world hour record twice through-out his career. It’s estimated that cycling brings in over half a billion to our economy each year, that includes bike sales and the revenue generated from bike tourism.

The UCI championships had all the big names in the sport. It also included a staggering 30 cyclists from Scotland, in among them were some titans of the sport and others who are slowly coming up in the ranks. Scotland is home to some of the best talent in the sport and often we don't get to hear of their accomplishments.

Scottish cyclists cover all disciplines, some with amazing stories and triumphs. Perhaps none so impressive as Josh Quigley. Born and raised in Livingston his path to cycling didn’t start at a young age like many of those on the world cycling stage. It wasn’t until Quigley attended a talk by Chris Hoy that he considered giving cycling a go. This crucially took place after trying to take his own life due to suffering from depression, and subsequently alcohol addiction. Being a self-proclaimed extreme person Josh got into cycling in a big way and became an endurance cyclist. Setting two world records in cycling including greatest distance cycled in one week. Arguably his most famous accomplishment is cycling around the world. It took eight attempts, his father died during that time, and he was involved in a crash so bad that he suffered life-threatening injuries resulting in a several month stay in a US hospital. Yet, Quigley persevered and has become but a handful of people who have cycled around the world.

Perhaps taking a more traditional route in the sporting world is Langbank’s track cyclist Neah Evans. Once a veterinary surgeon before she became a full-time athlete Evans now has several world championship titles under her belt, as well as several medal finishes at the Commonwealth Games and a silver Olympic medal. Neah represents one of the top Scottish Athletes and a great role model for young cyclists coming up the ranks. Additionally Neah helped to promote the new ‘Learning through cycling’ initiative, a new cross-curricular learning resource to help cycling become a solid feature in primary school classrooms.

From the more reserved world of track-cycling comes the daredevils of BMXing. Although BMX cycling has in recent years become a more traditionally recognised sport, the subculture surrounding BMXing still deems it a perhaps more alternative sport. One which is more creative and pushes the boundaries in every sense. Kriss Kyle from Dumbarton couldn’t embody that thinking anymore. Dubbed as “one of the most energetic and electrifying park riders globally," by Reb Bull. Winning competitions all over the world has perhaps just been practice for the 31-year-old’s most recent feat, riding a skatepark under a hot air balloon. Don’t believe me, give this a watch. Kyle performed some death defy stunts while suspended 2,000 feet in the air on a custom-made skate bowl. Kyle described it as “a once in a lifetime experience”. Although it's maybe perceived as a slightly odd thing to do, why not do it? After all, sport is about pushing yourself that little bit further, be that walking a little longer, doing something completely different or doing a 180 on a BMX suspended from a hot air balloon.

It was hoped that the world championships in Glasgow would leave a lasting impact on Scotland, such is the rhetoric in any country after a major sporting event. Never a bad goal, yet sometimes the results are underwhelming. Cycling is already a very well-established community sport in Scotland, however extra funding would never go a miss. It is expected that after the UCI world championships the extra funding for community cycling will total approximately £5 million, as well as promises from the Scottish Government to improve the existing infrastructure.

There are already some shining examples of community cycling initiatives up and down Scotland. One of those being the Hike and Bike Hub in Galashiels. This social enterprise has the overall aim of getting more people hiking and biking in their local area. With guidance and information for new starts, the Hike and Bike crew will provide bike repairs and maintenance at affordable prices and teach riders how to repair their own bikes. Additionally their ‘pay what you can’ bike hire service will allow those who may not be able to afford a bike to rent one for a reasonable price. With extra funding provided to the Hike and Bike hub due to the UCI world championships in Glasgow, they will be able to provide free bike hire through-out the boarders to those who need it. A good characteristic of any organisation is how they perceive their role in giving back to the community, and Hike and Bike want to be part of the regeneration of their town and improve the access for residents and visitors to walking and biking trails.

Those living in the Govanhill area of Glasgow have experienced a boost to a handful of different cycling projects as part of the ‘Go Cycle Glasgow Fund’. One of those lucky groups were ‘Women on Wheels’. Looking to challenge the idea that cycling is predominantly for the white male Women on Wheels wants to open cycling up to as many women as possible and overcome some very common barriers. Classes, peer led bike rides, events, maintenance classes, and a buddy and bike loan service are all the ways this organisations are helping women to get on the saddle. This organisation looks to not only be a practical service but a social hub to get women of all backgrounds to pursue a joy and passion together.

Going forward the Scottish Government has recently released it's new Cycling Framework. This being rather important as it looks to map out how Scotland will achieve it's vision of nearly all short everyday journeys being done by cycling or walking by 2030 , organisations such Hike and Bike and Women on Wheels will also be key in delivering this. The framework hopes to attain this by producing a safe cycling infrastructure, equal cycling access to all and enhanced network planning so residents of Scotland's towns, cities and villages are included in discussion, among many other key points. This will require a great amount of investment and talented planning, however if we can suspend a cycling Scot from a hot air balloon, we can achieve this.