Edinburgh is a great city and is one of the few that has an impressive network of cycle paths. http://www.innertubemap.com/ gives you an interactive overview of the available cycle routes.
Edinburgh has a large community of cyclists who really care about the state of the cycle routes and the safety on the road. Pedal on Parliament is a group of cyclists united by the desire to make it safer and easier for everyone to ride a bike – whatever bike they ride. They decided to set up a campaign to make the Parliament aware of the cycling community and their safety on the road.
On 26 April the third Pedal on Parliament was taking place. Thousands of cyclists gathered in the Meadows and head off to their final destination; the Parliament to tell our Politicians we want a cycle-friendly Scotland.
Concretely they, or better said, we want:
- Proper funding for cycling.
- Design cycling into Scotland’s roads.
- Slower speeds where people live, work and play
- Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
- Improved road traffic law and enforcement
- Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
- A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
- Improved statistics supporting decision-making and policy
What happens next depends on our politicians – whether they listen to those who turned out on the day. You can help by writing to your MSPs, joining your local campaign groups, and keep pressing to make Scotland a cycle-friendly country. And you can also sign up to http://pedalonparliament.org/ to get involved in the future.
A few pictures of the event:
...at the starting point - in the Meadows
... on the way - om the Royal Mile
We left the group to get a train to North Berwick to attend another event planned that day: “Walk Slow, Pedal Fast”. We joined a few other people for a mindful walk on North Berwick Law. The event, “Walk Slow, Pedal Fast” was orgainsed by Karen Gabbitas as part of the John Muir Festival. The event consisted of a slow mindful walk, focussing on breathing and walking. We walked to reach a hut where a film installation was set up and was running thanks to a bike-powered projector. In order to see the short film screening, each of us jumped on turn on a bike and pedalled to power the projector. Guerilla Cinema Project provided the bicycle powered portable cinema . I strongly recommend to have a look at their website as it is a really interesting project focussing on the importance of sustainable energy.
The John Muir Festival runs from 17 - 26 April.
Produced
by UZ Arts and funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, Homecoming Scotland and
Creative Scotland - the Festival involves community participation, artist-led
events and large-scale public performances at selected locations along the 134
mile route. Walk slow Pedal fast is one of these events.
More
info on the featured events: www.johnmuirfestival.com
The
John Muir Festival aims to celebrate the life and legacy of pioneering
conservationist John Muir – and marks the official opening of the new national
pathway, the John Muir Way.
The
John Muir Way in 2014 is significant as the year marks 100 years since Muir’s
death.
Stretching
from John Muir’s birthplace in Dunbar to the waters of the Clyde at
Helensburgh, the new trail will enable everyone to explore the varied nature
and landscapes of Central Scotland and visit Scotland’s first National Park at
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.
John
Muir was a Scottish farmer, inventor, botanist, geologist, explorer,
mountaineer and writer. He is best known as a pioneer of nature conservation.
He
developed a deep love of nature as a child and this love grew into a lifelong
journey. John Muir is widely recognised as the father of the modern
conservation movement and a founder of America’s National Parks. A passionate
environmental activist, he helped change the way people view nature and the
earth’s finite natural resources. Muir’s deep love of wild places led him to
travel the world in scientific study and spiritual reverence. ‘God never made
an ugly landscape,’ he wrote. ‘All that the sun shines on is beautiful, so long
as it is wild.’
Inspired
by John Muir’s passion for wild places, the John Muir Trust was founded in
1983.
The
John Muir Trust is a UK conservation charity dedicated to protecting wild
places. The trust owns and cares for some of the UK's finest wild landscapes
including Ben Nevis, Schiehallion, Sandwood Bay, Quinag in Assynt, part of the
Cuillin on Skye and 3,000 acres on the remote Knoydart peninsula.
They
work hard on the properties they own, and through partnerships with others, to
restore and protect habitats, bring back lost species and help nature flourish.
Among other tasks, they do litter picks, beach cleans, footpath maintenance,
and other key tasks that help our wild places. They also educate people through
our John Muir Award, an educational
initiative that encourages everyone to connect with, enjoy and care for wild
places. More info on their website: https://www.jmt.org/
or pop in the Wild Space visitor centre in Pitlochry.
After the event we went for another walk exploring North Berwick
