Hundreds of cyclists descended on the Scottish Parliament on Saturday in order to ramp up pressure on politicians to better improve cycling provision and safety across Scotland.
As a result, Edinburgh Live caught up with two cyclists to find out why it was important for them to take part.
One individual, Theo Morgan Lundie, had said that they were in attendance after being a victim of road violence when he was struck by a taxi on Nicolson Street in December 2021.
He said that the event was important to him because it is a chance to show politicians that there is an appetite for cycling in Scotland’s capital but that there is not the quality infrastructure to support this.
On the event, he said: “I've been a victim of road violence myself after getting hit by a taxi on Nicolson Street in December 2021, and now only have the confidence to cycle about Edinburgh wearing cameras as a way of protecting myself.
“For me the event is about showing all politicians that there is real appetite for cycling in Scotland, and that that demand isn't met primarily because of a lack of high quality, accessible and connected infrastructure.
“Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and cycling offers a very simple, cheap solution to massively reduce our burn on the natural world, but until it is genuinely safe for everyone we have much further to go.
“I'd like to see transport budgets for cycling/active travel nationally increase significantly to account for the absence of sufficient funding for this over the last few decades; combined with joined up thinking and planning from all parties on how to introduce local and local equitable active travel infrastructure for everyone in Scotland.
“From the new Edinburgh City Council administration in May I'd like to see significantly more road space reallocated to active travel in the form of permanent, high quality and accessible infrastructure projects that make choosing active travel an easy and obvious choice for everyone in Edinburgh and beyond.”
Diana Laing, a mother and keen cyclist from Corstorphine, was also in attendance in order to make politicians aware of the appetite that exists for cyclists.
On attending the event and what she would like to see from the new council administration in Edinburgh, she said: “I wanted to noise up the politicians I suppose. Especially just before the elections.
“It is important to keep active transport in the spotlight and to maintain the momentum of Cop26.
“We have to demonstrate to the public and politicians that cycling is the main mode of transport for many people and that cyclists and bicycles can come in many forms.
“I try to go to as many of these events as possible, just to keep up the pressure on the council to improve facilities for cyclists.
“I hope the result of today will be to encourage action from the elected representatives who can change things.
“The feeling was that we have been talking about this for 10 years now but not much has changed or any changes are happening at glacial speed.
“There was a very inspiring 11 year old who was a speaker. He highlighted that in his lifetime very little has changed.
“I would like the Scottish government to release funds to the councils so they can build infrastructure for active transport. I am absolutely devastated about cycle lanes and Spaces for People being removed.
“A few chicanes were installed in Craig's road last year that have now been ripped out. Yet all they did was slow traffic a bit.”
The Pedal on Parliament website states that the mass family-friendly cycle to the Scottish Parliament aimed to “send a loud message to politicians that it’s time to deliver on their promises.”
Their aim is to make Scotland a cycle-friendly country.
They argue that not a lot has changed since the first Pedal on Parliament event in 2012 but that the time was right to host another mass cycle with local elections approaching in May.
You can learn more about the event on their website here.
