I can't tell you the joy I feel whizzing past cars packed nose to tail on the Sydenham Bypass as I cycle to work on my recently electrified bike.
Now this isn’t a pop at motorists, because I have a car as well and use it when there’s no other way to get from A to B in a reasonably timely manner. But the journey into Belfast now takes me just over 20 minutes from my front door in Holywood to the bike rack outside our Belfast office.
That’s a six mile journey, give or take, and the route is nowhere near as clear as that set out for cars with all the twists and turns a cyclist has to take.
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But I’ve been stuck in that traffic before, sometimes for up to an hour, and it’s hateful.
While cars have a clear road ahead with minimal turns, unless they need to, cyclists have a far more dangerous route to travel. We’re expected to head up and down footpaths shared with walkers, take bike lanes that end abruptly and lead nowhere clear.
Even the new ones bypassing the SSE and Titanic provide no straight route for cyclists - with some on the footpath, others near the road, some stopping at a fence and no straightforward routes past roundabouts or along the River Lagan.
Don’t even get me started on the underpass just before the airport citybound, which is scattered with shards of glass that appear to have lain there for eons.
The mess on Sydenham’s bike lane was raised recently and it appears to have been cleaned up - so well done for that DfI. But what about all the other bike lanes around the city and those cars are STILL parking on without consequence?
Then you get past the Odyssey and where do you go? Up and over the footbridge to the lights before Custom House Square.
Here you are again expected to mingle with walking folks after a sharp right turn to meet the lights through a series of bollards at all sorts of angles. I don’t know who designed all these roads - but they certainly weren’t done with walkers or cyclists in mind.
That crossing should be right in front of the bridge exit and twice the width to accommodate foot and bike flow.
From there, you have to mingle with buses and put yourself front and centre to get across the very weird bike lane, supposed to lead you across to High Street. And then you’re in along with the cars and buses, some of which drive unnervingly close to you.
But despite all this - and the major improvements needed - I still enjoy cycling far more than getting in the car and paying £6 a day to park or taking the now very expensive train, which is an hour door to door.
So you see folks, converting my bike with Swytch kit is the best thing I have done in years.
The e-bike conversion kit allowed me to keep the bike I had, instead of spending a small fortune on a new electric number. And it’s a marvel as long as you keep the battery juice topped up.
Full disclosure though - I had my bike mechanic fit the new wheel, associated pedal equipment and wiring as I was worried about the impact of not doing it right myself. But he and his wife were so impressed with it, that he told me they are now firmly on that bandwagon and ordering it.
The equipment comes with a battery that you can easily remove and take with you, so to budding thieves keen to swipe a very obvious electric number, your bike still looks like the push bike it was before even with the Swytch.
I have totally drunk the cool aid on this one because everything about it is brilliant.
And it can be attached to just about any type of bike so you don’t need to ditch what you have - and are inadvertently supporting the circular economy.
Hills are easy, I can reach speeds that often beat the traffic and I’m wide awake, feeling good and raring to go by the time I get to work. I’m saving time, it’s emissions free aside from the charging, and helping the planet.
It’s saving me money and I now love my journey to work. Then there’s the wealth of health benefits that come with using an electric bike.
Recent research by Germany’s Hannover Medical School found riding one regularly can cut the risk of a heart attack by 40%.
While riding between 7.5 and 9.3 miles a day on one can cut cholesterol, drop the risk of a fatty liver and lower the chances of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s.
It’s also good for your waistline, blood pressure and developing sugar or fat metabolism disorders, the experts found.
Aside from all that - you get to relive the joy you felt as a child riding a bike at a good speed with the wind blowing in your face, birds dancing over head and can take in the smell of all the newly budded spring plants.
I’m sold and I’d highly recommend making the ‘swytch’ from your car and our increasingly expensive public transport and getting on your bike.
The only downside is we need a major overhaul of active travel networks to make cyclists safer - but the more of us there are - the more pressure there will be to deliver.
You can get more details at www.swytchbike.com.
I totally understand climate anxiety
According to a landmark study published in the Lancet, 62% of young people feel anxious about the climate crisis.
So for Mental Health Awareness Month this May, the Climate Clock has added a virtual climate anxiety hotline for those experiencing climate anxiety and trauma.
It’s totally understandable that this major issue is the minds of our young people - many of whom have no vote.
Adults have a say at polling stations, but when the votes are counted we are still confronted by a vast array of politicians stifling climate action and refusing to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves.
Over the water in England, they are opening new coal mines and oil fields despite knowing the harm these things cause our planet.
And the impacts that will reverberate for years to come.
But I’m here to tell you there is still hope. Things are changing.
People are becoming more aware and this once sidelined issue is gaining traction not least because so many refuse to give up despite disgraceful laws that even allow police to arrest peaceful protestors now. Yet still they fight.
But when you are feeling lost amid the sea of information about this complex and at times overwhelming issue, head to ClimateMentalHealthHotline.org for a little comfort.
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