Transport For London & The Bicycle Film Festival held their special conference on cycling in London at the Barbican Centre last Friday... and I was honoured to be one of the speakers invited to take part in the event.
The entire panel for the day was made-up of a variety of cyclists, which made for an interesting session. Those taking part were; Ben Plowden (Director of Planning, Surface Transport for TFL), David Dansky (Cycle Training UK), David Kitchen (Founder of LFGSS), Bill Chidley (Editor of Moving Target), German Dector Vega (Director of Sustrains), Jill Putman (National Operations Manager for recreational cycling - British Cycling) and Jacqui Shannon (Tweed Run).
A mixture of lively debate and discussions, points we addressed over the afternoon included how to increase cycling in the city, the major role that safety and road infrastructure play and increasing participation through cultural channels.
This wasn't just "talking bikes" - this was a heartfelt and educational afternoon of discussion, which left everyone feeling inspired and I can say for myself, wanting to shout from the rooftops about how wonderful cycling is... and why it shouldn't be an "exclusive" hobby.
I sat on the panel session with Jacqui and Jill, discussing issues surrounding women's cycling. The three of us were talking about breaking down stereotypes of women on bikes and how were are all cyclists... there was also an interesting debate between us regarding the thought pattern of being a female cyclist carrying its own risks.
The entire afternoon was recorded, so for those that were unable to make the Conference, look out for it hopefully coming online soon. I hope that the BFF holds another of these events again when the festival comes back to London; this was a thought provoking, informative and educational discussion about cycling in this city!
The entire afternoon was recorded, so for those that were unable to make the Conference, look out for it hopefully coming online soon. I hope that the BFF holds another of these events again when the festival comes back to London; this was a thought provoking, informative and educational discussion about cycling in this city!
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