Gabi Froden: The cycling way of life

I feel terrible that my children don’t get to cycle everywhere, because growing up in Scandinavia, that’s what me and my friends did. Cycle, cycle, cycle. To school, to friends’ houses, to parties. The slightly sweaty back, the thighs of steel. What a dream. Sometimes a wheel got stuck in the tram track and we fell and scraped our hands and had to go to hospital and have a nurse pick out tiny, tiny bits of dirt from open wounds. But most of the time, we just got back on the bike and continued.

Cycling with friends is such a fun way to get to school or a concert or football training. There is freedom in this way of transport, a smug feeling that you are doing something good for the world and yourself. It’s a way of life really, cycling. During our Swedish summer holiday this year, we cycled a lot. Cars in Sweden are really aware of cyclists, always give them the right of way, and the roads are built with cyclists in mind.

My experience in the UK is different; there are a lot of angry drivers who think that anyone on a bike is a no-good hippie. But that’s only because cyclists in the UK are in opposition to society. It’s a group of people who have to fight for their rights on the streets and argue for more space, storage and status. Cyclists are seen as an inconvenience. This mindset is completely at odds with life in Scandinavia, which consistently appears on the list of healthiest and most environmentally friendly places in the world.

I miss the cycling way of life. And I miss the smugness that comes with it.