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My friends don't go out with bikes so I thought
I'd chuck it away
I cycled quite a lot when I was little.
But I don't really use bikes regularly,
like going to school or to see friends.
I either walk or get a lift off my parents,
which is a bad habit really.
I just never thought about bikes no more.
I thought I'm grown up now,
and got into more girlier things
like shopping and stuff like that.
So I never thought about using bikes any more.
I thought it was just a little kids thing.
If your friends see your parents, they say:
"Ha, your parents are riding a bike.
"What are they doing? Why can't they just take the car?"
The only reason I don't get a bike is because..
it's not cool having a bike.
But I do like bikes, I used to have one.
Well, I had loads..
I'm always cycling alone now.
There's no one else who does in my year.
You do get funny looks, and sometimes people say,
"why do you cycle to school"?
Ye, it's just me on my own.
There's 2 other girls in my school who cycle
..in Year 7, so they've just come up.
It's not seen as anything stylish,
so it doesn't appeal to girls.
What would make you interested in cycling?
if I see someone very fashionable at the same time but using a bike
I've never seen someone wearing high heels and then using a bike
they normally wear flat shoes and stuff like that.
I think a bike can be quite lady like. It depends on the bike you get.
The fact that we've got a load of really pretty Dutch bikes
has meant that the girls have all been like,
"Wow, I really want to ride these. I'm gonna look really good on this bike".
What would you wear on the bike?
What would I wear? School uniform.
Some kind of belt. Earrings. Necklaces. Rings.
I'm joking. What about you?
I'm gonna stick on heels.
Today we went and collected our bicycles from the bike hire.
Once we got our bicycles we went to the park and got a group photo.
As we were cycling there, we noticed that everyone has bikes.
No matter how old, how young you are, everyone is on them.
There are a few cars, but considering it's a big city,
there's not actually as many as you'd expect.
First, it's a fast means of transport.
Second, it helps the environment.
It doesn’t cost you any money.
These are the three most important reasons....
...for cycling.
It means independence..
..and flexibility.
That was important for me earlier too.
When I was 8,
I could go to friends alone.
My parents didn't have to take me by car.
So, did you like the road?
Ye, it was really good. I felt really safe,
whereas in England when you're cycling on the road,
you get quite tense and uptight, but here you can just relax.
The motorists are a lot more respectful towards cyclists.
They will stop at junctions and let you through.
And the cycle path has a priority for cyclists..
..across side roads. That's really good.
The experience we can offer others is....
...give cyclists space...
and very clearly and firmly, give cyclists advantages over the car.
What we've done in Darlington is put an emphasis on alternative routes.
We've given confidence back to people who used to cycle and don't cycle now,
and the reason for that is there's a lot more alternative routes
to actually get the confidence back, and then you can use the roads.
I often see these cycle way signs,
but you still have traffic going past you at a speed.
They are not aware of how much room to give you.
If a family are taking their two children out,
that is not going to give them any confidence.
What they need is a cycle lane, where they feel safe,
where that car can’t come near them or harm them.
It’s safety having the cycle lane.
Stop, where are you going? You can't go in there with those bicycles!
Our message is clear.
We've got the lovely girls on the lovely bikes.
Now all we need is the lovely cycle paths.
I've been cycling every day,
because I just love the feeling.
You feel so free and independent,
and you've got nothing holding you back.
You can just go anywhere you want which is really great,
it's just been so ....
..liberating!
If there were more cycle paths around Darlington
I think that would be a great help
living near a main road is a little bit off-putting
If the motorists could find it in their hearts to give us a little bit of the road,
that could be marked on the road "for cyclists".
All it would take is a bit of paint.