I’ve recently been thinking a lot about cycling to work from the employer’s point of view.  Are there gains or losses to revenue to be had by employers adopting a particular policy on cycling to work?  Are companies actively encouraging employees to cycle to work?  Are they doing this through awareness campaigns, or by providing facilities like showers and bike lockers.  Perhaps they are actively encouraging employees – sponsoring bike to work days or other such programs.

I of course have a very US-centric view of this.  But I also began to wonder what things might be like on the “other side of the pond” in the UK.  Well, below is what one of those folks had to say about this:

Cycle to work.

Since 2006 the UK Government have been actively promoting cycling to work as an incentive to make people more healthy and to reduce the carbon footprint. `Cyclescheme` falls within the Green Transport Plan and allows employers to provide bicycles and relevant safety equipment to their workers as a tax free benefit in return for a small percentage of their salary.

However, actually persuading people to leave their car behind and cycle to work can be difficult. For this reason many companies are now offering their employees excellent and innovative incentives to make the transition easier. These include showers and changing facilities at work as well as `bike pools` which give workers a chance to try cycling before committing to buy into the scheme.

For those employees who have not used a bicycle for a number of years, professional training or a `buddy` scheme may be appropriate. An experienced cyclist is `assigned` to a novice until they feel sufficiently confident to `go it alone`. Offering `holiday miles` is also very popular and involves exchanging the accrued miles cycled to work for additional paid days of holiday. Employers benefit by having workers who are fitter and healthier and are far less likely to take time off for sickness.

As a further incentive, employees who are willing to use their bikes during working hours, travelling to meetings for example, are usually reimbursed at an excellent rate per mile (often in excess of the Government allowance which is 20p per mile) plus additional wear and tear payments as well. Some companies will also allow employees who qualify for a company vehicle the option of a cash payment as an alternative.

Most companies who wish to promote cycling to work will also have `back up` schemes of their own in place. These can include annual upgrades of bicycles, free tools, on-site maintenance/servicing and transport home in the event of an emergency or dangerously bad weather conditions. Additional options can also include free personal injury or accident insurance and concessions on the purchase of additional bikes for immediate family members.

Employers who operate a cycle to work scheme can benefit in many ways, not just through tax concessions and a reduced carbon footprint, but also by building better working relationships and promoting staff loyalty. Employees who regularly use bikes will not only be much healthier but can also be earning rewards every time they use them as well as making a huge saving on their own transport costs.

Look out fellow lycrarians™.  The Cycle Chic crowd has a manifesto – so you know they’re up to something.

First they start toddling around town on vintage bicycles.

Then they bring back leather handle bar wrappings – for shame!

But a manifesto!  Nothing says “crazy radical agenda” like a manifesto.

Let’s examine this manifesto in more detail, shall we?

I choose to cycle chic and, at every opportunity, I will choose Style over Speed.
Now just a darn minute there.  Speed is style, right??

I embrace my responsibility to contribute visually to a more aesthetically pleasing urban landscape.
It’s like I always say – “Bicycle seats make butts look better.”  Take that however you’d like.

I am aware that my mere prescence in said urban landscape will inspire others without me being labelled as a ‘bicycle activist’.
Of course you’re an activist – you have a manifesto!

I will ride with grace, elegance and dignity.
Hmmm.  I wonder what that looks like…

I will choose a bicycle that reflects my personality and style.
No problem there.  I’m thinking “Expensive and Italian” right now.

I will, however, regard my bicycle as transport and as a mere supplement to my own personal style. Allowing my bike to upstage me is unacceptable.
Hmmmmm…..

I will endeavour to ensure that the total value of my clothes always exceeds that of my bicycle.
Wow.  I’ve gotta find some more expensive kits.

I will accessorize in accordance with the standards of a bicycle culture and acquire, where possible, a chain guard, kickstand, skirt guard, fenders, bell and basket.
Ewwwwww!

I will respect the traffic laws.
No comment.

I will refrain from wearing and owning any form of ‘cycle wear’. The only exception being a bicycle helmet – if I choose to exercise my freedom of personal choice and wear one. (and make an effort to understand the science of helmets)
…and I will accomplish this by wearing my team kit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week thus making it “normal wear” instead of “cycle wear”

The whole Cycle Chic concept is amazingly successful, however.  Practically a franchise.  And it gets folks out riding.  So maybe, instead of poking fun at it (again and again) what I should do is get started on the Just Another Cyclist Manifesto immediately!

Cheers to you – la bcicletta fashionistas!

Yet another great ride with the Cycle Folsom Peloton group today.  80 miles didn’t discourage me, but cleaning the bike from all the damned road grime and debris is discouraging.  Nothing like getting home, still cold and wet, only to look at your frame and know you need to turn on the hose.  By the end of the ride what I thought was a well-oiled chain sounded more like a cheese grater on a chalkboard.  Still, I never walk away from a Peloton ride with anything but positive thoughts.

You can read the full details of the ride at the Cycle Folsom Ride Leaders blog.

Bicycles are a very convenient form of transportation. This can be especially true if you are a young male in a juvenile detention center out with a group to take a cycling proficiency test. That is precisely the advantage two teenagers took in Eccles, UK – escaping a detention on a pair of mountain bikes.  It is suspected that the boys – aged 13 and 14 – rode the 7 miles to a local train station.  Neither the boys nor the bikes have been reported recovered.

On the other side of things, a Morristown, NJ woman has received her day in court.  Or rather, avoided it.  Kendra Arnold was in a left hand turn lane, preparing to make a left turn when driver John Farquhar approached from the rear.  According to Kendra Arnold’s report, the “silver Mercedes blared its horn and passed on her left, crossing a double yellow line.”    The police were contacted, and the case was headed to court.  However, a settlement was reached in mediation, and Farquhar has issued an apology through his lawyer.  This avoids the need for future court action.  According to the reported conversation that ensued between Arnold and Farquhar, Farquhar believed (incorrectly) that Arnold was acting illegally by being in the left turn lane.

At the mediation session, Kendra’s lawyer brought along state traffic regulations, spelling out cyclists’ right to occupy traffic lanes.

John, who works in the real estate business, professed that he had been unaware of those rules and conveyed an apology through his attorney, Peter Gilbreth.

— MorristownGreen.com

And at the other end of the spectrum, a cyclist receives the largest ever injury claim in the UK. Manny Helmot was a competitive cyclist in the Commonwealth games.  Unfortunately, he was stuck while on a training ride, resulting in injuries that ended his career.  On appeal, the UK courts have awarded Helmot just under £14 million – increasing the previous £9m of the initial court decision.  The award, to be paid by the driver that struck him and his insurers, will be placed into a trust to fund Helmot’s health care going forward.  Helmot is currently unable to work and requires care.  The effects of the collision are long term for the former cyclists.  He suffered a “brain injury impaired his judgement, his moods and his thinking and he will never be able to work, drive – or ride a bike.”