Two Wheels Good

This week is National Bike Week in Ireland (June 14-21). According to its website, it is a week devoted to “a series of nationwide events organised by cycling groups, communities and local authorities supported by the Department of Transport.” These events have included initiatives aimed at getting Irish workers to cycle to work instead of taking their cars, free bike check ups, and sponsored cycles and races. In tandem with National Bike Week, the Department of Transport hope to implement the first National Cycle Policy Framework in this country. One of its main goals is to encourage more people to cycle to work on a regular basic. I would hope that another one of its goals would be to make it easier and safer for bikers to cycle in urban areas

I’m certainly in favour of any measures that get more people on their bikes. I cycle to and from work every week and I also use my bike to go into town. As a cyclist, I have to be extremely vigilant as I ride around the streets of Limerick as it’s not a very bike-friendly place. I’ve had a few accidents due to crazy drivers and slippery road conditions over the years. Still, it does a person good to fall off a bike once in a while. Some of my friends have had bikes stolen a few times, but it’s only happened to me on one occasion and that was my own fault for not securing it properly. I’m not too sure if there are any events taking place in Limerick for Bike Week. In any event, I won’t be taking part in them. I wouldn’t like my bike to be exploited just so the government could pedal their policies

Here are twenty songs about the highs and lows of cycling, broken and stolen bikes, brand new bicycles, tricycles and tandem bikes. You can find over twenty more cycling tunes here, and a French mix of songs about bicyclettes ici. There’s also a whole blog here called Rock’n’Bike that’s completely devoted to songs about bicycles ;-) Happy cycling!

01 Riding On My Bike – Madness

02 Rockin’ Bicycle – Fats Domino

03 Tour De France – Kraftwerk

04 Wheely Wheely – Early B

05 The Pushbike Song – Mungo Jerry

06 Stolen Bike – Ox

07 Apology Song – The Decemberists

08 Bicycle – Mark Olson & Gary Louris

09 The Acoustic Motorbike – Luka Bloom

10 Black Hole – She & Him

11 On A Bicycle – Marcel Dadi

12 Les Bicyclettes De Belsize – Englebert Humperdinck