Boris recently unveiled the new Barclays cycle hire scheme in London you can find out all the info you need about how to hire a bike and how the scheme works on the tfl website.

Tfl have also made a cool video explaining how the scheme works which answered most of my questions give it a watch below:

All the illustrations for the new cycle hire scheme are really cool and seem pretty geared to making new cyclists understand road safety:

I haven’t tried the scheme out yet but will do just to have a go on one of the dorky looking bike and see how it all works first hand!

Hopefully the new scheme will encourage more people to cycle and this will eventually lead to heightened cyclist awareness from drivers and HGV wielders. As much as I don’t like Boris he does seem to be responsible for some major changes in London (some for the good) like this new cycle scheme and the new cycle highways.

The new cycle highways are basically glorified wider cycle lanes which I have used a couple of times now and have found a lot better than existing cycle lane strips. However care still needs to be taken as some driversforgo restrictions in dense traffic and straddle the lanes for over taking purposes!

The new cycle hire bikes will no doubt drive countless new cyclists to the roads of London, if you haven’t cycled on roads for a while then it is a good idea to build your confidence by tackling some simple cycle routes.

There are plenty of cycle routes out their and lots of ebooks full of tips and ideas, 30 London Cycle Routes with GPS from London Cyclist is one of the best and features a load of cycle routes which are great for anyone dipping their toes back into the cycling world

Looks like everyone in London is becoming cycle obsessed viva la revolution…