Reels

Overnight, new cycle lanes appear

In Cardiff, cycling has been gaining momentum over the past few years. The cycle lanes were mostly painted lines on the edge of the road, without much thought given to the actual cyclist. Often these lanes just came to a stop, as if the council/authorities had either run out of paint, or ideas. But with the pandemic, new routes sprung up, almost overnight. They’ve gained momentum with a planned network of bike lanes crisscrossing the city and in dedicated 2-way cycle lanes, with dedicated traffic lights. This feels like a 10 x improvement. That the city has finally decided to do what the authorities did in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Bringing the best of European Cycle Standards

At the moment, these bike lanes are relatively sparse, with only a handful of people cycling along them at any given time. I wonder though, how long it will take before cycling really takes off in Cardiff and the lanes become much more crowded and vibrant. Some might say that this could take years – it certainly did in other cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen – but I’m hopeful that cycling in Cardiff will soon gain the traction it deserves. After all, there are so many benefits to cycling: not only does it help you stay fit and keep healthy amidst all of this uncertainty, but riding a bike can be both economical and environmentally friendly too.

Take in the route out of Cardiff through Sophia Gardens

So if you are thinking about cycling in Cardiff, or you’re an experienced cyclist looking for a new route to try out, I’d definitely recommend the Taff Trail. Starting just outside the city centre and running all the way to Radyr, it is perfect for commuting or with the family as it follows the Taff Trail.

This is a reel showing the route, filmed in 2020.

Filmed on an afternoon’s cycle home after a day in the office. The aim of the video is to show how easy it is to cycle now around Cardiff. In the last 12 months the Council have put in pop up cycle lanes and now recently, these have been converted into permanent segregated lanes in a number of streets around the city. The council are pushing through five main cycleways, more on this in another post, and though some are not yet fully connected, it’s only going to be a matter of time before they are and offer a safe space to cycle in.

This route that takes you from the City Centre to the outskirts of Cardiff in approximately 30 minutes. The elevation isn’t more than 80-85m, so it’s fairly gentle, except a last part that I end up pushing the bike up as the gearing is just not low enough to get me up the hill – going into Danescourt. Also, my bike is an old city bike that I’ve had about 20 years or so, and the gearing is the old-style Sturmey Archer, 3 x speed type, and probably not likely to withstand me pumping the pedals up this slope.

Future posts are going to look at some of these cycle lanes. So far, the most accessible ways are going into and out of the city. Perhaps new routes across the city will get a look in, in the future, but for the time being, the effort is going into making the cycle lanes into town safe, protected and welcoming.