Commuters show it's Quicker By Bike

But are drivers taking any notice?

www.quickerbybike.com

Published: November 20, 2009 at 12:15 pm

Cycle commuter Martin Williamson got so fed up of riding past queues of cars that he decided to show them there was a better way to get to work.

He bought the domain name www.quickerbybike.com and got a load of shorts printed up with the slogan across the back in the hope that drivers would visit his blog and be inspired to swap four wheels for two.

The original baggy shorts proved so popular that he is now selling Lycra shorts and jerseys, and rucksack covers. But Martin is disappointed that he's had no response from motorists.

He told BikeRadar: "I commute to work by bike and pass a lot of traffic each day; probably often the same drivers stuck on the same stretch of road. The absurdity of their situation seems clear to me but it obviously doesn't to them. I wanted to communicate to them that they might be better off cycling. I, after all, was passing them every day and I was enjoying myself.

"I bought the domain name www.quickerbybike.com and I had a load of baggy shorts made up with quickerbybike.com written on the arse. I've sold them to lots of friends and clubmates, and to a few other london cyclists who saw the shorts out on the road. There are a good 100 pairs of shorts milling round London every day.

"The disappointing thing is that the whole idea was that a driver would see the shorts going past, remember the name, get to work, look it up and get in touch, and think about cycling to work instead of driving. But that hasn't happened. The only people who've said how brilliant they think it is are cyclists.

"If a motorist is stuck in traffic and sees a cyclist going past it's almost a no-brainer that it's more fun. Even though they haven't contacted me, maybe they have thought about it."

Martin said there was also a second part to his campaign: promoting law-abiding, considerate cycling to other cyclists.

He said: "Because I want to be proud of cycling and to feel right to promote cycling, I hate seeing cyclists riding like idiots, which I see a lot. I see red lights being jumped by men in suits, Lycra louts, ladies with wicker baskets on their bikes, children... all sorts."

Quickerbybike.com shorts are designed to make drivers consider switching to two wheels: quickerbybike.com shorts are designed to make drivers consider switching to two wheels - www.quickerbybike.com