My name is Blythe and I am 50 and live in Edinburgh in Scotland. I have a very active Twitter feed which is mostly about cycling and campaigning for better resources @girlonabrompton as well as my own website at https://www.patreon.com/viewfromthesaddle
1) What areas of expertise do you identify with?
I really don’t class myself as an expert. I am a life long cyclist who has lived in cities very rarely (by choice), but who has found that cycling is not only healthier and more fun but quicker than driving. Whereas I was always a hobby or leisure cyclist, at least for most of my adult life, I am now using the bicycle more and more around the city as a means of transport.
I have some health issues and I have recently (my Christmas present to myself) got an e-bike. This has been a revelation as to how cycling could really be adopted by a wider section of the public and could realistically replace the car for many urban journeys for many more people.
This doesn’t mean I have given up my sporty road bike, or my convenient commuter folding Brompton for combining cycling with other modes of transport, but it certainly has changed my view of my car.
I have been campaigning for better cycling infrastructure since I moved to Edinburgh three years ago, especially as my last home had really great cycling provisions (Fort William in the Scottish Highlands). There have been a lot of deaths on the roads around Edinburgh, and it is time this stopped.
2) How do you think your unique perspective will enhance our collective understanding of designing for cycling?
Because I am coming at it from the perspective of the user and a mature one who has lived in many different towns and rurally in Scotland and the wider UK, I feel that I am not clouded by any native loyalty to any one locality. I can speak as I find and compare and contrast. I also have a lot of time behind me as a cyclist and as a driver, and I can see how much things have changed for everyone over the last 30years of doing both.
3) If you wish, leave your name & contact & social media information here so other course members can get in touch with you.
See up the top. I tend to look at things from the other way around….
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