Sterling work

The Uk’s challenging economic outlook has an upside: it’s got more people onto bikes

- Laura Laker

The bicycle really is a wonderful invention. On the face of it, it's so simple, but it answers so many questions - which is why I still love cycling in all its forms, after more than a decade writing about it.

It's done it again. Recent research shows active travel - that's cycling and walking to most of us - now accounts for 20% of all minutes of physical activity by adults in England. That's huge, and it represents the biggest increase in any activity in a given year, according to Sport England's Active Lives survey. As of November, a massive 3.2 million more people used cycling and walking than in the previous 12 months.

The survey of just under 180,000 people revealed we have finally returned to pre-pandemic levels of physical activity after years of lockdowns, changing working patterns and general upheaval of our lives. Travel habits, the survey revealed, saw the biggest change of allcontributing significantly to the increase in exercise.

In another life, I trained to be a dietitian. I realised during my first hospital placement that people mostly know what they should and shouldn't eat, and many of us do it or don't do it regardless of what someone in a clinic tells us once every few months.