\n It didn’t take long after I got here to learn just how controversial the cycle lanes are here but on a day like that I couldn\u2019t pass up the chance to take a ride and test them for myself.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n Cycling tutor Christine Allan and Greenock Telegraph reporter Toby Doherty at the Waterfront Leisure Complex (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n
\n I\u2019m not a very experienced cyclist \u2013 especially not in an urban setting – so I was happy to have local cycling tutor Christine Allan showing me around.\n<\/p>\n
\n We set off near the Waterfront Leisure Complex and with the shadows slow dancing in the calm water and the sun bouncing off its surface you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a nicer setting for a bike ride.\n<\/p>\n
\n Walkers and cyclists can take it easy on the spacious path at the water’s edge so while I got my bearings on the bike and picked up a bit of pace, I started to think whole issue had been over-blown.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n Up Custom House Way the footpaths were wide enough to accommodate us and walkers. The railing to separate us from made it feel safe so you could enjoy the journey.\n<\/p>\n
\n By the A770, the shared footpath is small and in questionable condition so it\u2019s not a great cycle. The corner onto it is quite narrow, so you have to be cautious and move more slowly.\n<\/p>\n
\n There\u2019s a traffic light for cyclists to head up Laird Street but it\u2019s in an awkward spot and actually I would have missed it had my trusty guide not been there.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n Dalrymple Street is nice, the cycle lane is separate from the footpath and has a barrier between it and the road.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although some mild damage to the barrier could cause problems if you passed another bike at that point on the national cycling route inconvenient.\n<\/p>\n
\n All-in-all I was still having a great time on my cycle.\n<\/p>\n
\n It’s easy to get down the street faster than any of the cars or on foot, but I actually had to hop off the bike six times to move around vehicles parked on the cycle lane.\n<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n It wasn\u2019t a comfortable stretch for a cyclist because traffic doesn\u2019t have much space to manoeuvre and there\u2019s no barrier between you and the motor vehicles.\n<\/p>\n
\n One van even pulled in right in front of us as we cycled without a second thought. Thankfully I was alert and managed to brake quickly.\n<\/p>\n
\n The lane is not working as intended for anyone here \u2013 if a car pushes onto the cycle lane, a cyclist is pushed onto the footpath and a pedestrian is in turn inconvenienced.\n<\/p>\n
\n Part of the reason vehicles block the cycle lane is probably because they don\u2019t see many people using it but why would a cyclist use it with so many obstructions?\n<\/p>\n
\n Cycling tutor Christine Allan and Greenock Telegraph reporter Toby Doherty on West Blackhall Street (Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n
\n There\u2019s also nowhere to go at the bottom of the street because the cycle lane isn\u2019t connected to Westburn Street.\n<\/p>\n
\n You can get off and walk around the corner or put the bike on the stand and go into Oak Mall, but who is doing that?\n<\/p>\n
\n Ultimately, if you find a cheap bike it\u2019s still an efficient way to get around.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although a thick skin might be just as important as your helmet because you will likely get lip and deathly stares.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It didn’t take long after I got here to learn just how controversial the cycle lanes are here…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-464120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}