Inspiring

It must have taken quite an effort to persuade a national figure of the stature of Phillip Darnton OBE to speak to the annual general meeting of Oxford's 'Cyclox' group.

But how it was worth it! - I've rarely heard such an inspiring and uplifting talk, full of interesting and challenging ideas, delivered with eloquence and wit (and without PowerPoint!).

The theme - 'how to get Britain cycling' - started with a warning: Britain's transport infrastructure was built around the car, and its policy heavily influenced by the economic might of motor manufacturing and now assembly.

'Going Dutch' is great, but Holland, Denmark and the like had a different economic and political starting point, which may help explain why they responded to stimuli such as the '70s oil crisis and increase in children killed by cars by committing to significant, sustained investment in cycling infrastructure - and why we haven't yet done so.

Equally important was his warning that 'believers' such as our little cycling group must reach out to become mainstream - it's still a minority of people who will brave Britain's busy, car-centred roads and battle badly-designed and intermittent cycling provision. Unless and until cycling becomes as normal as walking - as normal as getting on your bike is to the Dutch and the Danes - then we will remain smugly enlightened but completely ignored.

But he ended on a moment of inspiring brilliance, a speech written for the prime minister (if only he had the guts to deliver it), a commitment to lead a revolution in the design of our towns and cities to make them safe, welcoming and vibrant, places fit for families, for all people of all ages and abilities.

It was a vision which pretty much everyone would sign up to. It would certainly be hugely better for bikes. And yet - deliberately - not a single mention of cycling! It's a challenging thought, but maybe a clue to how to really make things better?