Cycling city

Don't get me wrong, I love cycling. In Cambridge I happily zipped about on my bike, though perhaps cycling into a lamp post there means that the city witnessed some of my less glorious manoeuvres. Lyon, home to the solid Velo'v, was ideal for two-wheeled transport: flat, full of neatly labelled, empty bike paths, and with a compact city centre. But in Bristol, oh dear, in Bristol. Much as I like cycling, much as I like Bristol, and much as I'd like to think this is a good idea, I've got just one problem with the attempt to make Bristol the UK's top cycling city. The hills. Yes, flying down the hills one way is exhilarating, but the other way? It's not just tiring, it's red-face and out-of-breath-tiring, not to mention you'll probably go so slowly as to almost be going backwards. Bristol: the cycling city. An oxymoronic concept if there ever was one.