Out of town: Brighton cycle chic (and a new government)

The blog and my Twitter feed have been pretty quiet over the past week, whilst I was out of the country sunning myself on a rock in Greece.  Meanwhile, the political landscape in the UK has changed beyond recognition.  We have a new Secretary of State for Transport, Conservative MP Phillip Hammond.  Will he last in the position for more than a year or so, unlike his four Labour predecessors?  Under new Prime Minister David Cameron (the cyclist with the highest office in the land) will cycling be put forward as the sensible future transport option for urban centres in which to invest, or will there be splurges on 'grande projets' whilst cycling continues to be ignored?  Indeed, will David Cameron even be allowed to still ride his bike to work, and without a helmet, now that he is PM?!

Trying to figure out the place of cycling in the new political landscape will be a headache for some months to come for professional lobbyists and transport campaigners.  Meanwhile, the need for cycling - and quality cycling infrastructure - to genuinely take centre stage in future transport policy becomes an ever more apparent issue.

There was one exciting turn up for the books that came out of this election: the constituency of Brighton Pavilion elected Britain's first ever Green MP, Caroline Lucas, to government.  One of the Green members for the London Assembly does a very good job of keeping our Conservative Mayor on his toes - perhaps we can see the same situation replicated in Parliament?  One of the first comments on Brighton's local newspaper about this historic moment?  "She'll have us all riding bicycles!!" Let's certainly hope so... 

I was in Brighton back in January and was thrilled to see plenty of cyclists (and their cool dogs) out enjoying the fresh air, even in the depths of winter, along the sea-front cycle track, so here are some seaside cycle chic snaps to celebrate the occasion: