Take a look around. On almost every city street and country road across Scotland a new tribe is on the move. Their steed of choice: bikes.
Cycling has never been more popular. Last Sunday saw 30,000 people pack the city centre of Glasgow to watch the 2013 British National Road Race Championships unfold.
Scottish rider David Millar – a Tour de France stage winner and one of the world’s top professional bike racers – said he had never experienced anything like it.
Speaking after the race, he told me: "It was phenomenal – I now know how Thomas Voeckler feels in France. I've never had that in my whole career in a race, the amount of people shouting for me. I liked being called 'Davie' as well. It's amazing how much that lifts you and makes you want to not let people down. I'll be back for the Commonwealth Games next summer – I can't wait."
It's a crest of a wave that cycling – both as sport and recreation – has been riding ever since Sir Bradley Wiggins made history last July by becoming the first British man to win the Tour de France. Momentum continued to gather with an impressive gold medal haul at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. But nor was it just the professionals: suddenly, bikes were everywhere.
British Cycling has seen its membership double to more than 75,000 since last summer, reporting that Sunday's national road race in Glasgow saw more traffic to its website than during either the Tour de France and Olympics. Since the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow opened last October close to 20,000 people have taken to the boards.
Gone are the days when cycling was solely the territory of Lycra-clad wiry bods. On my daily commute I see trendy hipsters on fixed gear models, chicly dressed women gliding past on what the Dutch call "omafiet" – or "granny bike" – and workmen in steel-toed capped boots rumbling along on mountain bikes.
How things have changed. It used to be I was the only oddball at parties, avoided for fear of me waxing lyrical about cleats and pedals, the sublime beauty of an aerial roundabout shot and the time I interviewed Stephen Roche, now it seems everywhere I go, someone has a cycling story to tell.
In this blog, I'll be sharing analysis and behind the scenes action from the big races, tips from the experts, advice for getting the family out on their bikes as well as all the latest new routes, books, gadgets and gear.
Most of all I look forward to hearing about your own adventures in the saddle. If someone has a cycling story to tell, this blog is where to find it.
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