THE chairman of an Ayrshire cycling club hopes that the increase in people using their bikes will continue post-lockdown.

It comes as new figures from Cycling Scotland continue to show a “significant increase” in people cycling on roads, including a 54 per cent rise on Ayr’s Holmston Road.

Scott Knox, from Ayr Roads/ Harry Fairbairn Cycling Club, said: “You can see that everyday people are on their bikes and I hope this continues after the lockdown and some people will be encouraged to join a club.

“For me it has been the safest time to cycle on roads although I have seen a number of people not wearing a helmet which is a big concern.

“However, in recent weeks you can see the roads are getting a lot busier.”

The Scottish Government recently announced a £10 million infrastructure programme to introduce pop-up walking and cycling routes or make temporary improvements to existing routes to better enable social distancing.

Scott said: “Any investment in cycling and carbon free travel is a great thing and we absolutely welcome this announcement.

“Other European countries like Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have a lead on us when it comes to infrastructure and they have accommodated cycling into their roads already.

“A big thing is also ensuring that there is better driver awareness of cyclists so both can safely cohabit roads.”

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the club and several riders had planned to mark the occasion with a sponsored cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats.

Scott said: “We had a number of events planned.

“The biggest one was going to be the sponsored cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats but obviously that’s gone now due to the coronavirus crisis.

“We also had social events planned which have now been postponed but on a more positive note we have been able to do virtual social rides and races using technology and we have also done quizzes with other Ayrshire clubs just to try and keep the social aspect up.”

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