Dan Lacey, UK Pro BMX rider meets Boris’ Bikes- The London bicycle hire programme
London has a real overcrowding and congestion problem at the moment. The solution that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and Transport for London have come up with is a bicycle hire programme. It is similar to other bicycle hire programmes already in place in France and Spain but it is a revamped and more secure version. The interesting aspect of the launch of the event was that pro UK BMX rider Dan Lacey was called on to try, ride the bikes, and test one of them out. Dan Lacey is not that well known yet but it was a good way for the scheme to gain some publicity by getting someone who rides bikes for a living to test one of them out.
The London bicycle hire programme, which has been nicknamed Boris’ Bikes after the cycling mad Mayor of London, was launched last month to much hype and fanfare. It is the latest in a long list of transport schemes currently in place in the city of London. It will be used mainly to try and ease the growing commuter surge that descends upon England’s capital every day. The taxis, buses, underground tube system and cars were not enough and so to help the city cope with more and more people; it was left to the humble bicycle to make its appearance.
Transport for London thinks that the programme will bring about a cycling revolution to the city, reduce congestion, impact on pollution levels, and get people fitter in the process. This scheme, if it works and takes off, will become a very positive step to getting people to do exercise who normally would not even think about it. As journeys under thirty minutes will be free, people really have no excuse not to jump on the bikes and get fit while getting to their destinations. Not everyone is happy about the scheme though, motorists; the eternal antagonists of the cycling world, think the programme will cause more unsure cyclists to ride on the city’s roads and cause them more problems.
Dan Lacey is one of the newest pro BMX riders to come out of the UK. Even though he is 22 years old and getting on a bit in terms of his age, he has yet to break into the big leagues of the sport. He is something of an internet sensation though and it was videos of him doing some insane stunts that landed on the internet and got some big name sponsors interested in him. His sponsor list is growing every year and at the moment he commands the following sponsors to his stable; Federal, Primo, Dub BMX, and Lotek, (Mpora Pure Action Sports, 2010). Even with an impressive array of online videos featuring the rider’s exploits, information about him is scant and almost non-existent. It seems that he wants to move to America and plans to call Austin Texas home because there is a huge BMX scene in Austin and it might help him break out and conquer the sport. This year he made his first appearance at X Games 2010 and really impressed everyone who saw him perform. He is hoping to get invited back next year.
Using an up and coming BMX rider to promote the new bicycle programme was a very smart move on the part of the people who organised it. By showing one of the bicycles being ridden around the streets of London by a pro cyclist proved to potential customers and users of the scheme that the bikes were durable and resilient to wear and tear. The other positive thing that the promotional activity did was to get young people interested in the programme. By featuring someone who is idolised by the youth, it was a good way to get them to try the scheme in the future.
We should all be thankful that programmes and schemes such as Boris’ Bikes are coming up and beginning to become popular, not only are they good for congestion in the city, the programme will also help fight pollution levels and will also get people fitter by riding around on a bicycle everywhere. Hopefully the future will bring about a big change for Lacey, as he finds his form and takes over the world of BMX in America. By getting more exposure through things such as riding Boris’ Bikes, he will soon find himself on top of the sport.
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