LAST week I met up with Justin Tomlinson MP at the GoSkyRide event at the County Ground, writes ROB DERRY of Swindon BUG (Bicycle Users Group) Steering Committee.

This was the first ride of its kind in Swindon and was open to riders of standard bikes and bikes adapted for use by disabled people.

A fantastic turnout was sent on its course by the Deputy Mayor of Swindon and Justin Tomlinson, who is the Minister for Disabled People.

Once the group of riders had set off I managed to grab a quick chat with the MP for Swindon North.

He was very supportive of the GoSkyRide schemes and all the work that Sky have done with cycling.

Obviously his ministerial position provided additional interest for this particular event.

He spoke of his childhood love of cycling that still stays with him today.

As we all have, he had a story of a bike ride with friends which didn’t quite go to plan.

One of the group raced past the rest on the descent of a fairly large hill. He was quite vocal and going a lot faster than usual.

When they all caught him up at the bottom of the hill, they found him in the hedge explaining that he was trying to point out on the way down that his brakes had fallen off!

On a more serious note, we discussed a few issues around infrastructure and cycle safety.

One of the things that Mr Tomlinson was keen to point out was that the Government was committed to making sure that all new developments include provision for cyclists.

By getting the infrastructure in from the beginning, it means that the facilities can be designed “fit for purpose” and it is also by far the most cost effective way of providing the sort of cycling infrastructure that exists across a lot of Swindon, particularly in the northern development.

You can read the whole interview on the SwindonBUG Facebook page.