Preface

I am passionate about transformation, about the possibilities of change for good for individuals and communities. It gets me excited and fills me with life and hope, it is what gets me up in the morning. Transformation for good is why I am a Methodist Minister, celebrating the power of the Gospel to transform lives including my own.

This book is about my passionate belief that bikes also have an amazing capacity for transforming lives. I want to share the story of my Bike for Life. It is about how the choices we make can bring life, it is a celebration of our ability to support change for good.

It is almost a political manifesto, a celebration of doing things a different way, one that is not focused on lowest cost nor on exotic flights of fantasy but on pragmatic, down to earth, reliable change. As choices made during a time of recession it stands as an alternative to austerity, a set of choices that lift us as communities rather than drag us down.

When our economy is wrecked by reckless bankers and corrupt politicians with everyone else paying the price in cuts to services, security and wages creating A Bike for Life can not only point to a different way but be part of the solution.

Remember H.G. Wells: “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” and add to it that “Every time I ride my Bike for Life, my day gets better” D. Warnock :-)