With turmoil continuing in the Gulf hitting oil prices again, various bodies are mooting lists of potential measures to reduce consumption. While some of these have triggered the tin foil hat brigade (one high profile anti-net zero commentator has already warned of “CLIMATE LOCKDOWNS!), all of them are pretty standard stuff, with ‘working from home’ being the only modern addition to the list.

But there’s one really obvious opportunity missing. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you… [drum roll…] the humble bicycle.

This isn’t just an idle thought. During Covid, so many bikes were sold it caused the industry huge problems. One moment you couldn’t get a bike for love nor money (I overtook quite a few people wobbling about on racing bikes whose carbon fibre wheels would cost more than my entire bike), and then demand fell dramatically just as the supply chains caught up with the surge. And usage rates returned to its slow upward pre-Covid trend.

What this means is there are thousands of bikes sat in sheds gathering dust. As spring finally appears across the Northern hemisphere, what better time to oil those chains, pump those tyres, and get back in the saddle?

Of course authorities could do much more to provide safe space for cycling. The cycling boom in Paris has been driven (pun fully intended) by the aggressive measures taken by Mayor Anne Hildago. Notably her elected successor is a fellow member of the Socialist Party – another demonstration of what I call The Uxbridge Fallacy – the pervasive myth that environmental measures are unpopular with the electorate.

If you want to save money on fuel, cut carbon emissions and get healthier, get on yer bike!