Personality of the Month - John Parkin, Bolton University
What is your job or other main activity that involves cycling?
I am a Reader in Transport Engineering and Planning and teach, consult and research in traffic and transport engineering with a strong emphasis on quality design, innovation and sustainability principles. I also chair the trustee’s of the charity Cycling Projects, which promotes cycling through a mix of activities.
How long have you done that?
I started at the University of Bolton in 1998, and prior to that worked for Atkins and Mouchel, two large civil engineering consultants.
Where do you live?
Bolton, Lancashire, within easy striking distance of the Lake District and many other beautiful areas of the country.
What most encourages you about cycling where you live?
That some people still see the personal benefit, despite the sometimes very hostile environment towards cycling.
What most discourages you about cycling where you live?
The very poor highway surfaces and the great difficulty there is in getting people to take planning for cycle traffic seriously.
How would you describe yourself as a cyclist?
Flat cap utility.
What is you earliest cycling memory?
Mending a puncture on a bicycle under the watchful eye of my father on our back lawn in Rothley, Leicestershire aged about 6. I wrote my first campaigning letter to the Leicester Mercury when I was about 14 and the letters editor thought it sufficiently striking to have a cartoon drawn of a cyclist whizzing past queuing motor traffic.
Where is the best place you have ever cycled?
We really enjoyed a trip around Denmark as a family some years ago.
What is your greatest achievement, in terms of encouraging more people to cycle?
I am the person in the local community to whom every child and adult with a mechanical bicycle problem turns. I am a sort of unofficial local ebay, but I tend to give things away for free.
What single thing do you think would do most to encourage more cycling in the UK?
Comprehensive truly permeable networks for cycle traffic in urban areas which create journey possibilities shorter than the options available to motor traffic.
What has been your favourite cycling experience?
I am not sure about favourite, perhaps the most memorable is trying to stop my youngest on a runaway bicycle down a steep hill on part of the Trans-Pennine trail. Why do brakes fail at the most inopportune moments?
What was your worst cycling experience?
OK, the above was maybe the worst. The second worst was route finding with a friend around Devon and indicating and turning left too late when he was on my nearside causing him to smash into some vegetation, which turned out to be a thin veneer of green in front of a very solid stone wall. Sorry Doug!
What is it about using your bike that you like the most?
My green Scott Timber bike was nicked from Bolton station a couple of weeks ago. What I used to like about it was: the very solid pannier rack that could carry enormous amounts of weight; the large smooth profile tyres for dealing with Bolton’s roads and the angled bull bars which were very distinctive and allowed you to adopt a wide variety of hand positions. I am still keeping my eyes peeled for it.
The answers given are the opinion of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation they may represent.
