I commuted into the city centre by bike (11 mile round trip) for a few years sporadically. Reasons I stopped in November 2018:
1. Having to weave through traffic meant being constantly on guard and riding defensively, not aggressively, at all times. Eventually felt like gambling.

Fortunately, I was only hit once and the driver reacted quickly, car was hardly moving at the point of impact, thumped my thigh rather than smashed it. It was the weird crossroads at Beetham Tower, he was turning right and didn’t think to /check/stop.

Point is, a lot of road markings and layouts are unsafe for cyclists.

2. Breathing in horrific traffic fumes while exercising felt like a bad thing to do. I started to think about the irony of potentially picking up a respiratory condition while reducing my own carbon footprint.

3. Many of the safety measures felt unsafe. For instance, the ludicrous idea that buses and bikes should share a designated lane on the East Lancs road, my most direct route into town. Being tailgated by a bus is incredibly intimidating.

4. Manchester weather. Cycling is a dream on a sunny day, not so much when you get soaked to the skin and have to put wet clothes back on for the ride home. Or when the roads become icy.

5. Punctures. I got three in one week towards the end. Partly, that’s poor luck. But also bad infrastructure. The cycle route surface down Liverpool Street was broken and uneven, and filled with debris. Painting cycle lane lines on a road doesn’t make it suitable for cycling.

6. Dark nights. I stopped cycle commuting when the clocks went back and never got back into the habit. Coupled with everything else, cycling in the dark felt unsafe.

7. Equipment. To stay safe and comfortable, to make a decent length commute physically possible, you need to spend a decent amount of money on kit and maintenance. Not all bikes are made equal and it’s wrong to say you can do on the cheap. You also need secure storage at work.

7.5 The @OfficialTfGM cycle hubs are great in theory but were badly resourced. Online payment was a mess. Piccadilly hub locked me and others out several times when it became unmanned. Try standing in Piccadilly in cycle gear wondering how you’ll get home without your bike.

8. The attitude of other road users. People seem to have different personalities if they’re walking, driving, or cycling. After infrastructure, the next big investment should be in empathy. Write and promote a Greenway Code. Make it compulsory.

9. Carrying work equipment. Our office became agile, which was brilliant. However, if you’re working from home three days, and two days at the office, how are you going to transport your work laptop? That’s another reason I started to use the bus instead.

10. Fatigue. Mental and physical. It took its toll and I stopped enjoying cycling to the extent that I also quit my weekend rides with a friend. The exercise alone was ok but with the other hassles, the V1 bus became more convenient for me.

What would make me cycle again?: 1. Safe, secure routes that are properly maintained. 2. Enforced empathy among all road/route users - a Greenway Code. 3. Decent equipment. 4. Decent infrastructure for cycling and storage. 5. Logical cycling routes: well marked, safe, direct.

Finally, I’m relatively fit and prepared to try things. But major changes are going to be necessary if you want everyone to start cycling. That means investment in equipment, infrastructure and attitude, remove the barriers, increase the incentives.