Season of Creation story: Cycling in London

Fr Hugh MacKenzie Image: ICN/JS

Next time you spot a cyclist gliding along on a Lime Bike, wearing a yellow helmet and bright visibility strip - look more more closely. It could be Father Hugh MacKenzie, a Chaplain at Westminster Cathedral. His busy schedule takes him all over London - from Westminster to St John & Elizabeth Hospital in St John's Wood, where he serves as a chaplain, to Farm Street Church in Mayfair, where he runs a Lectio Divina group. He's also writing his Phd on 'Unity of arguments for the soul in Plato' at UCL.

Fr Hugh used to drive in London but these days uses his car less and less. When he was based in Bayswater, back in 2013, he got his first bike and, for the first time, cycled all the way to St John & Elizabeth Hospital and back.

"That bike was stolen - so I started to rent" he said. Initially Fr Hugh started renting the Santander bikes (Boris Bikes as they were first called). Then he began using the Lime electric bikes as well.

"They are just so convenient" he said. "Renting gives you much more freedom. You don't have to lock up your bike. You can go one way by tube and then cycle back."

In order to rent a Santander bike, (run by Transport for London) or a Lime ebike - you need to have a smartphone, download their Apps , and register, Fr Hugh explained. Buying an annual pass is the most economical way. "A map will show you where the nearest available bikes are parked, and you can reserve in advance. No one else can ride it once its booked in your name."

A driving license isn't needed with the bike (To drive a scooter you do need one). The Apps come with guidance and quite a few built-in security features. Designated bike routes around London are clearly marked online. "Routes are getting better all the time," Fr Hugh said. "The bike will stop working if you try to park it in the wrong place. The bike will also sometimes give you advice" he explained. "It will advise you to start slowly or restrict your speed in certain areas." "Last night when I got on the bike I got a message saying 'are you fit to cycle?' Then it gave me a little test."

"At the end of each ride you have to take a picture (to show where you have parked)."

"They collect your data" (When he checked last week, Fr Hugh had already reached 127. "It must be up to 140 now. At the end of each trip it asks whether you were commuting or cycling for exercise."

Cycling on electric bikes is different from using the pushbikes, Fr Hugh said: "They can be quite heavy but don't give you so much exercise" he says.

Fr Hugh says he's never had a bump or a fall although he did once have a near miss with a fence once in Hyde Park. "Someone made a comment about SpecsSavers!"

"I do get looked at occasionally - cycling along in my clerical collar. It might be a bit of a witness unless I've run a red light! Recently an Australian coming out of Lords Cricket Ground stopped me and asked to take my picture!"

Fr Hugh said on quieter routes he sometimes enjoys listening to philosophy lectures as he cycles along. "One transport where one really does not need to keep one's feet on the ground!"

For more information about cycling in London visit Transport For London: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/. Read about Lime Bikes here: www.li.me/

The free Apps for Lime #RideGreen and Santander Cycles are available on the App stores on Android phones and iPhones.