Two of the four 2021 ‘Cycling Champion’ Scotland awards have gone to people based in Edinburgh. Dave du Feu of Spokes has been awarded Visionary Champion of the Year, and Farrout Deliveries Business Champion of the Year.
The awards are presented jointly by Cycling Scotland, Sustrans Scotland, Cycling UK and Scottish Cycling at the annual Cycling Scotland conference – which in 2021 was held online on November 4th.
A panel representing each organisation selected the winners following a nomination process open to the public earlier in the year.
As the conference is online, award winners gave pre-recorded acceptances. Links are at the end of this article.
Dave du Feu
Dave has been an active Spokes member since just after its creation in 1977(!) He reckons that consistency and continuity are valuable assets for any campaigner.
Spokes’s biggest early campaign, for a north-south Meadows cycleroute, at a time when there was not a single cycle facility in Edinburgh, took 7 years. In 2021 two campaigns in which Dave has been heavily involved came to fruition, after years of effort – enabling householders to install a modest front garden bike shed without needing planning permission; and changes to Traffic Order rules to make it easier for Councils to install active travel projects. Many people and organisations have been involved in a third, the recent great Scottish Government decision to allocate 10% of the transport budget to active travel, but Spokes has certainly played its part ever since the Association of Directors of Public Health first called for this way back in 2008!
Of course, not everything takes ages – breakthroughs and opportunities can also happen quickly, or unexpectedly – and the more ongoing and widespread activity, support and pressure there is from individuals and organisations, the more likely this is.
Although the award is titled Visionary Champion of the Year, Dave also sees it as a long-service award. Thanking the sponsors, he said,
“The Award reminds me of all the people who have put in so much time and energy to take everyday bike use from a place where it was regarded as something for eccentrics to a place where everyone wants to do it. And the many people who are campaigning right now to make it easier and safer for all. On a personal level, it feels great to be part of that progression.”
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Farr Out Deliveries
Farr Out Deliveries is a cargo bike delivery employee-owned cooperative, set up during the first national pandemic lockdown in 2020. The company has now worked with over 100 local businesses, replacing vans and cars with a more sustainable alternative.
Spokes has been delighted to support Farr Out through social media and through support for their new base in Tollcross along with the fantastic CargoBike Movement. There’s no doubt that cargobike delivery is taking off in Edinburgh!
Thanks to kind donations from our members, Spokes is able to offer community organisations in Edinburgh and Lothians a contribution towards the cost of a cargo bike. A couple of kind philanthropists have also enabled us to support a number of Spokes member households to purchase a family cargobike. See our cargobike web page for info and pictures of supported cargobikes.
David Squire, co-founder of Farr Out Deliveries said,
“We’re so happy to receive the 2021 Business Champion of the Year. It’s really encouraging to have our hard work recognised by such forward thinking organisations. We love our city, and we think that cargo bikes can play a huge role in the green future of Edinburgh.”
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More info
- The other award winners, both from Glasgow area, were..
- Cycle Shop Champion – G64 Cycles, Bishopbriggs
- Delivery Chamption – Steven Rutherford, Urban Fox Programme, Glasgow
- Cycling Scotland – Champions of the Year press release
- Dave’s acceptance video Cycling Scotland tweet
- Farrout’s acceptance video
- Other videos from the conference, including speech by Active Travel Minister, Patrick Harvie MSP, in which we asked him about the target to cut car-km 20% by 2030, given that Chris Stark of the UKCCC told Scottish Parliament that it cannot be met by carrots alone. Tweet of ‘Minister for Carrots.’
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