Reading Bangor from a bicycle
It's easy to get around Bangor by bicycle, so why don't more people cycle?
Bangor is a small university city in Gwynedd, North Wales. Surprisingly, cycling levels are extremely low, and few people see Bangor from a bicycle . People put forward the argument that it is hilly and rainy. However, I have discovered from cycling here that almost everywhere is in easy reach, and you can travel the length of Bangor without climbing significant hills. The days that you need waterproofs are fewer than you might expect.
The inspiration for this research
I’m a long-term user of the bicycle as a means for transport, and I wanted to do a PhD. Two things inspired me to focus on cycling instead of my professional background in language education. One thing my then supervisor-to-be, Arran Stibbe. author of Ecolinguistics Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By. Arran listened to me as I tried to give a polished, professional but perhaps bland proposal for a PhD based on my professional background. He then quizzed me on my passion, which was quickly revealed as cycling and cycle advocacy. As he reminded me, a PhD is hard work. If I base it around my passion I am more likely to keep going. The second thing was reading Cristiana Caimotto’s book Discourses of Cycling, Road Users and Sustainability: An Ecolinguistic Investigation. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8
My PhD research: reading a city as a text
In my research I read Bangor as a text using echolinguistic analysis techniques, with an autoethnographic methodology. This means using the self as an instrument of research. An important part of this takes place while riding a bicycle. The focus is on going to the places I need to go in Bangor, or “utility cycling”.
My research is guided by three questions:
- How is the city of Bangor constructed as a cyclist?
- How could the city of Bangor be reconstructed as a cyclist?
- What stories are encouraging me to cycle, and what are the things that put me off?
How I gather data: routes, cameras, and conversations
There is a systematic approach to gathering data while riding. I cycle when I need to go somewhere — to work, taking a child to school, or going to the shops — and I plan to cover every single road within one mile of the cathedral. This makes me use routes I might not normally take, but that other people might.
My children also cycle in Bangor and will be involved in the research, adding a valuable second perspective from people of a different age. We use forward and backward-facing helmet cameras — originally for recording traffic incidents — which I am repurposing to capture visual data of Bangor’s urban landscape. We also use lapel microphones to record our experience by talking during the ride. This is particularly useful when we ride together on the tandem, allowing us to capture a dialogue as we reflect on what we encounter.
Welsh language and the linguistic landscape
Bangor is a bilingual city where Welsh and English are both spoken. My Welsh is not yet at a high enough level to read most Welsh-language texts, but it is important that I recognise the significance of the language. Furthermore, the Welsh Government requires that new initiatives support it. When consulting on upgrades to one of the main cycle routes out of Bangor, they wanted to understand the route’s impact on the Welsh language.
Given how supportive the Welsh Government is towards active travel, there is a convincing case for connecting this research to the Welsh language. I will do this through a focus on linguistic landscapes — examining how texts within the built environment, such as road signs, advertising, and shop fronts, contribute to the creation of Bangor as a human-made landscape.
Advocacy as research: consultations, councillors, and the police
Another strand of my data collection is connected to my cycling advocacy. I regularly respond to government and council consultations on active travel routes, contact councillors and local politicians to push for a more cycle-friendly Bangor. I also report dangerous driving through written forms and video footage submitted to the police. All of this feeds into the non-static, ever-changing landscape of the city.
Looking further afield: a comparison with cycling-friendly cities
How is Bangor’s built landscape shaped by other texts? This is a question I will also look at. Some local online newspapers carry a strongly anti-cycling discourse, and responses on Facebook to news about the Wales Active Travel Act are quite hostile. I will analyse these alongside other relevant texts — local Facebook groups, publicity for local attractions, and whatever else emerges as significant.
A strong thread running through all of this analysis is emotion. This may be a response of fear, anger, or joy. Every element of this research is filtered through the emotional experience of cycling in Bangor.
Why this research matters
There are several aims of this research. One is to read Bangor’s built environment as a text from the perspective of a cyclist. Another is to support the implementation of the Wales Active Travel Act 2013. This is important because the Welsh Government has acknowledged has not achieved its active travel outcomes. Active travel levels, including cycling, have not risen as planned.
This matters beyond cycling. The original intention was that greater active travel would improve health, strengthen community cohesion, reduce traffic accidents, make urban areas more liveable and cut pollution. It will also help Wales meet its net-zero commitments. Reading Bangor from a bicycle is, in that sense, about much more than getting from A to B.
