In June, three of us from The Adventure Syndicate, in partnership with Hostelling Scotland and Cairngorms Connect took our mums on a three day bike trip around the Cairngorm National Park. We wanted to share with our mums the joy we find in travelling by bike and to demonstrate to everyone that age and ability are no barriers to travelling this way. Using e-bikes, easy gravel tracks, hostel accommodation and a special visit to the Cairngorms Connect project, comfort zones were stretched and relationshsips deepened making this one of the most worthwhile bike trips we’ve ever had.

Transport and health are inextricably linked. Choosing to travel short journeys actively can be a really simple and effective way to keep our health and well-being just ticking over. So why are health, transport and our environment not also really obviously inextricably linked in terms of policy and strategy? In this episode I speak to three people who help me explore this complicated question more fully. And I play in a park in Maryhill with a Professor of Physical Activity because if it’s not fun, no one’s going to do it!!

Safe routes to walk, cycle or wheel to schools and shops don’t always exist, especially not in our more deprived communities. Yet we know that the way our towns and cities are constructed has a massive effect on the health and wellbeing of the people who live and work in them. We also know that the more people have a say in any changes being made to their community will mean they find that change easier to get on board with.  But how do we ensure that we bring EVERYONE along with us as we make the changes to our shared spaces and our transport systems that we so desperately need to for our health and for the environment?

Lee and Patrick Harvie, Scottish Government Minister for Active Travel, take a walk through Holyrood Park near the Scottish Parliament building and discuss their aspirations and their concerns around changing our current transport system in order to create healthier, happier and fairer communities across Scotland.  

Graeme Dey is no stranger to using physical activity as a means to manage a stressful lifestyle although he confides that finding the time to exercise is not always easy. In the fourth #MovingConversation of the series a walk around Holyrood Park provides a welcome break from Parliamentary business for both Active Nation Commissioner and Minister for Transport. Both agree it beats taking your papers down to the gym to read on the exercise bike.

Graeme Dey Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraemeDeyMSP

Scotland's Active Nation Commissioner: https://www.transport.gov.scot/active-travel/active-nation-commissioner/

If Micheal Matheson hadn’t entered politics, he would have been a forester such is his love for being outside. Climbing, walking and latterly mountain biking have shaped the person he is today and he admits that when weather and terrain turn against him, he feels in his element.  During this conversation in motion (that nearly didn’t happen due to his Parliament commitments) Lee and Micheal make the time to walk between St Andrew’s House and Holyrood to discuss how adventurous experiences shaped them as adults, how avoiding risk isn’t helpful in the long run and how much they love their waterproof jackets!

Michael Matheson Twitter: https://twitter.com/MathesonMichael

Michael Matheson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MathesonMichael

Scotland's Active Nation Commissioner: https://www.transport.gov.scot/active-travel/active-nation-commissioner/

A hatred of PE put Patrick off sport and exercise from an early age. But in adulthood, the freedom and joy he experiences in riding bikes (including penny farthings!) mean to they have become his preferred mode of transport. This half marathon running Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights is passionate about enabling more people to travel actively. In this episode of Everyday Active, Lee and Patrick jump on their bikes and go for a ride around Holyrood Park together to discuss the pros and cons of competitive sport, the satisfaction of getting around cities on two wheels and the gender stereotypes that can unhelpfully pigeonhole us into ways of behaving.

Patrick Harvie Twitter: https://twitter.com/patrickharvie

Patrick Harvie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatrickHarvieMSP

Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner: https://www.transport.gov.scot/active-travel/active-nation-commissioner/

Maree was born and bought up in the west Highland village of Ullapool, where exercising and playing with friends was considered easy and safe. Life in the Highlands gave her a huge amount of autonomy and freedom. Today, she manages to remain loyal to her daily mile as an active runner and cyclist. As Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport, Maree is acutely aware of the barriers preventing women like her being active. It’s these barriers and society's expectations of how women should be presenting themselves she wants removed.

Maree Todd Twitter: https://twitter.com/MareeToddMSP

Maree Todd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MareeToddMSP

Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner: https://www.transport.gov.scot/active-travel/active-nation-commissioner/