How Safe is Cycling in the Peak District?

Training session in Stannington for new road cyclists

Last month a 22-year-old woman from Sheffield died after she cycled down Winnats Pass in Castleton when her bike hit a wall at the bottom of the hill.

This sad story made me want to look into how safe it is to ride in the challenging but beautiful climbs and descents of the Peaks. I dug out the figures and found the numbers of cyclists who had died or been injured on the roads in the national park has trebled in five years, although these numbers are relatively low (four injured in 2008 and twelve last year, including one death).

When I asked other cyclists about this story I was told that many accidents are not recorded in the figures because cyclists that are hurt often do not report it to the police. Here's my story...

listen to ‘Bike Safety’ on Audioboo