Cycling here to stay?

I’ve been cycling a huge amount since lockdown began. I’m lucky enough to have an ebike so St. Austell’s hills don’t present me with too much of a problem. In ‘normal’ times I only use it to get to places I need to go to, eg into town or across to the arts centre or to visit / meet up with friends, and my husband and I have managed to ditch one of the cars since getting an ebike each. Since lockdown though I have been using it just to go on bike rides for pleasure and it’s been an absolute lifesaver as far as my mental health is concerned! There are just miles and miles and miles of narrow country lanes that you can cycle down and it’s been a real treat to discover new ones nearly every day. At the start of lockdown the roads were deserted too and there were loads of people out on bikes which was wonderful to see. Now cars have returned sadly, one thing I really didn’t miss! The country lanes are still very quiet and absolutely idyllic for cycling though and the hedgerows were delightful through the spring months. I really thought our world/environment was going to change for good and that people would realise that life is better without cars and that they would try and cut down on using them wherever possible, but sadly those happy days of car-free roads seem to have been forgotten already. I realise of course that it’s not an option for most to give up their cars completely but it would be nice to think that as a result of experiencing the beauty of quiet, safe roads people would try to cut down on their car usage where possible. At the moment though public transport isn’t a very attractive option and car sharing is not allowed either. So we’re back to the bad old days of traffic jams and pollution and days where cyclists are just a nuisance on the roads. I haven’t put my bike away though, and don’t intend to either! Cycling around St Austell itself now is pretty hair-raising and won’t encourage people on to their bikes. I also despair at the lack of stands to park bikes. There are just two that I know of in town and the supermarkets hardly have any. Cyclists just aren’t encouraged in town at all. What a backwards step it would be if cycling isn’t encouraged.