If ever there was a good time to urge the nation's sedentary city-dwellers to get on their bikes, then this - as 14 Olympic cycling medals dangle from our collective handlebars - is it. And right on cue, it is announced that Britain's major cities are following in Paris's footsteps (or rather its cycle tracks) by introducing pay-as-you-pedal bicycle-hire schemes. Liverpool, London, Edinburgh and Bristol will all play their part in transforming the pushbike from Tory fashion accessory into an essential tool for urban living.

As well as the health and environmental advantages, there are financial gains: borrowing a bike is cheaper than buying one in these hard times. On a grander scale, hire schemes will be supporting one of Britain's fastest-growing manufacturing industries. And, for the individual cyclist, there is the mental health benefit of knowing you can dock your bike in a sturdy street rack, instead of worrying about those disturbing YouTube videos which demonstrate how to unpick every variety of bike lock.

Critics may carp that 3,000 of Paris's Vélib' cycles have disappeared since the scheme there began last year. But the appropriate response to that is: "Bof!" What about the thousands of non-Vélib' bikes stolen in that city before the scheme was introduced? And hire schemes offer an option to the victims of bike theft who, unlike certain prominent British politicians, are unlikely to find the tabloid press ready to get their bikes back for them.

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