Cycling in Ireland in massive decline

“Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”

I never knew Iris Murdoch wrote that. It's to be found at the end of this article:

In 1986, some 23,600 children cycled to primary school. Just 20 years later, that number had plummeted by 83 per cent to just 4,000. The decline in bike usage among children transfers directly into adult life. Today, fewer than one in 50 Irish adults commute by bike.