Just landed on the editorial desk is a copy of the second edition of the European Cycling Lexicon, with, according to the front cover, “More languages, more terms, more information” than, presumably, the first edition.

It has been sent in by an old school friend and keen cyclist who now works for the EU as a terminologist and who had a large part in the production of the booklet. With the EU an entity in which cycling is seen as increasingly important both as a means of transport and as a leisure activity, its job is to make the life of cyclists across the EU easier by facilitating the implementation of pro-cycling inititatives, helping to raise awareness of issues affecting cycling such as infrastructure and even helping bike riders communicate in areas such as shops, hotels and travel agencies.

Not only does it give cycling-related terms in all 23 official languages in the EU plus Arabic, Japanese, Russian and Simplified Chinese, it contains plenty of useful information on the cycling infrastructure of the EU, some relevant statistics including the interesting fact that in the Netherlands, where only 0.1% of cyclists wear a helmet, there are some 20 fatal accidents per billion kilometres cycled, whereas in Finland, where 20% of cyclists wear one, there are some 50 fatal accidents per billion kilometres cycled.

All this and more may also be found on the European Cycling Lexicon website, where anyone wanting the paper version may order one online.