When my niece comes over here from New Zealand, I usually ask her what changes she has noticed in Sussex.

This time it was the huge increase in cycling by all kinds of people, particularly in Brighton and Hove.

Cycling was popular from the 1890s when machines first became both affordable and rideable. It liberated many working people.

Among the many cycling clubs was the Clarion, a Socialist group which has been successfully revived in Brighton.

But over the next century, bikes were slowly edged out by cars both as a means of transport and for recreation.

When I first rode a bike it was downright dangerous on the roads as no concessions whatsoever were made to riders.

Cycling became deeply unfashionable and something of a joke, typified by the Monty Python sketch about Bicycle Repair Man.

The trouble with bikes was they didn’t fit easily into the street scene and were often unnoticed until someone ran them over.

Yet this did not apply in neighbouring countries like Holland where I was amazed to see at a busy junction motorists let the bikes go first.

Slowly cycling began to gain ground but it was a hard battle. I recall being mocked and even reviled for riding a bike to work and going to many jobs on a bike.

I always kept a milometer in my bike, a machine kept deliberately dowdy so thieves would not take it, and reckoned I covered 30,000 miles as a reporter – more than going around the world.

In the 1970s, the first new cycle lane in Sussex was provided on the short stretch between Lewes and Kingston. This is now being upgraded as part of an extended route.

The London to Brighton cycle run started in 1976 and quickly became one of the biggest mass participation events in Britain.

Brighton and Hove was hardly the ideal resort for cycling, being hilly, windy and full of narrow streets.

But the perseverance of pioneers like Les Robinson of Bricycles paid off and eventually the seafront cycle lane was established. It has become one of the nation’s favourite routes.

Sustrans, the national cycle track charity, established a network of routes and received an enormous Lottery grant to celebrate the Millennium.

Its aim was to ensure almost everyone lived within a short distance of a cycle path. In Sussex, routes like the Cuckoo Trail have proved hugely popular.

The introduction of mountain bikes made cycling no longer seem dated and dreary. The cycling triumphs of Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins at the Olympics and in the Tour de France gave the sport new impetus.

Cycles started to appear for hire in cities like London. In Brighton and Hove, new urban cycle lanes were provided in the Lewes Road (where they are well used) and The Drive (an abject failure).

This year with the first good summer since 2006, there has been an explosion of cyclists in Brighton, noticed by many people besides my niece.

They won’t all be biking in the winter with sleet, gales and ice, but enough of them will to make a difference.

I have noticed a change in attitude by most motorists who are much more aware of cyclists and considerate towards them.

In turn, I think many cyclists are recognising they need to ride responsibly to gain the respect of drivers.

Many riders also drive cars. We cyclists are often as irritated as drivers must be by kamikaze riders hurtling the wrong way down one way streets, belting along pavements and not using lights at night.

Councils are helping cyclists with new lanes and more modest measures such as stop lines for riders in front of other traffic at junctions.

In Brighton, a cycle hub is being installed at the railway station and a cycling café at the revived Level.

The Government has recognised the importance of cycling and has earmarked millions of pounds for it, leading politicians like Boris Johnson ride bikes in a way that you can’t imagine Churchill or Lloyd George doing.

The biking battle is far from over. Much more needs to be done to make cycling a safe and enjoyable way to get about.

But it is happening and the current cycling craze is as important as the original one in the Victorian era.

There are a few cyclists who remain resolutely unfashionable and I remain among them. This has tickled millionaire Mike Holland who owns the Engineerium in Hove.

When it opens fully in 2015, exhibits will include my faithful old bike, a museum piece that tells a story rather like its owner.