Here are some examples of things I’ve seen carried on bicycles in Oxford: a huge artist’s pad, a guitar in its case, a fairly large TV still in its box and – wait for it – a chicken.

Yes, it was in a basket, but it was looking very unperturbed and seemed to be enjoying the ride.

I’m sure many of you will know of other strange bicycle deliveries that probably received looks of amazement too.

Cyclists do manage to carry some odd things on bikes in times of need, but what about the more standard cycling ‘luggage’ – kids?

Here in Oxford, one of the most impressive examples of family cycling I have seen was a woman cycling alongside her son – with her on a tandem with a baby seat on the very back, and a tagalong trailing behind.

If you take kids on your bike, the chances are these are a large part of your commuting cycling, with 10 journeys there and back to school or nursery a week.

I’m not sure of the percentage of parents who take their kids to school by bike, but at my youngest son’s school I’ve counted 10 tagalongs – just for two year groups. I guess, at a national level, that’s an exception. But here baby bike seats seem 10-a-penny.

When I lived in the West Midlands, my son and I were interviewed and had a full page picture in our local paper because I was cycling with him in a standard seat that fitted on the back of the bike.

The first time I dropped him at nursery, all the other children swarmed round, waving and demanding a ride as none had seen one before. These days all schools are supposed to have a travel plan, and this should include looking to increase the number of cycle journeys to school.

Some schools get grants to put in facilities, such as scooter or bike racks. But what about helping us get into our school or having an area outside where we can park bikes safely without them being in the way?

Outside the gates of my son’s school, there is, like many others, a section of railing to stop kids running straight out of the school gate and into the road.

It’s a good idea for that reason, but it makes it a nightmare getting bikes into the playground to drop kids off.

Indeed, I have fantasies about using a blowtorch to cut the railing down to pavement height.

It probably wouldn’t be so noticeable if it wasn’t for the 20-minute polite traffic jam at the start and end of the day where all parents are trying to get in and out, with tagalong bikes fighting for space with pushchairs.

One family I know even have a Christiana-type bike with what looks like a wooden wheelbarrow on the front.

They’re very effective for transporting young, active children, but almost impossible to squeeze around a railing and through a narrow entrance gate.

So perhaps Oxford should try to be a trailblazer in this area.

The benefits for traffic and people alike in cycling children to school are widely acknowledged, but having poor facilities hardly encourages it.

Maybe we should be planning all our bike parking to include space for family bikes.