A YouGov poll we commissioned reveals that 93% of Brits know how to cycle, but more than half have not turned a pedal in more than a year. Almost one in three has not ridden a bike in a decade or more.
Back on a Bike is our answer. It’s the name of our outreach programme to promote cycling to people of all ages.
This year we are proud to have worked in support of the Go Cycle project in Kingston, one of three councils in London to benefit from the TfL Mini Hollands grant. Kingston is using its share of the grant to make dramatic improvements for cyclists across the borough including segregated lanes and re-designed junctions as well as soft measures such as travel planning, cycle training and bicycle loan schemes. We have been helping deliver a mobile cycling hub. Our vintage Citroen van transports a Dr Bike service to town centres, schools, businesses and community centres across the borough. This short film documents one of the last – and coldest – events of this year at Kingston University.
The research on cycling we undertook before setting up the Back on a Bike project underscores a disparity between men and women in cycling. Men are more likely to have learned to ride a bicycle, to own their own bicycle and to cycle more often. Regional cycling differences are also pronounced. Northerners are less likely to have learned how to ride a bike, and if they did, to have access to a usable bike now, than those residing in the South.
We believe the key to promoting cycling is its presentation as an everyday activity. Commuting to work or popping to the shops by bike is not an extreme sport, so we see no need to push helmets, Lycra or high visibility clothing. We aim for people to view a bicycle as they do a washing machine; a device that, once acquired, is difficult to imagine living without.
All this doesn’t mean that cycling can’t be fun or stylish, quite the opposite in fact, but we focus on simplicity; the amazing benefits to be had from even a £20 secondhand bike. Our work in 2017, will involve refurbishing bikes that have been abandoned at local tips, recovered by the police or donated to us as unwanted items.
We want to reach out to everyone who has not turned a pedal in years. Help us get the whole country back on a bike.
Every time you buy cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover from the ETA , you help support Back on a Bike and other important projects to promote sustainable transport.
0 Comments View now