Local Voices
Read the stories of Oxfordshire residents who make bikes, buses, walking or wheeling a part of their everyday lives.
Hortenzia
Regaining Bike Confidence
I learned to cycle when I was a child and had my own bike, but then I outgrew it and life got in the way and I didn't cycle for years. I used to watch people cycling and wished I still could, especially here in Oxford, but I just didn’t have the confidence. I just resigned myself to thinking it wasn’t going to happen and I walked or I bussed everywhere. Then I found out about JoyRiders and joined their learn-to-ride sessions. It was a game changer for me.
Andy and St Frideswide Primary School
The School Run on Two Wheels
At St Frideswide’s we’re really keen to get more people on bikes and we have a dedicated programme, ‘St FridesRide’, to encourage more cycling, which includes a bike library, help with cycle training and now a bike bus. We fundraised for the programme – I have ridden to Land’s End and back twice now, and friends have ridden from England to Switzerland along the Rhine and to Croatia – and we even managed to raise enough for a new specialist small group teacher.
Cherie
E-Biking for Work and Leisure
“Since making the change to using a bike, I’ve actually found a new hobby. We’ve taken our bikes to the Cotswolds and to Wales, for cycling holidays. My cardiovascular health is better; I don’t really pant at all any more going up that hill. And my mental health is better. I didn’t realise how big an impact it was going to have on me. I fell in love with the feeling of cycling almost immediately. The sense of freedom is amazing.”