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.

Read more →

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.

COMMUTING BY BIKE

“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.”

Read more →