Board of Trustees

I’ve been a member of LCC for 16 years and a trustee for four. The climate crisis needs urgent action at local, national and international levels but the pace of change just isn’t fast enough. Cycling is a key component of the climate emergency tool box. Getting more people on bikes and enabling them to cycle safely is a no-brainer.

I want to see children cycling safely, women confident on their bikes and many currently under-represented communities enjoying the freedom enabled by that game-changing invention of 1817, the bicycle.

I am a chartered accountant by training, and have lived and cycled in London all my life. I am the London Cycling Campaign’s Treasurer, and also the Chair of LCC’s Business Committee.

From starting out cycling to school, to seeing the decline and subsequent resurgence of cycling, I have seen how getting around London by bike has been transformed. It is now so much easier to use bikes on a casual basis to get around. However, there is still much to do. We should aim to ensure that everyone travelling in London feels that choosing to travel by bike is a “normal” and safe option. Increasing the take up of cycling as a form of transport is vital for the health of our city.

We are at a tipping point in social willingness to try cycling with 22% of Londoners now “actively considering” getting on a bike. If this happened, we would see more than half of Londoners on their bike.

To start with we need to fully understand the key barriers to starting, whether they be physical, emotional or financial. Then, we need to work in partnership with others in the community to devise and deliver schemes which address these barriers and steadily remove them. Higher levels of cycling are crucial to our adaptation to a net zero way of life.

Making roads safer is a public health issue. My background is working as a GP in the NHS, and it is my role to promote a healthy environment for the community. I have previously worked with Lambeth Council to promote better accessibility to active travel through their pioneering ‘Kerbside Strategy’.

In 2022, whilst cycling to work I was hit by a lorry driver, I was seriously injured and my right leg was amputated. I’m part of a community of cyclists who have sustained life-changing injuries, and the circumstances that led to the collisions we were involved in are depressingly similar; dangerous junctions, HGVs that don’t allow good visibility, lack of adequate cycling infrastructure and training around sharing roads with ‘vulnerable road users’ in London. In addition, there is often a lack of justice for victims in a system that fails to protect cyclists. All issues that the LCC has and continues to campaign for.

In a time where cycling is often used as a political football, I hope to humanise the issue of road safety and remind people that real lives are at stake.

I bring over 30 years’ experience working in the charity sector. I am currently the Deputy CEO and Director of Operations at RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims.

I’ve lived in Lambeth since the early 90s and I love the benefits and freedoms that cycling brings. For me, cycling is the solution to many of society’s challenges, from public health, the climate crisis, air quality, inclusion, and the cost-of living crisis, as well as a joyous and empowering activity that improves our quality of life.

In my professional life, I work for Sustrans, the national walking and cycling charity. I have delivered dozens of low traffic neighbourhoods and cycle routes across the UK, as well as writing new design guidance. I work closely with Transport for London and have been working part time for the new government agency Active Travel England. I therefore have direct experience of working with trustees from the staff side and understand how important they are in shaping the strategic direction of a cycling charity.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is one of my main priorities. As a trustee I use my voice to amplify others and challenge those (who often look like me) opposed to change, so that everyone can see cycling as the quickest, fastest and cheapest way to get from A to B, just like I always have.

I am a long-time member of LCC, borough co-ordinator for LCC’s Wandsworth group, and co-founder of LCC’s Cycle Buddies programme to enable people to buddy up with another person cycling in their area for support.

As a trustee I draw on my passion for cycling activism and community engagement – and my extensive background in business and governance. I bring vision, commitment to inclusivity and diversity, and a proven record of financial competence and effective management.

I’m a Barnet resident since birth, married with two children, Jewish, and work in operations for tech start-ups. I’ve been a bike rider for most of my life, whether it was tearing round parks, riding to school, commuting, shopping or sports.

I have been a campaigner in Barnet for over a decade as part of the Barnet Cycling Campaign and Better Streets for Barnet and have represented the Borough’s cyclists at Council meetings and in front of the Mayor of London to highlight the lack of cycling within the Borough.

Through my experience with start-ups, I am helping LCC use a “build, measure, learn” ethos, using data driven decisions to really operate smoothly.

Cycling has taught me so much, and I’d love more people to experience this.

I’m Izzy, I’m 27, and I live in Lambeth (in a first-floor flat on an A-road, which is a daily reminder of how far we have to go). I’ve been cycling around south London since I was about 5.

Since becoming an LCC member, I’ve attended protests, taken direct action, learnt about the debates and dynamics around cycling, and have become a passionate believer in a liveable future for London. As a trustee, I bring empathy and solidarity with those demanding change, as well as those who could never see themselves cycling here.

I’m keen to see more constructive and empathetic conversations around cycling infrastructure. I know there are a wide range of attitudes towards cycling in London, and I’m keen to engage beyond the in-crowd.

I have lived in London most of my life and been riding in the city for nearly twenty years. I see the bike as a liberating factor in my life and have become an advocate for cycling in mental health recovery and management – something which has particular significance for me personally.

I have served two terms on the LCC Board, through the pandemic, and am looking forward to re-connecting with more people in person. The cycling community benefits from its diversity and I want to make LCC an organisation that fully reflects the rich and diverse nature of our city.

Christian is a award-winning writer and broadcaster specialising in transport. He was shortlisted as a Mayoral candidate for Labour in 2016 and stood for Parliament in the Richmond Park by-election that year. He is a lifelong cyclist who averages around 50 miles per week as his main form of transport and is a founder of Labour Cycles.

Christian has written a series of books on transport topics including UK transport policy, Crossrail, British Rail and more. His website is www.christianwolmar.co.uk

He is currently Chair of LCC’s Human Resources committee, overseeing both volunteers and staff.

“Whereas once I would be able to say hello to every cyclist I encountered at the lights, nowadays I am delighted by the crowds of fellow two wheelers at every junction in central London. Much of this success is down to the tireless campaigning of the LCC.”