Dare To Dream: A Bike for Every Londoner

What if every Londoner had access to a bike?

We know that the biggest barrier to more Londoners cycling is a network of safe, direct cycle routes and while there is a lot more work to be done to deliver this network fully, there are areas of London that have it.

Even so, many people are being held back by other barriers. Not being able to afford a bike, a lack of secure storage, having a bike stolen in the past, or needing to try out a variety of non-standard cycles (often hugely expensive!) are all reasons which might be preventing someone accessing a bike.

We think Sadiq Khan can and should step in, and work with government and councils to sweep away the additional barriers to cycling some Londoners face.

That includes reforming Cycle to Work so that it factors in people who are self-employed, try before you buy schemes, cargo bikes, adapted cycles and hire credits too for people whose jobs or homes don’t have secure storage facilities.

Meet the Londoners

We want the Mayor of London to enable more safer cycling, more ways to easily buy a bike and more secure cycle storage. To show what happens when people get access to a bike, we teamed up with some brilliant organisations to put bikes in the hands of Londoners and met up with people who have recently started cycling in the capital. The participants have kept us updated on the impact their bikes have had on their lives… 

Meet David

“I’ve been able to traverse [many new areas] now because of my bike and it’s just great to be able to be outside, especially in the nice weather we’re having.” 

We met David through his involvement in the Jessop Primary School Dads and Male Carers Club.

He stopped cycling when his bike got stolen but thanks to Trek, he now has a brand new ebike to get around on.

David works for charity that supports families with sick children in hospital and living in Feltham, his commute is quite long but with an ebike, he’s now able to cycle part of his journey.

Cycling is helping him save money on transport, improve his fitness and his mental health.

Getting a new bike can be daunting but like the Trek store in Battersea, London has loads of friendly retailers that can offer helpful advice, simplify an overcomplicated marketplace and help people find the right cycle for their needs.

Meet Marya

“I want to start cycling because it’s just such a good feeling of freedom, with the wind blowing on your face, it’s amazing, it makes me feel amazing.”

We were introduced to Marya through Cycle Sisters, an award-winning charity that empowers Muslim women to cycle by creating supportive, women-only spaces.

Based in Tooting, Marya works part time as a teaching assistant for children with special needs. She only learnt to cycle last year at the age of 32 and wasn’t sure about whether she wanted to commit to buying a bike or not.

Through Peddle My Wheels’ Try Before You Bike scheme, Marya has been able to test out a folding bike in a risk-free way with cycling accessories included too!

Without secure outdoor storage and an adequate storage space indoors, the folding bike has been perfect for Marya’s needs and she’s even given it a British Asian name: Alexandra Chandni.

Cycling has been great for Marya’s mental health, bringing more focus to her ADHD brain and it’s created more opportunities for play, racing her two children on their scooters.

Meet Jemma

“The [nursery] is probably a 15 minute walk away but the cycle just makes it a lot more fun both for the kids and for me and it’s a nice experience to have them up in the front.”

Jemma is a social media manager and having cycled in London for over 15 years, she is comfortable on the roads but has found cycling with her two kids to be a bit more scary than cycling by herself.

She was getting around on a bicycle with two child seats, sometimes using a trailer, but her boys were starting to outgrow that setup and it was challenging relying on her own pedal power.

The lovely team at London Green Cycles have lent Jemma an electric cargo bike for this campaign and this has made her journeys a lot easier.

Buying a cargo bike can be a big investment so it’s great that places like London Green Cycles allow people to try them out first and make an informed decision.

Jemma has now been able to effortlessly load up the bike with her kids, their bikes, shopping and even her partner too! Apparently her boys are also loving the new wheels!

Meet Piers

“What I love about this campaign is it’s allowed me to get back on a decent bike and suddenly the whole of London seems to be my oyster again.”

Piers is from Ladbroke Grove and runs Portobello Radio, a community radio station.

Having cycled in London since his late teens, Piers has recently found himself cycling less and less as he got older, and an accident and a bike that had seen better days almost brought his cycling to a halt.

Through Peddle My Wheels’ Try Before You Bike scheme, Piers has been able to get on a reliable bicycle and with the scheme’s flexible 1 month rolling subscription, he’ll have the option to buy the bike outright at a reduced cost over time.

He can cycle over to Stamford Bridge to catch Chelsea playing and get to DJ gigs, even when they’re on the other side of London. He’s loving being able to cycle again and has noticed his fitness, lung capacity and mental health improving.

Meet Joshua

“I previously visited Amsterdam and I was really inspired by their cycling culture and I would love to see something like that in London.”

Joshua lives in north west London and works as a paralegal. There is a lack of secure cycle storage where he lives so a Lime bike has been helping him get around without having to worry about his ride getting stolen.

His trips to the gym and the supermarket have been made a lot more convenient and cycling has made it easier to see more of the city.

He can feel himself getting more healthy and fit and would recommend getting around by bike in London.

Meet Tracey

“The bike has just really given me an additional sense of freedom and enabled me to move quickly.”

Tracey’s love of cycling began when she was a child and this continued into her adult years until health challenges forced her to put the brakes on cycling.

Through Peddle My Wheels’ Try Before You Bike scheme, Tracey has been able to try out a step-through ebike on a monthly rolling contract and has found that the electric assist and step-through frame has helped her to get back in the saddle.

Based in Lewisham, Tracey recently visit studios in Deptford for London Gallery Week and the ebike helped her easily move between venues.

Having a bike has enabled Tracey to go cycling with friends again and reconnect with London’s cycling community.

Meet Susie

“My electric adapted tricycle has changed my life, it has transformed what I thought cycling was.”

Susie’s journey into cycling began when she wanted to fundraise for brain tumour research. Instead of a walking pack, she was mistakenly sent a cycling pack but decided to challenge herself, get a trike and cycle 274 miles in a month.

She now works as a cycling instructor at Wheels for Wellbeing, a charity that enables Disabled people to access the benefits of cycling.

Disabled people face more barriers when trying to access cycling and even when those who need a non-standard cycle are able to traverse the high costs involved, narrow cycle lanes, a lack of dropped kerbs, TfL’s ban on non-folding ebikes and more present a hostile environment for Disabled cyclists.

Through Wheels4Me London, an inclusive cycle loan scheme, Susie was able to find the right cycle for her needs, enabling her to move around independently, criss-crossing the streets of South London and further afield to get between her home, inclusive cycling sessions and meeting up with friends.

Meet Mishkat

“Some people know how to ride but they are scared of riding on the road but sometimes you have to give yourself a chance to learn.”

We met Mishkat through upCYCLE, an organisation addressing the lack of diversity in London’s cycling community by creating a fun and inclusive environment for young people from ethnic minority groups to share their passion for cycling.

Through upCYCLE, Mishkat was given a refurbished bike, taught how to repair it and has been building up her cycling confidence over the past year.

She didn’t have much cycling experience to begin with but now Mishkat is confidently cycling both off road and on. We hope she’ll soon be able to cycle from her student halls in Kingston to her uni nearby.

How can we ensure more Londoners have access to cycling?

Improving access to cycling isn’t going to be solved overnight and reforms to Cycle to Work will require the involvement of government but as we’ve seen, there are organisations in London already connecting more Londoners with bikes and there is a lot the Mayor of London can do! With the right amount of political will, funding and focus, we know that a programme can be started to tackle the barriers that prevent people from enjoying the freedom, health and fun that cycling has to offer. If you want the Mayor to do more so that everyone Londoner who wants to cycle can do so, please take a minute to send an email to the Mayor of London.