Cycling to work is fantastic. It comes with a whole host of benefits for your health, wealth and the environment, but just knowing this might not be enough to help you start if you are nervous about trying it for the first time. But you don’t have to be worried; just follow our advice and you’ll wonder why you ever had any doubts.
One reservation I’ve heard many times for cycling to work is: “I would but I’d have to ride around that roundabout or down that A-road.” With some good planning, though, it may be that you can avoid those bits of the route you want to avoid.
While it may mean riding slightly further if you have to alternate from the direct route it will make your journey more pleasant. Try the Cycling UK Journey Planner to plot your journey from A to B.
There may be a person who already cycles into work who may be willing to chaperone you on your first week to work to give you confidence. Someone may know the best local routes to use, quieter roads or shortcuts. You never know unless you ask.
It’s worth checking their cycling style and if they are going to be supportive of your beginner status before you arrange to ride with them, though. The last thing you want is to find yourself sprinting to keep up, or being taken down roads that a more confident cyclist considers acceptable but of which you are nervous.
Cycling to work can be daunting if you haven’t done it before, but there is a national scheme that can help with your confidence on the road. The Bikeability programme is delivered across the UK to help develop the skills and awareness needed to ride on our roads.
Now, you may be thinking “but I did my cycling proficiency test in school”. Things have moved on a little from the cones in a playground you may remember and the training now is done in a range of settings tailored to the type of journeys you want to make. Even better news is that in many locations the training is delivered free of charge.
For more information and to see if there are courses near you check out the Bikeability course finder.
You may just want a refresher of the basics. If so, our videos explaining how to prepare for a journey on your bike may help.
It sounds obvious but don’t try to start cycling in on a week where you have a big deadline or that all-important meeting in the morning as that’s a recipe for disaster.
The roads on the weekend are less busy and motorists generally feel less pressure to get to their destination, so if you have the time test your journey on a weekend.
If your commute is short you may not need to change your clothes, just ride a little slower and you arrive to work ready to go. However if you have the facilities to do so and you will feel more comfortable in fresh clothes, take a change of clothes with you.
Finding out where the facilities are will save you some stress on your first day. You may need to sign up for a locker or find out where the showers are, but that will be time well spent to make your ride to work that much simpler.
Cycling to work may be a big step for you so think about if you can build up to it over time. If on the first day you cover a small amount of the distance and take the train some of the way, you’ll still have achieved some thing great.
Next time you can ride to the next stop and get the train, and before you know it you’ll cycle the whole way from home to work. Consider also that you may only want to ride in once a week to begin with and add more cycling trips over time. Again, that’s a great achievement and something you can build up from over time.
It’s a legal requirement to have lights on your bike during specific times, and depending on the time of year and what time you travel to work that could impact you. Keeping a set of lights with you is always a good idea especially if you might get stuck at the office later than planned.
My colleague Keir has put together this handy video to cover the basics you'll need to know.
If the day you plan to ride has horrific weather, or you’re not feeling it, don’t worry. Just plan it again for another day. Cycling to work should be an enjoyable part of your day and not something to feel guilty about.
In fact you should feel a sense of achievement that you’re now most likely to be meeting the governments targets for physical activity.
Unfortunately, incidents do occur both on and off the bike. So for peace of mind, and to protect you and your cycling possessions, you may want to consider insurance. Cycling UK works with Yellow Jersey and Pedal Cover to offer cycling insurance for members and non-members.
